After it was revealed last year that many reputable brands had their advertising appear next to high risk content – including IP infringing websites - many reputable brands re-evaluated their advertising operation s in a reactive effort to minimise the damage caused.But why should brands care if their ads are appearing on IP infringing websites? What real damage does ad misplacement cause to brands? Appearing next to infringing content damages the reputation of brands Brand equity is an intangible asset. The profitability of your brand is directly linked to how your customers regard it.Having your branded advertising appear on IP infringing websites can cause considerable damage to your brand’s reputation as consumers will question the principles underlying your company’s marketing strategy when they see the brand funding criminal activity.Ad revenue funds illegal operators and causes economic damage to the creative IndustriesIP infringing websites rely on ad revenue to function. Without it, most would be unable to operate.But ad revenue does not just keep IP infringing websites afloat, it makes pirate websites a highly lucrative proposition for criminals. Ad revenue linked to digital infringing content was estimated to be over $110m in 2017. The ability of pirate websites to offer free content causes immense economic damage to the creative industries by diverting users away from legitimate licensed media channels. Piracy is set to cost the global TV and film industry upwards of $52 billion dollars in 2022.
Reputable branded advertising lends pirate websites credibility, putting users at risk Having advertising from reputable brands appear on IP infringing websites gives them credibility in the eyes of consumers. It begs the question: if the website is illegitimate, why would such a well-known brand be advertising there?This false legitimacy encourages further engagement with the website, exposing the user to a risk of malware infection. Not only do many files containing the infringing content contain viruses and malware, the digital advertising ecosystem is also littered with malvertising – a form of advertising that can infect users with malware, often without their knowledge.White Bullet’s IPI Brand Monitoring solutions can protect your brand equity and ensure you are not inadvertently funding criminal activityWhite Bullet’s IPI Index™ uses machine learning to identify and score millions of pirate URLs in real time. Websites scored as high risk are monitored for advertising from multiple territories to get national advertising data.White Bullet’s IPI Brand Monitoring solutions alert you if we find your advertising is being misplaced on IP infringing websites. The IPI Index™ identifies the ad companies responsible for misplacing your advertising, giving you the transparency required to take action to ensure your brand’s reputation is safe.Contact us today to find out how White Bullet can protect your brand equity and ensure you are not inadvertently funding IP infringing websites.