Integral Ad Science (IAS) and Nextdoor have announced a strategic partnership aimed at providing enhanced brand safety and suitability for advertisers running campaigns on the neighborhood-focused platform. This collaboration integrates IAS’s AI-driven technology with Nextdoor’s content moderation systems, offering advertisers additional control over their brand’s safety while ensuring that ads are placed in suitable and trusted environments. By enabling advanced pre-bid brand safety measures, IAS and Nextdoor are setting a new standard in transparent, hyperlocal advertising.

Highlights of the Partnership

1. Empowering Advertisers with AI-Driven Brand Safety

• IAS will power Nextdoor’s first-party brand safety tool, which will now utilize pre-bid Brand Safety and Suitability Optimization.

• The collaboration aims to give advertisers a higher level of third-party transparency and suitability for their campaigns on Nextdoor’s platform.

2. Wide Reach with Confidence in Brand Safety

• Advertisers with managed accounts will be able to run ads on Nextdoor’s Newsfeed, reaching one-third of U.S. households.

• The partnership ensures that ads will appear in brand-safe and suitable environments based on industry-aligned standards, reducing the risks associated with unsuitable content placement.

3. Industry-Aligned Brand Safety Standards

• IAS’s AI-driven Multimedia Technology is used to assess content through a frame-by-frame analysis, integrating image, audio, and text signals to ensure proper ad placement.

• Advertisers can apply pre-bid blocking against 12 industry-aligned categories and 4 risk levels, offering dynamic control to avoid unsuitable content.

Technological Advancements and Customization

1. Trusted Third-Party Control

• IAS’s technology provides a trusted third-party layer of transparency for brands, ensuring ads run where they are most appropriate, whether on mobile or desktop platforms.

• The solution allows advertisers to apply custom blocking based on brand-specific needs across more than 90 languages.

2. Collaboration Between Content Moderation and Brand Safety

• Nextdoor’s proprietary content moderation system complements IAS’s advanced AI-driven technology, creating an environment where content is classified with high accuracy at scale.

• This partnership addresses the increasing demand for contextual relevance in ad placement, while providing a trustworthy method for brands to engage with local audiences.

Statements from Leadership

Jim Egan, SVP of Business Development at IAS

• "This partnership marks a significant step toward greater transparency, trust, and control for advertisers. By leveraging IAS’s cutting-edge AI technology alongside Nextdoor’s content moderation expertise, we are offering a new level of protection and performance for advertisers engaging in hyperlocal advertising."

Michael Kiernan, Chief Revenue Officer at Nextdoor

• "Trust and community are at the core of Nextdoor’s values, and when it comes to advertising, this is not optional—it's essential. By partnering with IAS, we are adding a trusted third-party layer of transparency to our platform, giving advertisers confidence that they are placing ads in the right places, at the right time, in front of the right neighbors."

Looking Ahead: Expanding the Partnership

1. Upcoming Total Media Quality (TMQ) Integration

• The next phase of the partnership will introduce Total Media Quality (TMQ) for Nextdoor in H2 2025.

• TMQ will include advanced features such as Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement, Viewability, and Invalid Traffic Measurement, further enhancing advertisers’ ability to validate content adjacencies using trusted third-party analysis.

2. Maximizing Local Engagement and Campaign Spend

• Advertisers will be able to validate their campaigns using industry frameworks to ensure they are engaging with local users effectively, and maximizing their campaign spend through accurate, industry-standard measurement tools.

The strategic partnership between IAS and Nextdoor is a game-changer for advertisers seeking brand safety, transparency, and control in the rapidly growing space of hyperlocal advertising. By combining AI-driven multimedia technology with Nextdoor’s trusted content moderation systems, the companies are enhancing ad performance and providing a clear solution to brand safety concerns in local advertising. As the partnership continues to expand, advertisers will benefit from an even deeper layer of transparency and measurement tools, reinforcing the growing importance of trusted, third-party solutions in the advertising ecosystem.