Loyalty in the time of ad blockers

Top Stories

Loyalty in the time of ad blockers

Globally about 10% of an audience is blocking ads and this number will grow

By Rohma Sadaqat

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Thu 25 Feb 2016, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sat 27 Feb 2016, 11:47 AM

 How do you compete against a user that is actively using a software or add-ons that are responsible for blocking your advertising content, and costing you millions in revenue?
There are several answers to that question, but one of the most important things is for your company to realise that it is now time for focusing on improving the ad experience, says Ben Shaw, director, global advisory, WAN-IFRA, Germany at a conference in Dubai. 
"Ad blocking is in Europe and North America becoming a serious issue for content publishers, whether you are part of a traditional media or video. We started noticing that this was becoming an issue in Europe last year, when a report highlighted that the usage of ad blockers was growing at an exponential rate, and that are now over 200 million people actively using ad blockers," said Shaw.
He also revealed that globally about 10 per cent of an audience is blocking ads and that this number will continue to grow. All this equates to companies losing a massive chunk of revenue on a yearly basis. "From what we have seen, we know that online advertising really fueled the growth of what the Internet was in the first 20 years of its existence. But as business models really didn't change fast enough - as we continued to pile on more advertising, ad displays and pop ups - we saw that many users were getting irritated that the ads were obscuring and getting in the way of the content that they were looking for. We feel that people are beginning to exert control over their ad experience by increasingly installing ad blockers," he said. 
Shaw noted that there are three ways that companies today can deal with the increase in users installing ad blockers. The first is by improving the overall ad experience for users.
"Try to cement in the minds of the people who are not using ad blockers that you are capable to creating quality advertising. Secondly, experiment with the people that have already resorted to using ad blockers against your content. See what they like and how you can regain their loyalty. Lastly, you have to diversify your revenue sources in digital to mobile-friendly revenue streams. By this, I mean focus on including content that doesn't actively irritate your users with its presence," he said.
He also suggested that publishing companies start tracking the use of ad blockers in the region to determine the playing field. "If you don't have a native advertising or branded content play in place now, I would encourage you to get it as soon as possible. There is a lot of good money there and it is a great way to get the message out for your marketing community. And really focus on the experience on mobile, that it is designed well and that it loads quickly, so that people will be less likely to install the ad blockers that are readily available to them."
He added: "When it comes to strategy, what are you going to do? For too long we have been caught up in the idea that having a long-term sustainable strategy is the way to go. However, that is not true today. It is rare for any company today to maintain a truly lasting advantage. Our competitors today are too quick, and our customers change their mind very often when it comes to brand loyalty. How do you compete against that?"
Shaw advised companies to stay ahead by focusing on identifying a number of solutions that you know might not be a permanent solution, but are effective for the moment. According to him, this is a transient competitive advantage strategy.
 rohma@khaleejtimes.com 


More news from