As advertising budgets continue to shift towards social media and digital video, marketers are following where attention, culture and consumer decisions now live. But as spend enters these environments, control increasingly shifts to algorithms and fast-moving content ecosystems \u2014 making brand safety and suitability more critical than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IAS\u2019s 2026 Industry Pulse Report, based on insights from nearly 300 industry experts, highlights just how central these channels have become:
\u2022 88% cite digital video as a top investment priority
\u2022 84% cite social media as a top investment priority<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With this growing investment comes heightened responsibility to protect media quality in environments that are more dynamic and unpredictable than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Global social media ad spend is expected to grow 14.9% to reach $306.4 billion in 2026, increasing pressure on marketers to ensure quality at scale. Experts point to three key challenges:
\u2022 The rapid rise of AI-generated content
\u2022 Growing influencer and creator suitability risks
\u2022 A persistent lack of transparency into media quality metrics<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These challenges evolve too quickly for static, rule-based controls to manage effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2e3b<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 83% say AI-generated content on social media is a major concern
\u2022 86% say identifying and avoiding AI-generated content in digital video is critically needed
\u2022 87% prioritise influencer suitability for digital video
\u2022 82% prioritise influencer suitability for social media
\u2022 70% believe a lack of transparency into media quality metrics will negatively impact media spend<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts agree: protecting brand value today requires adaptive, real-time solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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IAS enables advertisers to protect media quality while maximising performance through:
\u2022 Frame-by-frame multimedia intelligence, analysing image, audio and text signals across digital video at scale
\u2022 Customised, pre-bid suitability controls, allowing brands to define and apply their own standards in real time<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results are measurable:
\u2022 65% reduction in brand suitability fail rates within two months for one advertiser
\u2022 48% reduction in wasted ad spend annually for a brand running 1 billion impressions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As social and digital video ecosystems continue to evolve, marketers need intelligence \u2014 not just filters \u2014 to move forward with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Download IAS\u2019s 2026 Industry Pulse Report to explore expert insights on generative AI, digital video, social media and the future of media investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As advertising budgets continue to shift towards social media and digital video, marketers are following where attention, culture and consumer decisions now live. But as spend enters these environments, control increasingly shifts to algorithms and fast-moving content ecosystems \u2014 making…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":344559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[296,287,272,284,274],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brand-safety-suitability-uk","category-featured-uk","category-research-uk","category-proprietary-platforms-uk","category-trends-z-retire-uk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n