TikTok has doubled down on its commitment to brand safety with the launch of its Inventory Filter for advertisers. The tool allows brands to pick from a wider variety of options when deciding where their content appears – for example, a family-friendly brand wanting to avoid even comedic violence in the content it appears next to.

The Inventory Filter, which is embedded directly in the existing Ads Manager, gives advertisers access to three tiers of video inventory. Those tiers, informed by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (Garm) definitions of content, are then broken down into ‘full‘, ‘standard‘, and ‘limited‘ inventory pools.

‘Full‘ inventory allows content to appear next to any content that has not been removed by moderation and some content tagged as ‘high risk’, while ‘limited‘ removes videos with mature themes from the pool. ‘Standard‘ fits in the middle.

The tool is TikTok's latest move to prove its content is brand safe and authentic

Rob Rakowitz, global initiative lead for Garm, explained: “With the rapid evolution of brand safety and suitability in digital advertising, it is more important than ever that platforms not only create a safe environment for advertisers but also provide them the solutions to effectively mitigate potential reputational risk at scale.

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“We ‘re thrilled to see all that TikTok has achieved in such a short time and are encouraged that the new TikTok Inventory Filter technology was built in line with Garm standards. As an integral partner to Garm in our efforts to promote a healthier digital ecosystem, TikTok has continually demonstrated a strong commitment to leadership and this latest solution is another testament to its ongoing investment in creating a positive environment for brands.”

The scheme has been tested using ads from hundreds of brands, with TikTok reporting that “every campaign saw exceptional results, to the tune of 95%-99+% safe delivery rates”. It stated that some brands, including Unilever, saw returns of over 99.99% safe delivery across both metrics.

Vivian Genachi, Unilever’s personal care media manager for Brazil, stated: “Brand safety and suitability are top priorities for Unilever and we thoroughly evaluate any new advertising channel to ensure our ads show up in the right environment. The TikTok Inventory Filter ‘s adjacency controls provided us with an added level of confidence and we were pleased to see the efficacy of the solution with Zefr reporting brand safety and suitability rates of 99.9%.”

The Inventory Filter tool is set to roll out to more markets than the initial 25 and will introduce more technical iterations and options for brands to customize their options. Additionally, TikTok’s main play to outperform its rivals when it comes to brand safety is through the introduction of third-party partners for independent verification. The tool will ultimately be rolled out across TikTok’s suite of advertising products, including Pulse.

It is part of a drive from TikTok to ensure that it outperforms its direct competitors in the social space when it comes to the flexibility of advertising tools. In May it announced the rollout of its Branded Mission tool, which allows brands to pick from a pool of user-generated content in order to spread advertising messages. This was done specifically to ensure that any sponsored content on the app is authentic and community-led.

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