Opinion: The Marketing Society Forum - Are advertisers right to be wary of social-networking sites?

their ads running in undesirable spaces. Social networks sometimes have
unsavoury content - consumers know that. Indeed, it's what they like
about them.

Advertisers seek out these sites because they're 'of the moment' and
appeal to 'real people'. So guys, wise up. If you want Country Life
readers, fine. But if you want to live in a more risque world, accept
the slightly anarchic nature of the medium.Ultimately it will
self-regulate. Brands that avoid it do so at their peril.

NEIL JONES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CARAT

We are right to be wary of advertising on social networks, but this does
not mean we shouldn't do it.

As with all good media planning it's crucial to understand your
environment and brand values. The media planner needs to make a simple
decision: whether they are happy for the brand to appear next to a
random selection of content.

This decision is often commercially influenced, and if cheap
'run-of-site' media is bought, then there is a placement-control
trade-off.

This is not a new debate, and affiliate space, content networks and
contextual advertising can't be policed 24 hours a day. So if you are
prepared to let go of your media placement, you must deal with the
potential downside.

STUART ARCHIBALD, MANAGING PARTNER, ARCHIBALD INGALL STRETTON

Social-networking sites contain inherent risks for any brand
uncomfortable with relinquishing control of its media presence.

While it is in the interests of sites such as Facebook to guard against
offensive content, brands must accept the nature of the environment.
Part of the attraction of these sites is their fluidity, and this
democratised form of media is something brands must learn to live
with.

If advertisers force social-networking sites to become sanitised, their
subscribers are unlikely to tolerate the interference. Ultimately, as is
so often the case online, the audiences these advertisers crave will
simply move on.

GAVIN WHEELER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WDMP COMMUNICATIONS

Community sites do not control content beyond the law, and if they did,
they would probably lose their audience overnight. That is the whole
point of these sites; they are for the people by the people.

I think consumers are brighter than brands make out - if they see an ad
on BNP's Facebook they know it is not an endorsement, just an ad. It may
upset the client chairman's wife, but who cares, she's not the target
audience.

Does anyone think a TV ad during a gritty Channel 4 expose documentary
endorses the subject? No, it is just an ad. This is the new mass medium
for youth; brands that pull out will miss out, then wonder why they have
no salience with this market.