At Ozone, we have always championed digital advertising as a driving force in securing a long-term future for online journalism. We regularly hear at a macro -level that both brands and agencies are very supportive of a free information economy that serves a dual purpose of also creating a more effective advertising ecosystem. Yet all too often, concerns about brand safety – ironically across some of the most editorially-governed environments on the web – have been cited as reasons not to invest.
Thankfully, research from Stagwell’s Future of News initiative, launched in 2024, is helping to reset the conversation. One year on, the team is underscoring how this groundbreaking effort, aimed at debunking brand safety myths and strengthening the relationship between advertisers and news media, has evolved.
Over the past 12 months, Stagwell has led significant research with HarrisX; surveying nearly 50,000 people in the US and over 22,000 in the UK, comparing how consumers respond to ads placed alongside both ‘brand safe’ and ‘non brand safe’ content. The results showed reputable metrics such as trust, purchase intent and favourability remained consistent, regardless of whether ads appeared next to stories about politics, global issues, sport or business.
These findings were echoed in Bountiful Cow’s recent study, RA: Unblocked, which found that unsafe content from quality publishers like The Guardian and The Telegraph outperformed safe content, with an attention index of 126 for unsafe content versus 120 for safe content.
At a recent Future of News UK Summit, Ozone’s CEO Damon Reeve reinforced the view that there is a growing disconnect between C-suite intentions and where media budgets are actually spent. Damon noted that layers of ad tech have taken over much of the decision-making process, distancing advertisers from the impact and value of supporting trusted news environments.
Future of News challenges the industry to re-evaluate the value of trusted journalism, not only as an effective space for advertising, but as a powerful force in society. Through research, events and ongoing conversations, it encourages brands to put news back on an equal footing with entertainment and sport.
That’s why Ozone is proud to support this mission – first as a partner in the UK launch, and now as a global partner. Our support of The News Alliance reinforced our commitment to helping advertisers see the power of premium news environments, and to ensure quality journalism is properly valued across the digital ecosystem.
