It’s interesting to see some of the big players in the Australian business market are boycotting YouTube advertising because of placement of their advertisements alongside what they’re calling inappropriate videos.
In an article written by Mitchell Bingemann of www.theAustralian.com.au with the headline that Telstra is leading the YouTube exodus, Bingemman goes on to say that Telstra is not alone.
“The list of big brands abandoning Google’s Youtube is growing with Australian businesses including Telstra, Vodafone Hutchison Australia, Bunnings, Foxtel and Caltex joining in the global protest against their brands being advertised alongside offensive content”
Some advertisers had discovered that their ad placement was on videos that were hateful, racist and featured misogynistic and offensive content.
It is estimated that’s the backlash from advertisers could cost YouTube’s parent company Google upwards of $750 million, Probably just chump change for Google but I think it’s great to see Aussie advertisers standing up and demanding that Google tightens up its policies on ad placement.
Bingemann goes on to say, “A Google spokeswoman on Friday said the company was improving its policies and enforcement to better police content, pull more ads from ‘hateful, offensive and derogatory’ videos and give advertisers more control over where their ads appeared”.
Apparently, Google is already taking steps to fix this problem, The biggest problem I think Google would be faced with is a lot of automation and algorithms control what content you see and don’t see, and I am wondering how difficult that would be on video content. Although I’m sure they have the smarts and the technology to sort it out.
What does this mean for you? If you advertise on YouTube, you should check to see what videos your ads are appearing next to, considering this is a representation of your business and your brand. YouTube Ad placement may reflect badly on you and your business without you knowing about it.
What are your thoughts? Do you think advertisers are over-reacting or is the exodus justified?
About the Author
Ben Fewtrell is a sought-after Business Coach, Keynote Speaker and trainer who has featured in Virgin’s Inflight Magazine and Entertainment Portal, SKY Business and “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed”. He is also the host of the popular Business Brain Food Podcast where he interviews leading experts on anything and everything business.
