We ensure right SDCs go with right creatives to right destination: Karan Gupta
There is a non-stop chatter in the advertising industry ever since the government mandated self-declaration certificate (SDC) for advertisers after the Supreme Court directive to curb misleading ads and protect consumers. While the compliance has begun, with thousands of brands/advertisers obtaining and uploading these SDCs, the stakeholders are also wary of challenges and concerns the directive brings with it.
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exchange4media spoke to Karan Gupta, MD, Aidem Ventures, who pointed out that a major challenge that the advertisers and agencies will face is sending the right certificate with the right creative to the right destination.
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To tackle this issue, Gupta said that his company has introduced a platform called ‘Peach’ which does this job easily and smoothens the workflow. “One of the challenges that advertisers and agencies will face is sending the correct certificate with the right creative to the right destination and keeping a record of these documents. Using Peach, agencies simply upload the self-declaration certificate to the auto-quality checked creative. “The commercial will be sent to the correct destination with the certificate attached. These advertisements are stored with the certificates for free and can be viewed by the brands, agencies or broadcasters at any time for compliance purposes. This entire workflow is highly secure, with specific permissions given by the agency or brand to the various stakeholders,” Gupta said. Following are the excerpts from the interview with Gupta who elaborated on what the SDCs really mean, how Peach is a vital tool to avoid confusions and how stakeholders can benefit from it. According to the new mandate, as of the 18th of June, the advertisers or their agencies will have to submit a self-declaration certificate certifying that the ad in question does not have any misleading information. The positive side Gupta: There are various reasons why this regulation is a step in the right direction. The most important thing is that it empowers consumer trust: In many global markets, commercials undergo rigorous clearance processes, particularly for trusted mediums like TV and radio. This scrutiny is essential for consumer protection, ensuring advertisements are truthful, fair, and non-misleading. By enabling informed purchasing decisions, self-certification strengthens public trust in the advertising industry – a win-win for all stakeholders. The directive also Levels the Playing Field: Consistent advertising standards create a level playing field, preventing unfair competition and unethical practices that could give some advertisers an unfair advantage. Self-regulation allows the industry to adapt to evolving market conditions and consumer expectations, providing a flexible and effective alternative to government-imposed regulations. The Problems As far as problems go, the biggest issue faced by the industry currently is the need for more clarity. Since this directive encompasses advertisements across mediums, more than a one-size-fits-all strategy is needed. Agencies working with broadcasters, face challenges entirely different from those faced by agencies collaborating with influencers or running campaigns on social media platforms. Once there is clarity on the mechanism for self-declaration on other mediums, the industry will manage to set up the infrastructure to comply with the regulations. Tools like Peach, which manages omnichannel content distribution across India and the world, already offer mechanisms to streamline compliance. Agencies and advertisers can ensure seamless certification distribution to broadcasters and publishers who will need efficient verification processes. What is Peach? How will it assist stakeholders? Gupta: Peach is a cloud-based platform that manages omnichannel content distribution and storage across India and the world. Launched in India under the brand name Ebus in 2010 as a partnership with Aidem Ventures, Peach pioneered the shift of creative distribution from beta tapes to a cloud-based platform for broadcasters across the country. The industry was particularly keen to shift to our cloud-based platform because of its ability to auto-quality check each creative to meet the individual broadcasters' requirements and provide quick turnaround time for the delivery of the creatives to the right destination. Brands benefit from using Peach because it stores all the creative material in one place for free. This allows brands to access their creatives anytime with a search-driven interface. Peach has evolved to provide these services for digital publishers, social media platforms, and OTT players. Peach already offers mechanisms to streamline advertising compliance in various countries globally and is market-ready to provide those services in India immediately. One of the challenges that advertisers and agencies will face is sending the correct certificate with the right creative to the right destination and keeping a record of these documents. Using Peach, agencies simply upload the self-declaration certificate to the auto-quality checked creative. The commercial will be sent to the correct destination with the certificate attached. These advertisements are stored with the certificates for free and can be viewed by the brands, agencies or broadcasters at any time for compliance purposes. This entire workflow is highly secure, with specific permissions given by the agency or brand to the various stakeholders. To reiterate, brands and agencies working with TV broadcasters, social media platforms, other digital publishers, and OTT platforms can use the Peach platform right now. We are in the process of expanding our services to print and radio. How to avail the service Gupta: Globally, Peach is a SaaS platform, but most major brands in India use it as a managed service through Aidem Ventures. Brands and agencies are encouraged to use Peach as a SaaS platform; however, if they wish to work through Aidem, they can contact peach@aidem.in. In the case of self-declaration certificates, agencies would log their account into the Peach platform and attach the certificate to the creative uploaded by them (or by Peach). The creatives will be sent to the selected destination with the certificate. Almost all broadcasters here receive creatives through Peach. We have now added an option for them to view and download certificates from their current interface to download the creatives. This process is the same for digital and OTT platforms. How will it work for influencers User-generated content and social media live streams face a peculiar problem with this regulation since there is no time between creating and broadcasting content that might include ads. Once there is clarity on this front, the creators can send the video in question to the agencies/brands through the Peach platform with the certificate attached. The agencies will have access to this content at any time through our archives for compliance and audit purposes. Payment Gupta: The clients currently working with us will not have to pay anything extra for this service. They just have to upload the correct certificates. A small service fee will be applied if the agency requires Aidem to attach the certificate. New clients sending their creatives through Peach will also get this service at no extra fee. We currently charge agencies/brands for asset delivery per destination but also offer a cost per creative for agencies with ads going to broadcasters and digital channels. We will not charge broadcasters for this service either, as we want to work with the industry to ease the issues that might surface in light of these new regulations. - For more updates, be socially connected with us on
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Tags : Aidem Ventures Karan Gupta Advertising Self Declaration Certificate