This guide provides an in-depth overview of GeoSpot Media's campaign approval process and the policies surrounding acceptable ad content.
Campaign Approval Process
Our team offers round-the-clock support and you can expect submitted campaigns and creatives to be reviewed within 2 hours. Different SLAs may apply for weekends and/or Public Holidays. For urgent requests, do reach out to the Account Management team.
Step 1: Submission
When you have created a campaign or updated creatives and/or exchanges, the activity automatically enters our review queue. The Account Management team will check the entire campaign setup and approve based on guidelines and criteria such as:
Creative Content and Execution
Ad Exchange Selection
User Flow, Clickthru URLs and Landing Pages
Step 2: Manual Review
Our team manually evaluates the submission against Ad Exchanges' Guidelines and our creative policies.
Step 3: Approval and Monitoring
Approval:
The team will be in constant communication (preferably via Skype) with you and will inform once campaign is approved. The status will then move to Paused.
You can then take the campaign live by clicking the three dots next to the Campaign ID, and selecting Run. The status will then be changed to Running.
Monitoring:
Approved campaigns and ads are kept monitored after going live to ensure ongoing compliance. Non-compliant ads will be flagged and may be subject to immediate rejection.
Campaign and ads that violate any policy may be suspended from bidding. The Account Management team will be in touch to inform you of the reasons and next steps.
Creative Policies
Ad Exchange Guidelines
Any ads found to be in violation of Ad Exchanges' Guidelines and/or our creative policies may be rejected and removed from active campaigns at our discretion.
Generic Creative Guidelines:
Brand Name or Logo
Ads must contain the brand name or logo of the advertised product or service.
Relevant Landing Page
Ads must be related to or promote the content of the landing page. SmartLinks and rotating landing pages are not allowed.
Legislation
Ads, especially those with sensitive content, are only permitted to run if the laws of the targeted country allow.
'Click-to-Call'
Ads should include an intermediary landing page or other prompts that clearly explains the terms and/or fees associated with the call. Phone numbers must connect end users to the advertiser’s business. Toll or fee-based phone numbers that require additional payment by the caller are prohibited.
'Click-to-Subscribe'
Ads should include an intermediary landing page or other prompts that clearly explains the terms and/or fees associated with the subscription.
Auto-play HTML
Ads can auto-play but audio must be off or user-initiated.
Prohibited Creatives and Content
Creative Attributes:
Flashy ads are not allowed
Ads that auto-redirect to a page or app store without prior user interaction or permission (e.g. click) are not allowed.
Ads that trigger auto-downloading of files are not allowed.
Ads that auto-expand without prior user interaction or permission (e.g. click) are not allowed
Ads that do not ask the user for permission before initiating any downloads/installations/services / fees.
Pop (-over, -under, or upon exit) are not allowed.
Ads that reference the publisher app are not allowed.
Ads that utilize misleading representations (e.g. AI-generated deepfake images or videos) are generally not allowed.
Misleading/Fraudulent Content:
Ads or landing pages that mislead users by withholding important product details and/or presenting misleading information regarding products, services, or businesses. Examples are:
Concealing billing information
Disseminating false statements to exploit customers
Making fraud offers
Making misleading or unrealistic claims regarding weight loss
Deceptive claims such as 'Get Rich Quick' offers.
False endorsement using known trademarks (e.g. 'FDA Approved')
Sexual Content:
Individuals or depictions of individuals displaying exposed intimate body parts, even if those depictions are blurred or censored (e.g. visible genitalia, female breasts, or buttocks).
Portraying acts of sexual violence or criminal behaviour, such as forced removal of clothing, sexual harassment, stalking, exploitation of minors, and human trafficking.
Involving sexual conduct or suggestive sound effects.
Dating platforms focused on sexual encounters (e.g. hook-up or casual dating, swinger dating sites).
Inappropriate Content
Ads or destinations that feature shocking material or promote hatred, intolerance, discrimination, or violence that could offend or harm users are not allowed. Examples are:
Bullying or intimidation of individuals or groups, racial discrimination, hate group symbols, graphic images of crime scenes or accidents, cruelty to animals, depictions of murder, self-harm, extortion or blackmail, sale or trade of endangered species
Ads containing graphic language and/or excessive profanity.
Ads displaying content intended to shock or startle viewers.
Malware / Phishing
Malware
Creative that contains, installs, links to, or prompts the download of any malware, Trojan horse, virus, or any other malicious code.
Phishing
Creative designed to obtain information from a user under false pretenses (e.g. attempting to extract financial information by posing as a legitimate company).
Dialog Boxes or Alert Notifications
Any creative that a user might mistake for an OS or application-level notification rather than an advertisement. This includes, but is not limited to, deceptive ads that resemble user interface elements (e.g text boxes) and creatives that mimic buttons or icons that claim a functionality that is not there (e.g. search boxes).
Sensitive / Restricted Content
Any creative content that may be considered sensitive in a specific exchange and/or country may be subject to restrictions based on guidelines outlined by the Ad Exchanges. The following content and/or campaign categories may be approved to run if they fulfill specific criteria.
For more information, please refer to the List of Sensitive Categories. If unsure, please reach out to the Account Management team.