Dynamic Insertion for the RedCircle Ad Platform (RAP)

What it is, how it works, and tips to maximize your earnings' potential

The RedCircle Ad Platform (RAP) uses our Dynamic Insertion technology for all ads that run through the platform. We automatically place Insertion Points, which you can think of as placeholders, in your episode where dynamic ads will play. These Insertion Points have Audio Blocks assigned to them, which you can think of as a configuration of the specific type of dynamic audio. In other words, an Insertion Point tells us where to insert dynamic audio, and an Audio Block tells us what dynamic audio to insert.

The Default Ad Blocks
How Dynamic Insertion Works with RAP
RAP Examples and Other Scenarios

The Default Ad Blocks

When you opt-in to RAP, we automatically create two (2) default Audio Blocks; the Default Pre & Post Roll Ad Block and the Default Mid Roll Ad Block. Each Ad Block also comes with a pre-set number of ad audio clips (also called spots). The Default Pre & Post Roll Ad Block comes with 2 “RedCircle Ad” spots while the Default Mid Roll Ad Block comes with 3 “RedCircle Ad” spots:

You can increase or decrease the number of ad audio clips (spots) as desired as well as decide how many of the available ads play and in what order. Not only can you decide how many ads to play, you can even add your own Custom Audio clips (spots) to the roster. Finally, you can add “Fallback Audio”, which is an audio clip that plays should one of the main audio clips fail. There is so much that can be customized and achieved with Audio Blocks!

These Audio Blocks are automatically added to any new, uploaded episodes. As aptly named, the Default Pre & Post Roll Ad Block is added to one pre-roll Insertion Point and one post-roll Insertion Point. The Default Mid Roll Ad Block is added to one mid-roll Insertion Point.

We create a pre-roll insertion point at the very beginning, a mid-roll Insertion Point at the 50% timestamp, and a post-roll spot at the very end for each new episode. You can think of these Default Ad Block Insertion Points as placeholders for where you might like an ad to play. You can move around these Insertion Points on the Insertion Points Editor screen and place them in the perfect spot for your show!

You can assign Ad Audio Blocks to Insertion Points that are back-to-back, too. Doing so would allow for the ads to play back-to-back. Though, you can also accomplish this by adding additional Audio Clips to the Default Ad Audio Blocks. You can learn how to do that in this Help article. 

When you upload a new episode, by default, there will be between 3 and 6 placeholders for ads:

• 1 pre-roll Insertion Point assigned the Default Pre & Post Roll Ad Block. This Block defaults to playing up to 2 RAP Ads back-to-back.
• 1 mid-roll Insertion Point assigned the Default Mid Roll Ad Block. This Block defaults to playing up to 3 RAP Ads back-to-back.
• 1 post-roll Insertion Point assigned the Default Pre & Post Roll Ad Block. This Block also defaults to playing up to 2 RAP Ads back-to-back.

How Dynamic Insertion Works with RAP

You’re probably wondering exactly how a listener receives a dynamic ad. Well, when someone downloads and tunes in to your show, our system checks to see if and where you have Insertion Points placed. Once located, the system checks what type of dynamic audio is assigned to that Insertion Point. For example, if you have a custom Audio Block for an intro assigned to your very first pre-roll Insertion Point, then we dynamically insert that assigned Audio Block for the listener.

When it’s the Default Ad Block assigned, we dynamically insert the RAP ad based on the following prioritizations:

• Type of Ad:

1. Host-Read Ads*
2. Programmatic Ads
   
   *Brands that purchased specific episodes are prioritized first. Brands that purchased across your entire catalog are prioritized after.

• Placement of Ad:

1. Mid-Roll (or the most expensive position)
2. Pre-Roll (or the next most expensive position)
3. Post-Roll (or the least expensive position)

So what does all this mean? Well, if you’re opted-in to both Host-Read and Programmatic Ads, then we always prioritize Host-Read Ads if you’re part of a live campaign. Otherwise, we still help you monetize your available inventory by inserting Programmatic Ads.

However, if you’re only opted-in to Host-Read Ads, then we only insert Host-Read Ads during the time you’re part of a live campaign. Your inventory remains unfilled when not part of a live campaign.

RAP Examples and Other Scenarios

Here are some example scenarios that you may encounter when utilizing RAP. 

Example 1: You’re currently part of one Host-Read Ad campaign, “Campaign A”. This particular brand purchased Mid-Roll spots across your entire catalog.

• Scenario: In your most recent episode, you chose to remove your Mid-Roll Default Mid Roll Ad Block Insertion Point.

• Result: A listener won’t hear the “Campaign A” ad in your most recent episode. Even if you have the Default Pre & Post Roll Ad Block assigned to both Pre-Roll and Post-Roll Insertion Points, the ad won’t play as the campaign is only assigned to Mid-Roll spots.

So, be sure to carefully read through the campaigns and make sure your Insertion Points are properly set up to avoid scenarios like above!

Example 2: You’re currently part of one Host-Read Campaign, “Campaign B”. This particular brand purchased Pre-Roll, Mid-Roll, and Post-Roll spots across your entire catalog.

• Scenario 1: For “Episode X”, you chose to keep all 3 Insertion Points active.

• Result 1: The listener tuning in to “Episode X” hears the “Campaign B” ad in the Mid-Roll (or most expensive) spot.
  
  
• Scenario 2: For “Episode Y”, you chose to remove the Mid-Roll Insertion Point, but kept the Pre-Roll and Post-Roll spots.
• Result 2: The listener tuning in to “Episode Y” hears the “Campaign B” ad in the Pre-Roll (or next most expensive) spot. Since “Campaign B” runs across all Insertion Point spots in your catalog, we insert the ad in to the next available Insertion Point that both fits the campaign’s criteria and gets you the maximum amount of money.

Example 3: You’re currently part of one Host-Read Campaign, “Campaign C”. This particular brand purchased Pre-Roll and Post-Roll spots across your entire catalog.

• Scenario: For “Episode X”, you chose to remove the Pre-Roll Insertion Point, but kept a Mid-Roll and Post-Roll Spot.
• Result: The listener tuning in to “Episode X” hears the “Campaign C” ad in the Post-Roll spot. Remember, we insert ads according to both the campaign’s criteria and backend priority.
  
  

Example 4: You’re currently part of all the above campaigns (“Campaign A”, “Campaign B” and “Campaign C”) and they’re live at the exact same time.

• Scenario 1: For “Episode X”, you chose to keep all 3 Insertion Points active.
• Result 1: The listener tuning in to “Episode X” hears the “Campaign A” and “Campaign B” ads in the Mid-Roll (or the most expensive) spot. These two ads play back-to-back in that one Default Mid Roll Ad Audio Block. The listener hears the “Campaign C” ad in the Pre-Roll (or next most expensive) spot. The listener hears all three ads in total.
  
  
• Scenario 2: For “Episode Y”, you chose to remove the Mid-Roll Insertion Point, but keep the Pre-Roll and Post-Roll spots.
• Result 2: The listener tuning in to “Episode Y” hears the “Campaign B” and “Campaign C” ads in the Pre-Roll spot as it’s the next most expensive spot that fits the campaigns’ criterias. The “Campaign A” ad does not play at all as that particular brand purchased only Mid-Roll positions.

Programmatic Ads are unique per download. Each listener could be served a different ad from any of the categories running on your show. For example, a listener from Seattle, WA who downloads an episode at 10 a.m. might hear a Programmatic Ad from Amazon. Meanwhile, a listener from Nashville, TN who downloads that same episode at 6 p.m. might hear a Programmatic Ad from NBC.