Developer Overview

How it Works

Centroid allows you to monetize 3D games and VR experiences by embedding "ad rectangles" within them.

To integrate ads into your game, all you have to do is add and configure the Centroid SDK, a process that takes less than five minutes.

We describe this process with screenshots below. Video tutorials coming soon!

Learn more about the Centroid platform in general by visiting the General Information section.

Download SDK

Unity SDK

Download the latest Centroid Unity SDK at this link.

Unreal SDK

Unreal SDK coming soon!

Setup Unity SDK

Overview

  1. Ensure you've downloaded the latest SDK (see above).
  2. In your Unity project, go to Assets > Import Package > Custom Package. Screenshot.
  3. Select the Unity package you downloaded in (0). This should be a .unitypackage file. Screenshot.
  4. There should now be an [AdUnit] prefab in the Prefabs folder. It's just a canvas that'll fill with an ad on Start(). Screenshot.
  5. Copy the [AdUnit] prefab into your game hierarchy. Screenshot.
  6. Click on the [AdUnit] GameObject and check out the properties in the inspector. You should see things like Ad Unit Width, etc... Screenshot.
  7. Override the default material and image if you want (along with any other properties). Screenshot.
  8. Now you have to create an ad unit in the web console and copy it into the Ad Unit ID property in the SDK. See the next section.

Create an Ad Unit

  1. Go to www.centroidx.com, and hit sign up at the top right. Complete the signup process by entering an email and password.
  2. You should be taken to a developer console at dashboard.centroidx.com. You'll use this page to manage your ad units and track your earnings.
  3. Hit the "New Ad Unit" button. Optionally read the help text and hit Create when you're done. For an explanation of what all the fields mean, see Ad Unit Terms below.
  4. You should now see your new ad unit in the console. Copy the Ad Unit ID into the SDK. Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2

Test Ad Viewability

  1. Try running the game with the ad unit visible. You should see a default ad load.
  2. Move the camera around and check out what happens to the in view label on the [Ad Unit] GameObject. Screenshot
  3. If you trigger a view in the game, your number of views should tick up in the console (you may need to refresh first). Screenshot
  4. The SDK also takes screenshots occasionally that'll be visible to you and advertisers in the web console for verification purposes.

Setup Unreal SDK

Overview

This section coming soon!

360 Video

Overview

This section coming soon!

Trigger a 360 Video View

This section coming soon!

Advertiser Overview

How it Works

Centroid offers two kinds of ad formats for you to target:

  1. Ad Rectangle: A rectangle embedded in a 3D or VR experience that fills dynamically with content based on real-time bidding. Example
  2. 360 Video: A 360 video that gets triggered whenever a user interacts with an ad rectangle.
In general, Centroid ads are a two-step process. First, a user sees an ad rectangle. Then, if they choose to interact with it, they'll be shown a follow-up 360 video that goes along with the rectangle. This creates a much smoother user experience than forcing the user to watch an ad.

As an advertiser, most of your time will be spent in the Centroid Advertiser Console, which gives you the power to upload creatives, traffick ads, check viewability, and more. Below, is a quick run-down of what you can do with the Centroid platform:
  1. Upload Creatives: You can use the console to upload and preview flat image and 360 video creatives.
  2. Create orders: Once you've uploaded creatives, you can create orders to make them serve on specific games, or across the network at large.
  3. Check ad viewability: Centroid takes a screenshot every time an ad is viewed, which you can see in the console with a single click. This gives you the ultimate transparency into how users are interacting with your ads.

Getting Started

Create an Account

First, create an account by visiting dashboard.centroidx.com.

The Advertiser Tab

The Centroid website is used by both advertisers and developers, but you'll be spending all your time in the Advertiser tab. To navigate there, just visit dashboard.centroidx.com after logging in and select Advertiser from the dropdown at the top. See screenshot for assistance. Once you're on the advertiser page, you can bookmark it to go directly there from now on.

Creatives

Upload Creative

This section coming soon!

Preview Creative

This section coming soon!

Creative Properties

This section coming soon!

Orders

Create Order

This section coming soon!

Order Properties

This section coming soon!

Formats

Overview

Centroid offers one major ad format for you to target:

In general, you upload image creatives, target ad units on which to serve them, specify a bid, and get charged every time your ad is viewed in a game. An auction is held every time an ad rectangle serves to determine the winning order to serve RTB-style.

Currently, advertisers are charged (and developers paid) whenever an ad rectangle is viewed. The rules for viewability of ad rectangles are specific, and ensure that each ad is actually seen by the user. Among other things, it ensures the ad takes up a certain percentage of screen for a certain period of time. Learn more.

Furthermore, ad rectangle views are tracked via screenshots taken every so often when an ad rectangle is viewed. Advertisers and developers can browse these screenshots in the web console to ensure the ad rectangles are working as intended.

Ad Viewability

Viewability Rules

Centroid only charges advertisers for ad views, so if an ad loads in a game but a user never sees it, the advertiser isn't charged and the developer doesn't earn money. Below are the precise criteria we use for what constitutes a view for an ad rectangle, adapted from the IAB standard:

Screenshot Verification

This section coming soon!

Curating Ads

Developer Approval

This section coming soon!

Advertiser Targeting

This section coming soon!

Payments

Setting up Billing

This section coming soon!

Setting up Deposits

This section coming soon!