As geopolitical tensions ripple across the Middle East, brands are recalibrating how and where they show up online. In an always-on, programmatic-first ecosystem, decisions around adjacency, sentiment and speed have become critical.
Dalbir Gill, an adtech specialist with over 15 years of experience across companies such as Yahoo, Mail Online, Spotify and Seedtag. Gill led programmatic expansion for Spotify across EMEA and APAC and later helped transform Seedtag from a little-known Spanish adtech firm into a multi-million-dollar business. He also launched Seedtag’s contextual offering in the Middle East, scaling the Dubai office from zero to an eight-digit operation within four years.
In this conversation, Gill shares how digital behaviour is shifting in real time, why brands are treading carefully around news content, and how contextual targeting is being re-evaluated during heavy news cycles.
Are you seeing real-time changes in digital behavior across the region amidst the geopolitical tensions?
Definitely seeing a change in digital behaviour during geopolitical tensions. People are digitally switched on and connected to ensure that authentic news and updates are filtering through. Mobile phone usage has increased as well as social media usage as people look to their piers for guidance and information. Reputable sources of information and websites are important as misinformation is also prevalent around such times.
How are brands thinking about adjacency to news content at the moment in the GCC?
We have seen brands being more careful about what they are advertising during moments of tension. Some brands completely pull spend during this time while others are limiting their approach. When it comes to News, brands are particularly cautious and there is a notion that a big part of the news reported would be deemed negative and brands want to avoid being active around such areas which may give this brand affinity to a negative sentiment. Brands may be seen out of touch or simply in-appropriate if they are promoting their goods or services at such a sensitive time.
How quickly can campaigns pivot in today’s automated ecosystem?
With the use of programmatic and automated technologies campaigns are have the power to pivot pretty quickly. Rules can be set up or programmatic traders can make simple adjustments to turn off or pull back activity. The key here is the flow of communication from advertisers to agencies to mediaowners and how pro-active the different stakeholders are. For example how quick is the mediaowner to react to certain adjustments that need to be made for a campaign if it was the weekend. The best companies have systems and processes in place for clear communication and clear actions.
Is contextual targeting having a bit of a comeback during heavy news cycles?
Contextual targeting has been around since the start of advertising. When it comes to targeting or not targeting news during stressing times it is a powerful targeting tool to utilise but only if it is used in the right way. For example just applying simple keyword targeting is not enough as things can be taken out of context. An article writing about “Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea and shot count” could be deemed negative if the words “Arsenal” and “shot” were looked at without taking into consideration other elements of the article like meta data behind the images, URL and sentiment. An article still focused around news but related to a positive sentiment such as how people are helping one another during difficult times could be a good moment for a brand to engage with users. Contextual targeting does increase the tendency to “lazy target” and have blanket blocks in place but when utilised properly contextual targeting should and can be used to effectively target positive sentiment and away from negative sentiment which can have a lasting impact for brands.
What data tells you it’s time to pull back?
It’s time to pull back when the brands message does not align with what the consumer is being faced with. An airline or a tourism board would not promote its flights during a time of geopolitical unrest but a telco brand that can support with better communication and allowing loves ones to get in touch with each other could enable them to “lean in more” rather than “pull back”. A lot of data can be gathered and analysed in the digital world today with changes made in milliseconds. The key is how this data is utilised, digested and actioned upon for brands to remain authentic in this day and age.
