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Level Up Brand Safety With DSP Suitability Controls Now

Jacob Heinz
Jacob Heinz |

Everyone loves seeing their brand win—until your logo pops up next to some sketchy video or clickbait. That feeling? Not just awkward. It can cost you big time. One ad in the wrong spot can trash your reputation in seconds. Suddenly, advertisers are dodging problems left and right, just hoping today isn’t the day their brand blows up for the wrong reason.

Let’s be honest, every CMO is losing sleep checking their display ads. Nobody wants to be the next headline for all the wrong reasons. The price for a dumb placement? Wildly high. A single mistake could spark outraged tweets, boycotts, or even a juicy lawsuit. Here’s a gut-punch: Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer says 63% of buyers drop brands that act “irresponsible.” Yikes.

That’s why new DSP (Demand-Side Platform) brand suitability controls matter. Especially now, during their open beta phase. Amazon, Adobe—these ad giants are finally giving you more control. You get to poke around, experiment, and use your own data to protect your brand’s vibe and name. Forget the old “blast it everywhere” style. Now you can block, filter, and target ads so they don’t show up where they shouldn’t. That can save you from those million-dollar mistakes.

Looking for better brand safety and return on ad spend? Check these DSP services for brand suitability and safe programmatic buys.

Sound easy? Hold up. The rules keep shifting. Third-party checkers team up with platforms all the time. Even what counts as “brand safe” changes. If you aren’t careful, you might be doing all the right things on paper—but still missing the real point.

Want to stay ahead before these tools become the norm? Let’s break down how to win at DSP brand safety now—and arm you with what works.

TL;DR

  • Amazon and Adobe’s DSPs are adding wild new brand suitability tools—test them out now before disaster strikes.
  • DoubleVerify, Peer39, IAS, and Comscore let you block the risky stuff and set your own controls.
  • Advanced features (like custom targeting and Brand Lift studies) help you tweak performance for your goals.
  • Brand safety is just blocking bad stuff. Suitability is about picking spots that fit your brand’s whole vibe.
  • Open beta lets you get ahead. Try new settings now—be the leader, not the follower.

Why Brand Suitability Is Your New Secret Weapon

From Safety to Suitability

Let’s go back: For years, digital ads just tried to avoid the obvious bad stuff. Old brand safety tools kept brands away from violence, hate speech, scams, and fraud. But let’s be real: computers don’t think like humans. A totally safe accounting website is fine for some, but not if you’re selling skate shoes to teens.

Enter brand suitability. Instead of just “Is this safe?”, you get to ask, “Does this fit my style and audience?” Maybe your brand’s fun, lighthearted, or even a little bold. Or maybe you care about the environment or family-friendly stuff. Either way, the goal isn’t just to stay out of trouble—it’s to show up in places you actually belong.

Platforms like Meta’s Brand Safety and Facebook Business Manager moved this forward. Forget the blunt blocking—now you can actually pick where your ads go, leaning into your identity and ditching the stuff that’s off. Amazon DSP and Adobe DSP joining in means everyone gets smarter tools that finally get how you think.

eMarketer reports 67% of marketers are throwing more cash at suitability in 2024—nearly 10% higher than last year. The old days of blocking the worst are done. The new goal? Show up in the right spots, not just avoid the bad ones.

How Open Beta Controls Work

Nuts and Bolts

Think of open beta like your brand’s secret lab—you get to play with new tools before anyone else. Amazon DSP, for starters, lets you set brand suitability for your whole company or each ad group using their API. What does that mean? You can set rules for every campaign, or get specific based on who you’re targeting.

Some tools in the toolbox:

  • Advertiser-level suitability via API: Using endpoints like brandSafetyTierInheritedSettingDetails, set big-picture rules for all ads.
  • Ad-group-level targeting: With brandSafetyTierTarget, tweak what’s safe for each campaign or group.

If you love reports (and you should), Brand Suitability Reports show exactly where ads run, what’s blocked, and what’s getting results.

Amazon says putting suitability controls in place before a campaign can slash wasted ads by 17%. That’s thousands—or for some, hundreds of thousands—saved on bad placements. Example: One giant retailer cut “incidents” (bad placements) in half after 90 days testing open beta tools.

Don’t forget: Early testers get to talk with the platform teams directly. Your feedback can shape the final product. Kinda cool, right?

Third-Party Verification Tools

DoubleVerify, IAS, Peer39, More

No DSP gets it perfect on their own. Third-party verification is where you add an extra safety net. Picture DoubleVerify, IAS, Peer39, and Comscore as your digital bouncers—they only let the right guests in.

  • DoubleVerify ABS: You make a list for each placement (aka a ‘brand matrix’). Only sites that fit your rules make it. Adobe DSP says using these plus platform tools cuts bad placements by 21%. Nice for both your brand and your budget.
  • Integral Ad Science & Peer39: Ever wish you could control the emotions or topics around your ads? These plug-ins help you block topics you don’t like, or avoid snarky meme forums while hitting credible news sites.

Peer39 even filters by emotion. So if your feel-good brand isn’t about negativity, you can skip the downer spots. GWI 2024 says 78% of people trust brands more if they see ads in positive, on-brand places. This isn’t just blocking bad—it’s blocking boring, off-message stuff too.

“You’d never send your spokesperson to a conference that’s totally off-brand—why let your ads show up there?” — Trung Phan, marketing raconteur.

