Advertising Polices

These policies outline the guidelines for advertising content, design, and submission. It is designed to ensure that all advertisements are clear, ethical, and compliant with brand standards and legal requirements, while maintaining the publication's integrity and providing value to both readers and advertisers.

Editorial Content as Advertisements Policy

When deadlines are not met or editorial content is unavailable, there is often an attempt to circumvent the established procedures. While some workarounds, such as the submission of editorial content as an advertisement, may appear viable, such actions compromise the publication's editorial integrity.

To maintain editorial integrity and uphold brand standards, advertisements — whether created for internal promotion, products, or services or submitted by clients — will not be accepted if they resemble editorial content in terms of layout, design, typography, or writing style. All advertisements must be clearly identifiable as advertisements through distinct design elements and labeling. All advertisements in the magazine must serve a clear business function.

Advertorial-style ads are strictly reserved for contracted external clients and will be clearly distinguished by use of a visible "Advertisement" tag to ensure transparency for readers.

All magazine advertisements must serve a clear marketing objective and be strategically designed to promote a product, service, or brand message, and should not appear as editorial content or filler. If a submitted ad does not follow the outlined guidelines of this policy, it will be denied placement in the magazine. This policy ensures the magazine maintains a clean, professional appearance and delivers meaningful value to readers and advertisers alike.

Advertorials and Advertisement Tags Policy

Advertorial-style ads, defined as paid content designed to resemble editorial material, are strictly reserved for contracted external clients and will be clearly distinguished by use of a visible "Advertisement" tag to ensure transparency for readers.

To maintain editorial integrity, transparency, and uphold brand standards, we will clearly distinguish advertising content from editorial content by placing an "Advertisement" tag at the top center of ads deemed to be advertorial style ads to avoid reader confusion.

The advertisement tag is applied when the ad includes text covering more than 50% of the page, or when its layout mimics editorial formatting, such as using multiple columns, headlines, or bylines. The tag will also be used if the advertiser specifically requests an advertorial-style presentation.

Advertorial ads must still function as an advertisement. They must include a logo or clear branding of a business, contact information, and must serve a clear business function. All submitted advertisements are subject to review and approval to ensure compliance with our policies and other relevant guidelines.

House Advertisement Customization Policy

To maintain brand consistency and ensure alignment with established visual and messaging standards, custom creative design requests submitted to corporate designers will not be accepted for franchisee house advertisements. Additionally, corporate house ads may not be altered or modified in any way. All corporate house ads must be used in their original, approved format to preserve brand integrity across all placements.

Ad Proof Turnaround Policy

To ensure efficient production schedules and timely delivery, we adhere to the following "321 Rule" for proof turnaround:

3 Business Days: Allow three (3) business days for the turnaround of a proof, a revision request, or any communication initiated outside of the established production cycle deadline.
2 Business Days: Allow two (2) business days for the turnaround of an initial proof or any general communication initiated within the established production cycle deadline.
1 Business Day: Expect a one (1) business day response for a revision request submitted within the established production cycle deadline.

Coupon and Discount Policy for Advertisements Policy

The following guidelines apply to the inclusion of coupons and discount offers within advertisements:

Allowed Formats:

Mention-Based Offers: Advertisements may include special offers or discounts that can be redeemed by the customer mentioning the advertisement. Examples of acceptable phrasing include:
- "Mention this ad to receive [discount/special offer]."
- "Use code [SPECIFIC CODE, e.g., CITYLIFESTYLE] at checkout."
Shaped Coupons: Coupons are permitted within advertisements, provided they are clearly contained within basic geometric shapes (e.g., rectangles, circles, ovals).

Prohibited Formats:

Dotted-Line or Cut-Out Coupons: Coupons that utilize dotted lines, perforations, or include explicit "cut out" instructions are not permitted. This format can detract from the overall aesthetic of the advertisement and the publication.
"Must Bring In This Ad" Wording: Language that explicitly requires the physical advertisement to be presented for redemption (e.g., "Must bring in this ad") is not allowed. Our preferred methods are mention-based or code-based for easier customer engagement.
Automatic Month-to-Month Expiration Updates: Advertisements featuring coupons or discounts should have clearly stated expiration dates. We do not allow automatic month-to-month updates to expiration dates unless specifically requested and approved through the creation request process.

