News & Press Releases
A Clean Bill of Health for Your Brand
by Amiad Solomon
Too many brands today entrust their online advertising strategies to targeting solutions that do not have the capability to place ads in the appropriate content. It may be hard to believe, but many marketers have no idea where their ads are appearing online. Content is always changing, and information today hits the Web before anywhere else, making the Internet a potentially risky place for advertisers.
Imagine you’re an advertiser for a financial services company. It stands to reason that you would want your ads in financial or business sections of publications. Then what do you do when these sections are filled with content about fraud and Wall Street excess? Unfortunately, your ad will still be sitting there…untouched. A brand can quickly damage its reputation and image if its advertisement is the first image consumers see next to negative or unsavory information.
Luckily, there are steps that brands can take to help ensure the security of their online presence, powered by semantic targeting solutions.
* Content may be hazardous to your health…that is, the health of your brand. Semantic systems can automatically recognize objectionable content or phrases in text that are associated with negative events, and prevent an ad from running. As the past year has shown us, scandals break in an instant. Unlike other technologies that only target according to keywords or user behavior, semantic targeting protects brands from potentially harmful changes in sentiment.
* Beware of using targeting methodologies that may upset consumers or regulators. With Congress and the FTC debating the use of cookies and privacy control, semantics remains in the clear as it targets ads utilizing only the current page of content and guarantees consumer privacy.
* Make sure you know where your ads are running. If you’re going to invest the money in an online campaign, you should be fitted with the proper tools to make sure your ads appear where you want them to, and that your brand is protected.
* Reach audience engaging in content when it’s hot. With 80 percent of new content being consumed within the first 48 hours, having your ad in the wrong place at the wrong time means severely losing out on valuable impressions. Semantics gives marketers peace of mind, knowing that every impression is an informed connection – in real time.
As a last piece of advice to advertisers, keep a sharp focus to your brand’s effectiveness and the targeting strategies with which it engages. Brand protection and issues regarding the FTC’s debates over privacy concerns will continue to challenge marketers, and those that don’t consider innovative targeting technologies are likely to squander both monetary and reputational capital.