Nestlé has said that it has taken steps to ensure that its advertising is not shown alongside negative content on social media channels such as YouTube or Facebook.
The food giant made its comments in response to Unilever's commitment last week to withdraw investment from 'online platforms that create division'.
Taking Action
Speaking at the publication of Nestlé's full year results last week, its marketing head Patrice Bula commented, "Just because we are not vocal about [withdrawing ads from negative social media channels], doesn't mean that we are not concerned about it."
Bula confirmed that in 2016, Nestlé appointed a specific agency to monitor its online presence, and in 2017, it withdrew advertising from an unnamed platform "for several months" because "we were not reassured that our advertising would not appear alongside content that was not aligned with our values."
Provider By Provider
Elsewhere, Nestlé chief executive Mark Schneider said that Nestlé is adopting a "provider by provider" approach, rather than use one overarching policy.
"When it comes to social media, clearly all forms of digital communication are gaining in importance, and yes, we do track very carefully by each of these providers what is the content that is being transmitted there, and is it in line with our purpose and values and principles," he said.
"I think it's important to do this situation by situation, and provider by provider, and we have been doing this very dilligently. Where we see developments that gave us pause and concern, we would typically reach out to those providers."
Unilever Approach
On 12 March, Unilever CMO Keith Weed called for the industry to work together to improve transparency around online, and to rebuild consumer trust in an era of fake news and toxic online content.
“Fake news, racism, sexism, terrorists spreading messages of hate, toxic content directed at children – parts of the internet we have ended up with is a million miles from where we thought it would take us," Weed explained.
"It is in the digital media industry's interest to listen and act on this. Before viewers stop viewing, advertisers stop advertising and publishers stop publishing."
Weed described the digital media challenge as a "deep and systematic issue" and one that "fundamentally threatens to undermine the relationship between consumers and brands. Brands have to play their role in resolving it. No longer can we stand to one side or remain at arm’s length just because issues in the supply chain do not affect us directly.
"As one of the largest advertisers in the world, we cannot have an environment where our consumers don’t trust what they see online. So we must ask ourselves –what do brands stand for in the 21st century? To remain relevant, and trusted by consumers, brands have to take the lead."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
