2. 1. How ad media has changed in the past 25 years
2. Ad blocking users & its increase
3. Why ads are a problem for consumers
4. What agencies & clients should do
3. The rise of the internet has made it nearly impossible not to be
informed
Ads are not as important for a way for consumers to find out about
new products
Originally, there was a lack of information & now consumers are
more empowered to go look for it
Consumers want to get away from having information overload
Ads nowadays need value
So much information is available, that people value customization
of ads
All these factors have led to an increase in ad blocking
4. “There are currently 198 million active ad blocker users
around the world, and it is grown 41% in the past 12 months”
2014, 39.7
2015, 51.9
2016, 69.8
2017, 86.616%
20%
26%
32%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2014 2015 2016 2017
US Ad Blocking Users and Penetration, in Millions, 2014-2017
Ad Blocking Users (mil) % of internet users
eMarketer; www.adotas.com
6. German Attitudes on Privacy
“In Germany, privacy is a civil right, and in the United States, it’s an
option”
“Our relationship with privacy and intelligence and surveillance is
driven by a legacy of past abuse”
American Attitudes on Privacy
‘Many Americans are in an “it depends” frame of mind when they
think about disclosing personal information or keeping it private
when considering different scenarios’
Chinese Attitudes on Privacy
Online privacy remains a low priority in China, for internet users
and companies alike
www.Bloomberg.com
7. Reports.mintel.com; sourcepoint.com/comscore
62% 59%
65%
70% 72% 73%
30% 33%
40% 41% 42% 45%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Less than
$25,000
$25,000 to
$49,999
$50,000 to
$74,999
$75,000 to
$99,999
$100,000 to
$149,999
$150,000 or
more
Opinions Regarding Online Ads, by Household Income, Jan 2015
I actively avoid ads whenever I'm online I would pay more for online services that are ad-free
As people’s income increase, they state they are more likely to
pay for online services that are ad free
This is likely because people with higher income are not worried
about expensive payments
They do not want to waste their time when they have the funds to pay for ease
9. Ad blocking costs the global
publishing industry $22
billion of lost revenue
annually
Reports.mintel.com
10. 1. Ads are becoming irrelevant to users
2. Ads compromise the users usability & experience
3. Ads raise privacy concerns
11. eMarketer
21%
24%
37%
41%
47%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Ads are using my data plan, cost me
money
Ads share my personal information
Ads are not relevant to me
I'm worried about malware or viruses
Ads slow down my browsing
experience
Reasons for Blocking Ads According to US
Ad Blocking Users, April 2016
69% of
ads are
annoying and
disruptive
according to
current ad
blockers
60% of
current ad
blockers use the
service because
of excessive ads
12. Ad blocker users are inclined to block ads due to irrelevance
Ads are annoying & not intriguing
46%
68%
70%
78%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Video ad- unskippable video
Banner ad- all-around
Banner ad- animated banner
Pop- up ad
Types of Digital Ads that Are Disruptive According to US
Internet Users, Nov 2015
eMarkter
13. Cluttered experience is frustrating
Too many ads on one page, not relevant to what someone is
searching
Repetitive ads are annoying
Consumers can navigate and find content on their own terms
People live very dynamic lifestyles
Commitments in a day have increased, but hours in the day stay
the same
People want quickness and immediacy
Ads slow down browsing experience
Use up data plans
14. 80% of consumers want to know about the way companies use
their information
Ordinary users don’t fully understand the scope of the data being
collected on them
57% of users (incorrectly) believe that when a website has a privacy
policy, it will not share their personal information with other
websites or companies
87% of consumers want more personal control over
information companies have
Reports.mintel.com; www.pewresearch.org
15.
16. Simmons OneView
25% of 18-34 year olds want more
personal control over info that companies
have about them
54% of ad blocker users
are concerned by behavioral ads
being served to them
70% of people
take measures to protect
their privacy online
76% of people are concerned about their privacy when
they are online
17.
