Placing digital display ads has never been easier. You create your ads, pay your money, and a nice computer will automagically push them out across whichever networks you choose.
But all this automation means fewer human eyeballs checking ad placements actually make sense. And most marketers I meet think about where they’d like to see their ads while neglecting to clearly specify where their ads cannot appear.
New research from vCE Charter and reported by comScore has found that 72 percent of studied campaigns had ads running in proximity to content that was deemed “not brand safe”. Poor ad placement has the potential to destroy brand trust and to tarnish its meaning, ultimately harming sales in the long term.
So start thinking about where your ads should not appear. Be demanding and insist that ad network owners employ due care to ensure your ads are only seen in the most positive light possible. That’s what you’re paying them for, so make them work for their money.
Need an example of poor ad placement? Just visit almost any big ad-funded network and you’ll routinely spot editorial fighting with ad copy. Or watch this recent life or death TV example from the UK’s Channel 4:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXAuoA_KZwo&sns=em]