By adhering to these guidelines, we aim to provide clear, accessible, and visually appealing offers to our readers while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of our publications.

Realty Report Ad Policy

The Realty Report is a branded advertisement section unique to City Lifestyle that allows an advertiser to run an ad that looks like editorial content that will be listed in the Table of Contents, thereby encouraging readers to engage with the ad more organically. As such, the design of the Realty Reports must adhere to the following guidelines:

City Lifestyle Realty Report Requirements:

Branding: The standard "Realty Report" feature is branded by City Lifestyle. As such, the layout, fonts, and all text elements within a standard Realty Report must strictly adhere to current City Lifestyle brand standards to ensure that it looks like a piece of editorial content.
Header: The fixed header "Realty Report" must appear at the top of the feature and cannot be altered in any way regarding content, font, or styling.
Introductory Sentence: The introductory sentence, "A sample of recently sold properties in (publication name)," must be used. The word "in" may be replaced with "around" at the publisher's discretion to better reflect the geographical scope.
Publication Name: The "(publication name)" portion of the introductory sentence must accurately reflect the name of the specific City Lifestyle publication and cannot be changed.
Data Template: All data for the standard Realty Report must be compiled and submitted using the provided CSV downloadable template to ensure consistency and compatibility with our layout systems. A minimum of 5 columns of data is required, and no more than 7 columns of data can be included.
State-Specific Adjustments: We understand that real estate advertising regulations vary by state. Our standard Realty Report template is designed to be compliant with all state requirements. Minor adjustments to the standard format can be considered on a case-by-case basis to accommodate specific legal obligations. However, there is no guarantee that changes will be accommodated.

Provided Realty Report Advertisements:

Full Page Ad Designation: If a client chooses to provide a fully designed Realty Report advertisement, it should not be contracted as a "Realty Report." Instead, the contract and insertion should be classified and labeled as a full-page advertisement.
Table of Contents Exclusion: Consequently, provided Realty Report advertisements, being classified as standard Full Page ads, will not be listed in the Table of Contents under a "Realty Report" section.
Client Branding: Provided Realty Report advertisements cannot mimic the City Lifestyle corporate design look or feel. These client-provided ads must be clearly branded to the individual real estate client, utilizing their own logos, fonts, and design aesthetics.

This policy aims to maintain the integrity of the City Lifestyle brand while offering flexible advertising options for our real estate partners. Standard Realty Reports provide consistent, recognizable content for our readers, while provided full-page ads allow clients greater creative control over their specific branding.

Back Cover Advertisement Policy

To maintain the premium value and visual impact of the back cover of the magazines, the following policy regarding advertisement sizes applies:

Full-Page Exclusivity: The back cover position is reserved exclusively for full-page advertisements.
Fractional Ads Not Permitted: Fractional advertisements, including but not limited to ¼, ⅓, ½, or ⅔ page sizes, are not permitted on the back cover.
Placement Request Denial: Any placement notes or requests for fractional advertisements to be placed on the back cover will not be honored.
Selling and Promise Restrictions: Publishers may not sell, promise, or submit fractional advertisements for placement on the back cover.
Alternative Placement: If no full-page ad is available for the back cover, other ads with specific placement notes may be placed there to satisfy this policy, or a house ad could be placed.

This policy ensures that the most prominent advertising space in our magazine consistently showcases full-page advertisements, maximizing visibility and impact for our advertising partners while upholding the aesthetic standards of our publication.

Ad Design Policy

All advertisements must include the following elements:

Logo or Clear Client Branding: Prominent display of the client's logo or other clearly identifiable branding to ensure audience recognition as an advertisement.
Contact Information: Inclusion of relevant contact details, such as a website, phone number, or physical address, to facilitate customer engagement.
Business Function: All advertisements must serve a clear and legitimate business function, such as brand awareness, call-to-action, product or service promotion, lead generation, direct sales, event promotion, or recruitment.

