Tag: contributors

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Streaming into the Upfront: What’s Next for CTV?

Streaming into the Upfront: What’s Next for CTV?

Much remains unknown about the future of streaming, but audiences have made one thing clear: understanding it is more important than ever. With connected TV (CTV) ad spend expected to reach $6.73 billion (up 54% from 2020)—and with 60% of U.S. advertisers planning to shift ad dollars from linear TV to either CTV or OTT (over-the-top) in 2021—the race for the audience’s attention is on.  

Hear from senior industry experts and Nielsen leaders to understand the latest thought leadership and measurement advances in the CTV space. Watch the on-demand session below to:

  • Hear industry experts across the media ecosystem discuss current challenges and best practices relating to this corner of the streaming landscape 
  • Understand how the media industry can increasingly lean in to monetize and connect with consumers 
  • Gain actionable data and insights around CTV to drive your business forward

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Offering Hope, Not Funding Hate

Offering Hope, Not Funding Hate

For more than a year, the negative rhetoric against China as the source of the COVID-19 virus has resulted in increased verbal and physical attacks against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. As the world learned to navigate the pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans increased as the virus spread. While activists and allies have ramped up their efforts to fight the hate, one of the immediate calls for action was to end the use of racist terminology in media that continues to fuel dangerous consequences in real life.

The harmful effects of this language (e.g. “China virus,” “Wuhan plague”) are widespread, as a new analysis from Nielsen highlights that Asian stereotypes, conspiracies over the origins of COVID-19, and offensive terminology against Asian Americans are thriving in digital content. While media has a clear role to play in disrupting anti-Asian racism, so too do brands. As a result of the digital ad serving process, brands are unintentionally funding hate speech. Without insight into where their ads are appearing, brands can easily become associated with offensive content and keywords. In an increasingly digital media landscape, brands need to protect themselves and stop inadvertently monetizing content that puts AAPI communities at risk.

ARE MAJOR BRANDS FUNDING HATE SPEECH ONLINE?

Amid the increase in harmful narratives, advertising has largely remained business as usual. To better understand how prevalent brand exposure to hate speech is, Nielsen conducted a study leveraging artificial intelligence to identify more than 1,200 website URLs containing hate speech against people of Asian descent. Once we isolated the offensive content, we identified thousands of ad occurrences.

Source: AdVerif.AI, 01/01/2020-04/01/2021

From there, we identified more than 250 impacted ad campaigns in the first quarter of this year alone. These campaigns ran on URLs where brands, including household names, were adjacent to content that featured the use of racist, disparaging, stigmatizing, and xenophobic terminology and conspiracies related to coronavirus origins, Asians and China.

Which ad categories funded hate speEch?

Source: Nielsen Digital Ad Intel, Q1 2021, Digital Display and Digital Video ad spend by select categories on websites with at least one detected instance of anti-Asian hate speech.

A SNAPSHOT OF AD-SUPPORTED ANTI-ASIAN HATE SPEECH IN DIGITAL CONTENT

From news reporting to op-eds, the terms and subjective language connecting blame for the novel coronavirus to Chinese and Asian people has stained media coverage on-screen and online.

It’s getting better, right?

Reference to “China Bioweapon” peaked in 2021

Content that spread “Blame China” was still in use in Q1 2021

Source: AdVerif.AI, 01/01/2020-04/01/2021

Despite the impact of this terminology being used, this content still shows up on some of today’s most visited news and information websites. And brands remain exposed as a result.

Source: Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, Q1 2021 Unique Audience, Computer Only; Nielsen Digital Ad Intel, Q1 2021 

In the first quarter of 2021, ad campaigns from a dozen Fortune 500 companies and at least 66 brands were found adjacent to content including anti-Asian hate speech. 

WHO FUNDED ASIAN HATE SPEECH THIS YEAR?

Source: Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings, Q1 2021

Our analysis of identified hate speech in the first quarter of 2021 found that the use of this language actually increased in March from January and February, given the anniversary of most of the U.S. lockdowns in March 2020.

Read as: 98 site urls were identified in March 2021 that used anti-Asian hate speech. 

Read as: 42 site urls were identified in Q1 2021 that promoted the “China lab” conspiracy in their coronavirus coverage.
Source: AdVerif.AI

Looking deeper, the more frequent terms center on blame, distrust and malice towards China, their people and their government. Nearly one-third of the hate speech in March 2021 came from just one site, which collected more than $100,000 in digital ad spend from three top advertising categories.

Source: Nielsen Digital Ad Intel, Q1 2021, Digital Display and Digital Video ad spend across websites with at least one detected instance of anti-Asian hate speech.

THE NEED FOR LESS HATE AND MORE HOPE

As the Senate approved the anti-Asian hate crimes bill with bipartisan support, this signal of unity brings some hope that legislators will do their part to prevent further violence against Asian Americans. While the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism estimates anti-Asian hate crimes have increased 150% over the past year, ad spend in digital content with hate speech declined overall in first-quarter 2021. There is hope that further awareness will prevent the advertising industry from monetizing content that fuels hate.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION

What Brands Can Do Right Now

U.S. consumers across the country are standing up and demanding accountability from government and business to take action. It’s not just a matter of corporate social responsibility, it’s a matter of brand safety. For advertisers, brand safety is about more than a stagnant list of terms. Brands and their advertising partners should be in constant review as language emerges that is harmful to a community—and to their brand. And ad servers must consider how changes in rhetoric can be reflected in their algorithms. It’s time to rethink how and where ad campaigns are showing up, ask for accountability from digital ad placement partners, and build protective barriers to prevent placing ads in content with hate speech.

Additional Resources

Hope and action: The growing Influence of Asian Americans

Download the Full Report

Visit our Asian American community page to learn more about the Asian American population and breaking stereotypes.

Methodology

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Hope and Action: The Growing Influence of Asian Americans

Hope and Action: The Growing Influence of Asian Americans

Open any news feed or article today and you’ll likely find a piece about racial injustice. Much of the news focuses on the injustices our Black communities in the U.S. continue to combat, but there has been a parallel narrative gaining visibility: ending the racially motivated hate crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The onset of the pandemic and the many references to its origins in China sparked stories and public commentary blaming Chinese people and anyone who looked Asian for the lockdowns, the tense U.S.-China political relationship, America’s economic downturn and more. The issue spans well beyond rhetoric, as anti-Asian hate crimes spiked around the U.S.

Asian-American voices are growing louder and stronger, calling for an end to the hate and bringing hope for a more united future. The passing of the anti-Asian hate crimes bill, the powerful #washthehate movement and the exponential growth of Asian communities in new centers across the U.S. are signs of the growing influence and consumer power of Asian Americans. More than ever, AAPI consumers are demanding more from brands and businesses. Connecting with this group requires a different level of engagement that shows care about social justice and an understanding of the diversity within this community.

As part of the media industry, Nielsen took an in-depth look this year at how the industry can act to stop anti-Asian hate. Media has the power to shift perception and break stereotypes, and Nielsen has uncovered opportunities to do both—through how we advertise and the way Asians are represented on screen. This report showcases the growth and power of this community along with the key opportunities for action.

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How to Manage Your Content Assets So They’re Found and Used

How to Manage Your Content Assets So They’re Found and Used

Navigating all the digital media creates challenges for consumers and enterprises alike. To produce these products, add contextual information, assemble, and distribute them requires a systematic approach – digital asset management. Continue reading →

The post How to Manage Your Content Assets So They’re Found and Used appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

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