Brand Safety & Suitability Archives - Integral Ad Science

How an Insurance Brand Cut Waste While Safeguarding Suitability

IAS Team — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:55:38 +0000

Key Results

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Drop in brand suitability fails

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Reduction in platform CPM

The Challenge

During peak travel seasons, social media conversations about accidents and natural disasters tend to surge — creating unwanted adjacency risks for insurance advertisers. A leading insurance brand wanted greater control over where its ads appeared, especially during the holidays, when such posts become more frequent.

However, default platform filters didn’t provide the precision needed to block specific types of content without limiting scale.

The Approach

Partnering with IAS, the brand implemented Social Optimization to create a custom suitability profile tailored to its unique risk thresholds. The team began by establishing a baseline using its standard first-party inventory filter, then relaxed those settings to allow more flexibility before layering in Social Optimization.

This setup allowed the brand to block only the most contextually misaligned content — like automotive accidents and natural disasters — while maintaining campaign reach and efficiency.

The Results

The impact was immediate. The brand achieved a 38% reduction in brand suitability fail rates and an 18% decrease in platform CPM, even after accounting for the cost of Social Optimization. With fewer ads appearing next to unsuitable content, overall media efficiency improved, freeing up budget that could be reinvested into high-quality, brand-safe placements.

Why It Matters

For marketers in regulated industries like insurance, precision and protection are equally important. By pairing custom suitability controls with IAS Social Optimization, brands can safeguard reputation, eliminate waste, and reach audiences in the right moments — without compromising performance.

See how IAS Social Optimization can help you drive efficiency and safeguard suitability across every social platform.

The post How an Insurance Brand Cut Waste While Safeguarding Suitability appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

How a Major Entertainment Brand Maintained Suitability and Reduced Social Platform Costs

IAS Team — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Key Results

0%

Increase in suitable impressions

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Decrease in platform CPM

The Challenge

For one major entertainment advertiser, brand suitability requirements across social media varied by the film being promoted. A family-friendly holiday release required maximum protection, while a horror campaign was less restrictive.

However, existing first-party platform filters weren’t flexible enough to meet these unique needs — creating a gap between brand safety and performance goals.

The Approach

The brand implemented IAS Social Optimization to layer customized suitability controls over its platform’s inventory filters. Starting with a relaxed first-party filter, IAS’s solution allowed the advertiser to fine-tune its suitability thresholds and blocklists for each campaign. This gave the brand more flexibility to align content adjacency with individual film requirements — without sacrificing scale.

Even with the cost of IAS Social Optimization and Total Media Quality included, the brand achieved measurable efficiency gains, showing that a customized approach to suitability drives both safety and scale.

With improved efficiency and lower CPMs, this brand’s savings can be reinvested into high-performing, suitable placements, reinforcing long-term campaign ROI across future social initiatives.

The Results

By shifting to a more dynamic suitability strategy, the brand achieved measurable gains across both performance and efficiency. More ads appeared in contextually aligned environments, driving stronger visibility and engagement from their target audience.

Video completion rates rose dramatically, and engagement followed suit, signaling that creative was resonating in the right moments. At the same time, smarter optimization reduced overall media costs, proving that brand suitability and efficiency can go hand in hand.

By taking a more dynamic approach to suitability, the brand achieved:

See how IAS Social Optimization can help you drive efficiency and safeguard suitability across every social platform.

The post How a Major Entertainment Brand Maintained Suitability and Reduced Social Platform Costs appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

IAS Expands Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement to Threads

IAS Team — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Safeguard your campaigns on Threads with advanced content classification at scale

IAS is expanding Total Media Quality for Meta to include Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement on Threads. Advertisers can now validate their media placements on Threads feed with confidence—ensuring campaigns appear alongside content that aligns with brand values.

With this launch, advertisers gain access to the same trusted measurement already available across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels. Powered by IAS’s best-in-class Multimedia Technology, which uses image, audio, and text signals to evaluate content at scale, Total Media Quality for Meta helps safeguard brand reputation in real time.

With IAS’s Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement for Meta’s Threads, you get:

Third-party validation to ensure safe, suitable content adjacency on Threads feed
Comprehensive Suitability with insights across key categories and risk levels
AI-powered frame-by-frame analysis using best-in-class Multimedia Technology
Content-level reporting with custom suitability within the IAS Signal UI
Global scale with coverage across 34 supported languages

This expansion reinforces IAS’s commitment to helping brands safeguard and scale across Meta platforms with transparency and control.

