Jacek Chrusciany, our CEO and Co-Founder, wrote an article “The Persistent Illusion of Brand Safety in Digital Advertising”. It is another piece in his “Pathways to Transparent Media” series in Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Industry Insights.

Link to the original article

A reprint of this article can be found below.

It's becoming clearer and clearer that our idea of brand safety, at least in the ad world we currently live in, is an illusion at best. Some may argue that we've entered a backlash era against the concept as a whole. Whether it's the collective shoulder shrug in response to Adalytics' latest report, or the successful shutdown of GARM, it's evident our current brand safety approach isn't working.

Because the truth is, while these headlines might be getting clicks, it's clear that they're not driving any action to deliver the brand safety we claim is so important. And that is a dangerous thing. Because either the fraudsters that drive these wasteful ad buys are that much smarter, or these sophisticated (and pricey) AI-driven solutions are not doing their job catching and stopping these ads from running where they shouldn't. Instead, they're delivering a false sense of security, with a hefty bill that is now a tag on to the billions being wasted already in the first place.

"Technology has been paid for that clearly doesn't work," one marketer told Ad Age, in response to that more recent Adalytics report. Exactly.

So, is the solution even more advanced tech? I don't believe so. We're so focused on finding a silver bullet that we're overlooking the basics.

The solution: getting back to fundamentals. We need to use existing tools more effectively, especially native platform settings. These settings offer granular control over ad placements, but they're frequently underutilized or misconfigured.

But it's not just about tools. We need to focus on campaign governance and setup. Many brand safety issues can be prevented before a campaign even launches. Here's what that looks like:

• Rigorous risk assessment pre-launch: Identify potential pitfalls specific to your brand and campaign objectives.

• Careful vetting of ad placement channels: Don't rely solely on category exclusions. Manually review and approve placement lists.

• Proper configuration and pre-flight checks of safety settings across all platforms: Tailor settings to your brand's risk tolerance and campaign goals.

• Regular audits and updates as campaigns progress: Brand safety isn't set-and-forget. It requires ongoing attention and adjustment.

This process may not be flashy, but it's effective. It gives control back to marketers, so they gain more transparency and ability to manage the outcome more effectively right from the start.

Education is crucial too. The digital landscape changes fast. Marketers need ongoing training to keep up. That's why we've partnered with the Brand Safety Institute for training programs. Understanding the intricacies of different platforms and staying current with emerging threats is vital.

The stakes are high. Each brand safety failure erodes trust in digital advertising. We can't afford complacency. These incidents don't just impact individual brands; they undermine the credibility of our entire industry.

This issue requires a cultural change within organizations. Marketing teams need to work more closely with their ad ops colleagues. CFOs need to understand that the cheapest solution isn't always the most cost-effective in the long run. And CEOs need to recognize campaign governance and brand safety in general as a core business issue, not just a marketing problem. They need to respond to this urgent issue that is resulting in billions of dollars being siphoned off the collective bottom line.

The technology we need to do this already exists. We just need to use it smarter. It's time to stop hoping for a technological miracle and start implementing practical, proven solutions. Your brand's reputation — and the future of digital advertising — depends on it.