There are currently more than 600 advertisers using Ad-ID, including 30 of the top 100, and more are activating every week. I have traveled all over the country to large and small audiences discussing this topic, addressing people’s concerns, and mostly listening to how Ad-ID can respond to the needs of our ever-changing industry.
Here are just a few things that we’ve done to make Ad-ID better:
- For visual media, such as television, Ad-ID has facilitated the development of standards for the coding of standard and high-definition commercials. All standard definition commercial codes are 11 characters; the high definition version of the ad will contain an H in the 12th character.
- Introduction of the small advertiser program: This allows advertisers that spend less than $5 million a year to purchase a 300 Ad-ID contract at a discounted rate of $2,500. That’s a 66 percent discount off the standard Ad-ID rate card.
- Introduction of the limited Prefix Program: This program is only for advertisers who need five codes or less per year.
- Made sure that “e-Media Front,” Ad-ID’s quarterly newsletter, addresses issues relating to advertising coding, in addition to more information about Ad-ID features, and quick tips. Our e-newsletter is now read by more than 3,000 subcribers.
We have also begun a series of Webinars, the first, “Introduction to Ad-ID,” was held June 25, 2008 (and will be repeated in September), and attended by more than 200 people. The second Webinar, “A Real-Time Demonstration of Ad-ID,” takes place on August 19, and I urge you to attend.
We had a very lively Q&A session following the first Webinar, and I wanted to share some of those questions with my readers, and urge you to write me or Lindsay Garvey if you have additional questions.
Q: Can clients and agencies be forced to use Ad-ID? Will TV stations refuse spots that don’t have Ad-ID #? Who are the “authorized entities” who can access the metadata from the spots? Is your slate page the actual slate that will be used in lieu of an edit company slate?
A: Ad-ID, as it was with ISCI, is a voluntary system. Please contact the media directly for their individual requirements. Only those who are given permission by the group administrator will have access to the metadata in Ad-ID. The Ad-ID slate page includes the general information that is typically found on a standard slate, but at this time is not used in lieu of the edit company slate.
Q: Can you include the screen shots with the post-webinar document?
A: They are on the Ad-ID Website for download .
Q: Are all broadcast networks adopting Ad-ID? Even internal creative services groups? (internal/in-house)
A: Media support includes ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Turner Broadcasting, and other national and local media companies. Ad-ID can be used to code all media. Please contact the media directly to determine their individual requirements. Many of the agency and broadcaster systems are also compliant with Ad-ID.
Q: Are you working with Donovan Data Systems (DDS) so codes don’t have to be entered twice?
A: DDS has confirmed that as of the end of May their systems can now accept up to 12 characters, which accommodates the Ad-ID 11 and 12 character code. At this time, Ad-ID is not integrated with DDS.
Q: As an AD-ID subscriber can we download the metadata to our own systems?
A: The Ad-ID metadata can be printed or exported directly from the Ad-ID Web site, in either comma separated values (CSV) or Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, or via Web services in XML format.
Q: What is the security for the data entered? Aren’t security rights an issue if all parties have access to Ad-ID’s Web’based system?
A: The Ad-ID Web site uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which protects data in transit from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. The data in Ad-ID is only accessible by those who are given permission to see the information by the group administrator.
Q: Can we continue to traffic spots that are labeled with ISCI code? Or do we need to recode all previous spots that will air in the future with Ad-ID code?
A: Codes created prior to January 1, 2009, can still be called ISCI codes, however they cannot be verified by Ad-ID if they are not created in the system.
Q: Can we just pay for our grandfathered ISCI prefixes for our clients and not use the formal system?
A: In order to ensure an ISCI prefix is activated in Ad-ID, the prefix can be activated prior to September 30, 2008, without a prefix activation fee and a code contract will need to be purchased by October 31, 2008, in order for the prefix to remain activated in the Ad-ID system. The code contract can be purchased at the level that best fits your needs. Ad-ID will not be in a position to authenticate codes not produced in the Ad-ID system.
