About the Standard Sponsorship Identifier (SSI)

The Standard Sponsorship Identifier, or SSI, is a single, consistent format for identifying sponsorship idents. Instead of requesting a separate identifier from each broadcaster, you generate your own SSI in The Clearcast Library and use it across the broadcasters that have adopted the standard.

It’s built on the commercial clock number format you already know, with one small difference that marks the material as sponsorship — so if you’ve created a clocked ad before, it’ll feel familiar.

The benefits

• One format, everywhere. A single identifier that works across participating broadcasters, replacing the different formats previously needed for each.
• You’re in control. You generate the SSI yourself in The Library, rather than requesting one from each broadcaster.
• Familiar by design. It’s based on the existing commercial clock number, so there’s very little new to learn.
• Consistent and trackable. Each sponsorship ident has one clear identifier, from creation right through to delivery.
• A simpler workflow. Fewer steps and less back-and-forth when preparing sponsorship idents.

How the SSI is made up

• S marks the material as a sponsorship ident.
• ABC is your existing agency prefix.
• ABCD is the four characters you choose — for example, advertiser and product, or programme and sponsor.
• 001 is the version number.
• 10 is the duration. Sponsorship idents don’t run longer than sixty seconds.

The first part (the S and your agency prefix) stays the same across your campaign. The characters you choose carry across each material but can be adjusted, and the version number completes automatically.

How it works

1. Create a campaign. In The Library, head to the Campaigns tab, select Create new campaign, choose Sponsorship as the type, and set the first part of your SSI.
2. Create your material. Add your title and duration — the rest of your SSI completes automatically.
3. Upload your ident. Upload your file through the web app. It runs through the same technical checks as a standard commercial.
4. Deliver. Send your ident through Clearcast or your preferred supplier, just as you would a standard commercial.

Points to bear in mind

· Auto-ingest isn’t available for sponsorship, so files are uploaded through the web app.
· You won’t submit clearance information for a sponsorship ident because broadcasters manage sponsorship compliance themselves under the Ofcom code.
· In The Library, you’re logging the sponsorship record and completing the technical checks the broadcasters require.

For the full walkthrough, see the resources below.

More info/support

• View the step-by-step user guide
• Watch the walkthrough animation
• Read the SSI announcement
• Read a Q&A with Jo Foster about why SSI was created

Any questions?

If you’ve got a question about the SSI or creating a sponsorship ident, please get in touch with our team at help@clearcast.co.uk.