Digital Content

COMPONENTS Logo, 1-pg, 4/c ad, url links, and lead-in article (written by IR)
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES Editorial write up will be composed of about 500-600 words. Editors will need to know in advance who will be the representative interviewed from your company Editors will then make arrangements to contact and interview the representative.
FULL-PAGE AD Dimensions: 8x10.75 inches / hi-res PDF. Print ads will work just fine for a digital publication without adjustment - no bleed or safety margin needed; artwork does not need to be flattened; and, the RGB color space may be used (which allows for brighter colors in some cases). Also, digital ads can contain hyperlinks. Please note all hyperlinks ad they may not carry through automatically with production workflow.
HYPERLINKS Digital ads can contain hyperlinks. Please note all hyperlinks ad they may not carry through automatically with production workflow.
PROOFING Write up will be emailed to company for review/ updates. When publication goes to press, a complementary pdf will be sent to your company.
LOGO Logos should be submitted in line art format (EPS, Illustrator) whenever possible for highest quality reproduction. Bitmap files (Photoshop, TIF, JPG) are acceptable, and should be a minimum of 2 inches on the longer side, at 150 dpi or higher.

Thought Leadership Requirements

COMPONENTS 1-pg article written by IR and full-pg ad (8” x 10.75”)
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES Editorial write up will be composed of about 600 characters. Editors will need to know in advance who will be the representative interviewed from your company Editors will then make arrangements to contact and interview the representative.
PROOFING Write up will be emailed to company for review/ updates. When publication goes to press, a complementary pdf will be sent to your company.
LOGO Logos should be submitted in line art format (EPS, Illustrator) whenever possible for highest quality reproduction. Bitmap files (Photoshop, TIF, JPG) are acceptable, and should be a minimum of 2 inches on the longer side, at 150 dpi or higher.
Publication Trim 8” x 10.75”
Trim with bleed 8.25” x 11”
Safe Area 7” x “10”
Final Page Trim 8” x 10.75”
Page Size with Bleed 8.25” x 11”
Staying within the safe area is always best practice
Important - Keep copy 1/4-inch from final trim size

Digital Edition

  • Height is fixed; Some flexibility on width
  • Print ads work for digital publication without adjustment
  • No bleed or safety margin needed
  • Artwork does not need to be flattened
  • RGB color space may be used

Material Submission

  1. Ad materials are to be supplied as digital files in the preferred PDF/X- 1a:2001 format
  2. Spread ads may be submitted as a single file
  3. All ads (print and digital) must include 1/8" bleed on all sides if design requires it.
  4. A proof for each ad may be submitted at client’s discretion.
  5. Customer-supplied digital files and proofs will be retained for up to 3 months following publication date, then destroyed unless otherwise requested.
  6. All images and graphics files and fonts must be embedded in design source files
  7. Fractional Ads (All Fractional Ad Sizes are Absolute). Additional for Bleed Required as Noted.
  8. Bleed is defined as extension of background or background color to "bleed" off the page.
  9. Materials due 7 business days after space reservation close.

Setup and Guidelines

PRINT PAGE SETUP

Fullbleed color borders used to “frame” an ad should be minimum 3/8 inch thickness to offset unevenness of trim. Type or graphics placed between final page trim and trim variance may be cut off.

AD FORMAT REQUIREMENTS
PDF/X-1A:2001 FILE PREPARATION

Adherence to the following guidelines in application file preparation will aid in successful file conversion:

ADOBE INDESIGNPreflighted and Packaged with all links and fonts provided. Image resolution must be minimum 300dpi. Duplicate color swatch names are prohibited. All files and images, including all files used to create an ad, MUST HAVE OVERPRINT TURNED OFF. Overprint turned on presents serious content display issues.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATORSaved as EPS or native .ai, fonts outlined, images embedded in Illustrator file. All images must be 300 DPI. Type or image elements in white to be printed “on top of” a background color or another image must be set to “knockout,” not OVERPRINT.

ACROBAT X1-A PDF: Resolution: 2400 DPI/Color. Bicubic Downsampling: 300 DPI. Acrobat Distiller Settings: color Management - OFF. E bed and subset all fonts preserve document information from DSC.

LAYOUT

Full page bleed must be created to bleed specification with crops (printer marks) set at trim dimensions and placed outside the bleed area. Bleed must extend 3/16” beyond trim. Keep live matter a minimum of 3/16” from trim edge.

  • Create ad layouts in a professional desktop publishing program such as Adobe InDesign™ or QuarkXPress™.

  • Create one PDF/X-1a file per ad or ad page; spread ads may be submitted as a single file. Please allow for file to complete processing.

