Only you can prevent brand safety crises

Brand Safety starts with you, and according to Morgan Martins, marketing director for Adstream North America. That means smart in-house procedures and processes.

Brand marketers know that any kind of public outcry can result in a loss of consumer trust and brand value, but that’s only part of the story. Snapchat saw its stock take a $800 million hit in 2018 after Rihanna publicly protested an ad that had appeared on the app.

To escape situations like these, brands and agencies need to take back control of their messages and reputations. That means that brand protection has to begin with the earliest stages of the asset creation process. Bottom line: if you don’t have the right processes in place, you’re risky behavior could be jeopardizing your hard-won brand equity.

The Brand Safety Institute's Brand Safety Officer (BSO) certification curriculum (phew!) contains lots of information on how a BSO should deal with their partners, and foes, up and down the digital advertising ecosystem. Martins focuses more on an organization's internal workings. The lessons are similar - know with whom you work, plan and track carefully, and "choose your technology wisely".

Martins elaborates on "five key ways to ensure that an ad is brand safe", and her look inwards is an interesting slant of the issues.