--- title: Roadblock description: "Roadblock lets a single advertiser own multiple ad slots within a newsletter edition, from a minimum of two placements to the entire send. This article walks you through setting it up across the three levels where it’s configured: the newsletter, the line item, and the creative." --- [Skip to content](https://site.passendo.com/roadblock#main-content) English Show submenu for translations ![Passendo\_Secondary\_Logo.png\]](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Passendo_Secondary_Logo.png?height=40&name=Passendo_Secondary_Logo.png) - [Default HubSpot Blog](https://site.passendo.com/blog) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Default HubSpot Blog](https://site.passendo.com/blog) - English Show submenu for translations - Go to passendo.com Go to passendo.com Hello. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://site.passendo.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Emperor](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en) 3. [Managing your ads (DEMAND)](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en#managing-your-ads-demand) # Roadblock Roadblock lets a single advertiser own multiple ad slots within a newsletter edition, from a minimum of two placements to the entire send. This article walks you through setting it up across the three levels where it’s configured: the newsletter, the line item, and the creative. **IMPORTANT: Roadblock only activates on newsletters that have a master placement. Designate one in every newsletter where the roadblock should run before you configure the line item. Work through the steps in order: newsletter first, then line item, then creatives.** ### **Step 1: Designate a master placement on the newsletter** This is a one-time step per newsletter. The master placement is the anchor slot: the ad server fills it first, and if the winning line item is a roadblock, it extends to the other placements that line item is booked on. 1. Go to *Newsletters* and open the newsletter you want. 2. Click *Edit Newsletter*. 3. Choose a placement from the *Master Placement* dropdown. 4. Click *Save*. The master placement now shows a badge in the placement list. ![](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-08-29-2463-PM.png?width=670&height=376&name=image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-08-29-2463-PM.png) #### **![](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-12-05-4616-PM.png?width=670&height=220&name=image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-12-05-4616-PM.png)** #### **Choosing a master placement:** - Each newsletter has one master placement, and you can change it at any time. - Choose your most prominent, highest-traffic slot, so the most competitive advertiser wins the anchor. ### **Step 2: Set the line item’s delivery type to Roadblock** 1. Go to an existing order and click *Create new line Item*. 2. In *Delivery Settings*, set *Creative Delivery Type* to *Roadblock*. 3. Book the line item to two or more placements, including the master placement of each newsletter where the roadblock should run. 4. Click *Save*. #### **![](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-15-00-7340-PM.png?width=670&height=254&name=image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-15-00-7340-PM.png)** #### **Booking rules:** - A roadblock line item must be booked to at least two placements in total. - In every newsletter where you want the roadblock to run, one of the booked placements must be that newsletter’s master placement. - Roadblocking applies automatically to scheduled and automated sendouts, as long as the master placement is set and the line item is configured. **IMPORTANT:** If a line item is booked only to non-master (companion) placements in a newsletter, Emperor warns that the roadblock won’t activate there because none of the booked placements is a master. The line item cannot be saved as a roadblock. ### **Step 3: Upload one creative per booked placement** Creatives for a roadblock line item are uploaded per placement, the same way as with the *Fixed* delivery type. 1. Open the creatives for your roadblock line item. 2. Upload one creative for each booked placement, sized to match that placement. 3. Click *Save*. #### **![](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-24-15-0472-PM.png?width=670&height=306&name=image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-24-15-0472-PM.png) Creative rules:** - There is no automatic resizing or creative duplication, so each creative must match its placement’s format. - A creative can’t be assigned to a placement of a different size. - If a booked placement has no creative, that placement runs its own normal ad selection. The other booked placements still show the roadblock creatives. **IMPORTANT: Emperor doesn’t check that every creative is in place before a roadblock goes live. Make sure all creatives are uploaded before the send date.