Advertisements lacking these essential elements will not be created or approved for publication.

Image Orientation in Templates:

Horizontal and vertical images can be used in templates that require a specific orientation if the resolution of the submitted image is large enough for placement.
The production team can crop images to fit the template. However, clients should be aware of potential cropping and consider photo orientation when selecting a template to ensure a successful design.

QR Code Requirements:

The production team does not create QR codes and clients are responsible for supplying their own QR codes.
It is recommended that clients use reliable, free QR code generation services such as bit.ly or qr-code-generator.com to ensure that codes do not expire.

All submitted advertisements are subject to review and approval to ensure compliance with our policies and other relevant guidelines.

We reserve the right to reject any advertisement that we deem to be misleading, unethical, or that does not adhere to our brand standards.

Creative Ad Submission Policy

To ensure the timely and efficient completion of creative requests, all necessary materials must be submitted by the established deadline. Partial or draft submissions of required assets will not be accepted. The production process will commence only upon receipt of a complete set of ad materials. Failure to provide all materials by the deadline may result in the substitution of a house advertisement or previously run ad, if applicable, as outlined in the House Advertisement Policy. If this commences, the advertiser will still be invoiced in full for the insertion, as outlined in the terms and conditions of their advertiser agreement.

Late Ad Creation Requests:

Ad creation requests submitted after the established deadline will only be accepted under the following circumstances:
- A documented ARC system glitch prevented the upload (screenshot proof is required with timestamp), and a ticket has been submitted to National Support before the deadline with the documented proof of system error provided.
If a late request is accepted, the client must provide all necessary materials within 24 hours of National Support's response. Failure to do so may result in the denial of the late request, and a previous ad or house ad will be used.

Concerns Regarding Deadlines: If you have concerns or anticipate difficulties in meeting the established deadline, please contact National Support for assistance and to explore potential solutions. There is no guarantee that a deadline extension will be granted.

Repurposing a Previous Ad: If a client wishes to use a specific previous ad, they may do so by utilizing the "Repurpose a Past Ad" option. Clients should select the desired ad from a prior month in the Client Portal and confirm their selection by clicking "Submit." Change requests to a previous ad will follow the Ad Design Policies.

Third-Party Storage Links: We do not accept assets via third-party links (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.). All images, logos, and text must be uploaded directly into ARC.

Submission of Creative Requests for Future Issues: Submission of creative requests for future issues is permitted and encouraged. This practice allows the production team to prepare in advance and streamlines the production process. Note that if a creation request is submitted for a future issue, it will not be used in the current deadline month.

Submission Rejections:

Creation requests may be rejected for various reasons, with the most common being insufficient image or logo size or the omission of necessary information required for the completion of the request.

Should an advertisement request be rejected, clients are encouraged to review the rejection notification for specific details. For further clarification or if there are any questions regarding the reason for rejection, please contact National Support for assistance.

Upon the rejection of a submission, a revised request that fully adheres to all communicated submission requirements must be provided by the specified deadline.

Failure to submit an acceptable revision by the stated deadline will result in the placement of a house advertisement or a previously published advertisement, if applicable.

All submitted advertisements are subject to review and approval to ensure compliance with our policies and other relevant guidelines. By adhering to these guidelines, we can maintain a smooth and efficient production process for all advertising materials.

Ad Deadlines Policy

This policy outlines the deadlines for ad submissions and the process for managing insertion dates.

Ad Deadlines:

There are four ad deadlines per month: Advertising Contracts Deadline (Insertion Deadline), Creative Design Request Deadline, Past Ad with Revisions Deadline, and the Client Provided Advertisements Deadline.

The date of the ad deadlines is determined by which of the four production cycles the magazine has been assigned to, as shown below:
Submission Deadline: All creative requests, past ad with revision requests, and provided ads must be submitted by 11:59 PM CT on the first day of the established deadline.
Approval Deadline: All creative proofs and provided ads must be in the approved status by 10:00 AM CT on the last day of the established deadline.

