Peer39, the leading global provider of semantic intelligence, today launched its brand suitability controls, giving brands and agencies the ability to apply and modernise their own suitability targeting standards for programmatic ad buys.

For the very first time, brands can leverage a contextual algorithm that combines both inclusion and exclusion decisioning to execute media buys that match each brand’s bespoke brand suitability guidelines. Early research has shown that the adjustable suitability settings have provided buyers with access to more than 20% additional inventory volume in some key contextual categories.

The advanced contextual targeting controls, which are directly engineered to support the 4A’s Brand Suitability Framework and the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) standards, allow brands and their agencies to target the various levels of content they feel are best aligned with their brand messages across a number of categories. The GARM Framework gives buyers transparent definitions of risk for each of the refined standard content categories, allowing them to self select a suitability strategy directly within their DSP of choice.

The timing coincides with growing industry interest in a modernised approach to brand suitability, moving on from legacy blocking to a more elegant assessment that takes into account the context of content. The controls are live and currently available through MediaMath, Verizon Media, Amobee and Xandr.

“The 4A’s and GARM’s Brand Safety Floor and Brand Suitability Framework are instrumental developments that have created a common understanding around brand safety and suitability, and have provided strong foundations upon which advertisers can operate with more confidence and precision,” said Tom Burns, Director, Digital Standards and Partnerships, Publicis Media Exchange. “The digital ecosystem is incredibly nuanced and each brand has different suitability thresholds - technology that helps to improve control over this suitability scale is valuable to brands and agencies across the board.”

“As content environments continue to provide both supporting and challenging environments for brands, the need for more nuanced, sophisticated brand suitability targeting solutions has become paramount. Peer39 has developed the first model for giving our clients the flexibility and protection they need to align their buys with brand values and we applaud them for this,” said Joe Barone, GroupM Managing Partner, Brand Safety Americas.

Suitability Planning and Insights

As part of the launch, Peer39 also is releasing Monthly GARM Suitability Insights to help buyers more effectively plan and understand how the controls impact available inventory and volume before selecting.

For example, if an advertiser was previously blocking the News category entirely, these insights would show the volume of category inventory that could be opened up by the various controls. In this month's report, approximately 20% of Breaking News content is classified as MEDIUM RISK relating to death, injury and military conflict. Buyers will now have controls to identify whether to bid or not in the context of a breaking news story. These definitions will also serve as key settings for publishers that may have experienced overblocking to advise their buyers when setting up their controls for PMP’s.

Similarly, content that falls into the newly created category of Sensitive and Socially Debated issues may meet the suitability standards for some brands, but not for others. Nearly 7% of Arts and Entertainment content and 12.7% of Societal content are classified in this manner. Because this content is in the context of entertainment coverage, it represents potential for buying opportunities that legacy controls would have otherwise blocked.

A further example featured in the November 2020 insight report find that a sizable chunk of inventory in nearly every content category falls under “crime and harmful acts” showing the depth of opportunity available to brands that adopt nuanced strategies:

• Breaking News 21.6%
• Arts and Entertainment 6.34%
• General News (news features ) 16.5%
• Science 2.87%
• Health 18.7%
• Educational 2.05%

The insights analyse global volume across all of the major contextual categories overlayed with the new GARM categories and will be available on a monthly basis contributing to buyers planning initiatives.