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Technology Ad Misplacement Brand Safety

Havas APAC follows global lead in continuing relationship with Google

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By Charlotte McEleny, Asia Editor

March 20, 2017 | 3 min read

Havas APAC has said that it is following its global lead and has no plans to halt any advertising with Google in the region.

Google has been named the world’s most valuable brand

Havas sticks with Google in APAC

According to a spokesperson: “The decision of our UK team to pause activity with our partner Google is a temporary move made on behalf of our UK clients and their specific needs.

“The Havas Group will not be undertaking such measures on a global basis. We are working with Google to resolve the issues so that we can return to using this valuable platform in the UK.”

The statement was in response to a major decision from the advertising group’s UK business, which has decided to pause spend on behalf of its clients until it got better reassurance that the space was safe for brands to advertise in. Brands in the UK, such as The Guardian and the UK government, have been marred by their ads being placed on extremist or terrorism content.

Havas Group chief executive Yannick Bolloré had already come forward to make a statement, tweeting over the weekend that it did not reflect the global viewpoint of the network.

While the issues has been restricted to the UK, it raises issues globally about brand safety. Google has issued a global statement, via its UK managing director Ronan Harris. In an interview with the Drum, Harris called on advertisers to collaborate with the business to find the best solution for brand safety.

Google, is facing different issues within APAC, as the Vietnamese government has issued a call for advertisers to pull spend there. The government believes that Google and Facebook are allowing content that is anti-government on the website and it has asked advertisers to pull advertising from the platforms, with brands such as Unilever already pulling spend.

The Drum has asked for clarification on Havas' position on clients advertising in Vietnam but had no response at the time of writing.

Technology Ad Misplacement Brand Safety

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