Client Notification of Deadlines:

The client's specific ad deadline is visible throughout their customer portal.
As a courtesy, reminder emails will be automatically sent to clients 10 days and 5 days prior to their first ad deadline.

Changes to Ad Insertion Month:

A client's insertion month can only be removed or changed in ARC at a minimum of 20 days before the ad deadline per the Advertising Contract Policies or, upon coach approval, by the first ad deadline.
Once the first day of the ad deadline has passed, no changes to the insertion month will be permitted.

Changes to Ad Insertion Size:

Ad sizes can be modified only before the established creative ad deadline (or submission deadline).
Once the deadline has passed, ad sizes are final and cannot be altered.

Ad Revisions Policy

All revision requests for advertisements must be submitted through ARC by the established final ad deadline.

If a revision request is submitted close to the final ad approval deadline, the revised proof still requires approval in ARC by the deadline. It is the responsibility of the publisher or their staff to monitor the ad list closely for proofs being posted to ensure timely approval.

Requests for additional revisions to a design will not be accepted after the final ad deadline.

Number of Proofs:

Clients will receive one proof at a time.
A total of up to six (6) proofs are allowed per request. This includes the proof created from the initial creative design request submission and a maximum of five (5) revisions.
After the sixth (6th) proof, the request will be locked, and no further revisions will be permitted.

Purpose of Proof Notes:

Notes provided by the designer, included with a proof may indicate the following:
- A template change was implemented to better align with the client's brand.
- A request for additional information is necessary to complete the ad.
- Adjustments were made to the ad based on details provided by the client.

Revision turnaround:

All advertisement revision requests will be processed per the Ad Proof Turnaround Policy.

Please note that our in-house design team operates during the business week (Monday through Friday, excluding corporate holidays). Therefore, all revision requests will be handled exclusively during our corporate business hours.

Requests Under Internal Review:

If a client receives a message stating that their request or provided ad is "under internal review," this indicates that the ad may potentially violate our content policies.
In such cases, a team member from National Support will contact the publisher to provide further information and guidance for the affected client.
It is the publisher’s responsibility to review the communication, facilitate the solution and delivery of compliant materials from the client, and respond to the National Support communication to resolve the issue.

Ad Revisions During Review Rounds:

Review rounds are the final stage of the production process and are the opportunity to check the entire magazine before it goes to print. During this time-sensitive stage, ad placements should be confirmed and any minor editorial errors corrected.

Changes to ad designs are not permitted during the review round process.
With regards to advertisements, the review rounds are specifically for verifying the positioning of ad insertions within the publication.

Ad Approval and Default Ad Placement Policy

All advertisements must be approved by the established final ad deadline.

If an advertisement does not receive approval by the established deadline, a substitute will be placed in its place. This alternative will be a prior approved advertisement (pickup) or a house advertisement.

Pickup Advertisements

In the event that a client does not provide an ad or creative request by the established deadline, or the advertisement proof is not approved by the established final ad deadline, the following actions will occur:

If a prior approved ad exists in the correct insertion size for that client, that ad will be selected to run in the upcoming issue.
- If multiple eligible ads exist, the most recently approved version without time-sensitive or date-specific details will be prioritized.
- If no previous ad meets those criteria, but one is available in the correct size with some outdated or irrelevant information, it may still be used if deemed more appropriate than a house ad.
- If no prior ad meets the above criteria or exists for the client, a corporate house ad will be inserted.

In all cases, the client will be invoiced in full according to their agreement, regardless of which ad is used.

House Advertisements

A house advertisement will be implemented as a substitute advertisement artwork under the following conditions:

Lack of Client Approval by Deadline: If the advertisement created by our team was not explicitly approved by the client by submitting their approval of a proof in ARC prior to the established final ad deadline for insertion, a house advertisement may be inserted if there is no suitable prior approved ad.
No Response to Rejected Creative Request: If the production team requested creative assets or information from the client to develop an advertisement, and no response or the requested materials were not received by the specified deadline, a house advertisement may be inserted if there is no suitable prior-approved ad.
Failure to Update After Rejection of Provided Ad: If a client-provided advertisement was rejected due to non-compliance with policy or other valid reasons, and the client failed to submit a revised advertisement by the established deadline, a house advertisement may be inserted if there is no suitable prior approved ad.

