Mobile companies across Europe are lining up to introduce ad blocking across their networks. British network Three’s recent announcement will, I suspect, soon be followed by ones from other big networks.
NB This is a viewpoint by Adam Gilsenan, chief media consultant for YOC.com.
Add to this Apple’s iOS9 technology, which makes it possible to block advertising in the iPhone browser, which in turn blocks attribution, and it becomes a wider issue.
The networks say it gives customers more control and greater transparency over what they receive. However I think the industry needs to focus less on the volume of people that have ad blockers and turn its attention to the quality and creativity of ads that are being served and how users are targeted.
The key is not to complain about people using or building ad blockers, but to understand the basis of the demand for an ad blocker. In other words, understand and focus on the user.
There has been too much emphasis on the tech side of advertising, to the point where the creative side has become somewhat diluted. The industry needs to focus on richer and improved formats as well as quality content.
As advertisers, we need to focus on ads that are interactive and engaging, or offer the user something in return.
Users are not only changing the way they consume information but also when and where. Mobile users are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of apps that carry ad support and how those apps affect their data plan, their battery life and the phone’s processor. If we continue down the intensive ad path, it will eventually lead to a complete rejection of such ad formats.
Shifting the approach
Data usage is clearly an issue among users, so providers must make moves to address this problem, without compromising the advertiser. Recently, we’ve seen a significant shift in mobile usage at public wifi areas. In fact, according to Cisco in its latest report on global mobile traffic, more than half of total mobile data traffic was offloaded onto the fixed network last year through wifi or mobile base station femtocell.
As a result, we’ve moved most of our HTML5 ads to work with wifi targeting. That way we can be sure that we reach the right target groups. As I mentioned, this issue is about understanding and focusing on the user.
There will of course be users who install ad blocking software as a matter of course and these people are likely to reject most forms of advertising. It seems that we are moving towards a kind of self-selection process among smartphone users who are resistant to advertising.
As a result, advertising will reach those users who are not irritated by advertising and more than likely appreciate it. Ads are then in fact viewed only by those target groups so budgets will become even be more cost-effective.
Ad blocking is just the next in a series of challenges that have existed in digital advertising. Think back to the opt-in email debate, the faulty IP-targeting issues, the bots – the list goes on and on. We need to shake the foundations every so often or we stand still and don’t progress.
Ad blocking will lead to improved targeting and better, more creative advertising which will in turn help brand advertisers. It is now up to the industry to design mobile advertising in such a way that users don't even think about installing an ad blocker and instead may even welcome advertising.
NB1 This is a viewpoint by Adam Gilsenan, chief media consultant for YOC.com.
NB2Image by Shutterstock.