Preview creatives in Display & Video 360

You can preview creatives to see what they'll look like when they run and to make sure that they work. Previews are available for the following creative types:

• Creatives that you upload or create and then serve from Display & Video 360
• Creatives added to Display & Video 360 from Campaign Manager 360, Studio, or Ads Creative Studio
• Mobile MRAID creatives served by Celtra, InMobi, and Innovid

You can preview creatives from several places in Display & Video 360:

• An advertiser's Creatives list
• A creative's Creative details or Ad Canvas tab
• A line item's Creatives section

In each case, click Preview or , and a new window opens with a preview. If there are other people who need to review and approve your creatives, you can also share creative previews.

For YouTube line items, you can preview your ad on different formats across various devices (desktop, mobile, TV) and networks (YouTube, video partners, Google TV).

Change preview settings

When you preview a creative it opens in desktop mode on a blank page. Use the menus at the top of the screen to change how the preview is displayed.

Assets preview mode (audio creatives only)

You can use assets preview mode to check audio creatives and companion display creatives on one page. This mode is only available for audio creatives that have companion creatives.

Note: If you've assigned companions to an audio creative and you can't select assets preview mode, you might need to wait a few minutes until the audio creative has finished processing and the ad tag has been created.

1. Open the Preview mode menu.
2. Click Assets.
3. To show or hide companions, use the Companion sizes menu.

Send a preview to a mobile phone or tablet

There are two ways to send creative previews to mobile devices for testing:

• If your creative will serve in mobile apps, install the Creative Preview app on your device. You can scan a QR code with the app and test and make sure your creative will work when served in mobile apps.
• If your creative will only serve in mobile web browsers, you can scan a QR code without installing the app.

Preview video creatives

When you add a video creative to Display & Video 360, the video is processed and an ad tag is created, which can take up to 20 minutes. You won't be able to preview the video until it's processed and the ad tag is ready. If you try to preview it before it's ready, you may only see a placeholder video.

When you make changes to a video creative's asset or companion settings and save them, the video is processed again and an ad tag is created again. You might have to wait a few minutes before you can preview the processed video and up to 20 minutes to preview updated companions.

Preview audio creatives

When you add an audio creative to Display & Video 360, the audio is processed and an ad tag is created, which can take up to 20 minutes. You won't be able to preview the audio until it's processed and the ad tag is ready. If you try to preview it before it's ready, the preview may not load.

When you make changes to the creative's asset or companions, the audio is processed again and an ad tag is created again. You might have to wait a few minutes before you can preview the processed audio and up to 20 minutes to preview updated companions.

You can open a preview to listen to audio creatives and make sure they work correctly. If you just saved the creative, you might need to wait a few minutes for the audio to be processed before you can play it.

1. Open an audio creative.
2. Click Preview or . If the audio creative has an Ad Canvas tab, hover over the preview area, then click Preview . A preview opens in a pop-up window. Click Open in new window . A preview of your audio ad opens in a mobile streaming app preview. Most audio inventory is available through audio streaming apps, so this preview is the closest to what people will see and hear when your ad serves.
3. Find the audio player controls at the bottom of the device screen. Click play to hear your audio file. You can also pause or adjust the volume. How to test creative events
4. Preview companion creatives, if assigned. Open the Companion size menu to select a different companion. In mobile preview mode, companion creatives are only visible while the audio is playing. If you have multiple companions and want to see them all on one page, use the Preview mode menu to switch to assets preview.

Preview native creatives

Since native creatives can be shown in hundreds of different design combinations, there are more preview options for these formats to check how different asset combinations will look when your ad is serving. Native site and native video creatives have default previews that show most assets. You can also see sample previews from real publishers.

Preview data-driven creatives

Because data-driven creatives can have hundreds of variants, there are different preview options for these formats. In the list of creatives, there's no Preview option  next to these creative types. Instead, open the creative in Ad Canvas to preview all variants. To filter and share data-driven creatives, add them to a preview sheet.

Preview YouTube line items

When creating or editing a YouTube ad, you’ll be able to see a static preview of your ad on various formats across different device types and networks. Follow the steps below to preview the ads you’re creating or editing for your YouTube line items:

1. In your YouTube & partners video line item, open an existing ad group or create a new one.
2. In the “Ads” section, click the pencil icon to edit an existing ad, or click Create new ad.
3. Search for a YouTube video or paste a YouTube URL in the “Video” field. The ad format is automatically determined and is displayed in “Preview”.
4. In the “Preview” section, perform any of the following to preview your ad:
   • Click the All formats dropdown to change the preview by ad format. Depending on the line item subtype, this option may not appear.
   • Select a device icon to show a preview of your ad on mobile, desktop, or TV devices. Note that some formats may not be compatible to be previewed on certain devices.
   • Select a network to view how ad formats show on different channels, such as YouTube and video partners. Note that some formats may not be compatible to be previewed on certain surfaces.
   • Click Preview ad on YouTube to see a live preview of your ad on YouTube.com.
   • Click Copy link to copy the URL of your ad that will appear on YouTube. Clicking the arrow beside Copy link opens a panel where you can set a video to play after the ad you’ve created.
5. Complete the remaining fields to finish setting up your ad and click Done or Create ad.
6. Click Save.