In recent years, privacy has extended beyond the topic of risk management. It is vital to a company’s reputation and a central component of brand building and strategy. More than ever, especially in the wake of these past several months, advertisers are making this a top priority as they navigate critical decisions around which platforms to advertise on and where their campaigns are showing up. Context matters.
From the platform standpoint, addressing these needs is easier said than done. No two advertisers are the same when it comes to their brand message and campaign objectives and platforms that recognize this and respond with flexibility will see the most success. Facebook, for example, recently unveiled new brand safety controls for video advertisers, with topic exclusions, based on machine learning, and ‘publisher allow’ lists for more control campaign displays.
More recently, Reddit announced the expansion of its Ads platform with new tiers allotting for greater control and choices over the type of content brands appear adjacent to and the audiences they reach.
Here’s a peek at what’s new.
Inventory types
In the Expanded Inventory option, brands have access to Reddit’s maximum inventory pool as well as visibility next to the broadest range of content. Per the announcement, this tier will open up to over 20 percent of communities for targeting, resulting in the ability to tap into a significantly greater user base, while still meeting the platform’s content standards already in place.
A next level down, Reddit’s recommended tier, the Standard Inventory option provides “balanced reach and protection” to fit the needs of most advertisers. Ultimately, you’ll have less reach compared to Expanded, but greater protection in regards to where ads are shown. More specifically, the more controversial subreddits are not included.
Finally, Limited Inventory, much like its name alludes, gives brands the least amount of reach but the most optimal brand safety standards. This is due to Reddit’s partnership with Oracle Data Cloud’s Contextual Intelligence to offer third-party verification to ensure extra protection against questionable or harmful content.
“Our contextual intelligence technology provides up-to-the-minute content review and classification across industry-standard brand safety categories to give advertisers greater control over where their campaigns run,” stated Oracle Data Cloud Senior Director of Product Management, Chris Stark.
Moderation protocols
A big question mark with the introduction of these new tiers is what does this mean for the current platform, community and campaign moderation system in place. Primarily, Reddit notes that as always ads are eligible to appear in communities or in hand-curated allow lists. Advertisers will also still be in the driver seat when it comes to enabling or disabling comments on their ads. They’re also able to exclude particular keywords and communities depending on their preferences.
“Brand Safety has become a broader and more ubiquitous issue in recent months, and with good reason. With the sheer volume of content that appears across UGC platforms, it’s understandable that some advertisers desire enhanced control, while others are more comfortable with this environment,” explained Jen Wong, Reddit’s Chief Operating Officer, in the official announcement.
By maintaining these existing protocols with the added new tiers, brands that want maximum engagement will be able to have the reach to ascertain those goals while those seeking to double down on protecting their reputation will also have options to fit their needs.
Protecting a growing community
A recent Pinterest study found that over half (60%) of consumers are more likely to remember brands they encounter online when they feel positive, feel more positive when they are engaging with a brand in a positive environment, trust the brands they see in a positive space, and are more inclined to follow through with a purchase.
With its user base now up to 430 million users and its platform home to over 130,000 active communities and 12 million daily interactions — efforts like these are important for Reddit to continue growing its community. While just how successful this push will be remains to be seen — but one thing is clear: 2020 has exacerbated the need for brands to take a hard look at where their content appears and platforms that fail to address these concerns will have much more difficulty earning a permanent spot in an advertisers’ marketing mix.
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