ad blocking/ avoidance
Here is the first of three pieces on ad blocking: The Rise of the Anti-Ad Blockers (source: WSJ)
Consumer use of online ad-blocking tools continues to grow. As a result, publishers and media companies have “lost” literally billions of potential dollars.
Now, media sellers are experimenting with ways to limit the impact of ad-blocking on their businesses. Technology companies have been creating new software designed to counteract the effects of ad-blocking.
Some products help websites show ads to users with ad-blockers in ways that are undetectable to most ad-blocking software. This tactic is referred to as “ad reinsertion,” because it helps reinsert ads into web pages that otherwise would not have been displayed.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-rise-of-the-anti-ad-blockers-1465805039
Another Perspective: Ad Blocking is an ‘Existential’ Threat (source: Digiday interview with Forbes Chief Revenue Office)
For Forbes Media CRO ad blocking is more than a nuisance. It is an “industry-wide issue” that represents an “existential threat” to publishers — and calls for drastic action. “We as an industry have to get our heads around the advertising experience and concerns over privacy that have led the early-adopters to deploy ad blockers.”
But just cutting back on intrusive ads isn’t possible. He added, “We know that in order to connect to that audience we need to create unique experiences.”
http://digiday.com/publishers/digiday-podcast-forbes-mark-howard/
A third point of view: Fix the User Experience First (source: Digiday speaking with Chairman of GroupM Connect)
Publishers are losing out on ad revenue due to the rise in ad blocking. According to comScore, 16.5 percent of users aged 18 to 24 are employing an ad blocker. Other studies found that 26 percent of time spent watching video on desktops in the U.S. was not monetized due to ad blockers.
GroupM, the media-buying giant, is closing off a growing alternative for publishers beset by ad blocking, called “ad reinsertion.” That method enables publishers to deliver ads to users who have ad blockers installed.
But GroupM isn’t buying it. “It’s addressing the symptom, not the cause,” said Chairman Montgomery. “Let’s fix the user experience first and then we can engage with consumers and tell them that … we made the experience as light as possible…”
http://digiday.com/agencies/fix-user-experience-first-groupm-wont-pay-ads-forced-ad-blockers/
“Ad-Receptivity: A New Metric for Improving Engagement” and “How Annoyance Impacts Ad Performance”
“Ad-Receptivity: A New Metric for Improving Engagement” – Leflein Associates / Hulu
Technology is reshaping how audiences watch entertainment. Hulu commissioned research to measure the pervasiveness of ad-avoidance, what drives it, as well as to identify opportunities to maximize engagement for advertisers. Among the issues addressed:
How many viewers are avoiding ads at all costs?
What methods are being used to avoid ads?
Which viewers are more receptive to ads and why.
What drives ad-receptivity?
What types of ad experiences resonate with viewers across the ad-receptivity spectrum?
“How Annoyance Impacts Ad Performance” – Icosystem / Light Reaction
The authors put forward a hypothesis that, in order to elicit a reaction, an ad, even when it’s viewable, must cross several stages of Perceptual Pathway: first, we must notice it; then we must pay attention to it; next, we have a “gut” emotional reaction. Any ad that fails to cross any of these stages results in a lost opportunity.
Among the questions that will be explored are:
Are there observable differences in the subject’s behavior?
Do the subjects report being annoyed by the ads?
Do the subjects recall the ads shown?
AD BLOCKING /AD FRAUD
Conference Paper – “Combat Fraud to Drive ROI” – comScore/Krug/Kellogg
Fraudulent and non-human traffic creates serious issues for all sides of the online advertising industry. While the common strategy of blacklisting domains can help advertisers reduce wasted impressions, it blocks potentially valuable audiences – hurting the reputation, yield and CPMs of the publishers involved – and only partially solves the problem for the advertiser.
Understanding the pitfalls of common approaches, we developed an automated system to manage invalid traffic at the impression-level, improving delivery beyond domain- and site-level blacklisting.
We will be sharing learnings to help advertisers, agencies and publishers combat fraud, reduce waste and ultimately improve quality of effectiveness research in digital.