Q: Can we keep the same alpha prefix or do we need to apply for a new apha prefix for a particular client?
A: If the prefix is a licensed prefix through ISCI or Ad-ID, then the advertiser can continue to use the prefix in Ad-ID.
Q: How does tagging of a TV ad work? If we have one ad with 300 tags, how does that work cost-wise? Who is authorized to view the Ad-ID slate? Why can’t codes roll over?
A: For one spot with 300 tags, we would anticipate that 300 separate codes would need to be created. Therefore, it would likely be best to do the unlimited contract for this client if they are doing tagging of this nature. The data in Ad-ID is only accessible by those who are given permission to see the information by the group administrator. Ad-ID code contracts are annual contracts and therefore expire at the end of the one-year period, even if there are codes remaining. For 50, 100 or 300 code contracts, if more than 30 percent of the contract has not been used at the expiration date, a discount of 25 percent of the cost of the new contract will be offered.
Q: If using one of the templates in which the year is one of the digits, what happens after 10 years? Do you recycle numbers then?
A: Ad-ID will not recycle numbers. For example, if the “1 digit year, 3 digit sequence option” is chosen and the advertiser has created 250 codes this year, they would have used ABCD80010000―ABCD82500000. In 2018, the system would begin counting up from the last code for this prefix (ABCD82510000, etc.).
Q: Could there be somewhere on the Ad-ID Web site where old ISCI codes could be logged (even though not guaranteed unique) so that all advertiser spots, old and new, can be found in one place? Can an advertiser purchase a single code and still keep their prefix?
A: At this time, Ad-ID is not able to store ISCI codes on the Web site. Yes, an advertiser can purchase a single Ad-ID code for $50 to ensure their prefix is activated in Ad-ID. The only exception is if the advertiser has multiple prefixes to activate, then the minimum contract that can be shared among multiple prefixes is the 10 code contract for $500.
Q: Currently, our agency has an ISCI prefix. Can we still use that on behalf of clients, or does each client need their own Ad ID?
A: All Ad-ID prefixes and contracts are advertiser based. Therefore, each client (advertiser) would need their own prefix. Agency prefixes can be held dormant in the Ad-ID system, but are not to be used in Ad-ID and are meant to be used for internal purposes only.
Q: Is the activation fee for clients that already have an AD ID code assigned? What happens with all the spots that are on-air right now that don’t have an AD ID code but have an ISCI code.
A: The prefix activation fees only apply to ISCI prefixes that are activated in Ad-ID after September 30, 2008. Codes created prior to January 1, 2009, can still be called ISCI codes; however they cannot be verified by Ad-ID if they are not created in the system. Any codes not created in the Ad-ID system cannot be termed Ad-ID codes.
Q: My agency currently puts an “R” behind original ISCI code when spot is REVISED, i.e., TCAA-T8-001CINR. Will this be able to be continued or do we have to assign an entirely new ISCI Code?
A: In Ad-ID, revised spots are coded with a new code in Ad-ID. An “R” is not able to be added at the end of an existing code. All Ad-ID codes follow the same structure of four alpha prefix, middle four characters and overflow.
Q: Our current ISCI prefixes will not be used by AD-ID unless we register them. Meaning if we don’t register them, AD-ID won’t use them for someone else? They are still bought and paid for by our clients and they will continue to own them, correct? Will the networks stop accepting spots that are not coded through AD-ID? So, if we just activate the codes, but don’t purchase a contract, nobody else can use that code? They won’t be recycled even if we don’t purchase a contract
A: Advertisers do not own their prefixes; they are licensed from Ad-ID as they were with ISCI. ISCI prefixes not activated in Ad-ID will not be re-licensed; however, if a firm goes out of business, its prefix may be re-licensed. If the advertiser activates its ISCI prefix in Ad-ID prior to September 30, 2008, there will be no prefix activation fee and the only cost will be that of the Ad-ID code contract. If a code contract is not purchased by October 31, 2008, the ISCI prefix will be deactivated and subject to the prefix activation fees. Please contact the media directly to determine their individual coding requirements.
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