Ever laid in bed, staring at your ceiling, stressing your ad might pop up after some wild YouTube prank or, even worse, news about something you’d never want tied to your product? You’re not alone. Just one badly placed ad can explode into a PR disaster and trash years of trust. It sends whole marketing teams into panic mode fast.
This fear isn’t made up. Every brand’s fighting for a spot in a sea of content—some fun, some sketchy, and some just plain weird. Control matters more now than ever. Luckily, DSPs are finally helping us relax a bit. Tools like Adobe’s Advertising DSP are giving us control so detailed it’s almost scary. Picture this: your toothpaste ad never sits next to a zombie movie, a scam, or even something that’s just off for your brand.
Now, with Adobe’s open beta brand suitability settings, you can zero in on where your ads land. The secret? Big partnerships with DoubleVerify, Comscore, and a few more names. It’s not just a boring blocklist. You set your risk, your context, even placements, all in real time. So no wasted budget, and your brand looks sharp. That means less "uh-oh" moments, no pointless spending, and ads that won’t cost you sleep. This is brand-safe heaven.
If your DSP won’t protect your brand, what’s the point?
TL;DR
- With Adobe DSP’s open beta, you set brand suitability however you want—advertiser, ad group, or straight through the API.
- DoubleVerify ABS means solid, cross-platform safety filtering and top-shelf reporting.
- Block fraud, dirty content, and sketchy placements with pre-bid and placement controls—before and after your ad runs.
- Amazon DSP and others have 3P connections, but Adobe hands you more campaign-level options.
- Real-time fraud checking keeps your ads on good, safe inventory only.
- Features are in open beta, so expect quick changes and even more options as Adobe tweaks things.
Why Brand Suitability Is Your Secret Campaign Weapon
Ad Misplacement Nightmare
Imagine: you spend a fortune on a slick campaign, get all your targeting right, then… your ad ends up next to a prank livestream that turns ugly. Or worse, it sits with a ranty podcast. Now, your brand looks dumb or maybe even guilty. Not just bad—it’s expensive.
A 2023 IAS report says this: 90% of shoppers think less of brands that run in places that seem wrong. In today’s fast, crazy web, one mess-up spreads, and sticks, way longer than you’d like.
Honestly, digital ads are peppered with traps now. If you’re not careful, your brand ends up somewhere it should never be. The stakes? Your rep, your budget, and trust—they just keep climbing.
Suitability vs Safety
Brand safety is the basics, like keeping your kids away from traffic. You dodge the worst—hate, violence, NSFW, scams. But suitability? That’s picking the fun side of the park. It digs deep, protecting what makes your brand your brand.
Picture Skittles—big on bright, silly, young vibes. Even a G-rated news piece about funerals isn’t terrible, but it’s way off for Skittles. Suitability lets them block stuff like that, keeping everything rainbow-friendly.
Adobe’s new controls don’t just block danger. Now, you dodge anything off-brand—not just unsafe. So every placement fits your voice, minus the stress of hand-holding each campaign.
Inside Adobe DSP Suite
Brand Safety Trifecta
Adobe DSP isn’t just "on/off" for brand safety. Think of it as a Swiss Army knife for your ads. Here’s the breakdown:
Centralized, Customizable Pre-Bid Controls: Before you spend a penny, you pick what’s a go or a no. Use options from DoubleVerify, Comscore, Peer39, or IAS to block junk, even one ad at a time. If it’s off? No ad shows.
API-Level Flex: With a click, or a simple API call, you tweak rules per advertiser or ad group. One set for your teen brand, another for your main campaign? Done.
Exclusive Twitch Support: Adobe’s focused on Twitch right now—gold for gaming and esports brands. More channels are coming soon. So, you get to test first and help guide what’s next.
Let’s say an apparel brand wants extra sensitivity by country. They pair pre-bid controls with DoubleVerify’s ABS, blocking certain words or topics. The win? No ad fraud, a 17% boost in clicks, no PR chaos. Everyone breathes easier.
“Today, being brand-safe isn’t enough. Our clients want their message to sit with content that matches their values—and now we can actually deliver that.”
—Senior Account Lead, Dentsu
DoubleVerify ABS Filters
Extinguish Disaster Early
Old ad blockers fixed things after the fact. Like checking your smoke alarm once your toast is charcoal. But DoubleVerify’s Authentic Brand Safety (ABS) in Adobe DSP beta stops messes before they start. You set your blocks before any ad appears.
ABS Segment IDs: Pick your ABS settings in DoubleVerify, make a segment ID just for you, and sync it with Adobe. Same rules, everywhere your campaign runs.
Pre-Bid AND Post-Bid Synergy: No more waiting until after your ad is up. ABS blocks bad stuff up front, so your cash goes where you want.
Extreme Customization: You pick how strict you want to be, what topics to block, and tune it for each advertiser or ad group.
It’s not just safer. It’s better for business. DoubleVerify says using AVS/ABS in DSPs brings double the ROAS and 30% less wasted budget (source). More reach, less waste, better spots. Everybody wins.
Placement Precision
Pick Placements, Not Just Audience
Meta, Amazon DSP, and some others just block big chunks (like “no news” or "no NSFW"). Adobe zooms in way closer. You choose exactly where your ads go—not just who sees them.
