IAB Europe has released the findings of its 2023 Brand Safety Poll. 157 industry professionals from across the digital advertising value chain gave their opinions on how brand safety has been tackled over the past 12 months, providing insights on what action needs to happen in 2023. 

67 per cent of respondents agree or strongly agree that brand safety was a key priority for the industry in 2022, with 53 per cent of respondents further agreeing that the industry has done a good job of tackling brand safety over the past 12 months. This is up from 36 per cent in 2019. 71 per cent cited technology innovations as helping to solve brand safety concerns. This is up from 65 per cent in 2019. 

When asked to rank brand safety alongside other industry challenges, 50 per cent of respondents said brand safety is the same in terms of challenges compared to last year. The challenges that have increased are privacy, transparency and sustainability. 57 per cent of respondents said that privacy concerns are more of a challenge than last year, while only 8 per cent said it was less of a challenge. 44 per cent of respondents said that transparency and sustainability are more of a challenge than last year, compared to 39 per cent that said brand safety. 

78 per cent of respondents agree that there has been greater demand for brand suitability over the past 12 months More than 80 per cent of respondents also cited that brand safety requires a bespoke approach to each client’s needs. 

Looking at what needs to happen in 2023 to further tackle brand safety and ensure trust for both advertisers and consumers, responses focused on creating new rules for news creators; safeguarding customer privacy; more technical support; more verification; and content control. 

“The poll results highlight how seriously the digital advertising industry takes the safety of brand advertising investments and how improvements have been made in tackling this over the past couple of years,” said IAB Europe CMO, Helen Mussard. “Furthermore, it is encouraging to see stakeholders recognise the importance that technology plays in tackling brand safety and suitability. We will continue to work with our members to highlight advances and best practices in this area, to enable brand safe experiences for both advertisers and consumers.” 

The full results of the poll can be found here.