Brand safety and suitability (or BSS) is all about ensuring that your brand’s advertising and digital content are associated with professional, appropriate websites and online resources. This is important if you want your business to stay clear of harmful or controversial material that could negatively influence its reputation and even alienate your customer base.
Let’s explore this concept in more detail, then review some strategies you can use to protect your brand.
BSS Explained
Brand safety refers to the protective measures a company takes to ensure its advertisements do not appear next to the wrong material — namely, harmful content that’s violent, explicit, or intentionally misleading.
When brands fail to control where their ads are placed, they risk damaging their reputations and upsetting their customers.
Brand suitability is more nuanced. While a certain platform or piece of content may not be explicitly harmful, it may still be inappropriate when paired with a specific brand. For example, a luxury fashion vendor probably wouldn’t want its ads popping up next to casual or discounted apparel, even if that other company’s content isn’t offensive.
Suitability ensures that a brand’s ads are placed strategically in areas that make the most sense based on its values, tone, and target audience.
Why Is Brand Safety and Suitability Important?
As brands increasingly rely on digital advertising to engage with their customers, it’s important for them to be vigilant about where their content appears. BSS is beneficial because it:
1. Protects a Brand’s Reputation
Consumers tend to form opinions about brands based on their associations. If your company’s ads are displayed alongside offensive or inappropriate content, it can tarnish your reputation, even if the connection was unintentional.
If powerful enough, a single negative experience can change how consumers perceive your brand and undo years of careful relationship-building.
2. Maintains Consumer Trust
Trust is the foundation between a brand and its customers. When that trust is strong, customers are more likely to become repeat buyers, refer others, and engage with the brand’s content. A misstep in BSS can quickly erode that trust if an ad’s placement makes your customers question the integrity of your brand, or feel that it’s suddenly out of touch with their values.
Maintaining customer trust is about more than simply avoiding mistakes — it’s about showing that your brand is actively taking steps to be responsible and considerate.
3. Reduces Financial Risk
Poor BSS management doesn’t just affect your reputation — it can also result in wasted ad spend. If your ads are shown on irrelevant platforms, you are essentially paying for exposure that won’t get you the engagement that you want, and may even turn off the leads you already have.
Additionally, having to address the aftermath of a BSS violation, from public relations efforts to lost customer loyalty, can result in long-term financial losses.
4. Complies With Regulations
The digital advertising landscape is also governed by regulations that vary from country to country. Failure to comply with them can lead to some pretty frustrating legal consequences. A solid BSS strategy ensures that your brand’s content adheres to industry standards, and protects it from fines or legal disputes.
Strategies for Implementing Strong BSS Within Your Company
Now that we’ve covered the importance of BSS, let’s review some practical steps you can take to implement a robust BSS policy.
1. Develop Clear Guidelines
The foundation of your policy should start with establishing guidelines on what types of content you want your brand associated with — and, just as importantly, the content you want to avoid.
While it may be tempting to think in broader terms when performing this exercise, you’ll want to tailor your guidelines as much as possible to your brand’s specific values and audience. For example, a children’s toy company might prioritize avoiding content with mature themes, while a financial services brand may wish to avoid appearing next to speculative or misleading economic propaganda.
2. Leverage Technology and Tools
Today’s digital advertising offers a variety of tools that can help ensure that your brand is only displayed where you want it. This includes using keyword blocklists to prevent your ads from showing up alongside content with certain terms, as well as contextual targeting for placing your ads in the most relevant and suitable settings.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are particularly effective in monitoring ad placements and analyzing content in real time. These can detect and flag unsuitable material quickly so that your brand isn’t compromised.
3. Collaborate With Ad Partners
Your ad partners — whether they’re agencies, networks, or platforms — play a crucial role in implementing your BSS strategy. Make sure they understand your specific safety and suitability preferences. Work closely with them to establish transparent processes for ad placement, and verify that they offer real-time monitoring and reporting.
4. Perform Regular Monitoring and Updates
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that BSS is not a one-time setup. It requires continuous monitoring and adjustment to be effective over time. As public sentiment shifts, or as new platforms gain popularity, your BSS strategy will likely need updating to remain current. And there will always be new risks and content trends that will have the potential to affect your policy.
Conduct regular audits of where your ads are appearing, as well as review your blocklists and contextual targeting. This will help your policy remain effective in protecting your brand.
5. Create a Crisis Management Plan
Despite your best efforts, there may be instances where your brand’s ads do appear in an unsuitable context. If those happen, you’ll be better off if you already have a crisis management plan in place. This plan should outline how to respond quickly to mitigate any potential damage, like pulling ads from a platform, issuing public statements, or offering corrective actions to affected customers.
A swift and transparent response can help your brand recover from a BSS incident and show customers that you take their concerns seriously.
6. Utilize Third-Party BSS Verification
Third-party BSS services can provide an extra layer of protection. These specialize in monitoring ad placements and evaluating content, giving you an independent assessment of whether your ads are being shown in the right context. Verification can offer peace of mind and additional assurance that your BSS policy is working effectively.
Let’s Talk About Your Brand Safety and Suitability
Brand safety and suitability can be essential to your company’s reputation, consumer trust, financial risk, and regulatory compliance. Using the strategies above can help you establish a strong BSS policy that will offer the appropriate brand protection.
If you have questions about how to implement yours, or would like to learn more about agencies that can provide this service, let us know! Click the link below to schedule a free consultation.