This policy ensures that advertising space is utilized effectively and avoids blank insertions due to delays in the approval process.

Images for use in Advertisements Policy

This policy outlines guidelines regarding imagery intended to be used in advertisements.

Image Manipulation by the Production Team:

The production team is permitted but not required to perform basic image adjustments to ensure optimal presentation of images within advertisements.

Permitted Adjustments:

Simple Color Adjustments: Modifications to brightness, contrast, tone, and overall color balance.
Simple Background Isolation: Cutting out headshots or product images from uncomplicated, uniform backgrounds.
Simple Background Extension: Extending uncomplicated backgrounds such as clear skies or solid colors.

Prohibited Adjustments:

The production team is not authorized to perform certain image manipulations, including but not limited to:

Facial and Body Editing: Any alterations to facial features, body shapes, or localized areas of an image.
Complex Background Isolation: Cutting out intricate objects like jewelry or isolating images with detailed or cluttered backgrounds.
Object/People Manipulation: Adding or removing any objects or individuals within an image.
Complex Background Extension: Extending backgrounds that involve patterns, textures, or non-uniform elements.

Utilizing Adobe Stock Images:

Adobe Stock images are an available resource for use in advertisements, subject to adherence to our established brand guidelines and content policies.

Requesting Adobe Stock Images:

Clients wishing to utilize Adobe Stock images in their advertisements must make their requests during the advertisement creation request submission process. The specific procedure for requesting these images is outlined in the "Submitting an Ad Creative Design Request" documentation.

Compliance Requirements:

All Adobe Stock images selected for use in advertisements must fully comply with our current brand guidelines and content policies. This ensures that all visual elements align with our overall brand identity and meet our standards for appropriate content. Any Adobe Stock image that does not meet these requirements will not be approved for use.

Usage of Stock Images and Client Sharing:

Please note that our company holds the license for Adobe Stock images utilized in advertisements. While clients have the right to use the licensed image within their advertisement in our publication, we are unable to provide the stock image file for use outside of the magazine.

Use of Client-Provided Images:

Our design team comprises both design and advertising experts who carefully review all submitted images. The decision not to use a client-provided image in the advertisement proof may be due to the following reasons:

Violation of Content Policy: The submitted image may not adhere to our established content guidelines.
Insufficient Print Resolution: If the provided image is too small for high-quality print reproduction, a similar, appropriately sized stock image may have been selected as a substitute.
Irrelevance to Advertising Content: The image may not align with the product, service, or message being advertised.

Restrictions on Clipart:

To maintain a sophisticated and upscale aesthetic in our publications, the use of holiday or seasonal clipart in advertisements created by the corporate design team is prohibited. Instead, holiday-themed messages or relevant stock imagery will be utilized where appropriate.

Restrictions on AI-Generated Images:

Media, including images, audio, or video, can be edited in a variety of ways. In many cases, these changes are benign, like a filter effect on a photo. In other cases, the manipulation isn’t apparent and could mislead. We specifically prohibit the inclusion of manipulated media or imagery produced by artificial intelligence in these situations:

Images intended to realistically represent a human being if they were created using artificial intelligence.
Photography edited or synthesized beyond standard adjustments for clarity or quality in ways that aren't apparent to the average person and could mislead them.
Photography created using artificial intelligence or machine learning, including deep learning techniques (like a "deepfake"), that merges, combines, replaces, or superimposes content to create an image that appears authentic but is not.

Logo Modifications:

The production team's capabilities for modifying logos are limited. The team can only convert logos to black or white. Significant color alterations or major design changes to logo files fall outside their scope of work. Should color modifications be necessary, the client is required to supply a vector file of the logo accompanied by the relevant brand guidelines.

Client-Provided Advertisements Policy

This policy outlines the guidelines and limitations concerning advertisements provided directly by the client.

All submitted advertisements are subject to review and approval to ensure compliance with our policies and other relevant guidelines.

We reserve the right to reject any advertisement that we deem to be misleading, unethical, in violation of policy, or that does not adhere to our brand standards.

