Tracking tag basics
Lucid's tracker is a 1x1 image-based impression tracking tag.
Lucid's tracker executes within the desired time limits of ad servers. It fires on impression (or on download in the context of most podcasts).
Lucid's tracker neither seeks nor stores PII. Lucid does not retarget. Data is provided exclusively to the contracted, commissioning party.
Tracked data: non-PII information such as (but not limited to) the media's site/placement/creative, timestamp of exposure, user agent, mobile ad ID, IP. Depending on a campaign's needs, it can be set up to track additional custom data points upon client request.
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Anatomy of a Lucid tracking tag
How it works
Lucid enables ad effectiveness for clients by connecting campaign exposure (i.e., campaign, site, placement, creative) information to opted-in panelists in our programmatic survey marketplace.
Upon each exposure, the Lucid pixel sends the exposure data to the Lucid Marketplace, identifying/matching exposed respondents who are members of the respondent pool.
The Lucid pixel connects digital exposure information to Lucid's respondent pool. This matches known Lucid audience demos (age, gender, etc.) to digital exposure specifics (campaign, site, placement, creative).
All exposure information gathered by our tracker can be appended to the respondent’s survey data.
Data is stored throughout the campaign.
Coding pixel parameters
Macro pixels
When possible, it’s best to generate your pixels with ad server macros. Macros are snippets of code that talk to the ad server and request specific information to be filled in for each ad call. Macros allow the pixel to dynamically update with the appropriate values for site, placement, and creative ID as ads are served. Using macros provides granularity in the pass-back data while reducing the overall number of tags issued for a campaign. It also allows for continued use of the same pixel, even as additional sites, placements, or creatives are added to the campaign.
When using macros, the publisher or agency will provide a mapping file that will correlate each numerical value with an English name for site (sid), placement (PID), and creative (crid) IDs. Using macros enables the Lucid ad ops team to quickly troubleshoot any placements experiencing issues delivering impressions or that have not yet started tracking impressions.
Hard-coded pixels
Sometimes, hard-coded pixels are the best option for the study's setup and tracking goals (i.e., site/placement/creative parameter values needed differ from those generated by the ad server). Make sure the values you set in the pixel parameters map back to meaningful information for the specific campaign, and keep naming conventions consistent across the pixels in a single campaign. Remember that the granularity of your hard-coded pixels will dictate the way you are able to break out Lucid Measurement data. Here are some tips:
If placements you are tracking are running on various sites, make sure you code that into the site ID parameter. It’s important to track these separately so you can narrow down the source of any issues that arise.
If all placements are running on a single site, it might be more useful to use the site ID parameter to code something that gives details about what the pixel is tracking, such as mobile vs web.
Implementation
The Lucid pixel is an industry-standard 1x1 image impression tracker.
As a general guideline, it should be implemented in your ad server using a third-party impression/image tag.
It should never be used as a javascript tag unless specifically directed to do so in custom circumstances.
Depending on your ad server, you might need to use the entire <img> tag, or you might only need the URL portion, which is everything inside the " ".
Always be sure to replace the cachebuster placeholder in the tag with your system's random number generator / cachebuster macro.
Video media: Lucid's tracking can be implemented in all VAST/VPAID media.
See Lucid implementation in Google Campaign Manager 360 for Campaign Manager 360-specific information.
If you ever need any specific assistance with implementation, please contact Lucid ad ops.
Media agencies
The following are the setup deliverables:
Ad server: the agency must confirm all ad servers that will be used for a given campaign.
Lucid tag and instructions: to be provided by Lucid.
Important points for the agency to keep in mind about Campaign Manager 360:
Ad-served media: do not traffic out the "standard" Campaign Manager 360 placement tags - only the javascript and internal redirect placements can run an event tag.
Site-served 1x1s: if any Campaign Manager 360 media is just a 1x1 site-served tracker, please create a "creative redirect" in Campaign Manager 360 and traffic it out. It will enable your 1x1 to redirect to Lucid's. Please advise if this will not be possible though, so that Lucid can work with you on a workaround for tracking this media.
If any new creatives are added to the ad server, be sure the Lucid universal tag is applied.
Ad server delivery report: this is required for each applicable ad server used for a given campaign.
See pixel tagging and tracking checklist for reporting information.
Mapping file: to facilitate survey setup and quota setting, Lucid needs this file from the agency at the start of the campaign. A file of all of the site/placement/creative names and IDs that will be used for this campaign (including what's ad-served and what's site-served). Similar to a delivery report, but inclusive of **everything** that will eventually run, even if it's not currently live yet. Impression counts not needed here. In Campaign Manager 360, this is generally a "campaign export" file.
Campaign dates: agency should confirm the start and end dates of the campaign media.
Confirmation: agency should confirm when the campaign is tagged and ready for launch.
Testing and approval
If you are interested in testing/qaing a Lucid tracking tag, please reach out to your Lucid contact, and a test tag will be provided.
Prior to launch, please implement the pixel on your creative and send a test page to the Lucid project success team. Lucid will confirm that the pixel is firing correctly and data is being passed accurately.
The client is ultimately responsible for ensuring third-party publishers, vendors, and client site pages can accept and successfully trigger the Lucid tracking code. Lucid will work in good faith with said third parties and clients to test and qa the tracking code. In an effort to eliminate tracking discrepancies, the Lucid project success team will work with third parties and clients directly before launch to test the Lucid pixel and uncover any apparent issues.
In order to avoid tracking issues or data inaccuracy during your study, verify with the Lucid project success team that the Lucid pixel is approved to run on each publisher's site and that each vendor can fully implement it. The Lucid project success team will lead any approval discussions and testing for any new vendors. Please reach out to the Lucid project success team with contacts for new vendors to ensure the speedy approval of the Lucid pixel before the digital campaign launch.
Viewability
To track viewability metrics, Lucid can partner with verification vendors. Any interest in working with moat? IAS? DoubleVerify? In general, Lucid can track the metrics that the vendor can pass to Lucid, or the metrics that the vendor can run Lucid's tag on. The client should connect Lucid with the viewability vendor to set up tracking together.