The concept of Brand Safety Analysis (BSA) has emerged as a crucial tool for marketers, content creators, and data enthusiasts. But what does it really mean, and why is it gaining such traction?
I came across BSA through Conan O’Brien’s podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend.”, and I decided that I want to make my first written article on this topic. So critique me on how I’m doing?
Anyway, if you don’t know Conan or haven’t seen his work, I highly recommend checking him out. But... you definitely don’t know me, so check me out too. :P
Conan O’Brien is not just a household name; he’s a seasoned comedian, writer, and producer known for his quick wit and innovative comedy. He used to work as a writer for The Simpsons and IS my favorite talk show host, who is also now podcasting. Every year on his podcast, they have a ‘State of the Podcast’ session similar to how the United States of America holds their ‘State of the Union’, where they kinda analyze and see how the podcast is doing overall.
Why Brand Safety Analysis?
Targeted Advertising: BSA enables brands to place their advertisements more strategically, ensuring creators align with the content’s values and reach the desired audience.
Content Strategy: It offers content creators insight into how their thematic choices or language use might influence potential brand partnerships.
Consumer Insights: By understanding what content resonates with audiences, brands can tailor their marketing strategies more effectively.
The Essence of Brand Safety Analysis
At its core, Brand Safety Analysis is an evaluative process used by brands to ensure that a platform’s content aligns with their values and public image. When you start out creating content and getting sponsorships, it is very unlikely that you come across BSA. This is because the smaller companies do not really care about your brand when they set you up with sponsorship “codes” that they track to know how much sales are coming from your audience.
But as you get bigger and get approached by bigger companies for partnerships, BSA plays a huge role. If a company is partnering with you, and you do not align with their views/values, it can hurt both parties. This analysis acts like a compatibility check for potential partnerships between advertisers and content creators. In the case of Conan’s podcast, a detailed BSA provided insights into various content dimensions that advertisers scrutinize, such as:
Obscenity and Profanity: Quantifying the use of language that might be deemed inappropriate.
Adult and Sexual Content: Assessing references to sexual content, innuendos, or adult themes.
Hate Speech and Aggression: Identifying content that could be perceived as discriminatory or promoting violence.
Illegal Drug References: Highlighting mentions of illegal substances or activities.
Military Conflict: Analyzing discussions related to wars or military actions.
Violation of Human Rights: Scrutinizing content for potential endorsements of human rights violations.
The challenge here, particularly for a data nerd, lies in the methodology. How do we develop algorithms capable of understanding humor, sarcasm, and the nuanced dynamics of conversation? Conan’s content, renowned for its comedic genius and sarcasm, brings to light the intricate challenge of quantifying content properly.
The Future of Content and Brand Synergy
Brand Safety Analysis is not just the simple goal of avoiding controversy. It’s about creating a harmonious relationship between content and advertising, benefiting brands, creators, and consumers. As we delve deeper into the digital content era, the significance of Brand Safety Analysis only grows, opening new avenues for exploration and understanding; especially in the field of data.
For tech professionals, marketers, and business people, BSA promises a blend of challenges and opportunities, all aimed at enhancing the digital content landscape.
That is it from me! What’s your take on Brand Safety Analysis? Have you encountered similar methodologies in your work, or do you see potential applications in your field? Hope you enjoyed this article and was helpful in some way! I would really appreciate it if you would like, comment, or share this article with someone who might find some value.
Check out the video that talks about BSA from Conan that inspired me to write my first medium article :)
Top comments (2)
Wow, super interesting post! I really enjoy this subject.
One case that's interesting to think about is Twitter... since they've been bought by Elon Musk and rebranded to X, the flavor of their brand has changed. Lotsa folks are not too happy with the new flavor. I can see the marketing professionals who advertise via Twitter kinda weighing whether to continue putting their resources there or not... BSA would probs be pretty relevant to this decision.
That said, I also hear ya that it's about more than just steering away from controversy. I'm trying to think of some of those brand/platform relationships out there. I know Budweiser had a historical relationship with the NFL for instance... when you think about old-school Superbowls, Budweiser always had these memorable campaigns. Also, they are both essentially serving a similar audience — the intersection between beer drinkers and football watchers is real, haha.
Exactly. Associating with X now is like associating with Elon Musk as a brand! but Elon is smart since he is allowing people to monetize on the platform and that is causing influencers and celebrities to use X while maybe the bigger brands don't want to be associated with Elon's image.
Yup! Budweiser is a great example; I'm kinda jealous I did not think about that lol. I know that Pepsi used to do something similar with soccer as well. :)