Today, (May 28th, 2024) Integral Ad Science (IAS) announced a Singapore-focused State of Brand Safety Study that uncovers the impact the ad environment has on Singaporean perceptions of brands and their advertising.

Brand safety remains a priority for marketers across the globe. Between a rapidly evolving media landscape and booming content growth, marketers are increasingly invested in protecting their brand’s reputation and allocating media budgets toward content that minimises the risk to their brand. The objective of this study is to uncover what consumers in Singapore regard as brand safe/unsafe content and also understand the impact the ad environment has on their perceptions of brands and their advertising.

Brands benefit from placing advertisements around content that is considered appropriate. The study found that favourability and trust drop when a brand’s ads are near inappropriate content and vice versa. Adult & explicit sexual content, hate speech & acts of aggression, and violence & human rights violations are the top content categories Singaporean consumers regard as inappropriate. Consumers are most receptive to ads on social media sites and the least receptive to them on fitness sites.

In the next year against the backdrop of upcoming Singapore elections, rising geopolitical conflict, and misformation will present greater brand safety challenges than ever. 

Below are some key findings from the report:

• Consumers prefer brands that advertise near safe and appropriate content. 91% of consumers said that it is important to them that the content surrounding online ads is inappropriate.
• Consumers hold brands responsible for avoiding and denouncing inappropriate content. 83% of consumers said that brands are responsible for the content surrounding their ads and the majority of consumers would feel less favourable towards a brand that advertises near inappropriate content.
• Consumers want brands to fund responsible journalism. 84% of consumers said ads should be funding responsible and accurate news reporting. 78% of consumers said they are less likely to trust a brand whose ads appear on credible news sites.

You can access the full report here.