Broadcast Creative Guidelines
Broadcast or linear creatives represent assets that will play at specified events while creating linear programs out of your assets. While some default assets are provided, it is highly advised to produce your own to represent your brand. Below are the supported linear creatives:
Creative | Description | Requirements | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
Ad Fallback | Ad Fallback will be played when there are no ads inserted during a commercial break. This could be a logo splash video with a "we'll be right back" message or a brand/content promotion. This video must contain an audio track. |
| |
Technical Difficulties | Technical Difficulties will be played when there are playout issues. This video is played whenever there is a programming gap in the schedule or other technical difficulties. It could contain a technical difficulty message, fallback programming, or a brand promotion. This video must be at least 30 seconds long and contain an audio track. It is looped as necessary during playback. |
| |
Time Fill | Time Fill will be played to fill remaining (<30 seconds) in a video programming block (linear program). This video should be able to be stopped at any time and maintain a pleasant user experience. It must be at least 30 seconds long and contain an audio track. |
|
Best Practices
Creating the perfect “Ad Pod Fallback” experience: Advertising is delivered over-the-top (“OTT”) is typically done in increments of 15 to 30 seconds. Therefore, When creating your “Ad Pod Fallback,” make distinct 15 to 30-second chunks so that if an ad doesn’t load in the first, second, or third position, it creates a sense of visual variety for the viewer.
Creating the perfect “Technical Difficulty Fallback” experience: In the event of an error, this experience will play. The video file will loop when it reaches the end. It should look like an “infinite loop” without pause. You can use simple graphics and subtle music or create elaborately produced videos that give the “infinite loop” appearance, depending on your brand voice and creativity.
Creating the perfect “Time Fill” experience: If you need to fill a small duration of time in a linear program, a “Time Fill” event will play. This event is designed to fill odd pieces of time, not to replace advertisements or actual content. It should be understated and subtle, such as a soft music track that is more ambient sounds than produced music or a rotating logo. The goal of time fill is to bridge the gap between content without drawing attention to a brief gap in programming.
Use a countdown on the "Ad Pod Fallback" creative with the "Enable Relative Start": When editing broadcast creatives in Connect, utilizing the option for "Relative Start" means a countdown asset will play perfectly when enabled. For example, with an ad pod fallback that is a 3 minute countdown, it will start the ad pod with ending of the asset as the frame of reference. For example, a 90 second ad pod would start the asset 90 seconds from the end of it, so as to display the countdown starting from 90. A 120 second ad pod would start from 120 seconds from the end.