“Advertisers need to ask themselves if they would pause content on other channels and platforms if some of their content was rocked by controversy. However, Ben Foster, managing partner, digital at The Kite Factory, said that advertisers should look at the totality of a platform’s content before making a decision on whether to pull spend. Brands were quick to boycott Facebook and YouTube over criticisms that they weren’t doing enough to tackle hate speech and misinformation. Its advertisers have also been caught up in the chaos. Boycotts almost never end well for a brand.“ #DeleteSpotify isn’t what the brand wants out there. The brand can set all the parameters and issue all the statements it wants, but it’s the social group – the consumers, the public – who will determine its fate. The critical word in social networking is ’social’. He adds: “Rogan issues an apology because he’s feeling the financial pinch this kind of publicity brings and Spotify wants to just brush the whole thing under the rug and move on. “One might suppose Spotify thinks this is a version of ’it doesn’t matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right!’ But as it turns out, it does matter. Robert Passikoff, founder and president of market research firm Brand Keys, says that Spotify will need to take these complaints seriously if it’s to avoid future PR disasters. While Spotify’s value tanked in the immediate aftermath (though not necessarily solely for reasons related to Joe Rogan), it is the long-term brand damage that potentially could spur further changes in Spotify’s approach. So with the argument about advertisers inadvertently funding misinformation back on the agenda, what do media buyers believe will be the fallout for Spotify and the brands it partners with? Policing the internet Back in September of 2020, a group of employees sought to limit the extent to which Rogan could book controversial guests and spread information – though based on the news over the weekend, that group ultimately lost the battle. It all follows internal disquiet at Spotify over its lack of editorial oversight of Joe Rogan in particular. Podcast ads via Spotify Ad Studio, our self-serve ad channel, is currently only available in the US.“ The Spotify Audience Network is also available to UK advertisers. They stated: “Podcast ad buying for select Spotify Originals and Exclusives podcasts is available via Direct in the UK. ![]() ![]() We’ve heard you – especially those from the medical and scientific communities – and are taking the following steps.”Ī Spotify spokesperson confirmed to The Drum that Rogan’s show is a direct buy, so advertisers cannot inadvertently end up against its content. ![]() “Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it’s become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time. Over the weekend Spotify published its long-held internal rules around how it vets and regulates its stock of podcasts, with its CEO Daniel Ek stating: Rogan issued an apology, although critics noted he was apologizing to Spotify itself for the issue – not for spreading the misinformation in the first place. Musical artists on Spotify – including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell – have publicly asked for their music be removed from the service, specifically citing Rogan as the cause and ensuring that the controversy received widespread attention. ![]() That deal makes it clear that Spotify has acted as a publisher (whether it calls itself that or not) and so begs the question as to how much advertisers are culpable for paying to appear on the platform. Podcaster Joe Rogan signed a $100m a year deal with Spotify back in 2020 and has frequently been accused of less-than-stellar fact checking and deliberately disseminating vaccine disinformation. The difference with Spotify is that it commissioned and has the exclusive distribution rights for the content accused of spreading harmful disinformation.
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