Elements of an Ad:

All advertisements must include the following elements:

Logo or Clear Client Branding: Prominent display of the client's logo or other identifiable branding to ensure audience recognition.
Contact Information: Inclusion of relevant contact details, such as a website, phone number, or physical address, to facilitate customer engagement.
Business Function: All advertisements must serve a clear and legitimate business function, such as brand awareness, product or service promotion, lead generation, direct sales, event promotion, or recruitment.

Resizing of Provided Advertisements:

In most instances, minor size adjustments of less than 0.25 inches or the removal of crop marks may be attempted by the design team. This is permissible only when the provided advertisement maintains proportional integrity to the correct insertion size and does not contain essential information extending beyond the designated safe area or border.

The design team cannot:

Resize a provided vertical advertisement to a horizontal format, or vice versa.
Make any adjustments to images of low quality.

Fix My Ad Button:

The "Fix My Ad" feature serves as a notification highlighting potential issues identified within a submitted advertisement, not a guarantee of adjustment. It is important to understand that utilizing this feature does not guarantee automatic adjustments or acceptance of the advertisement.

The system's automated assessment capabilities for advertisements are limited, and it does not possess the functionality to automatically rectify identified issues. It cannot rectify issues such as low DPI (dots per inch), improper text placement, or fundamental design flaws. Advertisements flagged for these types of issues will require manual revision and resubmission by the client to ensure compliance with our technical and design specifications.

Addition of White Borders to Provided Advertisements:

The production team will only add a white border to provided advertisements that already incorporate some white space along their outer edges. If a clearly visible border is already included by the client, an additional border will not be applied.

Modifications to Provided Advertisements:

The production team does not make any modifications or alterations to client-provided advertisements. If any changes are required to a provided advertisement, the client must upload all necessary elements for the team to either make the revisions or completely rebuild the advertisement before the applicable creation request deadline. This includes, but is not limited to, logos, images, text copy, and any other relevant information.

Changing a Creative Request to a Provided Advertisement:

Once a creative request has been officially submitted, the associated insertion can only be transitioned to a client-provided advertisement under the following condition: a design proof of the initially requested creative has not yet been uploaded.

If a proof for the creative request has already been uploaded, the client-provided advertisement must be submitted through the creative request revision process. This submission should include the provided advertisement file as an attachment, accompanied by clear and explicit instructions indicating that this file is to be used in place of the previously generated proof. This ensures proper identification and implementation of the client's provided advertisement.

ARC Review of Provided Advertisements and Safe Zones:

ARC’s assessment of provided advertisements is limited to technical specifications, including size, color mode, resolution, and file type. ARC does not check for elements positioned outside the designated safe zone.

Clients are responsible for ensuring all critical visual elements are within the safe zone to prevent potential cropping or obscuring during publication. A safe area review tool is available in ARC, upon provided advertisement upload, to assist in identifying elements outside of the safe area.

A visual indicator, represented by dashed lines, is provided in the Provided Ad Preview screen to facilitate the assessment of content that may fall outside the designated safe zone. This visual aid serves as a guide for ensuring critical elements are positioned within the recommended boundaries to prevent potential cropping or obstruction during the publication process.

Distribution of Production Design Files Policy

Design files created by the in-house production team for advertisements are proprietary and are not provided to clients or publishers. This policy ensures the protection of our intellectual property and internal workflows. Clients and publishers will receive the final exported advertisement, but the original, editable design files will not be shared.

Advertising Content Policy

City Lifestyle is a national organization dedicated to producing community-based content that is for, by, and about the residents of each local community. Our focus encompasses family features, local businesses, and community events, with the overarching goal of connecting reputable local businesses with readers seeking their services.

Recognizing that our readership has not proactively subscribed to our publication, it is paramount that all content, including advertisements, aligns with our commitment to providing inspiring and uplifting material. To this end, City Lifestyle maintains a set of content policies for all advertisements.

