When Placing Content, You Have One Choice

Imagine this scene for a moment. You're a brand manager looking over where your ads are currently running – only to find that one is running alongside a video encouraging pedophilia. Or promoting the KKK. Or the Nazis. Yikes.

The craziest part here? This has been the reality for well over one dozen brands. Think Nestlé, L’Oréal, the BBC, Mozilla, 20th Century Fox, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Disney, and Nissan. Even numerous US and British government agencies. They, and more found themselves in that exact situation. And it didn’t happen on some dark part of the web – it happened on YouTube.

I’m sure you’re asking: how could that possibly happen? Unfortunately, very easily. When brands allocate their funds to YouTube programmatic ads, they set up basic guidelines of who to target based on demographics or user behaviors, and who or what content to avoid by filtering. The gist of it is this: a company says, “Hey, YouTube, we want to target families, keep our content away from lude or otherwise controversial channels, and have an ad budget of $5 million”. The problem is the company doesn’t know which channels the ad intended for ‘families’ will end up. And time and again, companies have found their advertisement alongside highly inappropriate content.

The loose parameters meant to guide the placement of programmatic ads are precisely what have gotten these brands into trouble. The problem is described succinctly in this piece by CNN: “advertisers entrust YouTube to decide – and define – what content is sensitive or extremist and not appropriate for their ads.” They are trusting a highly sensitive decision to others, or worse yet, their algorithm. And clearly, that algorithm isn’t working.

So, what’s a brand to do? Well, that answer differs from what they actually have done. Stay with me – we’ll get to the solution soon enough. See, when these brands have found their advertisements paired with this horrific content – either the video itself or the seemingly innocent videos paired with perverse comment threads, they’ve repeatedly paused or pulled their YouTube ad spend. And of course, I’m not suggesting that they keep their brand’s messaging next to these abhorrent videos. But there is a better way. And it’s really so, so simple.

The answer to this problem is exceedingly simple, and it allows you to keep your brand in front of the eyes of 30 million visitors YouTube receives daily. As a marketing professional, I would never advise you to take your content away from the over one billion YouTube users – that would be pulling your ads from approximately one-third of the internet. It’s just not smart.

Instead, you must rethink how your content is integrated into YouTube. Rather than relying on programmatic ads – the setting for all of these controversies – it’s time you opted for integrated sponsored content. It’s a format you can control, from the messaging to when and where it airs. If you’re keen to avoid joining the ranks of these brands who have found their ads paired with pedophilia and terrorist messages, then listen up. You absolutely must pivot your marketing spend to integrated sponsored content.

Got your attention? Good. So, what does integrated brand placement mean, exactly? Simply put, your brand and product or service become a part of the content itself. There’s no pre-roll ad, no algorithm deciding where your ad ends up – the placement, the control lies solely with you. And it’s so easily achieved that it’s a shame more brands haven’t taken advantage of this obvious, yet genius solution yet.

By working with YouTube personalities, you’re not only able to reach your target market but also avoid the risk of being paired with controversial messaging. As an integrated piece of the content itself, you’re no longer seen as an interruptive ad. And, there’s no “Skip Ad” button in the bottom right corner, either. It gets even sweeter. Your offering will be genuinely endorsed by a YouTube personality who actually likes, uses, and enjoys your product or service, and the enthusiastic endorsement will be dripping with the influencer’s personality. That, my friend, is a massive win for you.

Here’s a fantastic example of integrated content knocking it out of the park by Mark Rober. His video is about protecting your packages from theft, so it’s without missing a beat that he connects the security you’ll receive by using NordVPN with the glitter bomb trap he just showed in his video. He makes a strong case for why he personally uses it and gives his users a sneaky workaround that they’ll find useful. Overall, it’s a very compelling advertisement that’s filled with personality and a bit of humor.

This is entirely different than the pre-roll 30-second clip you get with programmatic ads. It’s delivered by the person viewers have deliberately tuned into, with the same tone and personality they enjoy, and it’s blended into the actual content of the video without missing a beat. Their trusted “friend,” because yes, viewers consider influencers their friends (don’t believe me? 63% of young adults stated they’d try a brand or product recommended by a favored YouTube personality) tells them what they should buy and why – and even gives a discount code. So without a doubt, these are much more powerful than a programmatic ad.

