Pre-flight creative checks
An in-store execution that cannot be read, that fails the network's specification, or that carries an unsubstantiated claim is a problem that could have been caught in the hour before it shipped. Most of them are not caught, because nobody owns the check.
The checklist is short and it is worth making somebody's job.
What should be checked on legibility?
That the message can be read in about two seconds from the viewing distance of the position, on a screen rather than a monitor. That test is definitive and it is the one most often skipped.
Print the frame, stand at the distance, and read it. If it takes longer than a glance, it fails, regardless of how it looks in a proof.
What should be checked on specification?
File format, resolution, aspect ratio, duration, safe margins and colour space against the network's published requirements. Those are mechanical checks and a mismatch causes a rejection or, worse, a play that renders badly.
Use the network's own document rather than a summary, because summaries age and the published specification is the operative one.
What should be checked on content?
Claims and their substantiation, category restrictions, any regulated language, and whether anything in the frame dates the execution unintentionally. The last one matters for a long flight: a reference to a season or an event becomes wrong on a date nobody diarised.
Claims are the element with legal consequences, and network approval is not a legal clearance.
What should be checked on branding?
That the brand is identifiable in a glance. In a two-second format, an execution whose branding appears late or small is an ad for a category rather than for a brand.
That check is also the one most often failed by creative repurposed from a longer format.
What about the end frame?
If the execution is a motion piece, the frame it rests on matters more than the animation, because a shopper glancing at any moment is likely to see a still. An end frame that carries the whole message works; one that carries only a logo does not.
Design the still first and animate into it. That sequencing produces executions that work in the medium rather than despite it.
Who should run the checks?
One named person, with a written list, before delivery to the network. A check distributed across a team happens partially, and the parts that get skipped are the same ones each time.
What should be recorded?
That the checks were run and by whom, with the final files archived. When a question arises about what ran, the archive answers it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the checklist take?
Under an hour for a single execution, most of it the legibility test. That is a small cost against a flight that cannot be recalled once it is running.
Should the network's approval be relied on?
It confirms the execution meets the network's own standards, which is narrower than confirming it is effective or legally sound. Treating approval as clearance is a mistake that shows up later.
What about testing on the actual screen model?
Worth doing where possible, because screens differ in brightness and colour rendering. An execution approved on a laptop has been approved under conditions the medium does not offer.
Does the checklist differ for a still and a motion execution?
The legibility and specification checks are the same; motion adds the end-frame and the readability-at-any-moment checks. Motion is where more goes wrong.
What if the deadline is tight?
Run the legibility and specification checks at minimum. Those two catch the failures that are visible to every shopper.
Should the client see the final files?
Yes, and ideally on a screen. A proof approved in a document is not the same as an execution approved in the medium.
What about localised versions?
Each needs the same checks, and localisation is where specification errors multiply. A template that passes does not guarantee that every variant does.
Who owns claims substantiation?
The advertiser, always, with legal involvement for anything beyond the routine. The FTC's advertising guidance is the general reference for businesses.
What is the single most valuable check?
Read it in two seconds from the shopper's distance. Nearly every failure in this medium is visible in that test.
### What should happen when a check fails?
The file goes back rather than through, even under deadline pressure. An execution that fails the legibility test will fail it in every store for the whole flight, which is a larger cost than a delay.
Having the checklist owned by somebody who is not the person under deadline pressure is what makes that decision possible.
Should the checklist be shared with the creative agency?
Yes, at brief stage. Most failures originate in work produced without the constraints in front of the team rather than in work that ignored them.
### What should be added for a campaign with several variants?
A check that every variant passes, not a spot check of one. Variants are where specification errors multiply, because a template that passes does not guarantee every version does.
A short matrix listing each variant against each check makes it visible which have been cleared, which matters when files arrive at different times.
Who should sign off the final files?
One named person, after the checks, with the approved files archived. Approval distributed across a team produces files nobody can identify later as the approved version.
Does the network re-check?
It checks against its own specification, which is a narrower check than the full list. Relying on it for legibility or claims is relying on a check that was not made.
Preparing creative? See the NRS Digital Media creative specs or contact the team.