Map layouts

Learn the in and outs of location-based advertising via our platform.

Updated over a week ago

Quick links:

📍 Locations are a thing, again

Although COVID-19 taught us to experience a more virtual life, the physical shops, service stations, events, etc have not gone away. In fact, they are even more awaiting for old and new customers as countries are ending lock-downs and people are finding their life back to normality. With the help of Nexd, you can help people find the good old (or brand new) locations via map ads.

🌐 Why and when to use a map ad?

Map ad is a great way to:

  • drive people to your store(s)

  • help people find the nearest coffee shop in a large set of cafe’s

  • show the location of your event

  • remind your audience that you are reopening cafes or clubs

Try me! 😉

DISCLAIMER: The ad viewer’s location precision is based on their browser's privacy and permission settings. This results in situations where the nearest locations are not exactly closest to the real physical location of the ad viewer. Within the safe frame, our map layout ads can't ask for location data; therefore, it depends on what are the general locations settings of the person viewing. The ad viewer can still explore the map and all the advertised locations. When showing directions to a specific location, a native app is used, and the exact path is shown.

🗺 Choose from different map ad designs

On our maps the ad viewer can:

  • see your selected locations on the map with pins. We combine the pins together when they are very close to each other so to show a clearer view to the user

  • click on the pin (or a combination of pins) to see the area in more detail

  • zoom in and out of the map with two fingers or ⊕ / ⊖ icons.

  • use navigate / icon to open up the map app of the user’s preference. When there is no map app available, then we show the directions on our map page.

  • see one or three nearest locations with their name and distance in kilometers. You have the option to switch this legend off.

Nexd offers a couple of different ads:

  • Map - a very simple map where you can add a custom header banner

  • Map with horizontal drag - the ad begins with a full-size asset (image or video) that the user can swipe left so a map is revealed.

  • Map with vertical drag - the ad begins with a full-size asset (image or video) that the user can swipe up so a map is revealed.

  • Expandable (only mobile) - the ad can begin with any of our 30+ layouts and then turn into a map ad. You can start with an infeed and then launch a fullscreen map or show the map in the same infeed placement. For example, you can create a carousel where the second card opens the map and add an overlay element for “going back” (showing the carousel again)

See our sample and demo galleries for inspiration.

☑️ What is needed for map layouts?

1. Map data

First of all, you need the locations of the places you want to show on the map. To ease the process, we have prepared a template for you to fill in.

You need to put together a simple table with location name, latitude, and longitude. Each location should be on a separate row. The required columns are:

  • Location title (this text will be displayed on the map)

  • Latitude

  • Longitude

The order of the columns is not important and you can have additional columns in the file. In our platform, you will have the opportunity to select which columns correspond to which value. Save the data as Excel spreadsheet (.xls and .xlsx) or export the data in CSV format.

2. Additional assets

Secondly, you need some creative assets depending on your selected ad type and layout, see your selected layout specs: Map, Map with horizontal drag, and Map with vertical drag.

🧩 How to create an ad?

1. When you have opened the campaign and are in the creative list view then start with clicking “Create placement”, select your category, type and click on “Select layout”. You can choose between any of the following layouts:

2. Upload the locations file that you prepared in the previous step into the Map data asset slot. When needed adjust the delimiter, row to start with, and column order.

3. Upload and adjust the other assets (logo, main media, etc).

🍒 Extra options

For all the layouts you can add overlay assets, particle effects, and the countdown. You can even choose:

  • Map style - choose how the map should look: greyscale, classic, or night mode.

  • Legend - choose whether to show none, one or three nearest locations on the map.

  • Direction icon - choose whether to show an icon on the map that opens a map app with directions.

  • Distance units - choose whether to show the distance of the location in kilometers or miles.

🧾 Pricing

Due to the fact that we have to generate and update map data, the map CPM price is higher than the general infeed or fullscreen price. Bear in mind that this is only relevant when you pay per CPM. To verify the exact price, contact your account manager if needed.

Did this answer your question?