Custom Goals and Filtering

Tuning Meets Targeting

Back in the day, “customizing” just meant blocking keywords (like “no violence”, “no scams”, “no weird posts”). Honestly, that was boring. Now, open beta lets you do way more—goal weights, filters, super-detailed blocklists.

  • Adobe DSP’s custom campaign goals: Start them with “ADSP_” and the system gives you more power. Want brand lift in the middle of your sales funnel? Or just top-notch qualified leads? Adobe tunes reporting and bidding for you. One software brand used these—they saw cost per good lead drop by 12%, and their brand lift score went up in most of Europe after only one quarter.
  • Contextual filtering: Block full categories. No more skincare ads next to wild news stories. Filter by device, audience, or ad source.

Plus: Tools like Amazon’s Brand Suitability Reports and Brand Lift Study actually show how your ad spots affect things like awareness and conversions. Data beats guessing every single time.

Think of contextual filtering like a smart GPS for your campaign. Not just keeping you away from danger, but sending you on the scenic (on-brand) route.

Safety Vs Suitability

Not Just Blocking Bad

Say you sell eco-friendly beauty products and your brand’s all about fun and inclusion. Old safety tools will stop ads running next to hate or explicit stuff, sure. But your ad could still end up on a hunting forum or a stuffy finance site. Is that dangerous? No. Is it a good fit? Also no.

That weird gray area is where brand suitability matters. You can keep your ads off stuff that’s safe—but off for you. Meta (Facebook) lets you fine-tune by topic or mood. Amazon and Adobe give you dashboards for total control.

It’s not “either/or” here. The best way is both—rock-solid safety and sharp-as-a-needle suitability. Trade Desk’s 2024 review said, “Suitability creates real, lasting brand value beyond just being safe.” Bottom line: safety alone isn’t enough. Being seen in the right digital neighborhoods grows your brand for real.

What’s Next?

Monitoring and Billing

Open beta features are awesome, but “set it and forget it” won’t cut it. Meta and Amazon give you brand suitability reports—use them every week, not once a year, if you want to keep up. These show where ads landed, what ran, what was blocked, and any risk. Use them to adjust in real time.

Heads up: Some tools (like DoubleVerify, Peer39, Comscore) charge by segment or impression. That added safety is worth it, but it hits ROI. Be smart: balance control with cost—some campaigns don’t need every filter maxed out.

Soon, you can expect more automation and even tighter ad tech. Beta tools are gonna reach all parts of the web, from YouTube to random mobile apps. The best brands will test early, give feedback, and push for clear billing and next-level reporting.

The future is bright—your ads will show up in better, smarter places. But only if you start using these tools now.

Suitability Success SnapShot

  • Open beta gives you early access to great suitability tools—put you ahead while others scramble.
  • API-level controls mean you set both big rules and tiny tweaks for each campaign.
  • Third-party verifiers (DoubleVerify, IAS, Peer39, Comscore) provide blocking and filters you can’t get otherwise.
  • Advanced optimization in DSPs (like Adobe) opens up smart campaign goals, tighter spending, and more clicks.
  • Measurement matters most: Use Brand Lift studies and suitability reports every single week for more wins.

Top DSP Brand Suitability FAQs

1. How is brand suitability different from brand safety on DSPs?
Brand safety blocks your ad from the bad stuff—think scams, hate, violence. Suitability blocks out places that don’t feel right for your brand. It’s a vibe check, not just a safety check.

2. Which DSPs offer open beta suitability settings now?
Amazon DSP and Adobe Advertising DSP are leading with these new controls. Expect super-detailed APIs, campaign tweaks, and killer reporting. Other big DSPs are rolling out their own soon.

3. What third-party verification tools should I care about?
DoubleVerify, Peer39, IAS, and Comscore. They catch issues that DSP platforms might miss and offer better metrics. If you want next-level protection, you’ll probably use them, even if it costs a little more.

4. Can I measure the impact of suitability settings on brand performance?
Of course. Amazon Brand Lift, Meta’s reports, and Adobe dashboards all track awareness, clicks, and conversions. You’ll know what’s working after you change your settings.

5. Will beta features stay or change in the future?
Betas keep shifting. More automation, more detail, more coverage. Brands using the stuff early will win big once it goes mainstream.

Tune Your Suitability Moves

  1. Check your current DSP risk—are you using just the basics or tuning for full suitability?
  2. Try new beta features on Amazon or Adobe—play with both high-level and detailed API settings.
  3. Add third-party verifiers like DoubleVerify or Peer39. Double-check for overlap so you don’t pay twice.
  4. Set clear campaign goals and use those custom weights (“ADSP_” prefix!) in Adobe for extra lift.
  5. Watch suitability and Brand Lift reports every week. See what happens to your brand results.
  6. Keep blocklists fresh. Adjust quickly as new risks and trends bubble up.
  7. Loop in your money team so extra costs don’t eat your ROI.

Get into the suitability beta game now—and you won’t just avoid disasters. You’ll land your ads in the places they truly belong. In digital ads, brands chasing the best fit (not just basic safety) will win. The rest will get stuck cleaning up messes. Your move.

Want more? Check out feature highlights and our latest tools.

Still hungry for more details? See Meta Brand Safety and Suitability Center, Facebook Business Manager’s safety hub, or guides to Amazon Attribution and the Amazon Brand Lift Study.

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