As programmatic advertising has been on the rise for both ad agencies and brands alike, this in no way eliminates different forms of rebuttal that this portion of the industry faces as a response to these ads based on cookie based data. Back in fall 2015, a mobile app for the iPhone was released in order to block ads from big social networks such as Facebook, and even the tech giant Apple itself. If you want to read more about adblocking as a trend that is here to stay, have a look at the Guardian.
It is evident that users are not keen on engaging with ads by the increased trend of more global companies creating ways to avoid them or block them altogether. With browsers such as Firefox blocking ad pop ups back in October, other companies have also taken a stance against what some would say “bothersome” ads that target users based on location, search history, etc.
The U.S. as a whole maintains around a 25% ad blocking rate on mobile devices, while the Asian market has around a 50% rate due to the implementation of this practice well before the Western countries have. This no doubt will negatively affect the digital advertising industry’s way to influence consumers to engage with brands of all types.
Other than the fact that these ads often times slow down the speed of the browser or take up unnecessary data, many users agree that it’s more of an annoyance than anything else.
With the increased mobile engagement of around 90% among millennial users between the ages of 18 through 29, ad blocking on these devices has increasingly become as common on mobile phones as desktop computers, due to an overall increase in user engagement on mobile. But it doesn’t stop here, GlobalWebIndex Research and insight director Jason Mander affirms that ad blocking as a trend actually is more prevalent than we think it is.
Mander highlights this fact by stating that “Arguably the most striking aspect of this data is the huge potential for ad blocking to continue growing. Across every single age and gender break, it’s at least 70% who say they’re either blocking ads already or are interested in doing so in the future.”
The digital advertising industry has no doubt been negatively affected on the Publisher’s side of spectrum, as seen by the stark decrease of user demand of these add becoming more apparent in the last six months or so. In terms of the notion of “value” in the eyes of both publishers and brands, one of the best practices for programmatic advertisers is to target higher-earning income households, as it is the most promising way for this range of consumers to purchase the product.
Although this can be seen a bit hopeless for the demand or Publisher’s side of the advertising relationship, useful data from GlobalWebIndex highlights the fact that high-earning income households in the top 25% of the U.S. demographic actually demonstrates a much lower rate of blocking ads rather than middle or lower income homes.
This in turn, gives some peace of mind for big time Publishers such as the New York Times, Facebook or the ever-growing online site Mashable, from not being able to digitally appeal to their most valued customers.
John Partilla is the CEO of Screenvision, and he’s a veteran of the marketing industry with nearly three decades of experience in a variety of roles. Please read “John Partilla Named Screenvision CEO,” “John Partilla: Screenvision Names Exec CEO – Variety,” “Screenvision Taps John Partilla To Be CEO As It Seeks To Rebuild” and his Screenvision profile to learn more. Also, check out his Crunchbase, Twitter, and LinkedIn.