Reviews
Part of Reviewing creative advertising software with declared scope and dated verdicts
The evidence checks that should precede any creative software purchase
Select creative advertising software with evidence checks for workflow, claims, access, security, privacy, rights, costs, support, testing and exit.
Complete this checklist against the exact product, plan, configuration and contract being offered. A public feature page may open a question, but it cannot provide the buyer's answer about access, security, rights or operating fit.
The draft is for organisations working in England. It was prepared through desk research on 5 September 2026, without supplier contact or hands-on use. Assign named advertising, privacy, security, rights and commercial reviewers before a purchase decision.
What to take away
- A public feature page cannot answer buyer questions about access, security, rights or operating fit.
- Assign named advertising, privacy, security, rights and commercial reviewers before making any purchase decision.
- Link every scored feature to an exact, dated first-party record and label supplier claims separately.
- Do not convert a supplier-led demonstration into a hands-on score if your team cannot access a function.
- Run the exit check during evaluation and confirm exported files remain intelligible outside the product.
Define the work
- List required asset formats, destinations, variant volumes and peak periods.
- Identify makers, external collaborators, reviewers, administrators and publishers.
- Mark mandatory data-fed, language, accessibility and withdrawal tasks.
- State which failures would make the service unusable or unsafe.
- Separate immediate need from speculative future features.
GDS advice on choosing tools and technology asks public teams to consider cost, future change and effects on users. Apply those questions proportionately; do not claim that a private selection meets a government standard.
Define the work first
- List asset formats and destinations
- Identify makers and collaborators
- Mark data-fed and accessibility tasks
- State unusable or unsafe failures
- Separate immediate need from future
Classify the evidence
- Link every scored feature to an exact, dated first-party record.
- Label supplier claims, offered contract terms and observed results separately.
- Record the plan and locale to which each answer applies.
- Mark unknowns instead of filling them from another edition or product.
- Disclose demonstrations, samples, referral fees and other conflicts.
The NCSC's page for software customers recommends requesting evidence for security claims and maintaining assurance. It does not certify any creative application.
Test an awkward specimen
- Prepare approved copy, a restricted image and the longest normal text.
- Add an absent feed field and an unauthorised edit attempt.
- Use the same operator, help rule, device and time boundary for candidates.
- Capture the source, actions, output, intervention and reviewer decision.
- Repeat the corrected path and confirm the released version is identifiable.
Do not convert a supplier-led demonstration into a hands-on score. If the buyer's team cannot access a function, classify it as untested and seek contractual clarification.
Check accounts and data
- Map authentication, role change, guest access and user removal.
- Identify personal, customer and confidential data entering the service.
- Obtain current sub-processor, hosting, retention and deletion information.
- Define log access, incident notice and evidence-preservation needs.
- Test export and account closure with non-live material.
The NCSC guide to using SaaS securely covers account lifecycle, permissions, sharing and incident planning. Actual processing roles and contract requirements need a qualified UK privacy assessment.
Resolve assets and claims
- Confirm ownership and licences for uploads, templates, fonts and generated work.
- Record territory, medium, duration, alteration and credit limits.
- Require documentary support for objective advertising statements.
- Keep mandatory wording intact through resizing and automation.
- Define responsibility for final advertising approval.
The Intellectual Property Office explains how employment, commissioning, licences and assignments can affect copyright ownership. Apply the source to the actual asset history rather than relying on a general supplier assurance.
CAP's substantiation advice addresses evidence for objective non-broadcast claims. Neither source decides a particular contract or advert.
Price the service and its exit
- Capture licences, usage, storage, integrations, implementation and training.
- Add internal production, review, administration and migration time.
- Identify renewal, indexation, overage and minimum-commitment terms.
- Inventory assets, templates, metadata, approvals and logs that must leave.
- Name the decision owner for unresolved risks and conditions.
Run the exit check during the evaluation, using harmless material. Open the exported files outside the product and confirm that naming, versions and approval evidence remain intelligible to a person who did not perform the export.
Finish with pass, conditional pass, fail or insufficient evidence for each mandatory requirement. Do not average a failed gate into a flattering total.
Before you act
- Assign named reviewers before the purchase decision.
- Prepare an awkward specimen before scoring candidates.
- Map authentication, role change, guest access and user removal.
- Confirm ownership and licences for uploads, templates and fonts.
- Capture licences, storage, integrations, implementation and training costs.
- Finish with pass, conditional pass, fail or insufficient evidence per requirement.
Common questions
What should a buyer do if their team cannot access a function during evaluation?
Classify it as untested and seek contractual clarification. Do not convert a supplier-led demonstration into a hands-on score. The article says a public feature page may open a question but cannot provide the buyer's answer about access, security, rights or operating fit.
How should evidence for each scored feature be recorded?
Link every scored feature to an exact, dated first-party record. Label supplier claims, offered contract terms and observed results separately. Record the plan and locale each answer applies to, and mark unknowns instead of filling them from another edition or product.
When should the exit check be run, and how?
Run it during the evaluation, using harmless material. Open the exported files outside the product and confirm that naming, versions and approval evidence remain intelligible to a person who did not perform the export. Inventory assets, templates, metadata, approvals and logs that must leave.
