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Letters: Associating with UGC can be risky for brands

Platform: None | Source: NMA magazine | Published: 25.01.07

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From David Michael, strategic business development manager, Utarget

The uproar over the alleged racism in the Celebrity Big Brother house, culminating in Carphone Warehouse suspending its sponsorship of the show, drew my mind to the risks inherent in brands associating with user-generated content (UGC).

Apprehension over the conduct of individuals within the house motivated Carphone Warehouse to publicly state that "this behaviour is entirely at odds with our brand...

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... values". And it's not the first company to cancel its sponsorship when programme content was unsuitable.

A brand that associates itself with UGC should be cautious. By its very definition UGC can't be controlled, and the recent Big Brother episode will have undoubtedly made brands wary of being linked with such unpredictable content.

Viewing figures may be impressive but can this ever outweigh the risks involved? Particularly when there are much safer avenues available, offering a comfortable fit with brand values and minimising risk.

This represents one, high-profile, example. However, the threat brands face online is infinitely more complex. With talk of monetising UGC on channels like YouTube, brands could quickly find themselves associated with innumerable examples of inappropriate content. Methods of linking advertising to UGC online are likely to be technologically focused, using tags and user descriptions to determine best fit between content and brand. As the varying degrees of subtlety in the Big Brother racist jibes suggest, inappropriateness is subjective and heavily dependent on context. A human eye is essential to minimise the risk and threat to a brand.

Brands do have other options. Accredited online content offers more controlled brand association and, importantly, safeguards from unforeseen negative situations taking hold, such as Carphone Warehouse experienced last week. This is already available to brands in the form of specialist publisher sites, often aggregated into sizeable vertical communities by ad networks, offering quality content and informed, prequalified usership.

UGC can hold great power in capturing viewers' hearts and minds, but an inescapable lack of control can place brands hugely at risk.