A brand safety concept is a good basis to ensure that ads are played out in an appropriate environment. Unfortunately, such a concept is not always sufficient, and, despite a brand safety concept, ads and content can still be displayed on websites that are not desirable. This issue brings Brand Suitability to the forefront. In this blog post, we’ll show you what Brand Suitability is and how you can integrate it into your everyday digital life.
What is Brand Safety
In a nutshell, Brand Safety strives to show ads only on websites and channels that fit the brand and don’t harm the image. Brand safety entails the controls and measures that companies put in place to protect their brand from negative effects.
What is Brand Suitability
Brand Suitability means finding the right content, in the right context, for the right target audience.
It is designed to ensure that companies and brands place their ads on websites and channels that are not only brand safe, but also brand fit.
Brand Suitability considers the meaning, context, and potential impact of online content that is specifically tailored to the needs of a particular brand. Brand Suitability is about much more than avoiding ad placements next to obviously inappropriate content – it’s about identifying the websites that work for you and your brand.
Why Brand Suitability matters
- Today, 66 billion people consume online content. This represents a 7.3% increase over 2020, and these users already spend more than 2.5h daily online on their mobile devices. This increased consumption makes it even more important for companies to show their ads in the right context.
- Users expect their online experience to be respectful, trustworthy, and relevant. Up to 82% of users worldwide would stop using brands that appear next to the wrong content.
- Privacy regulations such as GDPR in Europe, CCPA in California, and emerging norms in Latin American countries such as LGPD in Brazil have shifted the focus from audience targeting to context targeting, as have restrictions on third-party cookies in most major browsers.
A brand suitability strategy is key to a successful, secure, and contextually targeted campaign on any platform. In the following, we’ll show you how to create your own brand suitability guidelines.
4 tips for your digital brand suitability
- Define what kind of websites and content make sense for your brand. Also, think about your target audience and what sites they spend time on. In doing so, it is helpful to create an inclusion list. The starting point for creating the list can be, for example, several YouTube channels. Keep in mind that some content categories, while unobjectionable, may not be appropriate for your brand. Examples include video games or news content.
- In addition to an inclusion list, it is recommended that you also create an exclusion list. Include in this list channels and websites where you do not want your ads and content to appear. Think about your company’s values as well.
- Adapt your inclusion and exclusion lists to your market, considering local language and cultural nuances.
- Optimize the lists on an ongoing basis. It is not enough to set up the lists once and leave it at that. Only by permanently ensuring that the right placements, channels, and videos are selected, and replacing those that underperform, will you ensure a balance between brand suitability and performance.
Our experts are happy to help you define and implement your online marketing strategy and ensure continuous compliance with your brand safety concept.