From MediaPost (Accenture) – “Global Consumer Awareness of Blockers Reaches Critical Mass”
Accenture has released a global research study of ad blocking among 28,000 consumers in 28 countries. Fully 61% of respondents were aware of ad blockers, and 42% said they would pay to remove ad interruptions.
Gavin Mann, Accenture’s global broadcast industry lead, said, “The industry needs to do everything possible to make ads less of an infringement on precious screen time, by building on early successes that deliver targeted, relevant and entertaining ads.”
A notable takeaway was not to make the mistake of putting the majority of effort into fighting ad blocking; it’s an impossible battle to win. The company recommends focusing on moving the entire ecosystem forward and making advertising less invasive and more personalized.
Snacking, Texting, Fast-Forwarding and Other Ways to Avoid Ads
Would You Like a Snack or a Commercial?
Live TV viewers avoid commercials by multitasking during breaks. Eating (76%) and texting (69%) are the most frequent activities according to the TiVo research analyzed in this eMarketer article, “Most Digital Viewers Multitask While Watching Live TV.” TAGS: multitasking, commercials, TV advertising, live TV. See more . . http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Most-Digital-Viewers-Multitask-While-Watching-Live-TV/1013281
Can Marketer Avoid the Ad Avoiders?
Ad avoidance by consumers has resulted in marketers seeking alternate means to reach these consumers according to Jack Neff in this Advertising Age article. Live TV programming, selective digital media strategies, content marketing, sampling, and customized packaging, are among the means by which marketers, such as Clorox, PepsiCo, and Revlon, avoid ad avoidance..TAG: brand challenge. See more . . http://adage.com/article/print-edition/big-agenda-ad-industry-2016/302067/
Ad Avoidance Alert: Fast-Forwarding Not Time-Shifting is the Major Problem
Ad avoidance is not the main reason viewers time-shift TV programs according to Hub Entertainment’s Research report, which is discussed in this MarketingCharts article. Advertisers should be more concerned about these viewers fast-forwarding through commercials. TAGS: fast-forwarding, time-shifting, commercials, tv advertising. See more . . http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/as-tv-viewers-time-shift-whats-the-implication-for-ad-avoidance-51957/
Will Ad Blocking Force Digital Media to Improve?
Ad blocking has forced publishers to invest in the quality of their online content and to focus on optimal distribution. By creating more interesting content, targeting audiences precisely, and developing native partnerships with brands, publishers will attract willing and engaged readers according to this Digiday article by Colin Nagy. TAGS: ad blocking, digital media. See more . . http://digiday.com/publishers/digital-media-will-improve-in-2016/
Do These Commercials Make You Sick?
Consumer avoidance of over-the-counter drug advertising, specifically advertising by analgesic brands, is analyzed in this December 2015 Journal of Advertising Research article. The results reveal that this avoidance is more directly and strongly influenced by affective reactions, such as irritation, and attitude toward such advertising than cognitive reactions, such as perceived utility or skepticism. The authors offer suggestions for mitigation of this ad avoidance behavior. TAGS: OTC, over-the-counter, analgesics. Source: http://www.thearf.org/journal-of-advertising-research-online-access/
Ad Blocking-Consumer Behavior and Advertiser Concerns
Are You One of the 47% Who Report Ad Blocking?
This Quirk’s Marketing Research Review article, “Your Ad Not Here: Should Marketers Be Worried About Ad-Blocking?” presents statistics and trends related to ad blocking, revealing consumer confusion about the difference between ad-blocking technology and cookie data restriction, and more… See more. . . Source: http://www.quirks.com/articles/2015/20151126-1.aspx
Would You Watch a TrueX Ad For Some Free Web Content?