Ready to explore Threads measurement? Learn how IAS can help you protect your brand and optimize performance.

The post IAS Expands Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement to Threads appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Power Stronger Performance on Social

IAS Team — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Learn how top advertisers are maximizing performance on social this holiday season

Social media is a high-stakes arena for advertisers. It’s where your audience spends the bulk of their time. But while the reach is undeniable, the content environment is constantly shifting. Virality, user-generated content, and platform-specific trends can change the tone of a feed in minutes — and during the holidays, the pace of change accelerates even more.

In our latest white paper, we explore how Social Optimization is helping global advertisers make their holiday campaigns more efficient, more effective, and more aligned with brand strategy. You’ll find out how top brands are taking charge of their social campaigns this holiday season with real-time suitability controls, seeing results like:

3x ROI on social media campaigns for a global telecommunications brand
48% decrease in wasted ad spend, enabling a leading insurance brand to reinvest back into suitable media
65% reduction in brand suitability fail rates, increasing performance and decreasing waste for a major retail brand

Marketers no longer have to compromise between safety and scale. Maximize your social investment and see better results during the holidays — and beyond.

Download the full white paper to find out how.

The post Power Stronger Performance on Social appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Media Quality Report: 20th Edition

IAS Team — Tue, 20 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Industry-leading benchmarks for superior media quality

IAS is pleased to share the Media Quality Report: 20th Edition — offering trusted benchmarks and global insights based on more than 280 billion digital interactions daily.

As the gold standard in media quality, the Media Quality Report (MQR) is here to help marketers across the globe assess performance through the industry’s most actionable data. This year’s report offers an in-depth look into global media quality data, key trends shaping the digital landscape, and a step-by-step guide for how to get the most out of the MQR.

Dive into this year’s report, with key trends including:

BRAND RISK: The share of offensive content increased 72% year-over-year.
AD FRAUD: Fraud rates for campaigns that were not protected against fraud increased 19%.
VIEWABILITY: Overall viewability stabilized, but global desktop video viewability reached a record high of 83.9%.

With digital media evolving every day, reliable benchmarks are more important than ever. See how your media stacks up — and where to take action next.

Download the report today to access IAS’s industry-leading global benchmarks.

The post Media Quality Report: 20th Edition appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Introducing Trusted Third-Party Transparency on Google Search Partner Network (SPN)

IAS Team — Thu, 08 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Drive performance and suitability on SPN

IAS is pleased to announce the launch of IAS Pre-Screen Brand Safety Solution for Search Partner Network (SPN). This brand safety and suitability solution provides advertisers with greater control over advertising investments before ads are shown across SPN.

SPN inventory consists of search-related websites and apps that help advertisers drive reach and conversions across mobile and desktop. With IAS Pre-Screen Brand Safety Solution for SPN, advertisers can automatically exclude search partner sites aligned to industry standard safety and suitability definitions, across the entire SPN domain list.

Pre-Screen Brand Safety for SPN gives you:

Trusted Third-Party Control: IAS Pre-Screen Brand Safety Solution is based on 12 industry-aligned categories and 4 risk thresholds. Weekly updates ensure domains are regularly filtered out to drive brand safety and suitability across SPN inventory.
Support Across Campaign Types: Utilize IAS’s exclusion lists across all campaign types with SPN inventory, including Search, Standard Shopping, Apps, and Performance Max campaign types, available globally.
Comprehensive Global Coverage: Drive performance with IAS across the Google ecosystem, including YouTube, Google Video Partners, and now SPN.

We’re helping advertisers drive performance and suitability across the Google ecosystem. Access the one sheet and reach out to an IAS representative to get started.

The post Introducing Trusted Third-Party Transparency on Google Search Partner Network (SPN) appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

IAS Launches Brand Safety and Suitability Solutions on the Spotify Audience Network

IAS Team — Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Targeting and measurement available now on the Spotify Audience Network

Audio is rapidly expanding, with podcast advertising revenue expected to surpass $3 billion in 2027 in the U.S. alone — and advertisers need to be equipped with control and confidence for their media buys.

IAS is pleased to announce with Spotify the launch of new Brand Safety and Suitability Features, inclusive of Targeting and Measurement products for podcasts on the Spotify Audience Network. Powered by best-in-class technology, IAS’s Brand Safety and Suitability Features, inclusive of Targeting and Measurement analyzes speech-to-text signals at the episode-level to classify podcast content across Spotify inventory, at scale.

