Before you start trading
1. Is your creative ready and do you need to go through the Clearcast process? It’s always a good to have a clear idea of what your creative will look like and have written a draft script. Some of our broadcasters will want to know as much as possible about a campaign before they approve your bid on a platform. We highly recommend you share a link to your creative and script when you set up a campaign on the MEG platform.
Clearcast is an organisation that clears all UK TV ads against the UK Codes of Advertising (the BCAP and CAP codes), which set out what is and isn’t permitted. The majority of UK TV ads as well as ads being aired on certain channels such as BBC worldwide, need to be Clearcast approved before they are sent on to the broadcaster. The Clearcast process can take 2-3 weeks and they recommend you contact them as early as possible in your creative process to make sure everything goes through smoothly. Please click on this URL for more information: http://kb.clearcast.co.uk/wiki/23/clearance-process
Whilst Clearcast approval is not a pre-requisite for all TV buying it may affect the likelihood of the creative being accepted.
There is more information on the requirements for each broadcaster on the MEG platform.
2. How far in advance can you book a slot? If you already have a Clearcast approved creative you can book as little as 5 –10 working days before the airing date depending on broadcaster. Some broadcasters will require more time and have additional requirements and exclusions on top of the UK Codes of Advertising.
Even if media owners have deadlines of less than 5 days, we recommend that all creative and materials are delivered in the right format to the broadcaster with no outstanding actions.