Migrating brand identity

Migrate AdCP brand identity from beta.3 to rc.1. Replaces inline brand_manifest objects with BrandRef references resolved via brand.json or the community registry.

Migrating brand identity

AdCP 3.0 rc.1 replaces inline brand_manifest objects with lightweight brand references (BrandRef). Brand data is resolved at execution time from /.well-known/brand.json or the community brand registry.

What changed

beta.3	rc.1	Notes
brand_manifest (inline object)	brand (BrandRef)	Reference resolved at execution time
Brand data passed in every request	Brand data fetched once from brand.json	Caching recommended (24h TTL)
No standard identity format	/.well-known/brand.json specification	Four variants: House Portfolio, Brand Agent, House Redirect, Authoritative Location

BrandRef schema

A brand reference identifies a brand by domain and optional brand_id:

{
  "$schema": "https://adcontextprotocol.org/schemas/v3/core/brand-ref.json",
  "domain": "nova-brands.com",
  "brand_id": "spark"
}

• domain (required) — Domain where /.well-known/brand.json is hosted, or the brand’s operating domain
• brand_id (optional) — Brand identifier within a house portfolio. Omit for single-brand domains.

For single-brand domains:

{
  "domain": "acme-corp.com"
}

Where brand appears

Task	Required?	Purpose
create_media_buy	Yes	Campaign identity — immutable once set
get_products	No	Discovery context. Required when catalog is provided
build_creative	No	Resolves to colors, logos, tone for creative generation

brand does not appear on update_media_buy (immutable from creation), sync_creatives (scoped to account), or sync_catalogs (scoped to account).

Before and after

beta.3 — inline brand_manifest on create_media_buy:

test=false

{
  "brand_manifest": {
    "name": "Spark",
    "domain": "spark.nova-brands.com",
    "logo_url": "https://spark.nova-brands.com/logo.png",
    "industries": ["technology.hardware"]
  },
  "account": { "account_id": "acct_nova" },
  "start_time": "2025-04-01T00:00:00Z",
  "end_time": "2025-04-30T23:59:59Z"
}

rc.1 — brand reference:

test=false

{
  "brand": {
    "domain": "nova-brands.com",
    "brand_id": "spark"
  },
  "account": { "account_id": "acct_nova" },
  "start_time": "2025-04-01T00:00:00Z",
  "end_time": "2025-04-30T23:59:59Z"
}

The seller resolves nova-brands.com + spark to the full brand identity (logos, colors, tone, properties) via the Brand Protocol.

Resolution flow

Given a BrandRef, the resolution is:

1. Fetch https://{domain}/.well-known/brand.json
2. If it’s a House Redirect (has house field), follow to the house domain (max 3 redirects)
3. If it’s a House Portfolio, look up the brand by brand_id in the brands array
4. If it’s a Brand Agent, call the MCP agent for dynamic brand data
5. If it’s an Authoritative Location, follow the location URL

Sellers cache resolved brand data (recommended 24-hour TTL for validated files, 1 hour for failed lookups).

Migration steps

1. Replace brand_manifest with brand

   In all task requests (create_media_buy, get_products, build_creative), replace the brand_manifest object with a brand BrandRef: { "domain": "...", "brand_id": "..." }.

2. Host brand.json

   Publish /.well-known/brand.json on the brand’s domain. Choose a variant: House Portfolio for multi-brand companies, Brand Agent for dynamic data, or single-brand for simple cases.

3. Register in brand registry

   If the brand domain doesn’t host brand.json, register it in the community brand registry so sellers can resolve it.

4. Update seller resolution

   Seller agents must resolve BrandRef to full brand data at execution time. Implement caching and handle all four brand.json variants.

5. Remove inline brand data

   Remove any code that constructs or parses brand_manifest objects. Brand data is no longer passed inline.

6. Validate against schema

   Run requests against brand-ref.json schema. The domain field requires a valid lowercase domain pattern.

Brand identity

Full reference for brand.json variants, the brand registry, and BrandRef resolution.

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Related: Channels | Catalogs | Brand Protocol | AdCP 3.0 overview