Supporting
Quality Journalism

Open-source creative templates and qualified domain inclusion lists for brands to support quality journalism during times of crisis.

Homepage Header example WSJ.com / Amazon

The issue we are trying to address

Whenever the world faces a crisis, advertisers reduce their advertising spend on news publications out of fear for being 'brand unsafe'.

Publishers lose money exactly when they need it most to continue reporting on the crisis situation. Quality journalism saves lives.

But don't just take our word for it...

“Publishers have seen a significant drop in ad revenue as brands pull spend over concerns of appearing against news of the Russian invasion.

...once again, it has sparked criticism from the media that advertisers are failing to fund the free press.“

John McCarthy
Media Editor at The Drum

“70% of local newsrooms in Ukraine are running out of money because the country's advertising market has come to a halt.

...Publishers need grants now to sustain operations because the ad market has fallen 90% since the war started.“

Dominic Ponsford
Media Editor at New Statesman Media Group

“It’s another example of how important news is crippled and disincentivized by the judgment of social media mobs and hampered by brand safety practices.

...what often ends up happening is advertisers shy away from the risk – and valuable journalism becomes ever-more unsustainable.“

Allison Schiff
Managing Editor at AdExchanger.com

“Advertisers are pulling ads from war coverage, and it's making it hard for publishers to monetize readership spikes.

...effectively defunding their journalism even though there's little evidence brands will be harmed by advertising on news stories.“

Lara O'Reilly, Lindsay Rittenhouse,
Patrick Coffee & Lucia Moses

“Advertising may not be life or death, but the impact brands can have on global crises — positive or negative — is very real.

...without trusted, verifiable reporting on the conflict in Ukraine, the whole world would be in the dark about the crisis.“

Alison Weissbrot
US Editor at Campaign US

“Russia’s war on Ukraine is forcing advertisers to think long and hard about where is and isn’t acceptable for their ads to run.

Publishers are already feeling the impact. One source in ad ops at a current affairs title told Digiday content discussing the conflict saw CPM rates down by approximately 20% compared to average.“

Ronan Shields
Programmatic Editor at Digiday

“UK publisher Reach says advertising demand hit by Ukraine war as brands seek to distance themselves from content linked to invasion.

...as Russia's ongoing military assault on Ukraine was significantly reducing the level of 'brand safe' content“

Patricia Nilsson
Consumer Industries Reporter at The Financial Times

“The ad market is gone. Ukrainian media business relied on native advertising and programmatic revenue, and now they both are pretty much nonexistent.

Please consider helping independent media in Ukraine get to the other side of this horror. A free and independent press is critical for a free and independent Ukraine.“

Brian Morrissey
Founder at The Rebooting

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please find an overview of the most frequently asked questions below. We continuously update this directory to provide easy access to information.

Is Brands4News.org a company or foundation?

Neither. Brands4News.org is run by an independent collective of advertising industry professionals that maintain open-source (free-to-use) resources. All operating costs are fully self-funded by our initiator Ruben Schreurs, and supported by a dream team of dedicated experts that contribute their time and effort. We accept no donations or any other forms of payment. Brands4News.org does not operate as a corporate entity.

Who are the people behind Brands4News.org?

Please learn more about our story and the Brands4News.org dream team here!

Can the open-source resources be used freely?

The creative templates can be used at no cost, as long as you do so in accordance with our License Terms. You can receive the HTML5 template source code for free by requesting it here.

What future plans does Brands4News.org have?

We aim to provide relevant creative templates and domain inclusion lists for different crises based on different circumstances and geographical situation. Depending on the interest of the advertising community we may also produce different creative templates for different types of advertising, such as video formats. We are open to all suggestions and welcome any feedback, please contact us here.

How can I help?

It's great that you're eager to get involved! Beyond helping us by spreading the word and asking brands to support quality journalism, you can contact us here and we can discuss the best way to move forward. Thank you.

