It’s an unfortunate fact that many companies often have to weather a crisis at some point. Oil spills, lawsuits, product flaws – they all have the potential to damage a brand, sometimes lethally.
We all recall the story of Gerald Ratner, whose comment that a decanter set sold by his high-street jewelry chain was ‘total crap’ eventually resulted in the demise of his company. But, I would argue that today’s landscape of viral video sharing, instant social media messages and foul forum posts means that companies have to be even more on guard than ever before – and that a potential ‘Ratner’ is just a mis-spoken word away.
So how can programmatic help?
To combat negative messaging in today’s always-on media landscape, it’s imperative to control your message and deliver it as rapidly as possible. Advertising has always been the most powerful branding tool in a company’s arsenal. So, when the brand is attacked, it makes sense that brand advertising should be the weapon selected when combatting negative messaging. Unfortunately, traditional ad buying hasn’t been lithe enough to allow for rapid delivery – until now.
The very basic definition of programmatic is the use of technology to complete an ad buy. But, using technology isn’t just about simplification about the buying process. Sure, it reduces the amount of administration and allows brands to conduct real-time buys, but it also does much more. A single platform permits advertisers to pinpoint the publishers that can tap them into the markets where control of the message really matters. It enables brands to monitor the performance of the ads and highlights where to push or pull spend depending on the success of the campaign on particular sites.
In the future, I project that the introduction of programmatic TV will see even greater opportunities open up. It takes at least six-eight weeks to book and run a television advertising campaign, with massive penalties for those brands that want to turn things around at a faster rate. With programmatic TV, brands will no longer have to weave their way through the complex booking procedures and will be able to pick inventory and run based on their branding needs, matching the message to the market. There will still need to be approval processes in place to have ads cleared by Clearcast, but this would be just a single hurdle as opposed to the many that are imposed today.
Think about the possibilities. Let’s say a brand aimed at young families needs to do a product recall and they have to get the message out fast. Using online brand advertising and booking via programmatic TV would give brands the tools they need to ensure that their ads are seen by females aged 25-45 within days, if not hours.
One of the biggest brand issues in the recent past was BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill. The biggest challenge for the brand was combatting the relentless negative messaging on social media and false stories spread maliciously by campaigners determined to attack the brand. Online video and programmatic TV advertising would have allowed BP to get their message out, using targeted buys to select viewers by geography (residents of States that lie on the Gulf of Mexico) and/or lifestyle (interest in green or environmental issue). While it would not have stopped negative messaging, it would have given BP the opportunity to share it’s side, project it’s efforts in helping solve the situation and avoid the onslaught of brand damage that was being shared on hard-to-manage sites and platforms.
Brand advertising isn’t just about brand promotion. It’s also about brand protection. As more-and-more aspects of the advertising industry become programmatic, I project that we will see more use of programmatic technology to enhance efforts for both. Control of message is one thing. Using technology to control spend, targeting and efficiency simply improves efforts and ensures that – unlike Ratner’s – brands will be around for a long time to come, even when mistakes are made.
By Graeme Lynch, Director of Business Development EMEA.
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