Practise self-assessment, evaluate past campaigns to prevent risks: ISA tells brands

To ensure a brand is protected from risks, they must start by reviewing historical campaign data to identify trends and areas of concern related to brand safety, which will help determine their current position in this journey, said the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) in its playbook on ‘brand safety’ released recently.

In today’s dynamic digital landscape with a plethora of platforms and types of content, navigating the complexities of brand safety can feel daunting.

To help brands and agencies navigate this, ISA, in its ‘Brand Safety Playbook’, has called for brands to choose a structured approach to assess and enhance brand safety practices.

It has asked advertisers to ensure that appropriate safeguards are implemented within their advertising platforms and that these controls are regularly monitored and adhered to, fostering brand integrity and mitigating risks.

The 47-page playbook advises advertisers to wisely choose an external partner for coverage purposes and assess brand safety maturity by ensuring that platform controls are in place.

The advertisers’ body said that its vision is “to provide a comprehensive playbook as the go-to reference for understanding the challenges, best practices, and future directions of brand safety, offering actionable insights that empower brands, agencies, and platforms to protect and enhance their reputation.”

The body, headed by Sunil Kataria, CEO of Raymond Lifestyle, has also formed a separate sub-committee.

The brand safety subcommittee of the ISA comprises of Archana Aggarwal, ISA Brand Safety sub-committee Head, Media Consultant; Anagha Bhojane, Director, Integrated Brand Experience, Colgate-Palmolive; Ankit Desai, Media, Digital Marketing and Brand PR Head, Marico; Arvind RP, CMO, McDonald’s; Chintan Soni, CEO/co-founder, mFunnel.ai (unit of Madison World); Jasnoor Sibia, Brand Director, Media Operations, P&G; Jayesh Moorjani, Brand Solution Specialist, Google; Karan Anand, Senior VP-Strategy, IPG; Rajiv Dubey, VP, Dabur; Santosh Mishra, GM Digital, Wavemaker; Shashi Udyavar, Industry head, (CPG) Meta; and Shreya Godani, Media Measurement and Marketing Head, ISA.

The playbook advises brands to evaluate the existing data from their past campaigns.

“See where you stand in your brand safety journey. This self-assessment will help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your current approach. Make sure that your platform controls are robust and actively enforced to prevent potential pitfalls,” it said.

It also advises brands to choose an external partner wisely by evaluating coverage, customisation, tech capabilities and understanding of local nuances.

Another takeaway for advertisers is to set their risk tolerance by defining what’s brand-safe.

“Identify specific platforms, topics, and keywords to avoid, and apply universal guidelines to maintain consistency. Regularly monitor adherence to these guidelines to ensure your campaigns align with your safety standards,” the ISA playbook said.

It also cautioned brands on deciding the safety levels.

“Choose between standard or brand specific controls, considering the level of contextual control needed (avoidance vs. targeting),” it said.

It also asserted a balance between pre-bid and post-bid safety measures, adding that brand safety is not a one-time effort. It insisted that advertisers maintain rigorous oversight with their partners to ensure compliance with established guidelines.

“Maintain rigour with partners to ensure adherence, regularly optimize to reduce wasted impressions, and improve campaign effectiveness,” it said.

“Navigating brand safety is a critical component of successful advertising. By assessing your maturity, choosing the right partners, setting clear guidelines, and continuously monitoring your efforts, you can protect your brand while maximizing your advertising impact. Prioritize brand safety, and you’ll not only safeguard your reputation but also foster trust with your audience.

Nearly 20 days after announcing the rollout of the second phase of its Media Charter, the ISA on October 1 released the playbooks on the four critical areas that have emerged as significant challenges in the evolving digital landscape – brand safety, ad fraud prevention, viewability standards and ethical use of first-party data.

The ISA Media Charter Playbooks represent a collaborative effort from industry leaders and stakeholders, encapsulating their collective expertise and commitment to fostering a media ecosystem that prioritises safeguarding the interests of brands, consumers and the advertising community.

Each playbook addresses critical issues in digital advertising, acknowledging the escalating challenges in an increasingly complex and rapidly growing digital media landscape.

In August 2023, the ISA rolled out one initiative, the Model Media Agency Agreement, which is a template for agreements between advertisers and media agencies to establish detailed and precise agreements, considering substantial media flow and complexities of the ecosystem.

In May this year, Kataria announced releasing the four other initiatives of the charter.

The Indian Society of Advertisers has been the peak national body for advertisers for 70 years and represents the interests of organisations involved in the Indian advertising, marketing and media industry.

It aims to promote, maintain and uphold ethical and economic discipline in advertising.