Third Party Ad Servers
Third Party ad tags will only be allowed if the third party is on Kelley Blue Book’s pre-approved third party vendor list, which are noted on the individual advertising specification sheets.
To seek approval for a new third party ad server vendor:
- Contact the Ad Operations Solutions team
- Include a web address and vendor contact
- Allow a minimum of three weeks for the validation and approval process
Note: Approval is not guaranteed
Pixeling Policy & Guidelines
No ad blocking, fourth-party pixels, javascript code or javascripts calls may be added to ad tags without the prior written consent of Kelley Blue Book. Advertiser and/or agency is expressly prohibit KBB from collecting any data from KBB, including website data and user behavioral data without the prior written consent of Kelley Blue Book.
Creative Policy & Guidelines
- All HTML5 or Rich Media creative must degrade gracefully to a backup .gif or .jpg for users with missing plug-ins or unsupported browsers
- Click-through URLs must spawn a new browser window
- Frequency capping is not supported on KBB except for certain intrusive creative executions, which are capped at one view per visitor per 24 hours
- Kelley Blue Book reserves the right to reject any creative and/or Advertising Materials in its sole discretion
- 2020 Creative Weight Best Practices (.pdf)
- For third party served creative, please provide fully formed tags including any tracking pixels, as well as ad server macros, within the javascript or HTML5 creative code
- For dynamic creative, please refer to the fourth party agreement process to embed the appropriate pattern match macros in the JS clob before sending creative assets to the publisher
Kelley Blue Book does not accept:
- Creative that mimics KBB editorial or style guides without explicit written permission from Kelley Blue Book
- False “error message” banners
- False drop-downs or text fields
- Unsightly/Loud banners as determined solely by Kelley Blue Book
- Gambling/Lottery, Adult, Liquor or Drugs, Political ads
- Foreign Language ads, except for Spanish language ads on Español pages
- Swear words or offensive language
- References and/or click-throughs to KBB competitors, including but not limited to Cars.com, Edmunds.com, Truecar.com, NADAguides, AutoBlog.com, MSN Autos, Black Book, and Auto Lease Guide (ALG)
- References and/or click-throughs to direct competitors of KBB.com partner companies. KBB partners include:
Contact creative@kbb.com for questions regarding acceptable content.
