GatewayGo

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Combining Hulu’s traditional living room video ads with action-oriented prompts and personalized offers, Hulu’s GatewayGo ad unit allows brands to get significantly closer to their conversion goals in Streaming TV by shifting conversion actions from the TV screen to mobile.

By leveraging second screen enablement technologies with QR codes, push notifications, and email we’ve created single-step conversion journeys that inspire viewers to take immediate actions on a brand’s offer without asking them to shift their mindset or disrupt their viewing experience.

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Turnaround Time

15 business days from the receipt of the final assets and copy.

Available On:

Static Deliverables (if Advertiser is designing)

File Format

  • Transparent PNG

Dimensions

  • 1185×350

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Static Assets

Brand Logo

  • PREFERRED: Vector Adobe EPS or Illustrator (AI) files
  • ACCEPTED: High-res layered Photoshop (PSD) or transparent PNG

Product Imagery (if applicable)

  • PREFERRED: Layered PSD or TIFF files
  • ACCEPTED: Transparent PNG or JPG

Fonts (if applicable)

  • OpenType Font (OTF)

Design Deliverables (if Client is Designing)

  • File Format: Transparent PNG
  • Dimensions: 1185 x 350 
  • Please consult the Account Manager for Photoshop (PSD) build file template.

Video Tech Specs

Technical Specs

Video Length

  • A minimum of :15 and a maximum of :60.
  • NOTE: While a :30s commercial isn’t required, Hulu STRONGLY recommends that length to increase engagement. The overlay is up only as long as the video commercial is running. Please note that we don’t have test data for ad units with 15-second commercials, so cannot anticipate how well or poorly your ad will perform.
  • We cannot accept multiple shorter spots from the same or different brands to form one commercial.

Delivery Timing

  • The video commercial isn’t due until five business days prior to the flight start date. 

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Offer Image Copy

Creative Guidelines

  • This will appear in the living room UI.
  • What is the offer you will be making available for Hulu viewers to redeem?
  • Keep the offer bold and simple.
  • Think about ways to activate the consumer where they are – watching TV on a living room device. 

Examples

  • “Get 20% off OneBlade when you subscribe!” (Phillips)
  • “Got a home? Drive a car? See how we can help you get great rates.” (State Farm)

Promo Codes

  • If you have a PROMO code, it should be included in the offer image. (We cannot use Promo codes that are unique per person)
  • Promo codes that include “HULU” are not allowed. 
  • Example: “Get 20% off our pre and post-was skincare line with promo code EasyAsEWC.”

Versions

  • Maximum of three creative versions/offers or three creative swaps per campaign.

CTA Copy

Choose from the following

  • “Send [advertiser]…” +
    • …info to:
    • …coupon to:
    • …discount code to:
    • …offer info to:
  • To use a CTA that is not included in the list above, product/legal approval is required.

Specs

  • Max character count: 65 (including spaces)
  • The max character count includes the entire CTA message with the advertiser name.

Creative Requirements

  • The advertiser’s name MUST be used in the CTA copy.
  • ONLY the advertiser’s name can be used. Additional descriptive language is not permitted

Examples

  • Send The RealReal coupon to:
  • Send Target offer info to:
  • Send sweetgreen discount code to:

Push Notification Copy

Specs (for both iOS and Android)

  • Headline: N/A (Not customizable)
  • Description: 115 character max limit (including spaces)
  • Copy that exceeds the max character count will be truncated.
  • Required legal copy will be included in the character count.

Creative Guidelines

  • The push notification copy should be cohesive with the Offer Imagery.
  • The copy should take into account the viewer’s state (on a mobile device, multitasking while watching content).
  • Keep copy clear, crisp, and easy to scan.
  • Mention your brand and offer in the first line.
  • If the offer you are promoting has an end date, that date should be mentioned in the push copy.
  • Mentioning Hulu in the push copy is not permitted.
  • Do not mention details that would vary during the course of a campaign (eg: changing prices / items in stock).
  • Include any required legal copy.

Additional Details

  • Headline copy of push does NOT change (e.g.: “Here’s the info you requested while watching.”)
  • The advertiser should provide the description copy.
  • The push notification sender is “Hulu”.
  • This option will not be available for account holders who haven’t downloaded and logged in to the Hulu mobile app.

Examples

  • “Get $10 off your first app order from sweetgreen. Get the sweetgreen app now to redeem this offer.”
  • “Try Walmart’s same-day pickup & delivery and 2-hour Express delivery. ($50 minimum. Expires 1/31/21.)”

Email Copy

Specs (for both iOS and Android)

  • Subject Line: 50 characters max limit (including spaces)
  • Body Copy: 250 characters max limit (including spaces)
  • Required legal copy is included in the character count.