** ### **Running a roadblock across your network** A single roadblock line item can target your whole inventory (Run-of-Network). It then adapts to each newsletter’s structure: - **Newsletters with a master and one or more companion placements** run a full roadblock: the same advertiser fills the master and its companions. - **Newsletters with a single slot** serve the ad on that one placement (provided it has been designated as master placement), subject to priority. If a higher-priority line item targets that placement, that line item wins instead. - **Newsletters with different formats** each receive the creative whose size matches their placements, so one Run-of-Network roadblock can carry several differently sized creatives. For this to work across the whole set, every newsletter in scope needs its master placement designated. ### ![](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-30-32-8946-PM.png?width=670&height=475&name=image-png-Oct-28-2026-02-30-32-8946-PM.png) ### **How roadblocks are counted** #### **Frequency capping** A roadblock counts as a single delivery toward the line item’s frequency cap, regardless of how many placements it fills. For example, a line item capped at 3 impressions per subscriber per week uses 1 of those 3 for a roadblock across 4 placements, leaving room for 2 more deliveries that week. #### **Reporting** Each placement in a roadblock fires its own impression, so standard impression totals reflect every ad load and stay comparable to previous periods.   #### **Budget** Budget is checked when the master placement is selected. If it passes, all companion placements are filled, and every resulting impression counts toward the budget. ### **What happens when…** - **The newsletter has no master placement:** no roadblocking occurs, and every placement selects its ad independently, as it did before Roadblock existed. - **The roadblock line item doesn’t win the master placement:** because a higher-priority ad wins, or there’s no eligible size-matching creative, the companion placements don’t receive the roadblock either. Companions depend on the line item winning the master. - **Two roadblock line items compete for the master:** normal priority and auction rules apply. The winner takes the roadblock, and the other line item is treated normally. - **A sendout includes only some of the booked placements:** the roadblock fills only the placements in that sendout. Placements outside it are unaffected. ### **About Roadblock** **Roadblock lets a single advertiser own multiple ad slots within a newsletter edition**, from a minimum of two placements to the entire send. Instead of different advertisers appearing in different placements, one brand’s creative fills the selected slots, giving the sponsor a strong, uninterrupted presence across those placements, with no competing brands in between. It works through a master and companion model: the ad server selects the winner for the newsletter’s master placement first, and if that winner is a roadblock line item, its creatives extend to every other placement it’s booked on in the same sendout, while any slot it doesn’t cover runs its normal selection, so nothing is left empty. A typical setup pairs a discreet top-of-email sponsor logo (“this edition is sponsored by…”) with a larger sponsored message further down the newsletter. Publishers want to offer advertisers running CPM campaigns the ability to serve multiple creatives across several placements within a single newsletter edition, rather than being limited to one placement per campaign. Before Roadblock, keeping one advertiser across several slots relied on manually paired setups and the line item’s *Forced* switch, which couldn’t prevent mismatches when multiple line items competed at the same priority. Roadblock handles this on the server side, per sendout and per subscriber, and adds the *Roadblock Deliveries* metric so you can see how many subscribers received the full experience. For publishers who want to sell and configure multi-placement campaigns within a single newsletter edition, this turns an edition into a premium sponsorship product, with a built-in fallback so no inventory goes to waste. Advertisers get an exclusive, uninterrupted presence across the edition, and frequency capping counts it as a single ad moment, as expected for exclusive takeovers. **Next page: [Adding and managing creatives](https://site.passendo.com/adding-creatives-to-your-line-items?hsLang=en)** - [Emperor](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Account configuration](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en#account-configuration) - [Managing your inventory (SUPPLY)](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en#managing-your-inventory-supply) - [Managing your ads (DEMAND)](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en#managing-your-ads-demand) - [Reporting](https://site.passendo.com/emperor?hsLang=en#reporting) - [Passendo Ad Server](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Onboarding your media](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#onboarding-your-media) - [Exchange](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#exchange) - [Quick guides](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#quick-guides) - [Bookings](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#bookings) - [Campaigns](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#campaigns) - [Creatives](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#creatives) - [Advertisers](https://site.passendo.com/passendo-ad-server?hsLang=en#advertisers) - [Default HubSpot Blog](https://site.passendo.com/blog) [![passendo logo](https://site.passendo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Passendo_Primary_Logo-1.png?width=568&height=110&name=Passendo_Primary_Logo-1.png "passendo logo")](http://www.passendo.com) Passendo Help Center Copyright © 2026, Passendo