Custom Contextual Filtering: You don’t want your fancy brand next to trashy TV or fake news? Use filters from IAS, Peer39, or Comscore, all tuned to match your style.
Budget Caps per Placement: Find a sketchy spot? Save your dollars for safer, better spots.
Switch ABS On/Off by Placement: Want tight rules somewhere and loose rules other places? Flip it on or off wherever you want.
Pro tip: Suitability isn’t just blocking the bad. It’s shaping where you want your ad’s story told. One brand might block all but “minimalist living,” another one skips finance talk. Totally up to you.
Fraud Surveillance
Collab With the Best
Ad fraud drains $60 billion a year worldwide, says IAB. Click farms, bots, and fake visits burn up your cash before real people see your ad. Adobe’s Fraud Surveillance system, working with IAB, TAG, and WhiteOps, uses AI to keep bad actors out and warns you before you even bid.
Inventory Curation: Only buy spots that are checked, trusted, and real. Set up right, your DSP can pretty much erase fraud.
Continuous Monitoring: You get live updates and publisher reports. Catch a fake? Block it out the second it pops up.
One Fortune 500 CPG brand caught an overseas click farm eating up 11% of its ad budget. After turning on the new features, fraud dropped below 1%. No more wasted money.
“Adobe DSP’s fraud protections are like a seatbelt for our ad spend.” —Media Manager, Fortune 500 CPG Brand
Open Beta Opportunity
Why Beta Matters
All this is in open beta. That’s not a red flag—it’s your chance to try new things, give feedback, and help shape what’s coming. APIs and placement controls are updating fast. More channels like CTV and audio will be here soon.
Mess around with settings now. Get ahead—help craft tools everyone will want in a year.
Cross-Platform Context
Adobe’s not the only one at this. Amazon’s DSP has brand lift studies and tracking to help tweak safety (Amazon Attribution). But Adobe stands out. It gives you rule-by-rule tuning and super sharp placement control. Soon, doing this much will be the bare minimum if you care about your brand.
Want even more control for Amazon? Try DSP Services for bonus tools built for Amazon DSP users.
Adobe DSP Quick Hits
- Set pre-bid controls once—they work everywhere (advertiser, group, placement) for a quick, full sweep.
- DoubleVerify ABS means your safety rules follow your ad all over the place.
- Block fraud, not just bad content. IAB and WhiteOps give you tons of safety layers.
- Change rules fast—use their dashboard or the API for bigger jobs.
- Beta means you get to help fine-tune the next big thing in DSP controls.
Brand-Safe Game Plan
- Suitability beats safety: Nail your tone. Every ad, every time.
- Pre-bid > post-bid: Solve stuff BEFORE it goes live. No more cleaning up messes.
- Go granular: Use detailed filtering and tweak every campaign how you want.
- Leverage partnerships: Get top-notch help from DoubleVerify, Comscore, and IAS.
- Stay engaged: Beta moves fast. Give feedback, shape the stuff you’ll use next.
Marketers’ FAQs Answered
Q1: How is Adobe DSP’s suitability different from Meta’s Brand Safety Center?
Meta blocks big groups or publishers. Adobe lets you build custom rules for each campaign, and uses DoubleVerify ABS for smarter, cross-channel safety. More choices, more control.
Q2: What’s new about DoubleVerify ABS in Adobe DSP?
Before, ABS only blocked junk after-the-fact. Now, it stops it before your ad appears—on every platform. Saves cash and time.
Q3: Which media and inventory are in beta?
Twitch display and video are good to go. Perfect for brands reaching gamers and esports fans. More formats coming soon.
Q4: Can I automate changes to suitability settings?
Yep. The API means agencies and big brands can tweak rules fast, across loads of campaigns.
Q5: Does this block fraud or just offensive content?
Both. With fraud watching and smart filtering, you block bots, fake sites, and the wrong kind of content. Adobe works with WhiteOps, IAB, TAG, and more for a double safety net.
Q6: What if I want to block a single topic, not whole categories? You can. Make filters for just keywords, context, or even by publisher or spot. Go broad or pinpoint.
Set Up Adobe DSP Like a Pro
- Start in the API or UI: Dive into brand suitability settings for the advertiser or ad group. Explore all the options.
- Choose Your Verifiers: Connect DoubleVerify, Comscore, IAS, or Peer39 for strong, context-sensitive controls.
- Configure ABS Segments: Set and sync your unique ABS ID from DoubleVerify in Adobe’s dashboard.
- Fine-tune Placement Controls: Adjust filters and ABS toggles for each publisher or spot for a perfect fit.
- Enable Fraud Surveillance: Make sure supply curation and IAB/WhiteOps are running behind the scenes.
- Monitor and Optimize: Use deep reports like brand suitability reports to tune campaigns as they run.
Congrats! Now you’re calling the shots. Every ad, every campaign, you’re in control. No more late-night ad freakouts. The future of DSP is smarter, safer, and honestly, way less stressful.
Want even more control on placements? Try Requery—an automation tool for tracking, managing, and sharpening every DSP spot. Total power, every time.
