The burgeoning national political season isn’t just about campaign promises and competing candidate agendas: It’s about advertising.
According to Forrester Research, 82% of B2C marketing executives in the U.S. have concerns about marketing their brands during this year’s presidential election cycle. Advertisers, publishers and platforms will face additional challenges as an even greater deluge of controversial news, user generated content and misinformation takes hold.
Advertisers recognize the value of engaged news audiences, the importance of supporting publishers and the impact of social platforms’ reach as they operate as our modern public squares. However, they’re worried about the risks associated with media investments in an election year.
Balancing brand safety and performance is a constant challenge facing marketers. So how can advertisers avoid misinformation and protect their brand, all while supporting public dialogue as we head into November? And how can they do this without fueling a flight of ad dollars from trusted news sites or platforms in the name of brand safety?
A climate of uncertainty
Earlier this year, the IAS released The State of Brand Safety report that showed consumers are seriously concerned about misinformation: 75% feel less favorable toward brands that advertise on sites known for spreading misinformation, with 72% saying they hold brands accountable for the content surrounding their ads.
Disinformation is typically the product of unsavory bad actors bent on intentionally misleading audiences. But for an advertiser, intent is irrelevant because both pose brand safety issues that can impact their standing with consumers. Add in AI and machine-generated content, and we’re truly in a new frontier.
Fraudsters are also taking advantage of generative AI to launch websites that appear reputable. Yet, they are only created to take advertising dollars from legitimate publishers without achieving any real return on investment for brands.
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