You can find a complete list of our content polices here: Content Policy/Agreement: For Advertising Partners and Magazine Editorial Content

As a national organization relying on scalable processes for sustained growth, our content policies must reflect a consistent national tone and narrative regarding specific topics. Therefore, our stance on certain content matters cannot be solely dictated by the leanings of a particular local community but must consider the broader national context. This approach ensures uniformity and clarity across all City Lifestyle publications.

Content Policy Review:

When a creative request or provided advertisement is flagged for potential violation of our Content Policy, the status will be updated to indicate that it is "currently under review" by our internal teams.

This designation signifies that the advertisement requires further assessment to ensure compliance with our established guidelines. A member of our National Support team will reach out to a publisher to provide specific details regarding the potential violation and to outline the necessary steps for resolution. It is the publisher’s responsibility to communicate this to the client and find a resolution to the outlined issue.

AdMaker Policy

Advertisements created utilizing AdMaker are classified and processed in a manner consistent with client-provided advertisements. Therefore, all advertisements designed within AdMaker are subject to the same policies, guidelines, and operational procedures that govern client-provided ad submissions. This includes, but is not limited to, adherence to technical specifications, content policies, and deadlines. The handling and review processes for AdMaker-generated advertisements will mirror those established for provided advertisements to ensure consistency and quality across all ad submissions.

Resetting a Creative Request for AdMaker Design:

A creative request may be reset, enabling the user to design an advertisement using the AdMaker tool, under the strict condition that a proof of the initially submitted creative request has not yet been generated and uploaded. If a proof has already been uploaded to the system, the original creative request must be updated with the final advertising assets intended for publication. In such cases, clients may utilize AdMaker to develop a visual mockup for the production team's reference during the update process. It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that all requisite materials, including but not limited to logos, images, and text, are comprehensively uploaded to enable the efficient and accurate creation of the advertisement proof based on the AdMaker design.

Resetting a Provided Advertisement Request for AdMaker Design:

A request to reset a provided advertisement to allow the client to design a new advertisement within the AdMaker can be completed. However, the request must be initiated before the established advertisement submission deadline. Upon the successful reset of a provided advertisement request, the originally uploaded advertisement file will no longer be accessible to the user or the production team. The user will then be authorized to proceed with the design of their advertisement utilizing the AdMaker tool.

City Lifestyle Logo and Brand Compliance Policy

This policy outlines requirements for the use of City Lifestyle logos and branding elements in all advertisements to ensure brand consistency, brand clarity, and compliance with City Lifestyle standards.

City Lifestyle Branding Rules

The City Lifestyle corporate master logo may not be used in client or franchisee house advertisements without prior written permission from corporate.
Franchisees may only use their local, city-specific publication logo (e.g., Leawood City Lifestyle) per established brand guidelines.
No City Lifestyle Logos may be altered in color, size ratio, font, or styling (including local, city-specific publication logos).

Modifications by Production Team

The production team is authorized only to convert logos to black or white to meet specific design requirements.
The production team will not alter logo colors, remove elements, or recreate logos.

Unauthorized Use or Misrepresentation

The use of any logo or branding that misrepresents the advertiser, City Lifestyle, or a third party is strictly prohibited.
Advertisements found to contain misleading or unauthorized branding will be rejected. Such instances may necessitate the resubmission of corrected materials before the designated advertising deadline. If the deadline has passed, rejection could result in a prior approved ad or house ad being placed per the Default Ad Placement Policy.

Compliance Enforcement

All submitted advertisements are subject to review for brand compliance. If materials don't meet our brand standards, they'll be flagged and/or denied. If revised materials are not submitted by the established deadline a prior approved ad or house ad will be placed per the Default Ad Placement Policy.

Design Service Credits Policy

Each publisher receives a set number of complimentary design credits per month based on their tier. Credits are used when clients request a new ad design.

An ad request is considered billable in certain cases, including but not limited to the following:

All brand new ad designs
Additional edits requested after the initial proof
The design request takes more than 15 minutes
The design request changes the ad layout
Ads are resized (i.e., from a half page to a full page)

For design requests exceeding monthly complimentary credits, publishers are charged $50 per design, which is added to “Publisher’s Misc. Expenses.”