IS YOUTUBE ADVERTISING SAFE?
what CMOs should know in today's digital climate
EPISODE 60
Joel and Erich speak to YouTube advertising safety amidst a climate of brand uncertainty. All about why big brands are quitting YouTube pre-roll entirely, and exactly how you can ensure 99.99% brand safety on YouTube moving forward.
Takeaways:
Big brands like AT&T, Disney, and Nestle are threatening to pull out of advertising on YouTube entirely because of inappropriate content pairings that have straddled the line of brand damage.
How did these brands get here? It’s simple: their media buyers have been lazy. They have attempted to apply the same model they have on TV to YouTube — programatic buys that spread millions over a single deal or campaign, leading to an absence of control and ability to monitor their brand.
When 300 hours of YouTube content are uploaded every minute, brands should not risk investing in pre-roll ads that have not been vetted for placement. By pulling out of advertising, these brands have implied that these instances were out of their control, when really it was the consequence of a lack of attention to detail.
This doesn’t mean YouTube advertising is not safe, it means huge buys in pre-roll/mid-roll ads are inherently risky, especially for big brands. To avoid this risk our recommendation is, of course, influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing has enormous safeguards that shield brands from this type of brand damage. Experienced influencer marketing agencies not only spend time curating campaigns that meet brand standards and place your content effectively, but scrupulously vet creators and channels to ensure your content is safe from brand damage. More than that, when 40% of people are using ad blockers, what’s the point in advertising with pre-roll in the first place?
The final word: CMOs — tell your media buyers to stop being lazy and tailor to the medium they’re using. If you’re ready for influencer, you know who to contact.