How can I get the creative templates?

You can receive the HTML5 creatives template source code by requesting it here. We aim to reply to all inquiries within 72 hours. You will then also receive a link to our License Terms, which contains style guidance as well.

Can I do what I want with the creative templates?

You can use the creative templates as long as you adhere to the License Terms and the You can add your logo or imagery to the designated section in the templates.

Am I allowed to create my own banner designs?

Of course! We encourage any brand to consider doing so. Brands4News.org simply provides some ready-to-use creative templates and a selection of domain inclusion lists to help brands continue to fund quality journalism. We only ask you to adhere to our License Terms in case you use our resources, but in case you design your own you are free to do what you want.

Is there a creative style guide I can refer to?

Absolutely! Please find it here.

Can I get support with production of the creatives?

We have a strong network of designers and developers that can provide expert production support on a paid freelance basis. Please contact us here if you want to be connected to someone, we strive to reply within 72 hours to all inquiries.

Why is {domain X} not included?

We have made a start and will develop and expand the inclusion lists from here, meaning there might be missing domains that deserve to be included. We are an open-source initiative and rely on the community to help us grow from here. Please contact us here if you have any suggestions.

Can I request for domains to be added to the inclusion lists?

Absolutely! Please contact us here to submit your request. Please note that we cannot guarantee successful inclusion of your suggested domains, as we rely on a strict vetting process working with external partners, such as The Global Disinformation Index.

I want to target more trusted news domains, where can I find them?

For more reach against quality journalism around the globe, please consider working with our partner organisation Ads For News to target engaged news audiences on more than 8,000 trusted local news websites from 30 countries. This is a non-profit organisation that provides free of charge domain lists to brands and agencies.

The Global Disinformation Index also offers rich directories of trusted publications against a fee, alongside their core solutions that help brands avoid disinformation content.

What is The Global Disinformation Index?

The Global Disinformation Index is a not-for-profit entity that exists to disrupt online disinformation. They provide independent, neutral and transparent data and intelligence to advise policymakers and business leaders about how to combat disinformation and its creators. Find out more here.

How can I most efficiently advertise on these domains?

This depends on the domain, but in most cases the easiest and most efficient way to advertise is to contact the publisher directly or by using programmatic advertising. You should contact your agency or in-house teams to discuss setting up your campaigns. In case you are buying programmatically, please ensure you consider setting up an effective Supply Path Optimisation strategy to maximise the advertising spend that is received by the publisher. For more information about this, please contact our partner Jounce Media. We aim to create easy-to-target line items in major Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) that provide a single point of access through a deal ID targeting all the domains on the inclusion lists. This is currently work in progress.

My ad verification provider blocks my ads on these domains, what to do?

The domain inclusion lists are intended to provide a safe and secure way to run ads on high quality news publications. We recommend turning off the pre-bid and post-bid ad blocking features of your ad verification provider when running Brands4News.org campaigns. Verification providers often use rudimentary keyword scanning to determine the safety of a web page; resulting in structural blocking of any article containing keywords such as {deaths} or {explosion}. We believe high quality journalism is never brand unsafe, but it can be less suitable for certain creatives (e.g. a campaign promotion explosive discounts can be very unfortunate against certain types of content), which is why we provide dedicated considerate creative templates.

How do I minimise my carbon footprint when advertising?

Carbon emissions are a serious - yet often overlooked - problem in digital advertising. It is important for advertisers to consider the most optimal way to run their ad campaigns with minimal footprint, also when using the Brands4News.org creative templates and/or domain inclusion lists. We try to do our part by developing highly efficient HTML5 templates with a very low file size, and we recommend partnering with organisations such as Scope3 to optimise the digital advertising supply chain emissions and carry accountability for appropriate carbon offset and removal.

Start supporting quality journalism, today.

Especially during a crisis, independent quality journalism is vital. Brands should continue to invest in a considerate and effective manner. We provide open-source resources to help them.