SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Running ads next to “Grey,” or content that may not necessarily be deemed unsafe or unsuitable in general but is not aligned to a particular brand’s values or voice, greatly diminishes its effectiveness and harms other important advertising metrics, according to a new study of Australian consumers by Channel Factory and IPG Mediabrands’ research arm, MAGNA Media Trials.
“The Art of Alignment: The Relationship Between Brand Personality and Content Appropriateness” study shows that more than a third of Australians (36%) believe brands are endorsing content they advertise next to in online environments – leaving them accountable in consumers’ minds’ for that content.
Key findings from the Australian study, include:
- Brands are held accountable for the content they are adjacent to. More than a third of Aussie consumers agreed a brand was supporting the content its ad was adjacent to (36%). Consumers have become savvier about the advertising ecosystem as well and shared that they felt an ad being shown before the video had some sort of direct correlation with the brand.
- Questionable content diminishes brand recall and intent metrics. Consumers from all three markets had stronger message associations adjacent to standard content (+9 points) versus ads adjacent to questionable content (+6 points). Persuasion metrics like purchase intent and search intent had major decreases (-9 points each).
- Brands have the most to lose with Gen Z Adults and Millennials. Purchase intent decreased by 12 pts for Gen Z and 14 pts for Millennials when the brand ran ads against questionable content vs. standard content.
Hannah Rook, MediaBrands Australia MAGNA Group Intelligence and Insights Director, said, “We are excited to broaden our view of impact quality to include a deeper analysis of the video content in which the ad itself is placed alongside. Many brand safety practices are black and white in nature, the opportunity to broaden this approach to proactively consider brand suitability in specific content environments will be key to maximize results for our clients.”
Alex Littlejohn, The Channel Factory Managing Director APAC, said, “Online video is an incredibly effective advertising channel for brand and performance. But this new research shows that not all video is born equal and savvy marketers need to be taking a broader view of brand safety to include brand suitability to make their budgets work even harder.”
“Ad effectiveness is front and center for the industry this year, and younger audiences are especially conscious of the content ads are running next to. Any brand wanting to optimize return on investment needs to be aware of the impact this grey area can have on your business outcomes if you don’t get it right,” Alex elaborated.
The results show that blocking whole categories of content is also an inefficient approach because of the nature of “Grey” content, with perceptions varying among consumers. The study shows that perceptions of appropriateness also vary by brand; while questionable content feels most inappropriate for toy (26 over index) and financial services (11 over index) brands, it is less likely to be perceived as misaligned for the beverage (indexed at 86) and quick service brands (indexed at 78).
Joshua Lowcock, Global Chief Media Officer at UM, commented, “Ad environments that fall into grey areas require careful judgment calls be made by brands and their agencies. There isn’t always a one-size fits all solution as misaligned content for one brand could be a smart, under-leveraged opportunity for another. Put differently, what’s right for one brand isn’t always right for another.”
The full study can be found here.
