75% of brands have been exposed to a brand safety incident.
Brand safety is all about putting measures in place to protect a brand’s reputation. Recent events have sparked conversations worldwide over brand safety – and rightly so.
Twitter has seen Elon Musk shut down offices, lay off staff and lift account bans. The pandemonium on Twitter has caused numerous hashtags to form on Twitter, from #RIPTwitter to #TwitterIsDead.
The Qatar World Cup also sparked numerous debates and highlighted how putting profits over people can severely damage reputation. For example, David Beckham’s partnership with Qatar as the ambassador for the World Cup tells us a lot – that he supports the way Qatar treat LGBT+ people. In other words, he’s an advocate for the country’s criminalisation of relations between people of the same sex. Immediately, we lost faith in Beckham, and so did many others.
Comedian Joe Lycett went viral in his offer to Beckham, asking him to pull out of his partnership, which would see Joe Lycett donate £10,000 to charity. Instead, Beckham did not respond, and Joe Lycett filmed himself apparently shredding the money. This goes to show how quickly brand image can be damaged, with key audiences alienated from the decisions made.
Amid the cost-of-living crisis, it’s never been more important to maintain the reputation of your brand – especially if you don’t want to lose your customers. Your mission, vision and values need to be everpresent in your brand, including your brand image. If you’re saying one thing and doing another, you’ll struggle to retain customers.
So, what do you need to do to keep business booming while staying true to your brand? Here are our tips:
- Define your values
Did you know, 82% of people want to buy from brands whose values align with their own?
If you haven’t already defined your brand, its aims and its mission statement, you’ll struggle to be true to your brand. Take it back to basics and ask yourself what your brand stands for. Once you have defined this, you can ensure that each and every marketing decision is made with this in mind, from your advertising platforms to your messaging and your internal processes.
Think about David Beckham; if he had taken a minute to consider what he stands for and how he wants to be seen in the public eye, he would have likely not taken the contract with Qatar. Don’t Bend It Like Beckham.
- Be vigilant of the landscape
Part of successful business is all about being aware of the landscape, and reacting to changes when they unfold. Understanding the sentiment around certain platforms, brands, and people (if you work with influencers) is key to protecting your brand reputation.
The best way to protect your brand is through careful planning and strategy. When creating media plans, make sure they are flexible to account for unprecedented changes. For example, if your main advertising platform is Twitter, then now’s the time to re-visit your media plan and switch up your mix of channels. Having a media plan that can be easily reworked, or is built with plans A, B or C in mind, ensures agility in times of crisis. Plus, you won’t miss out on valuable time or resources when making the switch if it’s all accounted for in the foreplanning.
- Diversify your marketing mix
During uncertain times like these, you’ll want to put your budget behind stable platforms – and right now, Twitter isn’t scoring so high.
We don’t recommend putting all your eggs in one basket. Periodically re-considering your marketing mix is not only essential for optimal campaign performance, but it will help you to maintain always-on activity, even if you have to pull the plug on certain platforms.
Ideally, you want your brand to be everpresent in the mind of your consumer. The best way to do this is with a marketing mix that you know works. At Arke, we’ve tried and tested lots of combinations so we know what works best for our clients, and then tailor their strategy to their needs.
If you haven’t got a media mix that works for your brand, or you want to revisit it, our paid media experts can help. Click here for support.
- Look a little deeper
Brand reputation isn’t just about what’s going on on the outside; your internal processes need to be transparent and aligned with your values too. For example, outwardly supporting LGBT+ rights and pulling the plug on anti-LGBT+ platforms or brand ambassadors is commendable, but if your suppliers or publishers don’t align with these values, you’ll soon be found out. And that means losing customers.
Talk to us
Like we said, defining your brand, what it stands for, and what it believes in is crucial to keeping your brand safe from attacks.
We’re trusted experts in paid media and marketing – and we know the platforms inside out. We also provide each and every one of our clients a range of brand safety measures so you can rest assured that your brand is in safe hands at all times.
Want to work with us? Get in touch – we’ll help to define and strengthen your brand and generate impressive paid media results, all while keeping your brand’s safety at the top of our priority list.
