Brand safety has been a major issue for advertisers in 2021 as news events and public comments on social platforms continue to ignite concern and controversy. At the same time, in the wake of COVID-19 and the flowering of social activism in 2020, brands became more interested in aligning with social causes. This event expanded on previous ARF Cognition Council research on these issues, building on the presentations and discussion at the October Cognition Council event.
On December 1, experts addressed whether social values, such as appeals to altruism — in both ads and the content that surrounds them — have an impact on attention paid to the ad and consumers’ perceptions of the brand. Conversely, the event also discussed research on whether ads that appear within potentially divisive content affect brand-related behaviors. Two major presentations were featured:
These were followed by summaries of the October event presentations and a broad panel discussion on: