In the world of internet advertising, the term “brand safety” comes up from time to time. According to Wikipedia, the definition is as follows:
“Brand safety is a set of measures that aim to protect the image and reputation of brands from the negative or damaging influence of questionable or inappropriate content when advertising online.”
In simpler terms, it’s about avoiding situations where your company’s ads appear on inappropriate or questionable websites, which could harm your brand’s reputation.
For example, in automatically displayed ads like those on the Google Display Network, advertisers create the ad text and images, while Google’s algorithms determine where the ads are shown. As a result, your ads might unintentionally appear on unsuitable websites, such as adult sites, gambling-related sites, or sites engaged in illegal activities. Even Google’s system isn’t perfect at filtering out inappropriate placements.
To minimize this risk, advertisers need to limit the types of websites where their ads can appear when setting up campaigns. Additionally, they must regularly monitor the sites where their ads are displayed and add inappropriate ones to a blocklist.
However, with new websites constantly being added to the network, keeping up can feel like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
This challenge is one of the unique headaches of digital advertising.