18. Tackle the issue of irrelevant ads
Use available targeting data & innovate new ways to collect data
Use findings from media to influence future creative development
Make suggestions to the creative agencies
Educate the client on how important it is to make sure there is relevant creative
Emphasize the importance of content marketing to the client
Understand business goals to set relevant KPI’s to each target & use
appropriate ad formats
Use Native Advertising
A form of paid media where the ad experience follows the native form and function
of a site
A way for advertisers to communicate via branded messaging
Not as disruptive as pop up ads, banner ads, etc.
19. Paid social can be a native option
for advertisers
Able to target a specific audience
Allows the user to be in control of
the experience
Leverage content to get consumers
to view advertisements
Example: Pandora & ABC
Pandora: Watch one ad for a 15
seconds and get the hour ad free
ABC online: Watch one ad for 30
seconds and skip to your show
immediately
20. Be Transparent
Provide consumers a clear explanation of what data you collect and how it will be
used or shared
Give users some control over how the ad content they see is customized
Ensure that the creative agencies foresee best practices
Provide an ‘opt in’ feature
Require users to disable an ad blocker to view content
Ex: Forbes, GQ, The Washington Post
Improve usability
Compromise the users browsing experience by as little as possible
Clients should choose publishers who compromise
23. 70%
61%
74% 76% 69% 68% 67%
76%
68%
73%
81%
76% 78% 81%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
180%
All 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Opinions Regarding Online Ads, By Age, Jan 2015
I take measures to protect my privacy online I am concerned about my privacy when I'm online
Reports.mintel.com
24. Teads Research, ‘Profile of an Ad Blocker’
56%
53%
29%
29%
27%
23%
23%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Can skip from start
Can close out of ad
Can turn on or off sound
Can skip after 5 seconds
The ad is for a relevant product or service
The ad is within relevant content
Can scroll past ad
People who would reconsider installing an ad blocker
Series 2
26. eMarketer
70%
61%
74% 76% 69% 68% 67%
76%
68%
73%
81%
76% 78% 81%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
180%
All 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Opinions Regarding Online Ads, By Age, Jan 2015
I take measures to protect my privacy online I am concerned about my privacy when I'm online
27. Clients should choose which publishers to run their ads without
being invasive
They should relay to the publishers that they want ads to be relevant
places, and not displayed as banners or popups
Editor's Notes
Ads originally were used to inform consumers about their product/service. While this is still the case today, internet has become so mainstream now, that it is nearly impossible for a consumer to be informed. Therefore, with this increase in information and availablity, consumers want to get away from having information overload. In addition, ads nowadays need value. With so much information being available, people value the customization of ads. These factors have led to an overall increase in ad blocking
Overall, ad blocker users are increasing quickly, and is expected to double by next year from 2014 according to eMarketer. Additionally, currently there are 198 mil active ad blocker users, which has grown largely by 41% in the past 12 months.
Millennials are the main users of Ad Blockers not only in the US, but also globally according to eMarketer. Additonally, 27% of 18-24 year old millennials say that advertising is a waste of their time.
Based on the previoius graph, we saw that in Germany specifically, ad blocker users are even across the board. Looking into this further, it is interesting to see the different attitudes of privacy worldwide. Germanys say that privacy is a civil right, while American’s are on an ‘it depends’ frame of mind when they think about disclosing personal information. In _____ however, **include one more attitude on privacy from another country
Not only is it interesting that Millennials are fueling this trend, but also that high income correlated with the purchase of ad free services. As seen through this graph, internet users across the board actively avoid ads when they are online, however as income increase, people are more likely to pay for ad free services. Extending this to ad blocking users, people with high incomes are likely to install pricey ad blockers. Additionally, this is likely because this group of people are not likely worried about expensive payments and focus on ease.
Not only has ad blocking usage increased by double in the total % of population, but also has increased on desktop/laptop & smartphones. With this rapid increase, it is vital that advertisers and clients recognize the problem at hand and tackle it.
