Campaign Creation

This guide walks you through creating and launching advertising campaigns on the Zesty platform using the streamlined 3-step campaign builder.

Campaign Builder Interface

Accessing the Campaign Builder

1. Log into your dashboard at app.zesty.market
2. Navigate to the "Advertisers" tab
3. Click "Create Campaign" to open the campaign builder

Step 1: Campaign Details

The first step captures the basic information about your campaign.

Campaign Name

• Choose a memorable name to identify your campaign in your dashboard
• Must be between 5–300 characters
• This is for internal reference only and won't be shown to users

Description

• Describe your campaign goals and target audience
• Must be between 5–500 characters
• Helps you organize and remember the purpose of each campaign

Step 2: Creative & Media

This step handles your ad creative assets and destination URL.

Standard Ad Creative

Upload your primary ad image that will be used for:

• Medium Rectangle (300×250): Versatile positioning format
• Mobile Interstitial (640×1136): Full-screen mobile experience

Requirements:

• Maximum file size: 2 MB
• Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF
• Recommended: High-quality images optimized for the target dimensions

Billboard Creative (Optional)

If you want to optimize for billboard placements, upload a separate wide-format image:

• Billboard (970×250): High-visibility wide placement

If you don't provide a billboard-specific image, your standard image will be used (though results may vary due to the different aspect ratio).

Click-through URL

• Enter the destination URL where users will be directed when they click your ad
• Must be a valid URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/landing-page)
• Ensure your landing page is mobile-friendly for the best user experience

Step 3: Bidding Strategy

Configure your cost-per-click (CPC) bidding strategy.

Maximum CPC Bid

• Set the maximum amount (in cents) you're willing to pay per click
• Minimum bid: 1 cent ($0.01)
• Higher bids increase your chances of winning ad auctions
• You can update your bid at any time by editing the campaign

How Bidding Works

Zesty uses a second-price auction model, the same approach used by major ad platforms like Google Ads:

1. All eligible, approved campaigns compete in a real-time auction for each ad impression
2. The campaign with the highest maximum CPC bid wins
3. The winner pays the second-highest bid + 1¢ — not their maximum bid
4. This means you never overpay; your true cost is always the minimum needed to win

Example:

Campaign	Max Bid	Outcome
Yours	10¢	Winner — pays 6¢
Competitor	5¢	Runner-up
Other	2¢	Did not win

In this example, you win the auction and pay 6¢ (5¢ + 1¢), even though your max bid was 10¢.

Targeting

Campaigns automatically target ad units that match the formats of your uploaded creatives. No manual targeting setup is required — the auction handles format matching automatically.

Live Preview

As you build your campaign, a live preview panel shows how your ads will appear in different formats:

• Switch between Rectangle, Billboard, and Mobile tabs to preview each format
• The preview updates in real-time as you make changes
• Review all formats before submitting to ensure your creative looks good across placements

Campaign Launch Checklist

Campaigns must complete the following steps before they can serve ads:

1. Create the Campaign

Build your campaign using the 3-step wizard above.

2. Fund Your Campaign

Your campaign must have a budget before it can be submitted for approval.

1. Navigate to your campaign detail page
2. Click Fund Campaign
3. Enter your desired amount through the Stripe-powered payment form
4. After payment, you'll be redirected back to your campaign page with your updated budget shown

Note: Campaigns with $0 budget cannot be submitted for approval. Fund your campaign first.

3. Request Approval

Once funded, click Update Status → Activate to submit your campaign for review.

Our team reviews campaigns for:

• Ad creative quality and format compliance
• Landing page relevance and functionality
• Content policy compliance

Review typically completes within 24 hours. You'll see one of these statuses:

Status	Meaning
Pending Review	Submitted and awaiting review
Approved	Ready to serve ads — activate when ready
Rejected	Not approved; see feedback in your campaign page

If rejected, you'll see the reason on your campaign page. Fix the issue and resubmit.

4. Activate Your Campaign

Once approved, click Update Status → Activate to start serving ads. Your campaign will begin competing in auctions immediately.

Campaign States

State	Description
Draft	Campaign created, not yet submitted
Active	Live and competing in auctions
Paused	Temporarily stopped; budget preserved
Stopped	Taken offline; budget preserved, can be reactivated
Expired	Budget depleted; campaign ended automatically

Managing Your Campaign

Editing Campaigns

1. Go to the Advertisers tab
2. Find your campaign and click the Edit icon
3. Update any fields using the same 3-step flow
4. Save changes

Note: Significant changes to an approved campaign may require re-review.

Viewing Performance

Your campaign detail page shows:

• Clicks and Views for your selected time period
• Total Budget Remaining — updated every 15 seconds based on clicks received
• Last Funded date

Adding More Budget

You can add funds to an active campaign at any time:

1. Navigate to your campaign detail page
2. Click Fund Campaign
3. Complete the payment — your updated budget will appear immediately after

Stopping a Campaign

Clicking Stop on an active campaign takes it offline immediately. Your remaining budget is preserved and you can reactivate at any time.

Billing Model

• You are charged per click (CPC), not per impression
• The actual cost per click is determined by the second-price auction (always ≤ your max bid)
• Budget is deducted in near-real-time as clicks are tracked
• When your total budget reaches $0, your campaign automatically expires

Success Stories

Zesty ads have worked for XR games, WebXR experiences, and e-commerce stores. As an advertiser, you can be certain all traffic comes from users with XR headsets such as Meta Quest or Apple Vision Pro.