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What Is Advertising Compliance and Why Does It Matter?
Five Core Areas to Review Before Your Ads Run
If you’re an advertiser, designer, or marketer, compliance review helps you ensure your ad gets in front of your audience.
An ad's content might look good, but it can still fail reviews, slowing launch and wasting resources.
Here are five areas to think through the ways to meet the rules and standards that apply to your organization and advertising campaign.
Brand: Does the ad accurately represent your brand?
Ensure you have the most up-to-date brand guidelines: the right logo, font, colors, tone, and messaging.
Platform: Does it meet the internal guidelines and policies where it will run?
Every platform and placement comes with requirements. Will the content run on Meta, YouTube, or CTV? Check requirements before you make the ad to ensure you know the correct dimensions, file sizes, targeting, lengths, restrictions, verification processes, and disclosures for each one.
Legal: Does it meet the legal requirements that apply?
All advertisers are required to ensure claims are truthful and not misleading, but many industries have their own unique rules, such as healthcare, politics, and financial advertising. Additionally, federal advertising rules may differ from specific state-based rules. Be sure to identify all potential requirements before you create an ad.
AI: How and where was AI used?
AI adds another layer to advertising compliance. Where and how was it used? What was modified or altered? Does it accurately represent the brand, person, or product? Are disclosures required? What are the laws and requirements in the jurisdiction where the ad is running?
Record Keeping: Can you track changes and approvals?
A detailed review and approval record of the content should be kept both for internal purposes as well as audits and reporting. Some states require ads to be submitted to regulators, making tracking essential. This record should not live in scattered Google Docs and Slack messages.
Advertising requirements and compliance have existed long before AI, but the volume and speed of production have made compliance more critical than ever. As we head into one of the busiest advertising quarters of the year, can your current process keep up?