ad units

/* Title: Ad Units and Placement management Sort: 2 */

Overview

An Ad Unit represents the ad format settings of a collection of Placements, as well as a single surfacing point to display ads in your game. This allows developers to create waterfalls for high volumes of Placements with similar settings.

The following applies to Ad Units:

Ad Units contain ad format settings such as platform and ad types.
Multiple Placements can belong to a single Ad Unit.
Exclusive Unity Ads customers can use Ad Units as static surfacing points to show ads in their game, for ad format settings with no eCPM targets.

For more information, see documentation on Ad Units.

Placement management

The following applies to Placements:

Other ad networks may refer to Placements as “line items” or “instances”.
A Placement contains all eCPM target settings.
A Placement always adheres to a single Ad Unit, and cannot exist without one.
Placements inherit the ad format settings of their associated Ad Units. This means you can quickly adjust the ad format settings of many eCPM targets within the single Ad Unit they are linked to.

For more information, see documentation on Placements and eCPM targeting.

Why is this important?

Ad Units consolidate ad format information into a single object, creating easier management. A single Ad Unit is linked to many Placements that inherit its format settings, allowing you to manage geo targeting and optimization on a single dashboard page. Benefits include:

Greater efficiency, less setup: When you want to create a new slot in your mediated waterfall, simply create a Placement, set its targets, and locate the Placement ID in the same location.
Superior reporting: Legacy Placements did not have a standardized ad format structure, which made it impossible to report performance aggregated by format, ad type, and waterfalls, due to inconsistencies.
Single-Placement loading: Instead of the Unity Ads SDK requesting ad fill for every Placement in your game every time it needs content, Ad Units reduce the number of auctions and calls to a specific Ad Unit of similar Placements, thereby reducing latency.
Effective waterfall management: eCPM targets provide predictable ad performance, giving publishers greater control over what value ad networks offer when stack-ranking them.

Ad Units in mediation.

Frequently asked questions

What do I set at the Ad Unit level?

Ad Units contain the following:

Platform (iOS, Android)
Ad format (rewarded video, interstitial, banner)
Settings (Ad Unit Name, Status, Ad types, Muting, Skip Timer)

What do I set at the Placement level?

Placements contain the following:

eCPM targets

Will my legacy Placement IDs still work in mediation?

Yes, existing Placement IDs will keep their format settings and not impact your business. Note that this does not apply to Organizations created after February 9, 2021.

Can my Placement Name be different from my Placement ID?

Yes. You can still edit the Placement Name at any point. The Placement ID, however, will never change once created.

Can my Ad Units be surfacing point-specific or format-specific?

Both. Ad Units allow for customization and can be used both ways.

What about the eCPM Targets page?

Customers using Ad Units can use the Placements Management page to set eCPM targets. The previous eCPM Targets page will eventually be deprecated.