Brand safety is key in competitive online ad spaces. A 2023 SEMrush study looked into this topic. It found 60% of brand owners worry about bad ad placements. An IAS survey shared another important finding. Customers will stop supporting brands tied to offensive content. When thinking about brand safety, keep premium vs counterfeit in mind. Contextual targeting places ads precisely to match nearby content. Lists of blocked keywords only have limited use, though. Combining these methods helps brands follow GARM rules. The top brand protection tools in the US have great perks. They include a best price guarantee and free installation. Protect your brand right now!
Brand safety in programmatic advertising
Keeping your brand’s reputation safe is a must these days. Ads are often placed online super fast through automated systems. A 2023 study from SEMrush looked at this topic. More than 60% of brands worry about where these automated ads show up. If an ad ends up somewhere it shouldn’t, it can hurt how people see the brand.
Definition
Importance for brand reputation
When brands buy digital ads automatically, they use brand safety rules. Brand safety makes sure ads don’t end up in the wrong places. For example, ads won’t show up next to harmful or fake content. One bad ad placement can ruin a reputation built over many years. Say a brand that focuses on family values has an ad near pornographic or violent videos. That would make the public really upset at the brand. Customers would lose trust in the brand, and its sales would drop too. To stop this from happening, brands should check their ad placements regularly. They should also set strict safety standards for their own brand.
Consumer concerns as per IAS study
Research from IAS shows people are more careful about ads they see these days. They pay close attention to both the brands and content in any ads they view. If a brand’s ad sits next to offensive content, people are far more likely to avoid that brand. Brands don’t just risk ruining their good reputation if they ignore brand safety. They could also lose their entire customer base as a result.
Contextual targeting models
Content – based analysis
Machine learning analyzes content for contextual ad targeting models. These models look at all the content on a website. They decide if the page is a good spot to show ads. For example, a fancy luxury clothing brand can use these models. They can place their ads on matching blogs, magazines, or high-end lifestyle sites. This method is more precise than older traditional approaches. It also cuts down the chance of ads showing up in the wrong places. If brands want to make their ad campaigns work better, they can partner with tech companies. These companies specialize in running context-based ad targeting campaigns.
Keyword blocklists
Lots of brands use keyword blocklists to protect their brand. But using these lists widely has some clear limitations. They can cut down how many people see an ad campaign. In the worst cases, they can hide minority opinions and news. If a blocklist is too broad, it might include perfectly positive terms. Then it can stop ads from reaching a wide, diverse audience. Experts recommend brands use blocklists with other tools to keep their brand safe.
GARM compliance
GARM compliance means following the rules of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM for short. These rules focus on keeping brands safe and appropriate online. GARM was founded in 2019. Its goal is to build a sustainable digital world for everyone. When brands meet GARM’s compliance rules, they know their ads won’t pop up next to harmful content. They also know they’re following basic fair, honest standards. The GARM framework acts as a guide for ad agencies, online platforms, and brands. Top, well-known brands now treat GARM compliance as a top priority. They are setting a new standard for the whole industry.
Prebid brand safety modules
Prebid is a full set of tools for automated ad buying. It has special brand safety tools built right in. These tools check and sort ad spaces before you place bids. Checking spaces first helps advertisers avoid unsafe content. The system looks at a few key details to make better bidding choices. These details include shortened ad auction links, location, and the seller’s ID. Quick ad tip: Advertisers can adjust Prebid’s tools to fit their own brand safety needs.
Interaction between contextual targeting models and prebid brand safety modules
Prebid has two ad tools that work well when used together. One is for brand safety, the other for contextual targeting. The contextual targeting tool checks what content is on a web page. These Prebid tools can filter out unwanted ads before bids happen. For example, they can use info from the contextual tool to make choices. They can decide if they want to bid on an open ad spot on the page. Using both tools at the same time leads to better results. The final ad placements are more accurate and safer for brands.
Case studies
UM Taiwan and IAS are a great real-world example. UM Taiwan wanted to raise their clients’ ad success numbers. Those numbers include how many people click ads, or take action after seeing them. IAS partnered with them to use pre-bid sorting tools first. These tools check if an ad spot fits a brand well, and if people will actually see it. IAS cut how often ads ended up in spots that were a bad fit for the brand. That meant high quality ads were shown in safe, appropriate places for viewers. This example shows how well pre-bid plans work to keep brands safe online.
Achieving GARM compliance through combination
Brands can follow GARM rules by combining two tools. Those tools are keyword blocklists and Prebid brand safety modules. For example, a brand can use a contextual targeting model to find content that works well for them. They can also use a carefully built keyword blocklist. That list removes any terms the brand does not want. Prebid modules can also filter through available ad space. Using all these tools together helps brands meet GARM standards. Key Takeaways.
- When brands use automated tools to place their online ads, keeping their brand safe is really important. This helps customers trust the brand more, and protects the brand’s good name overall.
- Contextual targeting helps you place ads a lot more precisely. You can pick exactly the right spots for your ads to show up. This makes your ad placements far more accurate than they would be otherwise.
- Keyword blocklists only work so well by themselves. They have clear limits to how useful they are. You should use them with other methods too.
- The GARM Compliance Framework is a set of clear guidelines. These rules apply to digital advertising work. They make sure all digital ads are responsible and ethical.
- Special brand safety tools run before ad bids get placed. They sift through available ad spots first. This whole process helps keep brands much safer.
- Putting these factors together helps in two important ways. It keeps your brand safer, and helps you follow GARM rules. Use our Brand Safety Assessment Tool to learn one key thing. It will tell you how well your automated ad strategies are working.
FAQ
What is brand safety in programmatic advertising?
A 2023 SEMrush brand safety study notes a key point. Ads are not placed in inappropriate spots. This keeps a brand’s good reputation safe. It stops ads from showing up next to harmful or fake content. If brands don’t do this, they can face big problems. The public might get very upset, and lose trust in the brand. Our [Definition] Analysis…
How to implement contextual targeting models for brand safety?
First, team up with experts who work in this field. Make sure your context targeting models follow standard industry rules. These models use machine learning to go through content. For example, a luxury fashion brand can target high-end lifestyle pages. This cuts down on the number of ads that end up in the wrong place. Our [Contextual Targeting Models] analysis is really detailed.
How to achieve GARM compliance in programmatic advertising?
A plan with several different parts can help brands follow GARM rules. This well-rounded approach works really well to meet that official requirement.
- You can find exactly the content you’re looking for. All you have to do is use contextual targeting. This method pulls up content that matches the specific topic you care about right now.
- Use carefully picked lists of keywords to block terms you don’t want. These lists are put together on purpose to keep out all unwanted words and phrases.
- Use Prebid Brand Safety Modules to filter ads before they post. The full GARM strategy is a great way to meet GARM’s high standards. You can find all the details in [Achieving compliance with GARM through combination].
Contextual targeting models vs keyword blocklists: Which is better for brand safety?
Keyword blocklists control what ads people get to see. They also often shut out minority voices and opinions. Contextual targeting is way more precise than these lists. Keyword blocklists only cover a limited set of situations. Contextual targeting uses machine learning to look over content closely. Clinical trials have tested how well this tool works. These trials show it cuts down on inappropriate ads. Our Contextual Targeting Models analysis explains all this in detail.
