FAQ – IAN (in-image ad network)

What is IAN?

IAN (AKA Scoopshot’s in-image advertising network) is the first syndication platform to provide ad revenue to mobile photographers and online content publishers, such as news providers and bloggers, with free user generated images and incremental revenue. The inception of IAN makes it possible for any image uploaded to Scoopshot to be used for free, when an ad is embedded. IAN handles the transfer of image rights and monetary transactions, so no worries there, while our partner, Kiosked, embeds the ads.

How does IAN benefit?

IAN is also in the business of making money and takes a percentage of the revenue generated, to keep the cogs turning back at Scoopshot HQ. IAN shares 50% of that amount with the photographer.

Who owns the rights to the images used by IAN?

IAN takes care of image rights, monetary transactions and all the complicated terms and conditions *yawn*, so our mobile photographers and publishers don’t need to worry about these things. Using IAN’s model, it is free to obtain a license to embed any image for online editorial use, which includes a contextual in-image advertisement, and we all make a bit of dollar along the way.

Does IAN support video?

No, not yet. IAN’s working on it… watch this space.

What Scoopshooters need to know

How do mobile photographers benefit?

This is simple. Money and a name check next to their photo. For the first time ever, mobile photographers can make money from ads embedded in their images. Every time their photo is viewed with an ad displayed within it they make money, 50% of Scoopshot’s share. The amount of money earned is based on the number of impressions/ the amount of people who view their image.

How do I receive the money I earn from IAN?

The ad revenue you earn through IAN is paid into your Scoopshot account, visible in the Scoopshot mobile app. You can transfer money to your bank account by clicking Cash Out. Simply complete the required details and follow the instructions. There’s no hurry to cash out earnings; you can accumulate a large sum in your Scoopshot account and cash it all out at once. Depending on the payment method, transfers take between two and 14 days. Supported payment methods include bank transfers and PayPal.

Making money via IAN counts as income, so it is likely that you will have to pay tax on these earnings. Please consider contacting your local tax authorities for details.

What online publishers need to know

Who can use IAN?

Anyone can use IAN, it’s free. If you’re an online publisher, such as a news provider or a blogger, you can sign up to Scoopshot and embed any image for free. Within the image a relevant ad will be displayed. Alternatively, if you don’t want in-image advertising, you can purchase a licence to own or use the image without any advertising.

How do online publishers benefit?

Online publishers get original user generated content to use on their websites for free. The ads served are targeted to the individual user, making them relevant and non-invasive whilst being embedded within the editorial. Why is that important? Because it generates higher click through rates and that means more revenue generated. Every click generates revenue for the online publisher; publishers take 60% of the total revenue generated.

Why is IAN better than normal display ads?

IAN is the next generation of display ads. As traditional display ads are becoming less effective at engaging with audiences, IAN swoops in paving the way to millennial ad engagement. It’s not rocket science, consumers want to have a two way conversation with the media and using UGC is a smart way to do that. The tough bit is marrying up UGC, ads and the media, which is where IAN comes in.

It’s all about smart content and creating a service for the reader with automatic ads that are both behavioral and contextual. Our ad provider Kiosked is optimised for all devices, and lets advertisers and publishers target audiences with relevant ads to maximize viewability.

How do I start using IAN?

It’s easy. IAN’s widget can be embedded in your website and hey presto, images with embedded ads appear automatically. Anyone with a Scoopshot account, a Scoopshooter or a journalist, can use IAN straight away, for free. If you don’t have an account and want to get started register online or you can sign in with Facebook.

How do I embed IAN?

Easy peasy, here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Visit www.scoopshot.com and select the image that you would like to use. You can choose from Task photos, or search our global inventory of photos.
2. Once you select the photo that you want to use you will be presented with three options: you can either buy exclusive rights to the photo, or buy a license to use the photo, or embed it for free via IAN’s in-image advertising network, that will automatically embed an ad into the photo when you publish it on your website.
3. If you choose IAN, select ‘Embed for Free’ and an embed code (Javascript Snippet) will be generated, simply copy and paste this code into your blog or publishing tool, such as WordPress.

If you don’t find the photo that you are after, you can create your own Task requesting images from Scoopshooters, for free! This Task will generate a widget with an embed code (Javascript Snippet) that you can copy and paste this code into your blog or publishing tool. The widget will display the 20 most ‘Liked’ photos from the Task in a gallery with an in-image advertisement overlay.

Here’s how:

1. Create a New Mobile Engagement Task, requesting the photo(s) you require and wait for the photos to come in.
2. Once you have the photos you want, go to the “Photo widget” tab.
3. Copy the embed code from the ad-enabled widget section and paste it into your publishing tool. The widget will appear as a gallery of the 20 most liked photos from the Task with an ad overlaying the photos.

What image formats does IAN support?

IAN currently supports 728 X 90 advertisements, also known as IAB Leaderboard format, across mobile, online and tablets. In mobile browsers the ad is scaled to fit the screen of a mobile device. When embedded a photo the publisher can define the image dimensions, or, by default, the image will fill the full width of the space available on the webpage.

How do I receive payment?

Online publishers are paid monthly in arrears by BACS payment, when you sign up you will be asked to provide this information.