In the days of “Mad Men” and before, ads were delivered into fixed placements that were known in advance.
But now, in this time of real-time delivery into millions of dynamic contexts, defined by surrounding content and challenged by viewing conditions. Advertisers are now finding themselves increasingly concerned that their messages are being compromised by factors that aren’t in their control.
There is a new organization called Brand Safety Institute whose goal is to re-establish that control, that was launched this week in Washington, DC.
The organizations was formed by Mike Zaneis, CEO of the corporate-focused Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) and Neal Thurman, director at Coalition for Better Ads (CBA). The Brand Safety Institute intends to help define best practices, provide a certification program for the new role of Brand Safety Officer and offer other kinds of supporting education, training and resources.
Zameis told me that, to his knowledge, this is the first organization solely dedicated to this area.