Brand Safety

What Is Brand Safety?

Brand safety refers to the measures advertisers take to prevent their advertisements from appearing alongside content that could harm their reputation or conflict with their values. This includes avoiding inappropriate, misleading, offensive or otherwise unsuitable advertising environments.

In native advertising, brand safety is particularly important because advertisements are designed to integrate naturally with surrounding editorial content. Advertisers must consider not only where their content appears but also the credibility of the publisher, the editorial context and how audiences may perceive the association.

Examples of Brand Safety

• Publisher Selection: Choosing reputable publishers whose editorial standards, content quality and audience align with the advertiser's brand values.
• Content Exclusions: Preventing advertisements from appearing alongside unsuitable content, such as misinformation, hate speech or other material that could damage brand reputation.
• Contextual Placement: Using contextual targeting to place native advertisements within relevant editorial environments while avoiding potentially harmful associations.

Key Points about Brand Safety

• Brand Reputation: Brand safety helps advertisers reduce the risk of negative associations between their brand and unsuitable content or publishing environments.
• Publisher Credibility: The quality and reputation of a publisher can influence how audiences perceive sponsored content appearing on its platform.
• Audience Trust: Responsible advertising placements and clear disclosure help maintain trust between advertisers, publishers and consumers.

Brand Safety Best Practices

• Evaluate Publisher Partners: Review potential publishers' editorial standards, content policies and audience characteristics before launching native advertising campaigns.
• Establish Placement Guidelines: Define suitable and unsuitable content categories, publishers and advertising environments based on the brand's values and campaign objectives.
• Monitor Advertising Placements: Regularly review where advertisements appear and use available reporting tools, exclusion lists and verification methods to identify potential brand safety risks.

Considerations

• Brand Safety vs. Brand Suitability: Brand safety generally focuses on avoiding harmful content, while brand suitability considers whether an advertising environment is appropriate for a particular brand, audience or campaign.
• Overly Restrictive Exclusions: Excessive content restrictions can limit advertising reach and unintentionally exclude legitimate journalism or relevant editorial content.
• Limited Placement Control: In programmatic advertising, advertisers may have less direct control over individual placements, making monitoring and verification particularly important.