Brand Safety and Brand Suitability in Digital Advertising

What is Brand Safety and Why Is It Crucial in Digital Advertising?

Brands invest a significant portion of their resources and human capital to build themselves, to become part of the imagination, culture, and reality of that target group of consumers for which they compete with other brands doing exactly the same on a larger or smaller scale. Imagine how critical and complex a reputational crisis and a loss of credibility can be, seriously affecting the business.

That is the reason why the term "Brand Safety" exists—nothing more than all the measures taken by brands to ensure that advertisements do not appear alongside content that could harm the brand's reputation and value.

Digital environments are increasingly complex, fragmented, and difficult to navigate for brands that need to connect with consumers. Programmatic advertising, social media, and the influencer phenomenon have especially complicated the placement of ads in safe and trustworthy content.

A recent study by Integral Ad Science, which surveyed just over a thousand people in the United States, revealed very interesting insights about the importance of Brand Safety. Among the most notable findings is that 82% of consumers believe that advertisements should be surrounded by appropriate content.

Another key finding: 71% of respondents stated that the content surrounding a brand is a reflection of the values it promotes. That says it all. The importance of protecting Brand Equity is clear, especially in the face of a wide range of threats—from inappropriate content and misinformation to contexts where brand value and identity are compromised by the content around them.

Ensuring that ads appear in a safe environment is crucial to maintaining consumer trust and protecting the reputation of our brands. In this guide, we will explore key definitions, the evolution of Brand Safety, the main existing threats, and what can be done to mitigate the risks.

What Is Brand Suitability and How Is It Different from Brand Safety?

While the concept of Brand Safety is more well-known and widely referenced, there is a complementary term that is just as important. While Brand Safety focuses on preventing ads from appearing next to potentially risky content, Brand Suitability refers to the practice of seeking out contexts that are truly aligned with the brand’s values, identity, and audience.

Understanding this difference is key, as this guide will cover both topics. A strategy aimed at protecting brands when executing digital campaigns should not be solely restrictive; it must seek a healthy balance between filtering and enabling campaigns to reach meaningful audiences by finding content that is safe yet aligned with the brand’s identity and communication needs.

Take an energy drink brand as an example—considering Brand Safety might prevent its ads from appearing on sites discussing the cardiovascular risks of energy drinks, while Brand Suitability would be the key to placing those ads on content platforms related to extreme sports, active lifestyles, or high-performance events, where the message of energy and adrenaline perfectly aligns with the context and audience.

It’s important to make it clear that content can be Brand Safe, but not necessarily Brand Suitable. In that sense, a website offering pet care tips may be safe, but it is likely not suitable for a luxury brand.

A well-designed strategy that prioritizes Brand Safety will connect the right content within the safest possible environment, always aiming to scale this effort across many digital spaces simultaneously.

The Evolution of Brand Safety: From Traditional Advertising to the Digital Environment

The concept of Brand Safety is not new; however, its application in the digital environment presents unique challenges. While in traditional advertising, brands have direct control over where and how their ads appear, in digital advertising everything happens in real time within a dynamic ecosystem where ads can appear on thousands of sites. If no measures are taken, direct control over the context in which ads are displayed can be lost.

This has led to the implementation of robust Brand Safety strategies that rely not only on the advertiser’s and agency’s judgment but also leverage technology to filter risky content and enhance environments where opportunities can be seized to amplify the digital presence of brands.

Among the main current issues on the internet is the massive increase in user-generated content, with or without artificial intelligence, the proliferation of fake news, and the growing tensions related to armed conflicts and political polarization, which have their own battleground on the web.

One of the most important challenges is misinformation. Consumers are increasingly aware and demanding about the quality of the information they consume, and as brands, we cannot afford to be associated with content that could be considered misleading or false.

In addition, inappropriate content—such as violence and hate speech—is a constant concern, especially for companies aiming to maintain operational and communication coherence with their values of diversity and inclusion.

Therefore, today, all of us involved in advertising execution and media planning must be aware and properly trained to identify risks and highlight opportunities. It is crucial to fine-tune formats, media, and communication, always keeping audiences at the center of our strategies.

Main Threats to Brand Safety in Digital Advertising

Below, we will provide a detailed overview of the main threats brands face in digital environments.

