As published in adweek.com, by Sara Jerde

This inner turmoil could lead to a shift in brands’ willingness to advertise.

Key insight:
The more attention a particular publication receives, the more likely it is advertisers will avoid it and seek out other options to avoid the affiliation.

Several news organizations have had a change in leadership after internal unrest that has ranged from staff inequality to unequal pay to story selection.

The New York Times, Variety, Bon Appétit and Refinery29 are among the publications that experienced backlash from staffers on social media. But this moment, led by employees who have turned to social media feeds to advocate for better working conditions, feels different than previous missteps. And that could lead advertisers to rethink where they spend in an already hyperconscious environment of brand safety, media analysts and media buyers told Adweek.

Behavior that could have otherwise been overlooked is louder than ever, experts said. It’s up to advertisers to acknowledge it with their media dollars. In the short term, brands like Bon Appétit and Refinery29 could lose ad dollars, said Tim Smith, director of communications and media planning at agency IPNY.

“At the end of the day, it is the client’s decision. No brand manager wants to get a call from the C-suite or the PR department about the company getting called out because of a media placement,” Smith said. “At this point in time, when emotions are running so hot, any brand that senses any kind of turmoil is going to act first and ask questions later.”

As published in visualobjects.com

Advertisers state that data collection makes ads more relevant for online visitors. New data from Visual Objects indicates that highly targeted ads could negatively impact businesses’ potential to engage with ad-fatigued consumers.

The new survey report from portfolio website Visual Objects makes these claims and argues that personalization makes ads more useful for potential customers, but the data also shows that ad-fatigued users can be alienated. Businesses must ensure ads that rely on user data do not reveal personal information, such as age, marital status, or schooling.

Baby Boomers vs Millennials Comfort With Data Collection in Advertising

Though most ad-blocker users feel that data collection is invasive, baby boomers are the generation most averse to highly targeted advertising. Almost three-quarters of baby boomers (72%) say that data collection from ads feels like an invasion of privacy.

By contrast, 58% of millennials and 64% of Generation X respondents feel that data collection invades their privacy online. As people increasingly demand more privacy online, some browsers, like Mozilla, have started offering options for users to go ad- and tracking-free for a price. The Visual Objects survey found that younger ad blocker users are more likely to pay for this type of browsing. Almost half of Generation X users (47%) and 41% of millennials are willing to pay to browse ad-free, compared to only 29% of baby boomers.

“I think younger people tend to be less threatened by data collection because it’s what they’ve known,” said Tim Smith, director of communications and media planning at IPNY. “They’ve grown up with data breaches and they’ve almost always been connected and online.” Smith also said that older internet users often have more to lose financially than younger users, making them more wary of data breaches.

Businesses should build trust with users of all ages by allowing them to access the personal data that is collected and remove it if they desire.