Letter: risks inherent in brands associating with UGC

The uproar over the alleged bullying and racism in the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house, culminating in Carphone Warehouse suspending its sponsorship of the TV program, drew my mind last week to the risks inherent in brands associating with User Generated Content (UGC).

Apprehension over the conduct of individuals within the house motivated the Carphone Warehouse to publicly state that ‘…this behaviour is entirely at odds with our brand values.’  Indeed the Carphone Warehouse is not the first company to cancel its sponsorship when it felt program content was unsuitable. 

A brand which associates itself with UGC should be cautious.  By its very definition UGC cannot 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 substantial 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 such as YouTube, brands could quickly find themselves associated with innumerable examples of spurious and 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 a 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 instead offers more controlled brand association and, importantly, safeguards from unforeseen negative situations taking hold – such as the 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.

David Michaels
Strategic Business Development Manager
Utarget PLC