How you can thrive in 2025…with premium news sites

In 2017, the Collins dictionary proclaimed “fake news” as its word of the year, following President Trump’s consistent use of the phrase throughout his presidential campaign and election. And rather than quietly disappearing, the term has taken on a new life, becoming ever more influential in today’s media landscape.

And today’s media landscape is quite different to a decade earlier. In 2014, ONS reported that just over half (55%) of adults used the internet to read or download the news, newspapers or magazines. But by 2024, this has risen to 71%, and, according to research from Ofcom, more than half of UK adults (52%) are using social media specifically as a news source. But this increased use has opened the door to “fake news” and there’s been no shortage of misinformation surrounding elections, referendums and international conflicts.

It’s time brands realised the walled garden is not as safe as it once appeared. Instead, the key to success in 2025 will lie with trusted, independent, fact-checked, premium news sites rather than the battle arena that is social media.

Brand safe environments
The draw of social media  is its reach with the public. It allows brands to get in front of millions of people, but – due to the lack of strict regulations or content controls – it comes with a price. Take X, for example. Last year, more than 100 brands paused advertising on the site because of concerns that ads were appearing next to content promoting riots within the UK, ultimately damaging brand trust.

Research from Stagwell’s research consultancy, HarrisX, has found that ads appearing next to “brand-safe” content perform as well as ads placed next to content that can be damaging, such as crime and politics. It’s important that this is front of mind for marketers when deciding where to invest their digital marketing budgets.

This is where news publishers have an edge. Associated with impartiality and facts, premium news sites avoid the dangers of social media by guaranteeing the reliability of the content placed next to advertising. It’s not just a perception held by marketers but also readers. In 2025, brands will need to find the right balance between ads on social media and premium news sites to ensure they’re reaching wide audiences in the safest possible way.

The rise of vertical video
The next step for marketers will be redirecting attention and budget away from social media and onto the safer environments they want to host their brand. Enter vertical video.

Google is, of course, well-known as a successful advertising space. The site presents a feed-based experience tailored to the growth of smartphones, appealing directly to younger generations, and brands have had to weigh the risks of brand safety to advertising reach. However, with new innovations, brands can develop the same interactivity with their ads on sites they trust.

Based on familiar experiences, vertical videos replicate content on social media sites like TikTok, but for premium news audiences. Recent research has found that over 80% of consumers prefer to watch videos on their mobiles, and 2025 will be the year it’s embraced by publishers.

Reassessing the blocklist
There are, of course, an array of techniques currently deployed by advertisers to make the walled garden safer. One of the most commonly used is the blocklist. A simple premise of blacklisting terms you don’t want your ads placed near. But it can be too broad brush; how do you differentiate between ‘strike’ in the context of football versus a political message? The short answer is you can’t.

The emerging challenge for marketers is that ads are being blocked from potentially helpful and brand-safe content. Research from Prohaska found US publishers estimated 30% of their 2023 ad inventory went underfunded or undersold due to ‘brand safety blocking’. This coincides with one in three advertising and marketing professionals reporting they’ve received a directive to ‘block the news category’ at some point in their careers.

Instead of thinking in such a broad way, applying a contextual approach is more effective. Moving ads away from unsafe environments into ones you can trust to handle your brand will reduce the reliance on blocklists, as consumers will know it’s a reliable site with trusted reporting, and the otherwise potentially risky content won’t compromise your brand.

With the growth in AI, deep-fakes and artificially generated content have become commonplace in the news cycle, and it’s only set to get worse. But by focusing attention back on quality publishers, marketers can avoid the worst of the walled garden, support journalism at a critical time, and generate success safely.

Stephanie Himoff is EVP of global publishers at Outbrain