Unproven Brand Suitability Tools Threaten Advertiser Confidence in News

The best way to drive greater investment with news publishers is to give advertisers complete confidence in their ability to engage with news content at scale while ensuring their suitability preferences are accounted for.  

Classification approaches that are accurate, consistent, policy-driven and aligned well with the expectations of advertisers and the broader industry are the foundation on which buyer trust and confidence are built. Classifications that are not widely supported or validated by the advertiser community, however, run a very real risk of alienating advertisers and jeopardizing revenue for news publishers as a result.

Spearheaded by our News Accelerator initiative, DV continues to invest in classification innovations and product enhancements that give advertisers greater granularity, flexibility and control over their brand suitability settings. These changes are empowering advertisers to grow their investment with news publishers and capitalize effectively on the brand-building opportunities news audiences present. 

But elsewhere, a new set of unproven brand suitability vendors appears to be misclassifying news content in a way that could undermine advertisers’ ability to invest confidently in news. 

DV’s research suggests that tools provided by these new-to-market vendors could be routinely misclassifying certain content of news publishers’ as “low risk,” which is not aligned broadly with advertisers’ expectations for their brand suitability settings on certain campaigns.

A Superior Approach

DV invests heavily in cutting-edge AI-driven classification technology – backed by robust policies informed by detailed advertiser and consumer research – to ensure our news content classifications are accurate. Our content classifications are refined and optimized by analyzing nearly one billion unique content items daily across the open web and major social environments. 

Advertiser and consumer research – alongside publisher feedback – is used to refine DV's classification policies further, keeping our approach responsive to changes in consumer perception and market dynamics. 

A recent DV study collected feedback from 25+ advertisers across different industry verticals on content classified as “low risk” by new and unproven vendors on three major news publishers’ sites. In 92% of cases, advertisers considered the content unsuitable for their brands and said they would actively wish to avoid it. 

Consumer sentiment showed a similar trend. A survey of 295 U.S. consumers found that 26%, on average, would think less of a brand or respect it less if it appeared alongside the content categorized as “low risk” by these new vendors.

Verification is evolving, and decades of institutional expertise, access to expansive datasets, deep partner integrations and proven technology uniquely equip DV to navigate this evolution successfully and consistently deliver the most accurate classifications possible.

New entrants often lack the data infrastructure, technical depth and ecosystem integrations required to deliver accurate classifications at scale, to the detriment of both publishers and advertisers that use their solutions.

Limiting Revenue for News Publishers

Classification approaches that do not adequately consider advertisers’ perspectives on risk and suitability have the potential to significantly harm news publishers’ advertising businesses long-term.

While it’s tempting to believe that classifying large portions of news content as “low risk” might open up advertiser spending and drive additional revenue for publishers, in practice, the inverse is likely true: Classifications that do not reflect advertisers’ views could damage their ability to invest confidently in news or alienate them from news publishers entirely.

We frequently field questions from news publishers asking why specific pieces of content did not receive higher risk tier classifications, which publishers say would help them build greater confidence with their advertisers. Brands in some verticals are particularly sensitive, publishers find, such as those selling luxury goods or operating in regulated industries.

Growing Advertiser Investment in News

DV is committed to providing advertisers with the most accurate, flexible and customizable tools possible, enabling them to protect brand equity while maximizing spending with news publishers by avoiding only content they deem unsuitable for their brand and campaign strategy. We continuously partner with advertisers to help them transition from blunt keyword controls to dynamic AI-driven page-level classification technology.

“Trustworthy and accurate content classification is critical for enabling our clients to invest their budgets confidently — particularly in news environments. Reliable and consistent classification technology enables us to maximize our investment with news publishers while ensuring our clients’ varied suitability needs and preferences are met,” said Wayne Blodwell, Global SVP Programmatic at Assembly Global.

Our dedicated News Accelerator initiative is working closely with news publishers, advertisers, agencies and industry stakeholders to spearhead this work. Research continues to reinforce our belief that investing in news is smart business for advertisers, and that those avoiding it altogether are missing out on powerful opportunities to engage with valuable, high-performing audiences.

DV data also reveals that advertising on news content now drives 16% more engagement than non-news content, and advertising alongside news content typically outperforms other digital channels, according to marketers.

Our work will continue to be informed by our close relationships with advertisers and news publishers, including our News Accelerator Publisher Council and the broader news community. DV will continue to listen, refine and improve to help drive long-term success for news publishers, advertisers, our agency partners and the wider industry.