  • Direct export option out of Adobe InDesign™ CS3 or later and/or QuarkXPress™ 7.0 or later can be utilized as long as the PDF/X- 1a:2001 setting is used

ORIENTATION

Set native application files in portrait mode at 100% with no rotations.

COLOR

Define all colors as CMYK process. Unintended spot color and/ or Pantone colors must be converted to CMYK process. RGB, LAB and ICC based colors are not allowed. Black & white images should be saved as single channel black only before placing them into the page. Nested grayscale or nested single channel black may become 4/C when printed. Delete any unused colors.

TYPE

Fonts must be embedded. Use Postscript Type 1, Open Type or TrueType fonts only. Text containing thin lines, serifs or small lettering should be restricted to one color. Knockout type smaller than 10 points cannot be guaranteed perfect registration and is therefore not recommended. Web fonts are not accepted.

IMAGES

Must be high resolution SWOP-compliant with a resolution of 300dpi for CMYK and 1200dpi for black & white images. OPI selections should be turned off. Do not nest EPS files within other EPS files. Save images in TIFF or EPS format, with no embedded color management profiles.

LOGO Logos should be submitted in line art format (EPS, Illustrator) whenever possible for highest quality reproduction. Bitmap files (Photoshop, TIF, JPG) are acceptable, and should be a minimum of 2 inches on the longer side, at 150 dpi or higher.
FILE QUALITY Electronic files must meet the digital requirements as listed. Internet Retailer is not responsible for final printing of low-resolution images, font disruption or file content errors.

Material Submission

INSTRUCTIONS If you submit multiple file formats or supporting files, you must designate the specific file you intend to be published. Internet Retailer will not be responsible for misplaced files if such designation is not provided. Your files, based on PDF appearance or accurate crop marks will be used to interpret how you want the ad displayed.
DELIVERY Ad materials should be submitted via third-party FTP such as WeTransfer or downloadable link; or, files 10mb or smaller via e-mail in a ZIPped or StuffIt archive. Please include your company name in both the ZIP and PDF filenames.
PROOFING

Proofs must be representative of the supplied file at actual size and display a printer’s color control bar. Alternative proofing formats will be used for content only. Visit www.swop.org for a complete list of current certified proofing options. When calling for spot color Pantone) usage on press, clearly indicate such on the supplied proof. Publication is not responsible for color or content of files that do not conform. A proof may be supplied at the client’s discretion.

  1. Advertiser/agency accepts full responsibility for reproduction variations between the digital file and the printed image for ads submitted in non-preferred formats.
  2. on-adherence to the preferred format may necessitate production fees. IR is not responsible for making corrections to supplied files.
Channel/Ad Format in pixels (w x h) File Type Animation Max File Size
Super Leaderboard 970 × 90 .jpg or .gif and click URL; animated or static :15 SEC 40K
Leaderboard 728 × 90 .jpg or .gif and click URL; animated or static :15 SEC 60K
Medium Rectangle 300 x 250 .jpg or .gif and click URL; animated or static :15 SEC 60K
Half-page 300 x 600 .jpg or .gif and click URL; animated or static :15 SEC 60K
Skyscraper 160 x 600 .jpg or .gif and click URL; animated or static :15 SEC 60K
Welcome or Interstitial 640 x 480 jpg or .gif and click URL, no animation jn - 60K
Additional Information:

3rd Party Tags: Generally accepted, provided that WM ad management can accurately count impressions and clicks. No iFrames

Best Practices: Unit must be distinguishable from webpage content (i.e. defined borders and not be confused with normal page content)

Animation and Rich Media Accepted, excluding Flash. Recommended animation length 15 sec

Video Ad Display

Google Ad Manager creative requirements

Technical requirements:

  • The file size for creatives must be 150 KB or smaller for their initial load. Additional load for the creative must be "polite" and may not exceed 2.2 MB.
  • Creatives can't be hosted by or make a call to an unapproved third-party ad server. For more information, see Buyers' use of technology vendors.
  • All landing pages must be crawlable.
  • All Ad Manager video inventory is limited to 2 VAST wrappers.

For more information, see Google Ads' Policies for image ads.

Content requirements:

  • All GIF ads with partially black or white backgrounds must include a visible border of a contrasting color to the majority background color of the ad.
  • Strobing, flashing backgrounds, or otherwise distracting ads are not allowed. Animation length must be 30 seconds or shorter, and animated GIF ads must have a framerate of 5 frames per second or slower.
  • Image content and associated website content must be family safe. Any image ads that contain Non-Family Safe or Adult material in the ad or website will not be accepted.
  • Trick to click ads are not allowed. Ads can't pretend to be a system or site warning. Ads can't mimic or resemble Windows, Mac, or Unix dialogue boxes, error message, etc.

