Ad Adjacency in Digital Media: Instituting Brand Safety Strategies and Mitigating Risk of Negative Content Spillover
In October 2016, leaked audio of presidential candidate Donald Trump surfaced, revealing his use of vulgar language while describing his interactions with women. The audio spread rapidly online and in the news, causing widespread outrage. In response to the leaked audio of Donald Trump, several prominent figures and organizations, including politicians and women's rights activists, condemned his comments as misogynistic and disrespectful towards women. The audio had a significant impact on the 2016 United States presidential election, with many voters expressing their disapproval of Trump's behavior.
Shortly thereafter, a report highlighting offensive online content brought attention to the misuse of video platforms for the sexual exploitation of children. Comments on these videos not only described children in a lewd and inappropriate way but also detailed timestamps exposing specific children in the videos. These videos had thousands of views, causing concern and prompting action from authorities. Major technology companies, including YouTube, faced scrutiny for their handling of such material. The incident highlighted the need for stricter moderation policies and improved algorithms to detect and remove inappropriate and exploitative content. The revelations also sparked discussions about the responsibility of online platforms in preventing the dissemination of harmful and illegal content.
In February 2018, a tragic shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, claiming the lives of 17 individuals. The incident sent shockwaves through the community and the nation, highlighting the urgent need to address gun violence and improve school safety. The event sparked nationwide discussions about gun control and led to the emergence of passionate student activists who demanded legislative action to prevent future tragedies.
In the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, survivors and activists, such as the students from the school, took to social media to demand action on gun control and to raise awareness about the issue. Their voices quickly gained traction and led to the formation of the "Never Again" movement, which aimed to prevent future gun violence through stricter gun laws.
However, the tragedy also became a breeding ground for misinformation and conspiracy theories. False narratives and hoaxes surrounding the shooting spread rapidly on social media platforms, including claims that the event was a staged "false flag" operation. These misleading posts and content added fuel to the already heated debate around gun regulation and deepened the divisions among different groups with conflicting views.
The widespread public response to the shooting, fueled by ad-supported digital media platforms that fostered the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and the exposure of offensive and exploitative content on platforms like YouTube, had a significant impact on the digital advertising industry.
Many companies found their ads being displayed adjacent to objectionable content, leading to public backlash and damage to their brand reputation. Advertisers became increasingly cautious and demanded greater transparency and control over ad placements to ensure their advertisements were not associated with harmful or inappropriate content.
In response to the controversies surrounding offensive content, some advertisers initiated ad boycotts and pulled their ad spend from platforms where users generated content. In addition to ad adjacency, brands were also concerned about being associated with platforms that failed to adequately moderate and remove objectionable content. The ad boycotts aimed to pressure these platforms to take stronger measures to ensure brand safety. Additionally, some advertisers redirected their ad budgets towards platforms that demonstrated more robust content moderation practices, seeking safer and more brand-friendly environments for their advertisements. These shifts in ad budgets had a financial impact on the advertising industry and prompted platforms to improve their content moderation efforts to regain advertisers' trust.
While research on the impact of negative content and digital advertising is available, brand safety solutions for mitigating these risks in the context of ad adjacency are not generally paired with the research findings. Therefore, it is important to consider the following questions:
What is the impact of negative content on ad adjacency?
What are the strategies for mitigating brand safety risk in digital advertising?
Improvements in internet-connected devices and the consequential shift in attention to digital media have accelerated the growth of digital advertising over the last 25 years. In the US alone, internet usage is expected to reach 313.5 million users, or 90.5% of the population, and digital ad spend is expected to grow 46% to $363 million dollars over the next five years.
Digital advertising offers distinct audience targets with personalized messages, measurable results, and real-time optimizations. These advantages create cost efficiencies and enable many marketers to buy more for less. However, digital advertising also requires a cohesive strategy that balances reach and performance with brand safety. Brand safety has become a prevalent topic for advertisers and media agencies. It is defined as the controls that companies in the digital advertising supply chain employ to protect brands against negative impacts on their consumer reputation associated with specific types of content, criminal activity, and/or related loss of return on investment.
Some of the risks associated with brand suitability include ad fraud, invalid site traffic, viewability, and content adjacency. Ad fraud, invalid traffic, and viewability are often factored into a quantifiable financial cost that will marginally affect media spend. Among various brand safety categories, content adjacency is often considered one of the most challenging to implement effectively because the impact of adjacency on subjective content material is difficult to measure.
One of the primary reasons for this difficulty lies in determining the impact of adjacency on subjective content because what may be considered acceptable or appropriate can vary greatly depending on individual perspectives, cultural norms, and societal values. Different people might have divergent interpretations and reactions to the same content, making it challenging to establish clear guidelines and universally applicable rules for content adjacency.
Moreover, the contextual nature of content further complicates the measurement of adjacency impact. Contextual factors, such as the tone, intent, and overall message conveyed by the content, play a significant role in determining its suitability for brand association. However, accurately assessing these contextual nuances and predicting the potential impact on a brand requires sophisticated algorithms and artificial intelligence systems, which are still evolving.
The dynamic nature of online content amplifies the difficulty of implementing effective content adjacency. With a vast and continuously evolving digital landscape, it is challenging to maintain real-time control and keep up with the constant influx of new content. This makes it harder to predict and prevent potential adjacency issues in advance.
To address these challenges, companies and advertising platforms employ a combination of automated content scanning, machine learning algorithms, and human moderation to assess content adjacency. They continuously refine and update their systems to strike a balance between preserving brand safety and respecting the nuanced nature of subjective content. However, due to the inherent complexities involved, achieving absolute perfection in content adjacency remains an ongoing and evolving process in the realm of brand safety.
