Audio

EMG uploads hundreds of creatives every month to The Trade Desk for delivery across numerous platforms. While EMG accepts many creatives, SSPs and publishers uphold strict, nonnegotiable creative standards that will reject unsatisfactory creative. Whether the creative is rejected on one or many streaming platforms for one or many violations, advertisers should align with these standards to maximize inventory options and prevent under delivery.

All campaigns have the opportunity to run on 100+ streaming platforms, but many miss out on certain inventories due to creative asset rejections. To prevent Audio and CTV video creative rejections and maximize inventory, the following resource will summarize the common rejections EMG receives, including what each rejection is, why it was rejected, and how to adjust it.

The Most Common Streaming Audio Creative Rejections:

1. Incorrect Duration:

What is an audio’s duration?

• The duration of an audio creative is the amount of time the audio file plays.

Why was the duration rejected?

• Based on EMG rejection analysis, 96% of total audio rejections are for “incorrect duration.” An audio asset will be rejected for “incorrect duration” if it does not exactly meet the ad millisecond requirement. This means that the audio asset was not exactly 00:15.000 or 00:30.000. Once an audio asset exceeds 00:30.000, meaning even if its duration is 00:30.001, it will automatically be rejected and is unable to be delivered on any 00:15 or 00:30 ad inventory.

How do I fix an incorrect duration?

• In order to fix the incorrect duration, it is necessary to check the milliseconds of the audio asset. EMG recommends using the Kapwing tool to check the audio’s exact duration, which will present the duration in milliseconds. It is important to be aware that the platforms EMG uses do not round at all, so even a millisecond over the limit will be rejected.
• Simply put, the audio asset’s duration needs to be cut to exactly 00:15.000 for a 00:15 ad or exactly 00:30.000 for a 00:30 ad in order to be accepted and delivered.

2. The Creative’s Bitrate was Variable, instead of Fixed/Constant:

What is a constant bitrate and a variable bitrate?

• A constant or fixed bitrate is fast, consistent, and less dynamic, which is ideal for time-sensitive encoding. A variable bitrate is more adaptable, slower, great for on-demand video uploads, but causes issues when encoding needs to be quick.

Why was the variable bitrate rejected?

• Based on EMG’s rejection analysis, 4% of total audio rejections are when the ”bitrate does not meet requirements,“ meaning that the bitrate is variable, instead of constant. The platforms’ creative requirements ask for a constant bitrate because it works optimally for time-sensitive encoding. Using a variable bitrate for the audio asset will cause an encoding issue and will not be accepted or delivered to audio ad inventory.

How do I fix a variable bitrate?

• In order to fix a variable bitrate, the production and/or creative team needs to re-encode the bitrate so that it is constant or fixed. This is the only way the audio asset will be accepted.

The Perfect Formula:

1. The audio asset’s duration is exactly 00:15.000 or 00:30.000
2. The audio asset’s bitrate is constant or fixed