The CMO’s Guide to Brand Safety and Programmatic Advertising

Brand Safety and Programmatic Advertising

Ad platforms want to spend your money. Good media agencies make sure those dollars are well spent. While programmatic media sounds automated, and largely has automated features, actual eyes on performance and hands on keyboards are key to campaign success.

In recent news, a lot has been said about Made For Advertising (MFA) websites, Unreliable Artificial Intelligence-Generated News websites (UAIN), misinformation, and AI-driven dangers to brand safety.

Intentional or not, many advertisers risk being painted as “supporting” misinformation-based websites, which can range from poor editing to dangerous and harmful content promotion. At the heart, this comes from a lack of care in your paid media planning and your programmatic ad tactics.

Brand Safety and Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic Advertising dollars in the US are expected to maintain the upward trend, increasing by 21% from 2023 to 2025 alone. If you are an advertiser investing in programmatic media, it is vital that your media agency protects your brand. 

One way we do this at Marketing Doctor includes the use of Include lists, not simply Exclude lists. As AI continues to drive more online content at fast speeds, Exclude lists are impossible to maintain at scale. We instead use Include lists among other specialized targeting tactics to ensure your programmatic ads are placed on high-quality, brand-safe, relevant websites. Our in-house team monitors performance daily, treating each paid media dollar like our own. 

Programmatic Spending 2017-2026

As a marketing leader:

  • be critical of the number of websites your campaign is on (this number can be a red herring when so many websites are by and for spam bots)
  • ask your media vendor how they are protecting your brand with the rise of AI-driven website content (hint: if they are over-relying on Exclude lists, they are behind the times)
  • clarify whether your campaign is run by an in-house team of specialists and how frequently it’s monitored for quality (note: the answer should be yes and it should be monitored regularly, at least weekly)

All in all, programmatic advertising is a key piece of most media plans, and as a channel it continues to grow each year. It should be embraced, but only with strict stewardship for ad quality and brand safety. Make sure your media vendor supports your campaigns with the care they need, especially on programmatic channels.

To read more about programmatic advertising, check out our other blogs here, including our rule book for working with DSPs.

Ad platforms want to spend your money. Good media agencies make sure those dollars are well spent. While programmatic media sounds automated, and largely has automated features, actual eyes on performance and hands on keyboards are key to campaign success.

In recent news, a lot has been said about Made For Advertising (MFA) websites, Unreliable Artificial Intelligence-Generated News websites (UAIN), misinformation, and AI-driven dangers to brand safety.

Intentional or not, many advertisers risk being painted as “supporting” misinformation-based websites, which can range from poor editing to dangerous and harmful content promotion. At the heart, this comes from a lack of care in your paid media planning and your programmatic ad tactics.

Programmatic Advertising dollars in the US are expected to maintain the upward trend, increasing by 21% from 2023 to 2025 alone. If you are an advertiser investing in programmatic media, it is vital that your media agency protects your brand. 

Programmatic Spending 2017-2026

One way we do this at Marketing Doctor includes the use of Include lists, not simply Exclude lists. As AI continues to drive more online content at fast speeds, Exclude lists are impossible to maintain at scale. We instead use Include lists among other specialized targeting tactics to ensure your programmatic ads are placed on high-quality, brand-safe, relevant websites. Our in-house team monitors performance daily, treating each paid media dollar like our own. 

As a marketing leader:

  • be critical of the number of websites your campaign is on (this number can be a red herring when so many websites are by and for spam bots)
  • ask your media vendor how they are protecting your brand with the rise of AI-driven website content (hint: if they are over-relying on Exclude lists, they are behind the times)
  • clarify whether your campaign is run by an in-house team of specialists and how frequently it’s monitored for quality (note: the answer should be yes and it should be monitored regularly, at least weekly)

All in all, programmatic advertising is a key piece of most media plans, and as a channel it continues to grow each year. It should be embraced, but only with strict stewardship for ad quality and brand safety. Make sure your media vendor supports your campaigns with the care they need, especially on programmatic channels.

To read more about programmatic advertising, check out our other blogs here, including our rule book for working with DSPs.

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