A third of Aussies think brands endorse the online content their ads appear next to

More than a third of Australian consumers think brands endorse the content that its ads were adjacent to in an online video environment. The research was undertaken by technology and data platform Channel Factory and IPG Mediabrands’ Magna.

The study, named The Art of Alignment, explored the concept of ‘grey content’, which refers to the type of materials that may not necessarily be deemed unsafe but is generally not aligned with a brand’s value or voice.

The study included participants across three markets: Australia (1,371), US (1,370) and UK (3,104). Participants were regular users of a popular social media video app, and they were driven to a controlled mobile version of the app to watch content, with a 15-second pre-roll test or control ad delivered based on randomisation.