Comscore Launches Brand Suitability Protections For Coronavirus Content

Comscore today launched an Epidemic brand safety segment aimed specifically at protecting brands from having their advertising appear in coronavirus and epidemic-related content. It says this new protection gives advertisers the ability to fine-tune their brand safety applications based on risk tolerance amid a rapidly-evolving pandemic.

Comscore says its new brand suitability offering lets advertisers pursue their desired advertising strategy without worrying about unwanted negative associations. For example, if a brand was comfortable advertising alongside coronavirus educational content, but not content regarding COVID-19-related tragedies, Comscore’s new capability enables this level of nuanced control. “This segment also offers publishers the flexibility they need to help their advertisers navigate the evolving coronavirus-related news cycle,” Comscore says.

Over the past week, 22%-30% of ad impressions were alongside content that had been detected as containing coronavirus and related epidemic themes, according to Comscore’s contextual engine. In comparison, Crime & Violence, a popular brand safety filter, registered 2%-5% percent of ad impressions alongside its related content during the same time frame.

“The sheer volume of content regarding the coronavirus outbreak has marketers looking for sophisticated and specific solutions to avoid exposing their brands to unwanted negative content,” said Rachel Gantz, general manager, activation solutions, Comscore. “We are working closely with our clients to maintain brand-safe audience engagement and this tool will hopefully give marketers one less thing to worry about.”

This release is the latest advancement of Comscore’s Activation suite, which is designed to help advertisers reach specific demographics, and behavioral, TV and OTT audiences in brand-safe, relevant contexts across desktop, mobile, and now CTV platforms. The Epidemic brand safety filter is now available for all users of Comscore’s contextual targeting suite.