The End of Ad Blocking

Ad blocking has become the nemesis of everyone in the digital advertising industry And it39s going to take people from many sides to figure out how to best deal with it Publishers have already begun to lose millions of dollars in ad revenue More advertisers have begun to ask questions about it and the agencies have begun to have serious discussions about various ways to handle it Creative people also want to know more about who39s using it When they use it Why they use it Tech people are digging deeper into the software and hardware suggesting that it39s not only the computer but mobile phone adoption that will also threaten to alter the digital advertising ecosystem as more people know about ad blocking amp160Many people have offered reasons as to why ad blocking occurred and some have provided possible solutions to deal with it I think they39re all good ideas But what is needed is an ongoing industry committee composed of publishers agencies and advertisers to discuss what should be done that will provide practical answers now as well as methods of dealing with it in the future perhaps under the auspices of the IAB with representatives from the ANA 4As and support from the ARF Industry collaboration with all interests represented including factual research to better understand the consumer39s thought process and how software and hardware technology is developing to obstruct advertising Because it ain39t going awayWe now live in a thoroughly digital age And technology will continue to advance We can39t think that traditional kinds of solutions will solve new problems So rhetoric like quotbeing more creative3939 or quotmore engagingquot is not the final pathway to resolving ad blocking Yes content engagement and relevant experiences are critically important but it takes more than that Haven39t copywriters and art directors always tried to be more creative and more engaging Haven39t we always had advertising clutter When we think about some of the reasons it happened it helps to understand some of what might be doneThe relationship between the consumer and the computer is much more intense than the relationship people have with traditional forms of mediaamp160 Remember lean forward lean backamp160And yes magazines and newspapers do have a more personal relationship with their readers than TVamp160viewers or radio listeners But still it is more casual with all traditional media than it is with the computer or smart phone amp160So under these circumstances people get more pissed off when that relationship is disturbed or disrupted in the experience without their knowledge or expectation It39s even more annoying when the intrusion is not particularly relevant to what they39re doing and they39re being bombarded with messages coming at them speed security tracking asideI think Ed Papazian had it partially right even though his thinking was somewhat conventional when he said quotads should be concentrated in distinct breaks in between clearly defined and distinct sequences of editorial contentquotamp160That way he said quotpeople who don39t want to see an ad can take a short break from the screen or switch to a different websitequotamp160Then he believes ad recall and other indicators of ad impact from the ones they do watch will probably increase and be more valuable While he suggests it39s the only way to resolve significant ad blocking that39s when we part company Because it39s not the only way But it could help to mitigate ad blocking and it also puts significant responsibility on publishers and the IAB to set the standards Some have also insisted if you don39t block the ad blockers you pay a subscription for the content After all publishers have to monetize it somehowAnother way advertisers have been thinking about getting around ad blocking is of course genuine native advertising that39s not deceptive Honest editorial where the advertiser makes a difference and is identified as an important part of the story Sure there are events or contexts on the Internet when a startling ad well created is worthy of consumer attention Might even be more enjoyed and remembered But not a continuous flow of interruptions when people know what they39re looking for and trying get information quickly or interact directly with another party That39s just plain irritatingAdvertisers and agencies will need to not only measure but continue to gain more insight into consumer behavior as it relates to their relationship with digital assets Research will be a more critical part of effective and efficient advertising as technology evolves The industry needs to stay ahead of the game and try to prevent the fires before they start Research will be a key factor So let39s get together as a coalition to actually learn what needs to be done That39s my two cents Add some to the pot if you like And take up the challengeImage at top courtesy of Corbis The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Mike Drexler

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