GroupM joins hand with OpenSlate to increase brand safety on YouTube

Google to facilitate OpenSlate's delivery of safeguards and greater transparency to advertising clients served by GroupM agencies.

GroupM, the media investment management unit of WPP, is partnering with OpenSlate to enhance brand safety on YouTube media buys. OpenSlate is a social video analytics company that maintains data about all ad-supported content on YouTube. Their data platform scores YouTube content for quality and brand safety, and provides advertisers with deep contextual insights.

According to the press release shared by the agency, OpenSlate will provide clients of GroupM's agencies additional controls and content safeguards to support their YouTube media buys. This solution will enhance brand safety in both reservation media, including Google Preferred, and in auction-based inventory bought through AdWords or DoubleClick Bid Manager. Using independent data from OpenSlate, GroupM clients will be able to better define the type of content that should be excluded from their YouTube media buys. OpenSlate will also provide clients with contextual reporting that highlights exactly where their campaigns run. GroupM clients will be the first to access these Google-supported services from OpenSlate for Google Preferred campaigns.

"Long gone are the days when advertisers could simply rely on reaching audiences in carefully curated programming environments. Most brands today have scaled their advertising on digital platforms such as YouTube, where most content is user-generated, but their needs for mature and safe ad products and environments persist," said Susan Schiekofer, chief digital investment officer, GroupM North America.

He adds, "Although it is not possible to eliminate all risks in user-generated media, our clients' hard-won brand reputations must be protected with the best efforts possible. We appreciate that Google is enabling our work with OpenSlate to provide our clients with better brand safety controls, and we believe it's essential that all digital platforms carrying ad-supported user-generated content do the same."

Commenting on the association, OpenSlate CEO Mike Henry said, "Our initial focus is to use OpenSlate data to better ensure that GroupM's ads run only in content that flexibly matches the brand safety parameters established by their clients."

"Every client is unique and each has different brand values and tolerance for risk, which GroupM agencies can accommodate through their use of OpenSlate's data and tools. Over time, more transparency about where ads are running on YouTube will strengthen the ecosystem and help advertisers better understand the role that YouTube content plays in campaign performance."

This new solution will initially roll out in the US and UK, and plans are underway to adapt it to additional international markets.