Ad Pays 7: Keith Weed – What does the future hold?

In the recent Ad Pays 7 report from the industry’s think tank Credos on UK advertising’s digital revolution, a series of leading figures from across UK advertising were asked the question:  As the digitalisation of advertising continues to develop what is the most important challenge and the most important opportunity for your business?

In the first of of a series of extracts from the leaders’ answers to the question we are featuring the answer from Keith Weed, President of the Advertising Association and Former Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Unilever.

Keith Weed – Unilever

“The pace of change in the sector is exponential, driven by technology rapidly changing consumer behaviour and impacting our understanding of how we meet consumer needs. Challenges arise when bad actors manipulate technology, by misusing data, bots, or bombarding people with adverts.

Last year it became obvious that the issues we were experiencing in digital publishing and media were no longer purely business or industry issues, but societal issues. Our biggest challenge is a decline in public trust.

At Unilever, we have been very clear and consistent about calling for a better digital ecosystem and going beyond just setting the right standards and approaches for Viewability, Verification and Value. Last year, our Responsibility Framework extended our approach to partner engagement. We announced we would promote responsible content, only work with partners committed to creating a positive impact in society, and partner with organisations to create a One Measurement system that improves the consumer experience.

We also addressed the transparency issues in influencer marketing, aiming to combat fraud, create better consumer experiences and improve brands’ ability to measure impact on social media. Since then, our partners have removed over 1.6 billion fake accounts and content from their platforms.

We have also made significant steps towards building a Cross Media Measurement Model for brands to help them understand campaign impact across the media landscape. We are working closely and proactively with partners including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Kantar Media and Nielsen to meet this industry need. To further accelerate this solution, we are working with the World Federation of Advertisers to invite other brands, platforms and publishers to join in our efforts.

Today we have more opportunities to connect with our consumers than ever before. We have the technology to serve people with more relevant messages, understand what does and doesn’t work and change it in real time. By working together to address the challenges, we can maximise these opportunities and make marketing noble again.”