Another powerful example of how seamless these integrated content sponsorships are is found in this Moriah Elizabeth video. She’s promoting Audible. Now, I don’t know about you, but basically so is every other podcast or radio ad or video I ever listen to or watch. Audible is everywhere. I mean it is owned by Amazon, so it’s no surprise. But despite its prevalence, it absolutely shines in this spot. That is the beauty of an integrated spot like this. Not only is it not skippable, but you also don’t want to skip it! Especially if you’re her fan. Moriah Elizabeth is sharing when and why she uses Audible, and even sharing some of her favorite books. This is Audible spot is dripping in personality, her quirky sayings, and is hardly noticeable as an ad. Check it out, because it’s really that good.

Let’s pivot to the number one YouTube channel in the world to check out a third, completely different manifestation of integrated content. Here, PewDiePie’s stream is sponsored by PUBG Mobile. That means the entire gaming feed is basically one giant endorsement or commercial. Not only is there no skipping or zoning out by his viewers, but also he has over four million views and over 10,000 comments, not even including the chat that happened during the live stream itself – and if that’s not viewer engagement, I’m not sure what is.

By now, you might be thinking okay, these three examples work. They’re fun, they’re compelling, they’re engaging. But this is the newest marketing craze, so I’ll hold off before jumping on this trendy bandwagon. And that’s where you’re wrong. Integrated content might be coming back en vogue, but it’s really one of the oldest, most effective marketing techniques.

Ever heard of a soap opera? Of course, you have, but I’m sure you’ve never even thought twice about the name. The “soap” in soap opera originated from programs’ sponsors that were, you guessed it, household soap brands. Think Procter & Gamble, Ivory, Colgate-Palmolive, and so on. It’s one of the most recognizable, although not the earliest, forms of sponsored content.

Up until very recently, advertising did not include interruptive media. Instead, ads were an integral, and integrated, portion of the broadcast itself: they were a sponsor, a part of the program that quite literally allowed it to be on the air. It’s only recently that we’ve grown accustomed to ads as this jerky break in your programming, so the idea of integrated content somehow is striking the marketing world as new, exciting, and sometimes scary.

Let’s take a very brief look at the history of integrated ads. The beginning of the 1900s brought us long-form newspaper ads touting the glamor of a Cadillac, without ever mentioning it by name. This was followed by the sponsored radio programs in the 1930s – including the 1934 World Series sponsored by Ford Motor Company. Shortly after that, soap operas. They began on the radio and moved to television, where they still command quite an audience. Fast forward to the 1980s, and you’ll remember the (cringe-worthy) infomercial. So, from a historical context, today’s YouTube integrated content is just the latest iteration of a century’s old, dependable marketing tactic.

The reason integrated content has stood the test of time is simple: it works. It’s a compelling, reliable way to get the word out to your target market. In today’s media landscape, where our audience’s attention is so fractured – approximately 70.3% of US adults regularly use a second screen while watching a program – placing your content within the program they’re choosing to watch is an absolute no brainer.

Coupled with the recurring scandals surrounding programmatic ads landing dozens of brands as proverbial bedfellows of conspiracy theorists, pedophilia-promoters, and terrorists and it’s astounding that brands are choosing to spend their advertising budget on pre-roll ads. Programmatic ads are just not the answer. It doesn’t matter that it’s still the way the majority of ad dollars are allocated; the system doesn’t work. Time and time again, brands continue to trust the process, and they continue to find themselves in scandalous situations.

You, brand manager, have three choices. Option A: you can continue to spend money on programmatic ads and hope you don’t end up coupled with a terrorist message. Option B: you can get scared and pull your budget out of YouTube entirely. Or, option C: you can reallocate your YouTube advertising dollars from programmatic placement to integrated branded content. If it wasn’t clear by now, let me be very clear: the only answer is C. It’s crucial that you move your brand toward integrated branded content.

I’m not being dramatic when I say that the only way to ensure your brand does not appear next to offensive content is to focus on branded content placement. Becoming an integrated part of the content is the only way to truly control when, where, and to whom your ad airs. It is without question the most effective media placement.

So, if you are looking to avoid finding yourself in the same predicament as Nestlé, McDonald’s, Moen, Disney, Nissan, and so, so many others like them – the answer is simple. You must reallocate your funds from pre-roll, programmatic ads and take advantage of integrated branded content. You must take back control and avoid the scandal, and this is the only way to do it.