HTML5 Banner Production Brief for Ad Agencies
The media plan says “one banner concept, three sizes.” The approved layout fits a rectangle. Then the designer opens the leaderboard and discovers the headline, product shot and legal line all want the same strip of space. A good HTML5 banner brief settles who gets that space before anyone animates the first frame.
What goes into an HTML5 banner brief?
Send the approved message, editable artwork, placement specifications, click destinations and review dates. Ask the media team for the publisher and ad server for each placement. A size alone tells a developer how big the canvas is. It tells them very little about what the publisher will accept.
Give every placement its own row
For each size, record the dimensions, file-weight limit, animation duration, loop rules, landing page and whether a static backup is required. Attach the current spec sheet and name the person who can resolve an unanswered question. An empty file-weight cell is a reason to ask media before optimizing the wrong export.
Here’s a sample instruction for a 728 × 90 placement: “Keep the product name and offer together. The pack shot can move to the left. Use the approved short headline if the full one wraps. End on Shop now.” That gives the designer a decision they can act on and gives the reviewer something concrete to approve.
Approve the tightest layout early
Send layered artwork, usable fonts, logo files and the approved copy for each frame. Identify the elements that must stay visible and any that can appear in sequence. Review a storyboard for the most constrained size alongside the main layout. A legal line that becomes unreadable at actual size needs a copy or layout decision before the remaining sizes go into production.
Test the files the trafficker will receive
For Campaign Manager 360, package the HTML entry file and its referenced assets in a ZIP. The creative needs a detectable click tag. If the media plan calls for a backup image, deliver it separately. Check the platform’s current instructions in Google’s HTML5 asset guide.
Ask the trafficker to test an upload. Does the animation finish on the approved offer? Can someone read the legal line at delivery size? Does the click open the intended product page? Record the tested filename and use that version for delivery.
Have a media plan and a master layout? Bring them to a production call with The Pixel Smiths to scope the first build and its adaptations.