Brand Safety Leaders Launch Annual Brand Safety Week in November

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2021  -- Two of the advertising industry's leading brand safety organizations, the Brand Safety Summit Series and the Brand Safety Institute (BSI), today launched an annual "Brand Safety Week" designed to focus industry attention and foster dialogue around brand safety, brand suitability, and brand sustainability.

The inaugural Brand Safety Week will take place in New York City during the first week of November 2021 and annually during the same week in coming years, with a robust lineup of first in person speakers in nearly two years, along with panel discussions, and educational sessions designed to address top issues, trends, and solutions in brand safety. The official agenda for the week will include two full days of content, in addition to other informal meetings, activities, and social opportunities among participants:

• A kickoff day of education-focused sessions, workshops, and forums on November 3, conducted by leading brand safety experts in the industry. Participation in these events will qualify for CLE credits toward accreditation in the Brand Safety Institute's Certification Program.
• The centerpiece Brand Safety Summit on November 4, at which C-suite industry leaders from brands, agencies, platforms, publishers, and tech pioneers will keynote, debate on panels, and provide their insider insights around this complicated and fast-changing topic.

The founding organizations expect that future Brand Safety Weeks will extend the length of formal programming and workshops to four days, while maintaining a full-day Brand Safety Summit at the core. Those future events will also allow major digital advertising players to create and program their own satellite events - coordinated by BSI and the Brand Safety Summit - to share content with media partners, clients, and other attendees about their capabilities and solutions.

Brand Safety Week will build on the multiyear success of the Brand Safety Summit Series, which has become the leading gathering of global professionals dedicated to this critical topic.

"The current digital advertising market makes it all the more urgent that we come together to expand the Brand Safety Summit platform to create richer content opportunities. When I started the Brand Safety Summit series seven years ago, I knew it addressed a need for general education for a developing marketplace," said Rob Rasko, President, Brand Safety Summit Series and CEO, The 614 Group. "As the marketplace has evolved, participants have had to become more strategic and the need for education and community has grown. We are delighted to partner with BSI on expanding this important annual event, so we can combine our organizations' deep expertise, content, and relationships to make this a must-attend event for industry leaders."

Speakers at past Brand Safety Summit Series have represented some of the world's most influential brands, agencies, platforms, and tech companies, including Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Barcelo Hotel Group, Channel Factory, Dentsu Aegis Network, DoubleVerify, Facebook, GroupM, GSK, HP, Integral Ad Science, IPG Kinesso, Johnson & Johnson, Marriott, Matterkind, Mondelez International, Publicis Media, Reddit, Snap, Spotify, TikTok, Twitter, and Unilever.

"Big problems get solved by big thinkers coming together to share big ideas," said Mike Zaneis, co-founder of the Brand Safety Institute. "Brand Safety Week will offer an annual stage for even more of the world's leading experts in brand safety to share their best practices, knowledge, and tools with the entire industry, and it will allow the corporate leaders in the space to secure the certification credits they need to demonstrate their expertise through individual certifications."

Industry reaction to the launch of Brand Safety Week:

"While brand safety and consumer privacy have always been important, they are now essential areas for the industry to focus upon and evolve. I'm excited to see what comes out of Brand Safety Week next year and look forward to discussing, partnering, and working with the best in the industry on this critical subject."
-- Silas Lewis-Meilus, Senior Director, Head of Media APAC, GSK

"The success of the Brand Safety Summit has been an important factor in the space, and Brand Safety Week is a welcome expansion to the platform."
-- Joe Barone, Managing Partner, Brand Safety Americas, GroupM

"More of our clients are actively engaging in conversations around brand safety, suitability, and brand-positive investing. The expansion of The Brand Safety Summit into a Brand Safety Week will give us and our clients more opportunities to educate ourselves and improve our industry."
-- Olga O'Donnell, Head of Brand Assurance, dentsu International

About the Brand Safety Summit Series
Since its inception in 2014, the Brand Safety Summit has grown into a critical gathering on media leaders' annual calendar. It has established its primacy in the arenas of thought leadership and practical executions, as it has been headlined by the world's authorities from brands, agencies, platforms, publishers, and technology. They have come together to help make digital advertising the safest and most trusted medium for brands and consumers.

About the Brand Safety Institute
The Brand Safety Institute is a digital advertising industry initiative to professionalize the work of brand protection. Through its research, education, and certification programs, the Brand Safety Institute gives ad industry executives the expertise and skills they need to minimize brand risks and capitalize on brand opportunities in the digital advertising supply chain. Through its Brand Safety Officer certification program, the Brand Safety Institute helps leaders set the highest standards for brand protection, learn new and emerging best practices, and build an industry-wide community of brand safety peers. More information about the Brand Safety Institute can be found at brandsafetyinstitute.com.