• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Advertisers are rethinking the way they view ads in news environments after finding that they have recently begun to outperform campaign baselines.

In a global survey of 1,970 marketers, DoubleVerify examined their concerns, attitudes and decisions related to news content investment decisions. 

About 60% of the 1,970 marketers surveyed said their ads in news environments outperformed their campaign baselines, showing the media has become a high-performing, underused opportunity for brands that may have been hesitant in the past.

The research highlights renewed opportunities. AI may playing a role in that shift as the technology becomes more sophisticated and driven to personalize targeting. 

Some 27% said their ads in news environments perform on par with baselines, but just 11% of respondents found that news inventory performed below average compared with other media.

Only 1% participating in the survey said they consider all types of news content to be unsuitable for advertising, but perspectives on suitability varied slightly depending on adjacency with different types of news content and pages.

Ninety-five percent of marketers said they do not consider it unsuitable for their ads to appear next to what they called “soft” news topics such as sports and entertainment, while 93% said the same about news home pages.

Still, marketers are slightly more cautious about content related to current events and breaking news, with 88% and 84%, respectively, saying they do not consider that content unsuitable for advertising, respectively.

The data highlights the need for advertisers to take a new approach to news to capitalize on the opportunity it presents while maintaining their suitability needs.

Interestingly, 53% of marketers said they currently invest in news content, and an additional 28% said they intend to do so in the future. Those who currently invest in news also said they allocate significant portions of their budgets toward it, on average spending 28% of their budgets. 

Marketers in automotive and healthcare and pharmaceuticals say they advertise alongside news more than marketers in other verticals. 

The research also indicated that 16% more agency respondents cited concerns about negative news when compared with brand respondents.

Not surprisingly, respondents said the biggest barrier preventing them from investing in news is the concern over advertising alongside negative news content.

Marketers who do invest in news said the most significant factors that prevent them from allocating more budget are concerns about appearing alongside negative news or potentially controversial topics.