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Brand Strategy Diversity and Inclusion Data & Privacy

The data revolution driving brand safety, diversity & inclusivity on social video

By Ian Darby, journalist

February 17, 2022 | 5 min read

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The health and diversity of online content, especially on social video and audio streaming channels, has never been a hotter topic. Just look at the recent storm surrounding Spotify and its presenter Joe Rogan. The streaming service has apologized for some "incredibly hurtful" comments regarding race and also faced criticism for providing Rogan with a platform to talk with coronavirus vaccine skeptics.

The data revolution driving brand safety, diversity & inclusivity on social video

The data revolution driving brand safety, diversity & inclusivity on social video

Spotify and other online platforms are taking steps to flag content that is potentially harmful or misleading but face tighter regulation from governments too. The UK administration, for instance, has moved to beef up its Online Safety Bill to stamp out illegal content, and the EU Digital Markets Act sets out to provide clear rules for online platforms "to stop them from imposing unfair conditions on businesses and consumers".

All this at a time when social video, especially, has never been more popular. YouTube's Shorts format, for instance, has just passed 5 trillion views. Of course, brand safety and suitability of social video advertising has long been an issue for advertisers. However, new themes and issues are now arising in terms of media investment meeting social responsibility goals and having a positive impact on society.

Conscious advertising

In light of this, Channel Factory, the YouTube advertising partner that delivers custom brand suitability, brand safety, and ad targeting on YouTube, has teamed with The Drum for a panel session exploring how advertisers can best make use of social video by following brand safety best practice and aligning themselves with content that is truly diverse and inclusive.

Anne Stilling, global director brand and media, Vodafone, Rob Blake, UK managing director, Channel Factory and Alexis Faulkner, chief digital officer, Mindshare will join Jenni Baker, assistant editor of The Drum, to consider how an approach that embraces the principles of “conscious advertising” will drive better results for brands on social video platforms.

Channel Factory has invested significantly in exploring the benefits for brands of conscious advertising, and recently launched research to spearhead The Conscious Project, an initiative to prove that conscious advertising matters to consumers and to help create a better digital ecosystem by monetizing creator-made content that is contributing to positivity and progress.

According to the research, 60% of consumers would feel more positive about a brand knowing they advertised in inclusive and diverse environments. And 69% would prefer to buy from brands that committed to socially conscious causes such as donating to charities or taking a stand on climate change. Meanwhile, 73% of consumers would be more likely to buy from brands whose advertising is relevant to the content that they are consuming on YouTube.

Effective social video advertising

Measurement and effectiveness are key issues too. Advertisers are looking for practical ways to ensure that they are investing in safe and optimized social video environments. To help achieve this, Channel Factory has partnered with Comscore Predictive Audiences to integrate its categorization of over 700 unique audience segments into YouTube's inventory, giving marketers a whole range of new contextual insights. As part of the deal, brands can run ads on YouTube with “guaranteed outcomes” and access self-service tools that enable them to target audience segments and place their ads accordingly.

Following this heightened investment in social video accountability, the panelists will explore new trends and data available to advertisers who are spending on social video. They will also examine how to achieve the best balance of advertising and video content alongside audience targeting and debate not only how to achieve impressive brand uplift results, but how advertisers can live true to their brand values with diversity and inclusivity at the core of the strategy.

The discussion will also focus on examples of misaligned content on social video channels and address issues such as where block lists actively do more harm than good by excluding content from key audiences based on words and actions that may have positive resonances in culture. The experts will tie together these points to arrive at a view of how brands can drive a better advertising ecosystem through inclusive targeting that reaches all communities.

Register for our webinar in partnership with Channel Factory, The data revolution driving brand safety, diversity & inclusivity on social video, here.

Brand Strategy Diversity and Inclusion Data & Privacy

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Channel Factory

Channel Factory is a global technology and data platform that maximizes both performance efficiency and contextual suitability, turning YouTube’s 5 billion videos...

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