| Good morning, Marketers, and world events take our activities beyond the concern for brand safety. As MarTech editorial director Kim Davis pointed out, the invasion of Ukraine is a sudden development that has left many in the marketing profession looking to shift their everyday operations in some ways as people everywhere look for ways to help out. The digital environment and the larger culture is constantly changing, which makes a strategy that is brand safe one day potentially harmful the next day in these disruptive times. And this means that marketers have to look further down the road and stand for more enduring values. Younger consumers especially expect brands to take a firm stand on environmental matters like sustainability and carbon-neutrality. Of course, brand safety is not a proxy or substitute for being a responsible person in the world. However, there is a larger lesson to be learned from why digital channels like some social media platforms can be especially perilous to brands. Marketers do not want their brand associated with misinformation. I expect that in the coming days and weeks, as people seek out trusted news sources to find out the latest about global crises, that a commercial break will be welcomed from time to time. And the association of a brand with such a news outlet in its traditional or digital form – TV, magazine, digital article – could very likely seem like more than just an ad, and instead a firm stand for necessary reporting in the face of viral rumor-mongering. As Kim suggested, if you have any stories worth sharing about how the marketing community is reaching out during these difficult times, contact me at cwood@thirddoormedia.com. Chris Wood,
Editor | 