Hosted Images

This article will cover the following:

• What is image hosting
• Why you would want to host images
• How to upload new creatives to be Cloud Hosted in CAKE
• How to go back and cloud host a creative after its already been uploaded
• How affiliates view hosted images

What is Image Hosting

CAKE offers an optional feature that allows you to host images, as opposed to providing the raw image for your Affiliates.

When uploading an Image creative, CAKE will provide the option to "Cloud Host Media Files".  This means that CAKE will upload your image to a server, as opposed to providing the image in the Affiliate Portal for download.

Why would you want to host your images?

Image hosting is purely a preference that some CAKE clients choose over providing their affiliates with the actual image.

Image hosting works very well with another CAKE feature that allows you to include an HTML file with the creative.

This means that you can start with a raw image (let's say a .jpg), and then provide your affiliate with a customized HTML file that references the hosted image.

This ultimately means that your Affiliate does not need to download an image, but rather copy / paste the HTML code into an ad serving platform or website.

However, some clients would prefer to provide their affiliates with the raw image. This allows the affiliate to manage the image within their own servers.

Adding the creative

Zoom: Adding the creative

First, you're going to want to select the type of creative you want to add.  If you want to have the creative hosted, check the box next to "Cloud Host Media Files."  Select a status of active, and name your creative.  From here you'll want to select the files to upload from your computer.

An Image Creative Type will allow you to host the image AND generate the HTML file mentioned in the previous step.

The Email Creative Type is expecting you to upload a previously created HTML file along with the referenced images.

Image Source(s)

Zoom: Image Source(s)

When you upload the creatives you will be asked to swap out the URL's with the corresponding tokens.  From there you will also click on Image Source(s) and map the images to where they are hosted.

Viewing Hosted Images

Zoom: Viewing Hosted Images

Since you selected the box to "Cloud Host Media Files," when you go to the files tab on the creative card you'll be able to see a green dot next to the hosted jpg files.  These are the files that are now cloud hosted.

Currently Non-Hosted Images

Zoom: Currently Non-Hosted Images

If you have already uploaded your creatives and want to go back and change them to become cloud hosted, you will first open up your Creative card > Files tab.  You will see red dots under the Hosted column, meaning that none of those images are hosted.

To make Non-Hosted images Cloud Hosted

Zoom: To make Non-Hosted images Cloud Hosted

If you would like to cloud host previously un-hosted images you will want to double click on the line item and check the box for "hosted," then hit update.

This will change the red dot to green also sending these images to the cloud to be hosted.

As a final step to this process, you will want to edit the HTML file to ensure that the images are mapped to the correct image sources within the HTML file.

Affiliate View of Hosted Images

Zoom: Affiliate View of Hosted Images

Affiliates will now have the option to "Get Code" for their creatives.  This allows them to point to where the image is hosted, rather than downloading the image themselves.