Offering Premium CTV Inventory is Not the Only Brand Safety Criteria

Author: Dave Marquard, Head of Product, Premion.

85% of U.S. households in 2022 are projected to be CTV households* and more than half (55%) of consumers use at least one free ad-supported streaming TV service (FAST), according to Hub Entertainment Research. The surge in streaming audiences and growth of ad-supported streaming offerings have resulted in an ever-increasing number of streaming choices across more platforms for consumers. For advertisers, this presents greater complexity and more media buying options across a fragmented streaming TV landscape — and thus, the potential for greater brand safety risks.  

Brand safety remains a top advertiser imperative — and nine in 10 advertisers consider brand safety a priority in their CTV/OTT advertising planning and strategy, according to our 2022 CTV/OTT survey conducted by Advertiser Perceptions. To protect brands from reputational and financial risks, it’s no longer enough to just work with CTV advertising providers that offer premium inventory. 

Advertisers need to do their due diligence to understand the structural differences in media buying models and the various interpretations of inventory quality and sources — and more importantly, in choosing trusted partners that will ensure transparent accountability for their campaigns.

With the plethora of streaming provider options, it’s even more essential for advertisers to protect their brand reputation by ensuring that their ads run in brand-safe content by digging deeper to understand the publisher vetting process, inventory sourcing and the reporting provided by CTV advertising providers.

Here are four brand-safety considerations for CTV advertisers:

• Work with providers that source inventory from premium, reputable publishers and branded networks that people know and trust.
• Ensure that providers are not purchasing inventory from open exchanges.
• Ensure transparent accountability of providers by demanding detailed reporting that show exactly where ad campaigns ran.
• Above all, advertisers should look for the TAG Brand Safety Certified Seal of approval to ensure they’re working with a provider that operates to a set of rigorous guiding principles to promote brand safety and combat piracy. This is the best safeguard to ensure transparent accountability and brand safety protection.

At Premion, we’ve treated brand safety as a strategic priority since our inception, and we hold both a TAG Brand Safety Certified Seal and a TAG Certified Against Fraud, Seal, two distinct and separate recognitions, from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). 

To learn more, read our TAG Brand Safety Certified Seal announcement.

 *eMarketer, Connected TV Households, September 2022; Copyright © 2022 Insider Intelligence Inc. All Rights Reserved.