Balancing ROAS and Long-Term Brand Safety

Posted by Victor Z Glenn • Oct 14, 2024 12:59:47 PM

Return on ad spend (ROAS) has long been the gold standard for performance-driven marketers. Particularly in direct-to-consumer (DTC) and ecommerce, brands rely on ROAS to tie ad spend directly to revenue, often leading to figures as high as 10:1 on platforms like Meta and Instagram. While impressive, these numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Many performance brands focus on and prioritize short-term ROAS in favor of immediate commercial gains. Often these brands may overlook long-term brand building strategies that can work in tandem to drive short term success.  Additionally, it means they are also likely to view brand safety as crucial for sustained growth. If brand relationships are steeped in consumer trust, then brand safety should be viewed as a brand “positive” action to achieve trust.  Brand safe choices should support both short terms and longer-term brand objectives by separating the brand from inappropriate adjacencies and establishing trust over the long term.

By focusing too narrowly on performance metrics, brands risk appearing next to unsafe or unsuitable content, which can damage their reputation. Instead, advertisers should adopt a more holistic view, leveraging advanced tools and AI-driven insights to ensure that both their short-term performance and long-term brand integrity are safeguarded. By balancing short-term performance with robust brand safety practices, advertisers can build sustainable, trustworthy relationships with their audiences. The key to lasting success lies in a holistic approach that prioritizes both performance and integrity.

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