Due to the content on social media platforms being user-generated, it can be hard to moderate and guarantee brand safety. Brand messages could easily be just a scroll away from a negative post (e.g violent content or hate speech). According to a collaborative study from Magna, ads appearing near negative content result in a “2.8 times reduction in consumers’ intent to associate with these brands.”
Even more alarming is the same research reports two-thirds of consumers believe brands intentionally place their ads next to content, which could mean negative effects if that content is unsafe.