Extreme Reach, Inc., the leading provider of convergence solutions for TV and digital video advertising, today announced the introduction of its Talent and Rights Usage Safety Tracking Tag. The “TRUST” Tag enables real-time verification that video ads running on digital media are compliant with talent and rights contract terms. The technology also provides time-sensitive details, previously unavailable, required to ensure on-time payment of performers that appear in the commercials.
As the use of TV commercials has expanded across digital devices and media, the details of securing and complying with commercial usage rights have become more complicated, with each additional screen increasing the potential for non-compliance, unexpected contract fees and fines from SAG-AFTRA, ACTRA and other unions.
These issues arise because TV and digital campaigns are often handled by different agencies with little transparency or coordination, but digital campaigns rely mostly on TV ad creative. When commercial performers and content licensors sign contracts to appear in a TV commercial, the contracts may exclude authorization for Internet or mobile use, yet today, many of those commercials still run online.
“Business Affairs experts are tuned into the requirements of contracts with commercial actors and other union talent, but in today’s complicated cross-media workflow, communication can break down and use details can get delayed or lost,” said Tim Hale, Chief Talent Officer at Extreme Reach. “In fact, our research indicates that more than one third of all ads in the digital video advertising realm don’t follow legal contracts for talent and rights, leading to millions of dollars in unexpected costs.”
The Extreme Reach TRUST Tag resolves this issue by cross-referencing ad impression data against talent and rights contract terms to ensure safe activation and ongoing compliance. The Tag operates similarly to other types of digital ad tags that provide verification, analytics and fraud prevention, so it’s easily compatible across ad servers, publishers and other media vendors. Once activated, it automatically tracks individual impressions across Internet, mobile and other connected media. The data is analyzed in realtime and verifies that each performer, music track and licensed image within a commercial has legal clearance to run online, based on the use and expiration terms defined in the talent and licensing agreements for each ad.
The TRUST Tag comes at an important time for the advertising industry, which is preparing to renegotiate its contract with SAG-AFTRA regarding commercial payment for union talent in 2016. As noted in a recent article from Advertising Age, many advertisers and agencies are already seeking ways to manage costs and keep budgets in check as the number of commercials played on both TV and digital screens continues to accelerate.
“TRUST is a simple, scalable solution for ensuring talent and rights compliance in today’s fragmented multi-screen world,” continued Mr. Hale. “TRUST means agencies and advertisers will regain control and reduce costs by having their online ads automatically tracked and verified to ensure commercial compliance across all digital media.”
Available to advertisers and agencies now, the TRUST Tag is an open solution designed to increase transparency and control for digital advertisers, media and technology companies industry-wide. Extreme Reach provides both the TRUST Tag and compliance reporting to advertisers free of charge. Advertisers and their agency personnel can automatically generate and instantly distribute TRUST Tags for each new commercial, based on the ad’s unique, industry-standard Ad-ID code. As the campaigns run, the compliance data is received in real-time. The Tag is also available free of charge to all third-party ad servers and digital media vendors, so digital impressions can be tracked and verified regardless of how or where the ad is served. For advertisers seeking to address compliance issues more proactively, Extreme Reach also offers an expanded TRUST service that provides greater control and additional capabilities, for a small CPM charge.
About Extreme Reach
Extreme Reach is the leading provider of video advertising management and delivery solutions that span TV, Digital and Mobile media, including a fully integrated suite of talent payment & rights management solutions and the broadest array of TV and Digital campaign metrics. Thousands of brands and agencies, including all of the Ad Age 100, look to Extreme Reach to activate, measure and optimize video advertising campaigns. The Extreme Reach enterprise platform brings traditional TV and digital video advertising together, simplifying workflows and unifying analytics. Extreme Reach is headquartered in Needham, Mass., with offices in 18 cities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. http://emereach.com