With IAS Brand Safety and Suitability Features, inclusive of Targeting and Measurement, you get:

Best-in-Class Technology that analyzes audio signals at the podcast-level to classify audio content aligned to industry standards, at scale
Industry-Aligned Control: Set your preferred risk tolerance by choosing the Spotify Brand Suitability Tiers to activate Brand Suitability Targeting which aligns with your brand strategy, which minimizes ad waste and potential risk
Holistic Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement: With these new products, we can ensure campaign-level reporting to validate your campaigns are appearing next to brand suitable podcasts, and that your brand suitability targeting strategy is working as intended

Drive performance and scale your brand on Spotify. Access the one sheet and contact an IAS representative to get started today.

Note: IAS Brand Safety and Suitability Features, inclusive of Targeting and Measurement on the Spotify Audience Network is currently available in the U.S.

The post IAS Launches Brand Safety and Suitability Solutions on the Spotify Audience Network appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

How Advertisers Can Avoid Overblocking During Major Cultural Moments

IAS Team — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Every year, major cultural moments like awards season, the Super Bowl, or March Madness generate headlines, social media buzz, and countless opportunities for advertisers to connect with highly engaged audiences.

But overblocking has been an ongoing issue. For example, this year’s Oscars-related content was often blocked from advertising due to overly restrictive keyword blocklists, causing advertisers to inadvertently cut themselves off from premium inventory.

The consequence of an overreliance on keyword blocklists is twofold: advertisers miss valuable opportunities to engage with audiences, and publishers — especially in the news industry — lose critical ad revenue.

So how can brands strike the right balance, ensuring they remain protected without missing out?

Why major cultural moments matter for brands

Major cultural moments provide a huge opportunity for scale and impact. This year’s Super Bowl, for example, garnered a record breaking 127.7 million viewers, all the while generating widespread buzz across key advertising channels. These “moment in time” events are often as costly as they are critical. The average Super Bowl ad in 2025 cost $8 million for a 30 second spot — and it’s important that these big investments yield big returns.

For advertisers, these events aren’t just about visibility — they’re about impact. They offer a unique chance to align brand messaging with content people are deeply engaged in and emotionally connected to. Whether it’s a highly anticipated film winning Best Picture or a buzzer-beater during March Madness, these moments drive heightened attention and real-time conversation, creating countless opportunities for meaningful ad placements.

The cost of overblocking: What advertisers are missing

For years, keyword blocklists have been the default approach to brand safety. The logic is simple: brands create lists of words associated with risky content — terms like “violence,” “death,” or “shooting” — and prevent their ads from appearing on any pages that include them.

But in practice, this approach is far too blunt.

During the Oscars, for example, entire discussions about critically acclaimed films were off-limits to advertisers. A Best Picture nominee like Emilia Pérez—which tells the story of a cartel boss transitioning to a new life—might trigger blocks due to words like “cartel” or “drugs,” even in the context of positive reviews or industry analysis. The same applies to March Madness coverage: blocking words like “shot” or “shoot” may seem logical for safety reasons, but it also eliminates access to high-interest and timely basketball highlights.

Rethinking brand safety and how to avoid overblocking

Rather than relying on rigid keyword lists, advertisers need a more sophisticated approach that understands the full context of content before deciding whether to block or allow it.

At IAS, we take brand safety beyond single-word exclusions by using AI-powered contextual technology to analyze content at the page level. Instead of automatically blocking a page for containing the word “violence” in the URL, our technology determines the actual context, sentiment, and emotion of the page to understand the true intended meaning.

This level of nuance is essential, especially during major events where engagement is at its peak. When brands use contextual technology rather than static keyword blocklists, they can:

Avoid missing out on premium, culturally relevant content while still ensuring ads appear in suitable environments.
Ensure greater campaign efficiency, allowing media dollars to work harder by targeting the right audiences at the right moments.
Support quality news by enabling trusted news publishers to monetize important stories, rather than inadvertently pushing dollars toward less reputable sources.

The future of brand safety: Smarter, not stricter

Overblocking during major cultural moments isn’t just a missed opportunity — it’s an avoidable mistake. With the right tools, advertisers can stay relevant, maximize reach, and protect their brand without unnecessary restrictions.

