Justin Taylor, UK managing director at Teads: This year we have seen a resurgence in brand safety, advertisers have woken up to the fact that you can’t guarantee a safe environment around user-generated content. Senior brand leaders are already taking this issue very seriously. In fact, when we conducted research amongst UK CMOS, 83% say they’ve become more concerned about brand safety and 95% have already overhauled their digital strategy to ensure they appear in safe environments.
The problem is not a quick fix and will persist as we move into 2018. But it’s clear that brands are fast losing patience with over a third (36%) having boycotted or reduced spending on channels that can’t guarantee a safe environment. This is a clear indication they want the tech giants to step up and tackle the problem head on. Brands want to know exactly where their spend is going. Many are demanding greater transparency from suppliers and agencies, with nearly half (44%) questioning their supplier relationships and 43% scrutinising agency relationships.
To tackle this issue the ad industry must work together throughout the year ahead to offer a safe environment for advertisers– this means supporting premium publishing and championing formats such as outstream that respect the user. We need to strive for excellence; improve user experience and deliver greater accountability.
Those who can’t guarantee a safe environment will find they will have no place in the digital plans of 2018.