It's Time We Measured Context

One example of this sudden emergence of a new class of experts as in people who donamp8217t know much but think they do is the reaction on social media to whatamp8217s happening over at GBNews our latest TV channelAs background ads on GBNews are sold by a third party Sky GBNews is a tiny channel amp8211 the latest estimates put a typical audience to their most popular slots at somewhere around 20000 Further the audience delivered is not only small but almost certainly reachable elsewhereSo without making any comment at all on the channelamp8217s editorial position one that has attracted controversy it simply isnamp8217t a big deal for advertisersSky uses automated processes to allocate funds across the channels it represents Unless an agency or client specifically requests that GBNews be excluded the odds are that the channel will be used as an audience makeweight albeit a small oneSo far so reasonable If as an advertiser you really want to avoid the controversies around GBNews or indeed any other channel then just make it clear you donamp8217t want to use itOr in the vernacular optout in order to avoid being optedinAssuming youamp8217ve not opted out and your ads have been appearing on GBNews thereamp8217s a good chance youamp8217ll have been targeted on social media by some of your alleged customers or by groups like Stop Funding Hate who have been in their eyes naming and shaming advertisers on this and other media outletsI find this disturbing Advertisers should be free to advertise wherever they like within the lawIt may very well be that as an advertiser you want to avoid those channels or contexts within a particular channel that clash with your values as a brand and or those that might stir up trouble and strife internally and with stakeholdersIt may be that you want to support or deliberately avoid certain media because of their editorial views or because of how they behave in terms of various of their policiesYou may also decide that the audiences attracted to a channel are not relevant or that the audienceamp8217s views and opinions run counter to those with which you wish to be associatedBut all of that is for you the advertiser to decide on the basis of the facts and the evidence not as a result of pressure from some third partyTo take a real example I noticed a number of tweets this week attacking Sainsburyamp8217s for using GBNews The message was Iamp8217m a customer stop doing this or Iamp8217ll take my custom elsewherePresumably if enough Sainsburyamp8217s customers take this view and if that number is greater than those taking the opposite view then Sainsburyamp8217s usual mechanisms for evaluating effect will conclude that given the amount spent on GBNews this was expenditure that didnamp8217t deliver a returnThis of course assumes that advertisers evaluate effect thoroughly amp8211 using a mix of research and data analytics to take into account reputational harm enhancement as well as sales and that they have the means to do this by channelIf they donamp8217t and letamp8217s be frank the chances are they wonamp8217t given that many don39t even bother to find out where their ads are appearing until someone criticises their quotselectionquot then they have little choice but to use proxy measures or to be buffeted by the prevailing winds of controversyPersonally I donamp8217t like GBNews But then like everyone else I also choose to avoid numerous other channels in preference to those that match my opinions and ethical positionBut what I do or donamp8217t think is along with my prejudices irrelevant when it comes to doing whatamp8217s best for my clientsWhatamp8217s important is that we have a free and diverse press Advertisers can then select from a whole range of audiences contexts and editorial opinionsWhat is clear is that whereas audience size reach and cost were the only games in town the context within which the message appears is now right up there as a variable in media selectionNow all we need to do is measure itClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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It's Time We Measured Context

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Brian Jacobs

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