The multimedia slideshow is a great way to showcase videos on your articles - without losing the effectiveness of images and other child assets.
Plus, it offers some great new ad spots that are located in the prime context area.
Enable the new multimedia slideshow
To enable the new multimedia slideshow, go to the Block Editor -> Page Customizations -> Video -> Multimedia slideshow and click “enable.”
Note that you may want to enable this on all sections (by adding it at the top root level of your URL map) or you may want to turn it on or off on just a section by section basis.
How it works
After the setting is enabled, articles that have videos and photos or audio files will start showing the new multimedia slideshow.
If there are multiple related items, all videos are grouped together and placed at the front of the slideshow. Images are then grouped together and placed at the front of the slideshow. Then, lastly, audio assets that are related to the asset are placed at the end.
Autoplay options
The multimedia slideshow also has the ability to autoplay if the setting has been enabled. Not all browsers will autoplay in all situations, but usually autoplay will happen if the story is being linked from a front or section page.
The "muted start" option will autoplay the video with no sound. This is recommended for most sites.
The multimedia slideshow also supports an “auto advance” setting. Enabling the “auto advance” setting will cause videos to autoplay to the next video (or audio) when the first video finishes. Also, will auto advance between images every 5 seconds.
Advertising placements
The multimedia slideshow has three ad placements:
Interstitials: Like other slideshow galleries, the multimedia slideshow supports interstitial ads which are injected into the gallery between slides. You can set the number of slides between the interstitials in Block Editor -> Page customizations -> Advertising -> Multimedia gallery ad insert. It uses the same fixed ad position as the interstitial photo gallery, fixed-big-ad-enhanced-gallery.
Pre-roll ads: Pre-rolls will play in front of each video using a VAST tag the same way that other pre-roll ads are set up. Field59 assets using the Field59 player are set in the Field59 manager, whereas BLOX assets using the BLOX player are set in Block Editor -> Page customizations -> Video -> Vast URL. The entire URL should be included here, using macros if necessary.
Utility region setup: The multimedia slideshow has a special built-in utility region to show a small banner inside the player on both desktop and mobile, Block Editor -> Utility regions -> Article only -> Multimedia player.
First, create a Google Ad Manger ad block. Choose [300,50] or [320,50] as the size, which is what we recommend should be used on both mobile and desktop for this position. Update the “Include a Custom Targeting keyword (pos):” to be mini-banner. Then you can target this position with key value pos = mini-banner in Google Ad Manager.
Then, find the Utility Region in the Block Editor -> Utility regions -> Article only -> Multimedia player. Place your [300,50] or [320x50] ad block here.
