Brand safety at every step.
At AdCubes, brand safety is a continuous control mechanism that starts before a campaign goes live and runs throughout it. Videos are not judged on a title, a category or a handful of keywords — the whole of the content is analysed, visually and aurally.
They care where their content appears, too.
01 · How it works
Every scene is analysed for brand safety.
One frame per second is taken from the video. Visual elements, speech, on-screen text and the overall context of the scene are analysed together. Risk is judged on the whole scene rather than on a single word or object, so a brand only ever appears in contexts that are suitable and safe.
Quality: web · edited version35:32
Selected segment5.0s
Start00:00:10End00:00:15
controversial_topicsWarning
00:20 - 00:22 (2s)
A controversial topic is raised in this scene; flagged for brand safety.
- Scene 38/10
- Scene 49/10
- Scene 57/10
42 scenes scanned
02 · Multi-layer analysis
Not just keywords — context is analysed too.
Whether a piece of content is safe cannot be settled by a single object visible in the video. A scene can look perfectly fine while the subject being discussed is risky for the brand. Inflation, for instance, would not be caught by a negative keyword, yet it is a negative context. Equally, a video can be suitable overall and still contain a moment that does not fit a brand's communication.
Visual analysis
Frames taken from every second of the video are examined. People, objects, products, text, screen captures, locations and visual context in the scene are identified.
PersonObjectTextLocation
Audio and context analysis
The subjects discussed, the language used and the overall tone of the content are analysed. Not merely whether a word occurs, but the context it is used in.
SubjectPhrasingToneContext
Quality: web · edited version00:00 — 35:32
Video summary
In the second part of the trip the creator introduces the region and shares their routine through the day. Several natural product placement opportunities occur across the video; the scenes were scanned for brand safety.
Subject: travelTone: positiveContext: daily life
SceneSentimentPlacementRiskExisting ad
03 · Criteria
Criteria specific to your brand.
Every campaign is judged against the brand's category, its tone of voice and its sensitivities. The same scene can be suitable for one brand and unsuitable for another. Contexts such as "illness, fatigue" may be fine for a vitamin brand and not for a travel brand.
| Scene context | Vitamin brand | Travel brand |
|---|---|---|
| Vlog discussing illness, fatigue and immunity | Pass | Review |
| Flight cancellation | Pass | Block |
| A tour of places to visit | Pass | Pass |
| Rapid weight loss, detox claims | Block | Pass |
| Daily routine | Pass | Pass |
Reason · Neutral tone, safe subject, setting consistent with the brand category.
Reason · Context-dependent phrasing; sent to the team for a check.
Reason · Context inconsistent with the brand's communication; excluded from the campaign.
04 · Competitor brands
Competitor brand analysis.
Keeping a brand out of the same video or scene as its competitors is a significant part of brand safety. When publishers upload their videos to AdCubes they declare the existing collaborations and brand integrations the video contains, so a known brand partnership is on our platform before any campaign is matched to it.
We do not leave that check to the publisher's declaration alone. Videos are also scanned by AdCubes, visually and aurally: logos in the scene, product packaging, brand names, on-screen text and brand references in speech are all analysed. When the system detects an undeclared brand partnership or competitor visibility, the content goes to review.
Quality: web · edited version35:32
Flagged segment4.0s
Start00:02:38End00:02:42
competitor_brand_visibleBlocked
02:38 - 02:42 (4s)
Product packaging and a logo from a competing category were detected in the scene; there is no publisher declaration.
- Logo in scene0.94
- Product packaging0.81
- Brand name in speech0.76
- On-screen text0.42
- Publisher declarationnone
4 detection sources cross-checkedExcluded from campaign matching
Objects, logos and products in a scene are checked even when the publisher has no partnership. If there is a link to a competitor brand, the content is excluded.
- In a scene where a competing product appears
- At a moment when a competitor's name is spoken
- In a video that carries a competitor partnership
- In content that overlaps by category
06 · Final check
One last look, by human eyes.
AdCubes' context technology scans video at volume, second by second, and identifies potential risks. But we do not leave brand safety decisions to that automation alone. Content the system flags is reviewed once more by our team; scenes that are ambiguous, context-dependent or need judging against a specific brand are checked by hand.
We pair the speed of the technology with a human check.
Quality: web · edited version00:00 — 35:32
Team note
Both flagged scenes were reviewed with their context; no moment conflicting with the brand's communication was found.
Approval checklist
- Visual analysis42/42 scenes
- Audio and context analysiscomplete
- Brand-specific criteriabrief applied
- Competitor brand checknone found
- Human review2 scenes reviewed
No placement goes live without approval.