Content has been crowned king for some time, but what’s making headlines today is the power of context. This is not only due to the Cookie Death and its issues when it comes to targeting the right interest groups; more and more studies ascertain that context is crucial for successful, modern marketing.
When the term “fake news” was established and became a viral phenomenon, many companies realized that not knowing where their marketing efforts would be exposed was a huge risk. Should their banners be exposed, perhaps, on an adult content site, as click bait on low-quality websites or amongst fake news on social media, the damage to their brand could be catastrophic and the marketing effort would be wasted.
An American study has shown that a full 81 percent of customers react negatively if a brand is displayed in an untrustworthy context. 62 percent stated it might lead to them abandoning the company’s products completely.
As a result of the above insights, awareness of brand safety grew, resulting in an attitude that could be summarized with the colloquial “avoid letting the shit hit the fan”.
Gradually, however, businesses came to realize that simply avoiding negative contexts wasn’t enough. Rather, it became more and more important to actively make deliberate marketing choices regarding context, leading to an increased use of the more comprehensive term Brand Suitability.
By understanding your target group and where you can find it, it’s possible to establish a marketing strategy based on what they like and which channels are suitable. Which content speaks to the group? Which media are they trusting? Does storytelling work to convey the message or do you need something else? Banners? Perhaps a combination?
Industry organization IAB has done a study showing that 69 percent of consumers are more likely to see and engage in a marketing investment, should it be displayed in a relevant context. 67 percent claims to be more than willing to partake in this type of message and advertising, in suitable environments.
Regardless of how good your content is, you can easily miss the target without the right context. Long live the context queen.