The Changing Nature of Internet Advertisements
Caid Christiansen•According to a 2014 report on adblocking from Adobe and PageFair, there are about 144 million active adblock users around the world.
Adblock usage grew by nearly 70% between June 2013 and June 2014. In some countries, nearly one quarter of the online popultion has adblock installed. And amongst Internet users ages 18-29, a staggering 41% said they use adblock.
It’s not hard to see why this is a problem. Companies depend on ads to sell their products. Sites depend on advertisers to pay for ads, which in turn helps pay for content. And agencies–well, their livelihood often depends on being able to purchase and create ads.
As New York Times tech reporter Farhad Manjoo recently pointed out, Internet advertising is a bit like alcohol in the Simpsons: “the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.” It sustains almost all the content users enjoy on the web; many of the world’s most useful technologies, Manjoo says, may never have come about without online advertising. And yet, the rise in adblocking shows that many Internet users are not okay with the intrusive and in-your-face methods of today’s Internet ads.
As an answer to adblocking, AdAge‘s Irfon Watkins suggests something interesting (especially coming from an ad exec): fewer, better ads. “Everyone,” she says, “stands to lose if systemic issues remain unaddressed.”
While we’re not so sold on her idea of talking more to consumers about advertising, her suggestions about using more native ads is a good one. Annoying, bright ads may drive higher brand recall, but they’ve also driven many consumers to block ads altogether. A better solution may be less intrusive ads that add value to interested customers.
Changes are definitely coming to how advertisers develop and serve Internet ads. The trouble is, no one knows exactly what those changes will be.
Two things are clear to us: 1, that it’s in marketing agencies’ best interest to figure out a solution to adblocking, and 2, that old advertising styles just won’t cut it anymore. What exactly new Internet ads will look like, we’re not sure, but it’s clear at this point that something’s gotta give.
Leave a Reply