Beyond the performance metrics of acquisitions and clicks, brand safety is about aligning digital advertising spend on platforms with shared values, according to experts at a Nov. 16 event organized by social media platform Twitter.ΜύΜύ
βAdvertisers realize that measuring ROI [return on investment] is not good enough anymore,β said John Miskelly, Asia Pacific investment director of GroupM, a New York-based media investment company.ΜύΜύ
ConsideringΜύΜύmoves away from the genesis of digital advertising, which was βdollar in, dollar out,β added Mr. Miskelly. βIt was highly countable β not necessarily accountable,β he said of those early days.ΜύΜύ
Clients now want to know they are investing in digital advertising responsibly. βWe want to factor in other measurements of quality… from an environmental, corporate, and social perspective,β he said.ΜύΜύΜύ
Conscious consumption habits are spilling over intoΜύmedia investing, said Caitlin Rush, global head of Twitterβs brand safety strategy.ΜύΜύΜύ
βItβs not enough to build tools that enable advertisers to avoid harmful content,β she said. βFrom a platformβs perspective, clients want to make sure we are doing what we can to get rid of these things from the platform altogether.βΜύΜύΜύ
Twitterβs holistic approach to brand safety focusesΜύon policies, products, and partnerships, Ms. Rush said. Recent developments include:ΜύΜύΜύ
- Policies βΜύΜύto prohibit language that dehumanizes people on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. In March 2020, the rule was expanded to prohibit language that dehumanizes on the basis of age, disability, or disease.Μύ, said Ms. Rush, is a means to be transparent about the enforcement of these rules.ΜύΜύΜύ
- Products βΜύΜύand reconsider a potentially harmful or offensive reply before they hit send was rolled out across iOS and Android, starting with accounts that have English language settings. This, Ms. Rush said, resulted in 34% of its users revising their initial reply, or deciding not to send it at all.ΜύΜύ
- Partnerships β The platform has partnered with organizations such as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (iab.) to address the challenge ofΜύkeeping its space safe for everyone to share their voice. Ms. Rush added that Twitter is βvery proudβ to have receivedΜύ.ΜύΜύΜύ
Brand safety is not new, as brands were always conscious of the context of the environments they appear in, noted Ms. Rush.ΜύΜύ
βThese new platforms created new environments and came with new areas of risk,β she said. βWe are ensuring that we are being a good partner and listening to brand feedback.β βΜύPatricia B. Mirasol
