Steve O'Farrell

Dive Brief:

• 4A’s unveiled the Advertiser Protection Bureau (APB), where agencies will collectively share the responsibility of creating a community that protects the health of all brands while keeping consumers safe, too, according to a press release. The announcement was made at the 4A’s closed Accelerate conference last month but only now release

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The involvement of big names, like BMW and IPG Mediabrands, in the study signals that the marketing industry is taking steps to create a safer, more transparent ad ecosystem. Trade association 4A’s unveiled the Advertiser Protection Bureau, where agencies collectively share the responsibility of creating a community to protect the health of all bra... See more

eventy-five percent of companies report being exposed to brand safety issues, but only 26% have taken some kind of action, and 15% haven’t adjusted their strategies at all, according to research by GumGum and Custom. Another study by Sizmek found that four in 10 brands report delivering ads on unsafe websites, but 64% find it tough to implement an ... See more

Dive Brief:

• Ads that appear near negative content cause a 2.8 times decrease in consumer intent to associate with the brands, according to “The Brand Safety Effect,” a new media trial study by brand safety company CHEQ, IPG Mediabrands, BMW, Magna and a leading online entertainment platform.


• Two-thirds of consumers who expressed a high purchase inte

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Democratic governance of digital platforms

Most brands do not want to be associated with hate speech and bot farms, but they are. It is easy to look the other way in such a technically complicated market, but marketers have a responsibility. Brands become complicit by remaining silent.

Policymakers and activists are pushing to reform digital platfor... See more

Digital marketing and disinformation

Digital marketing is a commercial practice by which firms create value over the internet. It includes search optimisation, content marketing, influencers, pay-per-click adverts, affiliate programs, and ordinary advertising. Brands hire digital marketing agencies and firms known as ad tech, which operate the soft... See more

A business model that rewards engagement

Social media platforms were not designed to convey information, but rather for entertainment. They were designed to identify things like the most amusing cat videos, and then recommend them to people who would share them. However, marketing researchers have since found that content that evokes strong positiv... See more