Additionally, Ad blocking costs the global publishing industry $22 billion of lost revenue anually
So at the core of the issue, why are ads a problem for consumers? The three main reasons are the ads are irrelevant, they compromise the users usability and experience, and ads raise privacy concerns
Ads are now becoming more invasive and irrelevant. As seen through the graph, the reasons Ad blocking users block ads are highly due to the slow down of the experience and the worry of viruses. Additionally, 60% of users are annoyed with excessive ads, and 69& find ads to be annoying and disruptive
The Specific types of ads that are annoying according to US internet users are pop up ads, all types of banner ads, and unskippable video. All of these disruptions compromise the users browsing experience.
Ad blocking users and internet users find that cluttered experience is frustrating. There are usually two many ads on one page and more than not, the ads are irrelevant to the search. We have all seen this happen when searching for something in Google, and random ads pop up. Additionally, repetitive ads are annoying. Once seeing the ad, a consumer can navigate and find content on their own because they are media literate. Lastly, people nowadays live very dynamic lives. Their commitments in a day have increased, but the hours in the day have stayed the same. Therefore, people want quickness and immediacy. Disruptive ads slow down browsing speed, and use up data plans, which further prolongs the process from a consumer to get from one site to the next.
Another concern for consumers is privacy. 80% of consumers want to know about the way companies use their informatio and 87% want more personal control over the information that the companies have. Examples of the privacy concerns nowadays include Augmented Reality games such as Pokemon Go and the Beacon technology. In the pokemon go app, users are authorizing the app to track them, which has led to several incidents of people getting into dangerous situations because people plant pokemon in such locaitons to lure people in. Additionally, technology such as the beacon one concerns consumers because they are being targeted to in real time, and the invasion of privacy becomes creepy for consumers. With all this being said, while consumers are concerned about privacy, they are not exactly sure what it means or what it entails. * Include info on this
ordinary users don’t fully understand the scope of the data that is being collected on them — or how small amounts of data can be used to create a much more detailed portrait
Based off of these concerns, consumers have stated that they want control. 76% of people are concerned about their privacy when they are online and 54% of ad blocker users are concerned by behavioral ads being served to them.
Based off the Consumers concerns, it is important for agencies and clients to address this issue
Agencies specifically should first tackle the issue of irrelevant ads. They could use avail data and even innovate new ways to collect data. Additionally, they could use findings from media to influence creative development. An example of this could be emphasizing the importance of content marketing. Major League Soccer did this by creating one logo for the games, but tailoring towards each game by switching the colors to match the teams that were playing. While this is a minute change in the logo, it creates a personal touch. The relevance of creative is very important and agencies should educate the client on the importance of it. Additionally, agencies should set relevant KPIs and use native advertising as an option. Through creating an ad experience that flows with content, advertisers can communicate via branded messaging
Specific to native advertising, paid social can be an opportunity. Using paid social, advertisiers are able to target a specific audience based on likes, interests, etc, which reaches the correct audience, while also allowing the user to be in control of the expereince. This is a way to keep the consumers browsing expereince a positive one. Lastly, agencies can also leverage content to get consumers to view the advertisement. For example, for pandora, you can watch an ad for 15 seconds and listen to the hour free. For ABC on demand, you can watch an ad for 30 seconds and skip right to your show instead of have to watch up to 6 15 sec advertisements to get back to your show.
First and foremost, the client should be transparent with consumer. They should provide a clear explanation of what data they collect and how they use it. This includes educating them on how targeting works, how ads are customized, and why this data is valuable to them. Additionally, clients should build trust with the consumer by giving them some control over the content they see. Sometimes what clients oversee is the importance of creative. Clients should ensure that creative agencies are creative advertisments that are relevant and create resonance of the brand in the consumers mind, which goes back to the point of the agencies educating the client. Clients should also provide an opt in feature which requires the user to disable their ad blocker to view content. Companies such as GQ, Forbes, and TWP are doing this and succeeding. Lastly, overall, clients should improve usability. They should choose publishers who compromise the users browsing experience by as little as possible.