Inappropriate Content

Inappropriate content is one of the most obvious threats to brand safety. This includes everything from graphic violence to hate speech and explicit material. The presence of ads next to this type of content can significantly damage the perception of the brand among consumers.

Ad Fraud

Ad fraud is another major threat to brand safety. It involves deceptive practices such as fake clicks, fake impressions, and the use of bots to simulate real user interactions. These tactics not only waste advertising budgets but also compromise the integrity and effectiveness of digital campaigns.

Ad Placement in Inappropriate Environments

One of the biggest risks for brands is the placement of ads in environments that are not suitable—content that is not Brand Suitable—which can damage the brand's reputation.

An example could be a soda brand placing an ad in a digital article about obesity, which would clearly send a contradictory and potentially harmful message for the brand.

Misinformation and Fake News

Imagine a car brand purchasing ad inventory on a network of websites that does not properly filter content. As a result, its ads appear in an article spreading conspiracy theories about the automotive industry, falsely claiming that electric cars are a threat to public health. This unintended association with fake news could harm the brand’s credibility, as readers might perceive that the brand supports or benefits from misleading content.

This doesn’t only happen with small blogs or websites that profit from viral content—it can also occur with well-known media outlets that, due to their political, economic, or editorial agendas, may produce content that could be controversial or pretentious for a certain audience.

Technological Solutions to Ensure Brand Safety

Despite all the complexity surrounding Brand Safety and Brand Suitability, there are various methods and tools available to mitigate risks and maximize the proper placement of ads..

Easily Accessible Tools Available to All Advertisers

In general, nearly all digital media platforms that offer ad inventory purchasing have some native Brand Safety and Brand Suitability features. Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and other platforms provide basic filters and safety controls that allow brands to avoid having their ads appear alongside inappropriate or harmful content.

These solutions can vary significantly across platforms, so achieving uniformity in Brand Safety policies and in the methods used to prevent ads from appearing in risky content is considerably complex and requires much finer tuning by the implementation teams running the advertising campaigns.

Advanced Third-Party Solutions

For more thorough and detailed control, you can turn to paid platforms like DoubleVerify, IAS (Integral Ad Science), or MOAT. These tools offer a full range of solutions including contextual analysis, risk assessment, and real-time content exclusion.

They also allow you to customize unsafe content categories according to your brand’s specific needs, providing an extra layer of protection. Risk mitigation can even be configured to occur before bidding (pre-bid) on an ad placement and a defined number of impressions.

However, implementing these solutions requires a clear understanding that there will be additional costs on top of the media budget. Beyond just paying a tech fee, the CPM for all campaigns can be significantly higher depending on negotiations with these providers and the solutions contracted.

Key Actions to Prevent and Mitigate Risks Affecting Brand Safety

Implementing effective measures can help prevent and mitigate risks. Below are the main actions that you and your media agency can take starting now to protect your brand.

Defining a Clear Brand Safety and Brand Suitability Strategy

As we’ve seen, there are technological solutions that can protect your brand, but they won’t be of much use without a clear strategy that aims to establish safety policies and criteria to determine which types of content are truly appropriate.

The starting point before choosing any technology that offers a Brand Safety solution and aims to enhance Brand Suitability should be having a clear understanding of the ecosystem your brand operates in and the specific risks associated with each media channel you plan to use to achieve your advertising objectives.

Implementation of Safety Filters

Safety filters within advertising platforms or third-party solutions are one of the most effective tools to ensure Brand Safety. These filters allow control over where and how ads are displayed, blocking websites, apps, or types of content that do not align with the Brand Suitability strategy or safety standards.

Audits and Continuous Monitoring

Regular monitoring of campaigns, inventories, and advertising environments is essential to preserve brand safety. Audits allow brands to identify and correct any potential issues before they escalate into a crisis.

They also support decision-making, which can sometimes be complex, but contribute to making advertising ecosystems safer for all advertisers—for example, globally suspending all advertising on a social network or media network until its owners address potential Brand Safety risks.

Collaboration with Trusted Partners

Working with trusted advertising partners such as agencies, media outlets, and third parties that audit their advertising executions is one of the best ways to ensure Brand Safety. Partners with high safety standards can help you avoid unsafe environments and maintain the integrity of your advertising campaigns.

