Retailers at risk from inappropriate online advertising

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NEW YORK, PRN - GHN News -- A Facebook user recently complained that his blog's ads were oriented to areas that he considered inappropriate for his site, and that's the kind of concern retailers face this holiday season, but the risk can be even greater.

Some of the inappropriate advertisers that appear on web pages have ads outside of geographic targets.

According to a report released today from AdSafe Media, the online advertising practices of retailers have the potential to put their brands at significant risk this holiday season.  This is important because it is a key time of consumer spending.

This is what Adsafe Media found:

• Retailer ads appeared on Web pages that were rated 6 percent more risky for advertising than industry averages


• Adult Content was the most prevalent type of high risk content for retailers' ads


• 4 percent of Retailer ads were served outside of geographic targeting requirements

Since retailers have more visitors, the risks are magnified.

"Brand safety concerns are top-of-mind for most retailers leveraging digital to engage with their consumers. Having your brand appear in an inappropriate context not only has financial and regulatory implications, it has the potential to compromise consumers' perception of your brand. This is of the upmost concern to brands in the peak of their purchase cycle, such as over the holidays," commentedJulie Roehm, a leading strategic marketing consultant and former SVP of Marketing for Wal-Mart.

In order to mitigate advertisers' concerns during periods of increased ad spending, many brands are employing brand safety platforms to enable "brand safe" advertising.