Why online advertisers need to start caring about their end users
I spend a lot of my time thinking about effective advertising, because my whole business – an API-based ad serving platform – depends on publishers making revenue from marketers. But for the most part, noise seems to be drowning out the signal for ads.
According to PaigeFair, 2014 was the year that ad blocking “went mainstream.” At least 40 per cent of Internet users aged 18 to 25 use some form of ad block, and from June 2013 to June 2014, ad block usage grew by 70 per cent. In some countries, over a quarter of all Internet users have ad block turned on.
Advertisers ought to be seriously worried. If younger generations are embracing the concept of ad blocking now, it will be difficult to convince them to respond to advertising when they have more buying power. That means fewer marketing dollars spent on less effective advertising campaigns, which means smaller payouts for sites and apps.
More like this
Digital surge drives UK advertising’s fastest growth for four years
Digital advertising spend set to outstrip all other forms in the UK