When two thousand consumers surveyed in the US and the UK, 48% said they would rethink purchasing brands or boycott products if they encountered brand ads alongside offensive content. Brand safety mitigation ensures that brand advertising does not appear adjacent to content, is inserted in content, or placed within unfavorable context that opposes brand values. Brand safety is an increasingly important discipline, as the practice of programmatic advertising for buying across an array of digital networks doesn’t provide the transparency required for advertisers to understand where ads are placed or in what context.
The increase in available digital ad inventory parallels the growth of online content amid the influx of new video uploads, the dissemination of information, and the insertion of user-generated content into social media feeds. Of these, the news category is particularly significant for brand advertisers as media outlets and influencers are reaching mass audiences with news-like content. Today, of the 300.9 million US Internet users, 258.1 million view digital videos, and 222.7 use social media - much of this content categorized as news. People who consume news on a digital device is now higher than the portion who get news from television. PEW Research reports that 48% of American adults say they get news from social media.
While banner blindness is argued to be a limiting factor for display ads, the more intrusive an ad is, the more likely the brand will be noticed. While intrusiveness may be a strategy for driving impressions, it can contribute to negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) when it leads to a relationship among the content, brand blame, brand association, and spillover effect. When perceived association is high, spillover of sentiment may transfer from the content to the brand. Research indicates that brand ads that are adjacent to offensive content not only negatively influence consumers' perceptions but also their behaviors. The proximity and contextual relevancy of an ad to the offending content prompts NWOM engagement, an assumption of blame attribution, and results in a negative perception of the brand. This behavior impacts revenue and may impact the buying habits of others.
Influencer marketing has fundamentally disrupted and revolutionized the traditional concept of endorsement in the advertising industry. One of the primary advantages of influencer marketing lies in its ability to reach niche or specialized audiences. Advertisers are now forging partnerships with social media users known as influencers, who possess diverse followings coupled with significantly higher levels of engagement. This strategic approach allows brands to effectively target and connect with specific and influential audiences that are crucial to their marketing objectives.
As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, influencer marketing remains a powerful tool for reaching and engaging key audiences in a dynamic and rapidly changing digital world. Today, over 74% of advertisers are allocating spend to influencer marketing on social media and video platforms. When alliances between brands and influencers are strongly associated, brands are at risk of the transfer of negative sentiment when the influencer is linked to negative content or an offensive event. The greater the celebrity status and relevancy the influencer has with the brand, the more likely NWOM and negative spillover occur. Even a brand with a perceived, but not necessarily established, influencer association with an influencer can experience negative spillover.
The context in which an ad is presented can significantly impact brand safety risks, which can have adverse effects on digital advertising performance throughout the advertising ecosystem. When an advertising strategy misaligns and places a brand's ad adjacent to offensive content, it not only affects people's perception of the brand but also their behavior, leading to negative word-of-mouth and potential brand boycotts. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that brand advertising avoids appearing adjacent to or inserted within unfavorable contexts that contradict brand values.
Mitigating brand safety risks involves various strategies, including ad boycotts, enhancing content moderation practices, and providing greater transparency and control over ad placements. However, achieving perfect content adjacency remains an ongoing and evolving process. Contextual factors, such as tone and intent, play a significant role in determining the suitability of content for brand association.
As digital advertising continues to grow in popularity, so do the risks associated with it. Brand safety is one of the biggest concerns for advertisers, as they want to ensure that their brand is not associated with inappropriate or harmful content. In this blog post, we will be discussing strategies for mitigating brand safety risks in digital advertising.
One of the most effective ways to mitigate brand safety risks is through contextual targeting. Contextual targeting ensures that ads are placed alongside content that is relevant to the brand's values and messaging. This is achieved by analyzing the text, images, and videos on a webpage to determine the context and relevance of the content. This approach allows advertisers to avoid placing ads on pages with inappropriate or harmful content.
Another strategy for mitigating brand safety risks is through the use of brand safety tools. These tools use machine learning algorithms to analyze web pages and identify potential risks. They can detect content that is violent, adult, or controversial and flag it for review. Advertisers can then choose to block these pages or adjust their ad placements accordingly. Some examples of brand safety tools include DoubleVerify, IAS, and Moat.
Ad verification partners are third-party companies that specialize in ensuring brand safety for advertisers. They work closely with brands to develop custom strategies for mitigating brand safety risks and provide ongoing monitoring and support. Ad verification partners can also help to identify fraudulent activity, such as click fraud or bot traffic. Some examples of ad verification partners include Integral Ad Science, Comscore, and Nielsen.
Influencer marketing, while a powerful tool for reaching and engaging key audiences, also carries the risk of negative spillover. Brands must ensure that their advertising does not appear adjacent to offensive content when partnering with influencers. Maintaining brand safety in these collaborations is crucial for avoiding negative consequences, such as negative word-of-mouth and potential brand boycotts.
In conclusion, maintaining brand safety is of utmost importance to avoid negative consequences such as negative word-of-mouth and brand boycotts. A crucial aspect of brand safety is preventing brand advertising from appearing next to offensive content. By ensuring that ads are placed in the right context, brands can enhance the reception of their messages.
However, staying updated with the ever-changing digital advertising landscape can be challenging. That's why it is vital to have strategies in place to mitigate brand safety risks. Enhanced content moderation and transparency are two effective strategies that enable brands to stay ahead of the curve and maximize the impact of their advertising efforts. By prioritizing brand safety and implementing proactive measures, brands can consistently present a positive image to their customers and the broader public.
In Response to…Many Things
Over the last couple of decades in digital media, I have experimented with journaling and short-form social posts as an outlet to share what I believe is important for the media industry. In many cases, I have discovered that my thoughts are a direct response to my daily industry observations, thoughts I hear on podcasts, or trends I discover online. My goal is to use this as a place to jot down my responses to many things.