At a time when buying decisions speak louder than public statements, advertisers are pulling back their support for platforms that facilitate the distribution of harmful content. Instead, they are investing in spaces that are safe and suitable for their brands.
These decisions are more than a moral imperative; they stem from the public’s push for better advertising practices. According to DoubleVerify, 55% of consumers say seeing a brand advertised next to false or misleading content negatively impacts their purchase decisions. Many go as far as avoiding a brand altogether if its ads appear next to low-quality content.
Enter digital audio, an environment that is deemed a haven by consumers and advertisers alike. Music has proven to relieve stress and anxiety in times of uncertainty. And podcasts offer listeners a boost of positivity and productivity that carries over to the companies that sponsor them. In 2020, when the world was at its loudest, listeners tuned in for an hour extra of streaming audio to escape the negative news, posts and comments that plagued their experiences online. And while most social media platforms exhibited modest or no growth, podcasts surged by 17% to reach 116 million listeners monthly.
As digital audio continues to expand, advertisers are taking steps to ensure their ads and the content they land on continue to strike the right note with consumers. These efforts, when done right, allow brands to stay safe without compromising reach.
Brand safety and suitability first
Though the industry still has to fully define what brand safety looks like in a music and podcast environment, ad tech can easily flag problematic or inappropriate content. And while digital audio’s curated nature protects it from obvious threats, there is content some brands prefer to avoid. Today, brands can activate anti-targeting guardrails to avoid content they deem inappropriate.
Beyond brand safety, the industry is shifting its focus to brand suitability as it identifies the environments that help advertisers drive the best outcome for their businesses. It relies on a brand’s profile, insights and strategic position to determine what a brand stands for and finds the right content to fit those values. This work provides the protection a brand needs without limiting scale.
Context is key
Much has been said about the unreliable nature of keyword filters to determine what inventory is appropriate for advertisers. When publishers use the “wrong” word for a title or headline, a brand can mistakenly surround an inappropriate topic or avoid a relatively safe conversation altogether. Streaming platforms like Pandora are hoping to see improvements in technology that could help advertisers learn more about the context of artistic content. But in the meantime, brands can leverage genre and category-based targeting for the best contextual adjacency.
Brands have a role to play in the effort to curb the spread of misinformation and harmful content, and the first step is selecting platforms to advertise on that are safe and suitable for them. And digital audio is rising to the challenge of delivering the space and content brands want to be associated with and listeners want to enjoy.
