Zefr Selected By Meta as First Partner for Feed Verification

After an extensive selection process, Meta has selected Zefr as the first partner for providing independent reporting on the context in which ads appear on Facebook Feed. Meta and Zefr will work together to develop a solution to measure and verify the suitability of adjacent content to ads in Feed starting with small scale testing in the third quarter of this year and will offer limited availability in the fourth quarter.

“We are thrilled to partner with Zefr to develop the first verification product for brand suitability in the Feed. Responsible marketing and transparency is a key priority for our advertising partners, and this product development marks an important step towards additional advertiser transparency,” said Samantha Stetson, VP of Industry Relations and Client Council, Meta

This selection by Meta signals a larger evolution of the brand safety and suitability category towards more transparent and accurate measurement on social platforms, tied to the emerging importance of the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM)’s objective definitions.

“The future of the ad industry is transparent and accurate measurement for brand safety and suitability in complex environments, based on the GARM standards,” said Richard Raddon, co-founder and co-CEO of Zefr. ​“Zefr is thrilled to partner with Meta to develop the first suitability measurement product for Feed, giving advertisers deeper transparency into their content adjacencies across Meta.”

Rather than relying on semantic technology or keyword analysis from the open web, Zefr architected its own technology, called Cognition AI, specifically for scaled and complex walled garden environments where legacy internet tools fall short in accuracy and scalability. With this selection by Meta, Zefr will apply its Cognition AI machine learning engine to the Facebook Feed for the first time to provide advertisers with suitability reporting on their content adjacencies, tied to the GARM framework.

“Accurate verification for brand suitability is critical for our clients, and the entire responsible marketing ecosystem,” said Ben Hovaness, SVP of Marketplace Intelligence at Omnicom Group. ​“With Zefr now providing the first Facebook Feed brand suitability reporting, we’re marking a significant step forward in improving transparency for all advertisers.”

This announcement comes on the heels of Zefr and TikTok’s brand safety and suitability measurement product, which was released in late January, and Zefr’s selection as a Brand Safety Reporting partner on YouTube. This continued momentum has been based on marketer and platform priorities to deliver more transparent and accurate measurement solutions that are tied to the GARM framework, to provide advertisers with deeper content insights within their social ad campaigns.

This is an opportunity to build solutions that will give advertisers a better understanding of the types of content that appear adjacent to their ads, helping them make informed decisions to reach their marketing goals. This development cycle will complement Meta’s existing brand safety measurement offerings.