Guidelines

  • The email subject line and body copy should be cohesive with the Offer Imagery.
  • The copy should take into account the viewer’s state (on a mobile device, multitasking while watching content).
  • Keep copy clear, crisp, and easy to scan.
  • Mention your brand and offer in the first line of copy. Some email clients may block the viewer from seeing the header offer image from loading. 
  • If you have a PROMO CODE it should be included. 
  • If the offer you are promoting has an end date, that date should be mentioned in the email copy.
  • Include required legal copy.
  • Mentioning Hulu in the push copy is not permitted.
  • Do not mention details that would vary during the course of a campaign (eg: changing prices / items in stock).

Additional Details

  • The default subject line is “Here are the details you requested while watching!”
  • A custom subject line copy can be provided by the advertiser.
  • Email body copy should be provided by the advertiser.
  • “Learn More” CTA button copy and styling are not customizable.
  • The email sender address is “hulu@hulumail.com”.

Examples

  • Subject Line Example: “Hey Modelo fan! Here’s our discount code.
  • Email Body Copy Example: “Get $10 off your first Walmart online pickup or delivery order of $50 or more with the code TIMEBACK. Order anything you need from groceries to gadgets and more.”

Destination URLs and Landing Pages

Requirements

  • All URLs should be in ‘https’ format.
  • The destination URL you are driving viewers to should be active a minimum of 30 days after the campaign ends. If that is not possible the URL should redirect viewers to another URL that is active for 30 days after, in case the viewer accesses it later.
  • Since the viewer can reach the landing page via mobile or desktop, the landing page should be responsive.

App Downloads

  • The URL should point the user to a destination URL that links or re-directs to the appropriate app store for a viewer’s mobile device OS.

Deep Linking

  • Web deep linking is supported, and encouraged in order to drive viewers to the right destination.
  • Mobile in-app deep linking is NOT supported.

Delivery Timing

  • The landing page URL isn’t due until five business days prior to the flight start date. 

Landing Page & Ad Performance

  • With GatewayGo ads are designed to entice viewers to engage with your message while providing them with an easy way to get to the landing page. Once a viewer engages with the ad and enters your brand’s ecosystem, Hulu does not have any control over the viewer’s actions or outcomes – performance is equally dependent on the landing page as it is on the ad itself. In order to achieve the best performance possible we suggest the following for landing pages:

  • Keep the conversion process on the landing page as simple as possible.
  • The page should have no competing or contradictory messages. Do not promote unrelated on incompatible offers/discounts within the same page or viewer journey.
  • The offer content and language on the landing page should be cohesive with what the viewer saw in the offer image on their TV.  

Deep Linking

  • Web deep linking is supported, and encouraged in order to drive viewers to the right destination.
  • Mobile in-app deep linking is NOT supported.

Third-Party Tracking Tags & File Hosting

Third-Party URL Trackers

  • We accommodate attribution tracking within URL parameters (e.g.: Urchin Tracking Modules).
  • We only support 1×1 impression tags and Hulu approved research tags. We do NOT support VAST tags, and click tags should not be appended (see below for reasoning).
  • We only accept one destination URL, so If advertisers want to track clicks, they will need to provide a destination URL that has UTM parameters (Google Analytics) so that they can track on their end.

File Hosting

  • Files are hosted by Hulu.

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The use of Graphik is acceptable in cases where the Client cannot supply their own typeface.
On living room, mobile, and tablet devices, the color gradient overlay is dynamic and will change based on the cover story art. It is not something we can control on our end.
If the tagline/date messaging doesn’t fit within the 11 syllables max, it can be included as text.
Stress mark should be marked with [capitals] to indicate the primary stressed syllable, as in: news・pa・per [NOOZ-pey-per] in・for・ma・tion [in-fer-MEY-shuhn]
  • No symbols such as registered marks, copyrights, etc.
  • If symbols are required, they will be presented in standard text such as” Brand (TM)”

Q: Why do you prefer PCM codec?

A: PCM codec is lossless audio quality, so whenever possible, please deliver PCM audio.

Q: What does native frame rate mean?

A: Native frame rate refers to the frame rate the source footage was shot. Whenever possible, we require all videos to be delivered in their native frame rate. This means that no frame rate conversion should be performed, which includes adding 3:2 pulldown for broadcast.

Q: Should the bitrate be constant if delivering ProRes codec?

A: No, since ProRes codec is built to be variable, this is waived.

Q: Can you accept bitrate higher than 30 Mbps?

A: Yes, we can accept bitrate beyond the recommended range for H.264 and ProRes. In the case of ProRes, bitrate will often exceed 30 Mbps due to its variable setting.

Q: When is letterboxing allowed and not allowed?

A: When the native aspect ratio is 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 throughout the entire program, there should not be any letterboxing (black bars on top and bottom). We should see an active picture take up the full frame. If the aspect ratio is wider than 1.78:1, such as 2.35:1, matting on the top and bottom is permissible. Additionally, if there is a creative choice to add matting or if there is a mix of native aspect ratios, this is usually waived, but please reach out to your Hulu representative to confirm.