ad blockers we had it coming
TRANSCRIPT
Ad blocking: We Had it Coming
Is the internet really open?
Modern homepage Modern encyclopedia
Modern traffic cop Modern storefront
Meet: the gatekeepers
David Vs. WhatsHisName
Network of over 1 Million sites
IPO in 2011
Peak market cap: > $2BN
Revenue: over $100K per day
“Panda” release in 02/2012
Traffic declined by 85%
Current market cap: $123 Million
A reality check
The announcements
The reactions…
Pop-up & banner ads
PROS
Helps advertisers reach their performance goals
Monetization for publishers
Puts products/services in front of users they may not have been aware of
CONS
For publishers, redirects users off the site
For advertisers, lowers brand value
For users, bad UX
Real value?
Ad blockers usage
Sources: Pagefair, Forbes
Installed on ~12% of desktop browsers
70% YoY growth
In some countries (Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Greece) nearly one quarter of the online population has adblocker installed
41% of 18-29 year olds polled
said they use adblock
Legitimate consumer choice or
Theft?
Some annoying dilemmas? Pop-ups
Using ad blocker
Mobile view with ads
“Sticky” banner
Interstitial on every click
Publishers fight back
Native advertising
The effectiveness of native ads
NATIVE ADS
32%BANNER ADS
23%NATIVE ADS
52%BANNER ADS
34%
Lift in brand favorability Lift in purchase intent
Consumers looked at original editorial content and native ads for a similar amount of time
NATIVE ADS
1 min
ORGANIC CONTENT
1.2 min
Source: Sharethrough/IPG Media Lab - 2014
Example (Playbuzz)
Engagement rate91%
Completion rate86%
Avg. duration2:18Min
Prime location
promotion on Playbuzz.com
My $0.02 The users have voted
A cat and mouse chase is bad for both sides
The gatekeeper may be evil, but WE should be honest
Whether the threat is real or not, it’s a great wake up call