Fox’s TrueX lets TV viewers choose to watch and interact with a 2-minute ad upfront versus the series of 30s ads spread throughout the programming content. Is this enough to fight ad avoidance? What do consumers choose? See more . . Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/07/16/foxs-truex-faces-hurdles-in-bid-to-fight-tv-ad-avoidance/
Ad Blocking Won’t Result in a Catastrophe
Current ad-blocking concerns echo earlier fears that surrounded the launch of TiVo and the DVR according to this eMarketer interview with Walt Horstman, President, AudienceXpress. This article, “Ad Avoidance Isn’t New-It’s Just Evolving,” further discusses the impact of ad blocking. See more . . Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Ad-Avoidance-Isnt-NewmdashIts-Just-Evolving/1013084
Do Your Intrusive Ads Compel Consumers to Install Ad Blockers?
Ad blockers are being installed to counter intrusive ads, according to 74% of U.S. respondents to the Teads global study, “Why People Block Ads.” This Media Post article by Tobi Elkin, “80% of People Would Reconsider Installing Ad Blockers, Cite Word-of-Mouth,” examines additional motivations for consumers to use ad blockers online, as well as providing a breakdown of statistics by country. TAG: intrusive ads. See more . . Source: https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news-wire/PRNews_20160129NY10670/teads-releases-global-study-on-why-people-block-ads.html
Consumers Dislike Your Ads and They Are Letting You Know It!
Ad blocking software will be used by 9% of U.S. consumers to opt out of ads in the next three months according to DCN Research Director Rande Price in this article summarizing the organization’s report, “2015 DCN Consumer Ad Block Report.” The report explains how this statistic was developed, and explores the growing threat from ad blocking software. See more . . Source: https://digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2016/01/05/2015-dcn-consumer-ad-block-report/
Chart Source: https://blog.pagefair.com/2015/ad-blocking-report/
Ad Blocking Challenges the Online Advertising Industry
Laurie Sullivan’s article for Media Post addresses the billions of dollars that search engines and Web publishing are losing as a result of ad blocking. The author refers to an estimated loss of $6.6 billion by Google last year due to ad blocking.
By installing browser tools that identify and remove advertisements, site visitors avoid the ads and prevent advertising networks from tracking them across the web. Consumers are unhappy with unwanted personalization, tracking, abuse of their privacy, and slow page loads according to Doc Searls, President of The Searls Group.
Ed Papazian, President of Media Dynamics, is concerned that the growth in ad dollars, especially from branding TV advertisers, will slow dramatically. He points out that 30% of the most desirable consumers use ad blockers, and thus cannot be reached by a branding advertiser. Papazian suggests that the industry needs to instill strict rules about how much ad clutter to allow per page, how ads are displayed, what constitutes visibility, realistically, and stop enabling ad avoidance.
Johnny Ryan, head of ecosystem at PageFair, a firm that measures blocked ads, explains that ad blockers can seamlessly block YouTube ads and ads on network members’ Web sites across Google’s display and video ads by using AdSense or DoubleClick. Google’s ads in search are also blocked by AdBlock Plus users who have not opted to view “white listed ads,” which Google pays to circumvent software from companies like Adblock
Ryan suggest that drivers of ad blocking include factors such as seeing inappropriate advertising, suffering from installations of ransom ware, and an unease about where one’s data ends up. A possible additional factor is malvertising.
See all 5 Cups articles.
Global Advertising Industry Will Lose an Estimated $21.8 Billion to Ad-Blocking Software in 2015
According to a study released by Adobe Systems and PageFair, the estimated loss of global revenue due to blocked advertisements exceeded $21.8 billion in 2015, and this loss is projected to rise to $41.4 billion in 2016.
On a global basis, the number of consumers using ad-blocking software grew by 41% during the first half of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014. There were 198 million monthly active users of major browser extensions that block ads as of June 2015.
In the United States, the number of consumers using ad-blocking software grew by 48% during the first half of 2015 compared with the same time period in 2014. As of June 2015 there were 45 million active users of ad-blocking software.
Additional increases in ad blocking growth will likely come the from the installation of ad-blocking software on mobile devices.
Laurie Sullivan, in her article for Media Post, points out that the use of ad-blocking software could explain the slowing growth of revenue from search and display ads supported by Bing, Google, and Yahoo.
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