Brand Safety in Major Digital Media

Each platform or advertising action in the digital world has its own nuances related to Brand Safety. A proper strategy must consider the nature of each medium and its characteristics. Here, we will explore the challenges and implications across different digital media:

Social media presents a unique set of challenges for Brand Safety due to user-generated content. Brands must be especially careful to ensure their ads do not appear alongside inappropriate or harmful content.

Specific challenges on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok:

En Facebook, el contenido con impacto político y las fake news suele ser uno de los temas más complejos de controlar.

On Facebook, politically charged content and fake news are among the most difficult issues to control.
On X (formerly Twitter), due to its current nature, user-generated content can be unpredictable, hard to manage, and filled with all types of sensitive material.
On Instagram, brands must navigate a visual environment where ad placement is key not only to campaign success but also to avoiding potential risks.
TikTok poses additional challenges due to its fast-paced nature, the variety of content being generated, the very young user base, and current instability stemming from disputes between the United States and China.

Influencers and Content Creators

Using influencers or content creators is a fundamental strategy in any advertising plan that aims to leverage social media to its fullest. However, there is no programmatic or automated way to access these profiles, which means the standardization of Brand Safety policies depends directly on best practices within marketing, media, and agency teams.

This presents both a challenge and an advantage for Brand Safety. The advantage is that if teams have the proper experience in executing these campaigns, a thorough validation process will typically be applied—this often includes reviewing all previously produced content by the influencer or creator, as well as conducting audits to mitigate potential reputational or legal risks.

The challenge, however, arises when the influencer or creator's content goes live, as audience behavior can be unpredictable and carry reputational risks.

This article from Sprout Social covers these points further and offers insights for mitigating potential crises.

YouTube and Video or Streaming Platforms

Video platforms like YouTube are extremely popular but also present significant risks to brand safety. Ads can appear before, during, or after videos containing inappropriate content.

Ads may even run alongside content that explicitly contradicts a brand’s values and beliefs, making a well-defined Brand Suitability strategy essential. Nevertheless, YouTube in particular has increasingly implemented measures to reduce sensitive content and foster a brand-friendly ecosystem. Here’s an interesting article from Think With Google that addresses this topic.

However, streaming platforms like Twitch, which by nature face the complex task of preventing risks in real time during live broadcasts, tend to be challenging environments for advertisers concerned with Brand Safety. When working with these platforms, it's ideal to engage directly and understand their efforts to mitigate risks, in order to determine whether it’s worth executing campaigns under those conditions.

News Media and Blogs

Although the internet is filled with all types of written content, the filters established by Google and major advertising networks have made these types of media somewhat safer by only allowing monetization of content that does not pose a risk to advertisers and users.

However, in the case of news outlets—which, due to their massive reach, are of great interest to advertisers—the risks are high, and extra caution must be taken when purchasing ad inventory.

The recommended approach for these types of media is to use additional technological solutions to mitigate Brand Safety risks and ensure that the teams behind these tools have properly set up blacklists, keyword filters, and other platform configurations to protect the brand.

The Future of Brand Safety Through Technology and Artificial Intelligence

As we’ve seen, digitalization is part of the problem—but also part of the solution. In the coming years, we will likely face new challenges that affect Brand Safety and make it increasingly complex to determine which spaces are appropriate for brands. The solution lies in embracing technology as an ally and maintaining a mindset of constant adaptation that allows for real-time redefinition of the policies that protect your brand.

How Brand Safety is expected to evolve in the coming years:

The focus on transparency and ethics in digital advertising will continue to grow, driven by consumer demand for safer and more responsible content.
An increase is expected in the use of artificial intelligence and automation to improve Brand Safety strategies. It’s highly likely that advanced algorithms and future AI agents (autonomous AI-based systems) will have the ability to act in real time—within milliseconds—in response to potential threats to brand safety, alerting implementation teams to update or adjust their policies accordingly.

Conclusion

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations—you’re now an expert in Brand Safety and Brand Suitability. Share this article with those you consider key to helping your brand thrive and exist in safe digital environments, and take away these three key points:

It is essential for your brand to invest in technology and ongoing training. A large media budget is worthless if it doesn’t take Brand Safety and Brand Suitability into account.
Without a clear strategy that originates from the brand and is communicated to your agency and teams, the advertising you’ve worked so hard for could end up causing serious problems.
Collaboration with experts and trusted partners is key to navigating the future challenges you’ll face. Look for key allies—reputable agencies with whom you genuinely feel that ethics and corporate culture are perfectly aligned.