Opinion: As Brand Safety Changes, GARM Keeps Pace

Marketers have flocked to the south of France for the first in-person Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity since 2019. The last time the festival was held in person, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) was launched, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between brands, media agencies, platforms and industry associations to focus on the singular goal of improving online safety. When this year’s festival kicks off, exactly 1,095 days will have passed since the last time brands, agencies, platforms and publishers came together to celebrate excellence in advertising without relying on virtual calls. In those three years, people’s lives have changed in innumerable ways we never could have predicted in the summer of 2019. Understandably, the advertising and media industries have changed as well, following the steady forward march of culture. GARM and its members have been instrumental in driving much of the positive change in the ad industry, specifically as it relates to brand safety and suitability and broader corporate responsibility in advertising. Here are three things we've learned about brand safety in the three years since GARM was launched at Cannes. What to Expect From Cannes Lions as the Festival Returns Brand safety is ultimately about social responsibility As I've written before, brand safety is first and foremost about human safety. Marketers need a wider view on brand safety and media responsibility, thinking beyond just the context in which their ads appear. As shown through the creation of the Brand Safety Floor, one of GARM’s first outputs, conversations about improving brand safety need to begin with the recognition of universally harmful content and focus on improving the online safety for all people, regardless of ad placement. GARM has made great strides in this area since 2019, expanding the ad industry’s partnership with human rights groups and other experts through the GARM NGO Consultative Group. Brand safety and suitability are complex and nuanced Defining what exactly qualifies as high-risk misinformation. Aggregating transparency metrics from platforms with different policies and reporting cadences. Creating standards of adjacency in a wide variety of digital formats. One thing is clear from the work GARM is undertaking: None of this is straightforward or simple. It is important, however, and that makes the messy, complicated work of brand safety worth the investment from marketers, agencies and platforms. Over the last three years, it’s become clear that we often find more questions than answers. While this may make progress slow at times, it is steady, and the commitment to constant improvement is what matters most. GARM has shown consistent progress in these complicated areas with the publication of three volumes of its Aggregated Measurement Report. The organization has collaborated with national associations to simplify localization and ever-expanding common definitions and standards. The rate of change continues to increase Brand safety is an ongoing and quickly evolving conversation. What is safe or suitable for a brand one day can quickly change as context evolves and consumer expectations shift. As new threats emerge, GARM and the industry at large must continue to adapt in order to provide the resources and tools necessary to address new risks. By continuing to drive uncommon collaboration, GARM is enabling and empowering the industry to share learnings and raise the bar. The threats the advertising industry and digital ecosystem are most concerned about today are unlikely to be the same ones keeping us up at night a year from now—however, we continue to iterate and adapt, applying learnings from one risk area to the next, even as the specifics may change. As an industry, we will continue to learn, iterate and take action to continually expand our efforts to keep people and brands safe online. During Cannes, look for many more conversations about brand safety and suitability than you may have seen three years ago. While much has changed in that time, it is clear marketers’ and platforms’ commitment to this effort is unwavering and will continue for the next three years and beyond. The Site That Hacked Cannes Lions Now Wants to Win a Cannes Lion

Cannes Lions

As Brand Safety Changes, GARM Keeps Pace

A look back on its impact as the group celebrates its third anniversary

Caitlin Rush

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Caitlin Rush