IPG Mediabrands Releases Latest Media Responsibility Index

IPG Mediabrands released its latest Media Responsibility Index, a report aimed at raising industry standards around brand safety and media responsibility. The Index, led by Mediabrands agency Reprise and based on a 2020 assessment, found that top social platforms’ adherence to media responsibility has improved significantly across almost all 10 Media Responsibility Principles (MRPs) since their initial assessment last August.

Mediabrands introduced the MRPs in June 2020 as part of a larger effort to balance brand safety and brand responsibility in advertising. While Brand Safety protects the brand, Brand Responsibility protects the communities that a brand serves, weighing the societal impact of the content, the publishers and services, and the platforms funded by advertising. The participating platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube.

The recent index displayed an average lift of 11 percentage points across the assessment for the platforms. It also revealed that the platforms are seeing the need to improve their media responsibility efforts, and take accountability for their actions, in order to protect the communities that they serve.

“It goes without saying that our Media Responsibility efforts, which were the first in our industry, have made a significant impact on how the platforms are operating,” said Joshua Lowcock, Chief Digital Officer, UM, and Global Brand Safety Officer, Mediabrands. “The fact that we have the support of the 4As and other industry bodies, shows that Mediabrands is at the forefront of advancing policy on media responsibility and brand safety in order to protect our society from harm.”

The Mediabrands MRPs have officially been adopted by the 4As and have been endorsed by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), the leading global industry body on media responsibility governance, confirming the need for a common set of standards across the industry.

For more information on key findings from the Media Responsibility Index, read here.