As events like the Oscars, Super Bowl, and upcoming cultural events drive public conversations, advertisers have a choice: continue using outdated, overly restrictive blocklists, or embrace a more nuanced, context-driven approach that balances safety with opportunity.

How IAS helps advertisers avoid overblocking without compromising safety

IAS empowers brands to take control of their brand safety and suitability strategies without sacrificing reach or missing critical cultural moments.

With solutions like Context Control, IAS helps brands:

Maximize premium inventory during major events: Ensure ads appear alongside high-quality, high-traffic content covering events like the Oscars, Super Bowl, and the Olympics, rather than being unnecessarily blocked.
Reduce wasted ad spend: Avoid the inefficiencies of overblocking, keeping campaigns optimized for reach and engagement without running ads in inappropriate contexts.
Enhance precision in brand safety and suitability: Instead of blocking pages based on a single word, IAS technology analyzes the full context — differentiating between a movie review, a sports highlight, and genuinely unsafe content.
Support trusted news and premium publishers: Advertisers can confidently invest in news and entertainment content, rather than unintentionally funneling budgets to lower-quality environments.
Adapt in real-time to emerging cultural moments: As conversations evolve, IAS solutions continuously analyze and adjust, ensuring advertisers remain agile while maintaining brand protection.

IAS’s Context Control is powered by a proprietary cognitive semantic technology that leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract page semantics, context, emotion, and sentiment. We offer 280+ vertical and topical segments for content avoidance and 370+ vertical, topical, seasonal, and audience proxy segments for targeting. In addition, IAS has the ability to create brand-specific contextual segments for content avoidance.

Rather than taking a black-and-white approach to brand safety, IAS provides the contextual technology needed to make informed, strategic decisions — allowing advertisers to stay relevant, increase engagement, and drive meaningful results without unnecessary restrictions.

The post How Advertisers Can Avoid Overblocking During Major Cultural Moments appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Social Optimization for TikTok Now Includes Video Exclusion Lists

IAS Team — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Access greater control over brand-suitable ad placements on TikTok

Maximizing investments and driving ROI on TikTok is easier than ever. We’ve expanded our industry-leading Social Optimization product to include pre-bid Video Exclusion Lists, empowering you with greater control over your advertising investments on TikTok.

With Social Optimization for TikTok, you get:

Enhanced Customization: Drive further custom suitability on TikTok aligned to the 12 industry-aligned categories with Video Exclusion Lists by avoiding unsuitable content based on your brand-specific needs.
Comprehensive Global Coverage: Pair IAS’s Total Media Quality for TikTok with Social Optimization to ensure a comprehensive global solution for the platform.
Ease of Activation: Seamlessly activate Video Exclusion Lists and access automatically measured and classified impressions from individual campaigns to exclude adjacent content that does not meet your brand preferences. Validate lists are working as intended with Total Media Quality and adjust your suitability strategy as needed.
Frame-by-Frame Analysis: Accurately classify content at scale through frame-by-frame analysis, which is up to 74% more accurate than frame sampling. Frame-by-frame analysis is powered by IAS’s AI-driven Multimedia Technology, combining image, audio, and text signals.

This expansion helps you meet individual brand suitability and contextual requirements while having greater control and confidence in your ad placements on TikTok. Together, IAS optimization and measurement solutions create a closed-loop on TikTok, letting you drive greater media efficiency and ROI.

Access the one sheet now and reach out to an IAS representative to get started.

The post Social Optimization for TikTok Now Includes Video Exclusion Lists appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Performance & Brand Equity in the New Media Landscape

IAS Team — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

How advertisers can drive performance and elevate brand reputation in a dynamic media landscape

In a digital world where unpredictability is the norm, advertisers face the constant challenge of safeguarding their brand’s reputation — but cost often gets in the way. So how can advertisers proactively protect their brands while also prioritizing cost efficiency?

Our latest white paper, Performance & Brand Equity in the New Media Landscape, is a must-read for advertisers looking to improve end-to-end campaign performance and maximize ROI. Backed by real-world case studies, this white paper is your roadmap to simultaneously driving brand equity and cost savings.

Download the white paper now to learn how to:

Leverage a proactive approach to brand safety without sacrificing scale
Reach more consumers in environments you deem safe and suitable
Boost campaign performance and cost savings with Context Control Avoidance

The post Performance & Brand Equity in the New Media Landscape appeared first on Integral Ad Science.