ThinkNewsBrands calls for rethink of keyword blocklists

ThinkNewsBrands has called on marketers to review automated keyword blocklists, arguing outdated brand safety tools can exclude campaigns from trusted news environments before they reach consumers.

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Speaking at the CMO Summit on the Gold Coast, Vanessa Lyons, CEO of ThinkNewsBrands, said trust had become a commercial driver as consumers faced a growing volume of unverified digital content.

“I don't believe we're living in an attention economy anymore. I think we're living in a credibility economy, where trust has become one of the few genuine competitive advantages left,” Lyons said.

ThinkNewsBrands’ News Nation research found 85 per cent of Australians reported greater confidence in brands they encountered in trusted news environments. Nearly three quarters said they were concerned about misinformation spreading online.

The organisation said the environment surrounding an advertisement can influence recall and purchase intent. However, automated brand safety settings may prevent campaigns from appearing alongside high-attention journalism.

Keyword blocklists under scrutiny

Lyons said many brand safety systems rely on keyword lists that cannot assess the context of an article. Commonly excluded terms include:

• shot, strike, fight, game and weapon
• tax, breach, toxic, blow and round
• divorce, study, police and speed

“At first glance, that feels sensible. Until you realise software doesn't understand context. It doesn't understand journalism. It doesn't understand intent. It simply matches words, and then it blocks.”

Lyons said marketers often trust agencies and technology platforms to manage campaign placement without seeing which terms are removing advertising opportunities.

“We trusted the system. The agencies trusted the tech tools. And the tech tools trusted a keyword list. And somewhere along the way, strategy quietly became automation,” she said.

Safety and suitability are different

Lyons stressed that brand safety remained important and that media agencies played a valuable role. However, she argued that safety and suitability required different decisions.

“Safety and suitability are not the same thing. Safety asks, ‘Is this harmful?’ Suitability asks, ‘Is this appropriate for my brand?’ One is black and white. The other requires judgement, context and nuance. The problem is that software isn't very good at nuance.”

Lyons pointed to positive stories about Jessica Fox that used the phrase “secret weapon”. She said automated systems could block advertising around those articles because they detected the word “weapon” without assessing the story.

“Software sees ‘weapon,’ and the advertising campaign is blocked. No judgement. No opportunity. Tech tools and outdated systems don't acknowledge context,” Lyons said.

Call for marketers to review exclusions

Lyons urged marketers to ask their agencies and technology partners which keywords were excluding their campaigns. Greater visibility would allow brands to assess whether automated settings matched their objectives and risk requirements.

ThinkNewsBrands said it was advocating for better brand safety rather than fewer safeguards, so trusted journalism was not automatically excluded by systems unable to interpret context.