For Google Ad Manager Questions: https://support.google.com/displayvideo/answer/3055968?hl=en

Vendor Directory

Channel/Format Dimensions in pixels (w x h) File Size Max
Featured Vendor 300px x 250px 50K
Large Enhanced Listing 215px x 150px 50K
Medium Enhanced Listing 215px x 100px 50K
Small Enhanced Listing 215px x 50px 50K
Skyscaper 160px x 600px 50K

Required Materials: Vendor category, company name, company URL, description, company facts

Optional Materials: Up to 3 research links (white papers, case studies, video demos), 3 social media links, sales contact email/phone/name, Images

Best Practices: Images will automatically resize, but the closer to this dimension the better. Distortion will occur if the dimensions are off.

Featured Resources

Feautured Resource Promotion of asset on homepage
Title Max 45 characters including spaces
Resource Type Whitepaper, case study, article, etc.
Short Description Max 200 characters including spaces
Full Description Max 1000 characters including spaces
Click URL URL of hosted asset
Company URL Company website address
Publish Date Year and Month
Image Feautured Resource (homepage): 120px x 120px thumbnail: Min. 87px x 112px; Quick View: 165px x 165px; file format .jpg, .gif, .png; No annimation

Required Materials: Type, Title, Short and full descriptions, URLs, Publish date, Image (Thumbnail and Quick View versions)

Optional Materials: Up to 3 research links (whitepapers, case studies, video demos, etc.)

Best Practices: Images will automatically resize, but the closer to this dimension the better. Distortion will occur if the dimensions are off

HTML All email promotions must be submitted in HTML that includes standard HTML tables to contain the code. Images must be hosted by the client, making sure that image source links in the code are complete.
Subject Line Recommend short, straightforward, and “a call to action.”
Schedule Time IR sends in 2 time slots, 10:00 AM CT and 12:00 PM CT.
Test Contacts List of email addresses for proof/test and mailing.
Due Date 5 business days prior to scheduled delivery date. Creative not received by due date may not run as scheduled.
Best Practices Please remember that HTML messages sent via email must contend with a multitude of email clients and software. The key is to keep code simple.
Special Instructions and Warnings:
  1. Outlook 2009-2016 e-mail client does not support: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), head tag style sheets, background images and various other HTML code. Styles must always be entered as inline paragraph styles. Background images will not render in Outlook 2009-2016. We cannot be responsible for the processing of or end results of HTML that contains Cascading Style Sheets and/or head tag style sheets and/or background images.
  2. Flash and Shockwave are not accepted for e-mail HTML.
  3. As a guideline, our header is 600 pixels wide, in case you’d like to create your promotion to be about the same width.
  4. Any and ALL HTML created in Microsoft Word cannot be used.
  5. Materials should be submitted in self-contained HTML files attached to correspondence with your representative.
Standard Dimensions in pixels (w x h) File Type File Max
Leaderboard 728px × 90px .jpg, .png or .gif and click URL 40K
Medium Rectangle 300px x 250px .jpg, .png or .gif and click URL 40K
Text Box (Logo* + Text) Logo, headline, description, click URL Headline, description, click URL 40K
*Text Box Logo: Acceptable formats .jpg, .png, .gif, .eps, .ai. Dimensions: 150px x 50px.

Required Materials: Banner ads – 300px x250px, 728px x 90px (GIF/PNG/JPEG only)

Text Box Components: Headline, description, click URL: A maximum of 50 words will be accepted. This includes a headline, call to action line, and the ad copy

3rd Party Tags: Generally accepted, provided that VWM ad management can accurately count impressions and clicks. No iFrames

Flash and Rich Media: Not Accepted. Animation will not be seen in Outlook 2009-2016. (If you are sending an animated .gif, make sure the first frame is the most vital)

Best Practices: recommend short “a call to action

Sponsorship Details

  • 1 dedicated email send (7,500 subscribers)
  • Includes landing page development and registration form
  • 1 month of IR Learning Lab newsletter promotions (4 editions)
  • You can promote up to 2 assets per month in Learning Lab newsletter
  • Social media marketing (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn: 1200px x 627px)
  • Homepage tout on InternetRetailer.com and DigitalCommerce360.com (IR to create)
  • Text ad in B2BecNews newsletter
  • Guaranteed position in the “Featured Listing” position once per month
  • Leads delivered every week if don’t use your own landing page

Program materials

  • Full description of asset for email promotion (75 word max)
  • Short description for Learning Lab and B2BecNews newsletters (30 word max)
  • URL link to your landing page (if client is hosting registration page)
  • Company logo and image of asset (high-res jpg or eps file)
  • Twitter: 280 characters, plus an image and link. Also please send additional twitter handles to tag in post.
  • Facebook: 50 word max plus image and link. Also please include company handle to tag in post.