Tag: ad avoidance

Imgur Debuts New Native Ad Product

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Popular image-sharing site Imgur is rolling out a native ad product that aims to help brands effectively reach its predominantly millennial male users on mobile. The new Promoted Post does not feature any targeting capability as the posts will appear in all Imgur users’ shared content stream, but it does support autoplay videos besides GIFs and still images. Launch partners for this native ad product include eBay, Square Enix, and New Form.

What Brands Need To Do
Dubbed “Pinterest for guys,” Imgur reaches a specific set of nerdy, young male online audience that could be difficult for brands to reach. To help brands better connect with its audience, Imgur has an in-house creative team that works with brand advertisers on creating that kind of branded content that would resonate with its users. As our study on branded content has shown, native ads are less intrusive and more effective than most other ad units, which is only more significant in the context of consumers’ growing aversion to ads.

For more information on how brands should leverage interesting branded content to earn consumer attention, check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdWeek

The Guardian Starts Selling Time-Based Ads

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Aiming to improve their user experience by offering fewer and better ads, The Guardian has started selling ads based on viewability instead of impressions. This change allows brand advertisers to buy ads across The Guardian’s sites in guaranteed time slots of varying lengths ranging from 10 to 30 seconds, for which the British publisher guarantees 100% viewability. The Economist is the first client to buy The Guardian’s time-based ads for a campaign that will run until September.

Why Brands Should Care
This new ad product offers an example of how publishers are trying to deal with the rise of ad-blocker usage by improving the ad experience and switching to new ad metrics. This kind of initiatives enables brands to better engage site audiences by ensuring the viewability of their ads. While it remains to be seen whether more publishers will pick up this practice, brand marketers should be aware of the new ad products available and work with publishers to make sure their ads are actually being delivered in a consumer-friendly way.

For more information on how brands can fight the increasing usage of ad-blockers, check out the Ad Avoidance section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Digiday

Network-Level Adblocker Shine Signs Deal With African Mobile Carrier

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
After signing deals with Caribbean mobile carrier Digicel and European carrier Three Group, Israel-based ad-blocking firm Shine is now reaching a new continent as it strikes a deal with Econet, an African wireless service provider with 40 million subscribers across Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi, and Lesotho. Econet will install Shine’s ad-blocking technology, which wipes out all in-app and mobile web ads at the carrier network level, for all of its subscribers. Econet is required by government regulations to provide a choice for customers to opt in or out of Shine’s service.

What Brands Need To Do
Shine’s network-level ad blocker prevents most mobile ads from loading, causing severe issues for digital publishers and, to a lesser extent, to online advertisers and brands that rely on reaching customers via mobile platforms. It remains to be seen if more carriers will pick up this practice, but the fact that three global mobile carriers have been willing to give Shine a try speaks to a larger trend of consumers being fed up with the subpar ad experiences currently plaguing mobile sites and apps.

Therefore, brands need to take a proactive approach to deal with consumers’ growing aversion to ads. One good way to do so is to explore new formats of digital ads, such as sponsoring online events and livestreams and producing branded content. Also, since Shine’s software won’t affect in-feed ads on social networks for now, brands may consider increasing their social ad spend. For more information on how brands can fight the increasing usage of ad-blockers, check out the Ad Avoidance section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdExchanger

How An iOS 10 Update Could Undermine Ad Targeting On iPhones

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier this week, Apple unveiled a major update to their “Limit Ad Tracking” setting in iOS 10, which will give users more control over their “Identifier for Advertising” (IDFA) and the data that is shared with advertisers. In current iOS versions, activating this feature sends developers and advertisers the user’s IDFA and a flag indicating that the user wishes not to be targeted based on their location or behavior. In the forthcoming iOS 10, however, developers and advertisers will receive a zeroed-out value instead of the IDFA, effectively anonymizing all activity from users with that setting enabled.

Why Brands Should Care
According to Fiksu, 14% of iOS users currently have the “Limit Ad Tracking” setting turned on, so this update will at least somewhat undermine the tracking and targeting capability of mobile ad networks that rely on IDFA to target iOS users. For brands seeking to reach mobile consumers, however, this presents a good opportunity to reconsider your mobile strategy and shift towards a social-heavy media mix for your mobile campaigns, as most ads on social networks are targeted by user profile and are therefore immune to this privacy setting update.

To learn more about how brands can deal with the consumer resistance against seeing ads, please check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Fiksu

Facebook Sidesteps Desktop Ad-Blockers, Promises To Improve Ad Relevance

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Facebook is taking measures to render ad-blockers useless on its desktop site. The social network is masking the signifiers that ad-blockers use to detect digital ads, effectively making ad content indistinguishable from non-advertising content. This new anti-ad-blocking initiative will only affect desktop users, as ads served in Facebook’s mobile apps are typically not affected by mobile ad-blockers. The company is also promising users more options to personalize their ad experience with a updated Ad Preference tool.

What Brands Need To Do
Even though the majority of Facebook users are now accessing the service on mobile devices, its desktop site still draws significant online traffic because of Facebook’s massive user base. So this anti-ad-blocking initiative should help Facebook recover some viewability of its desktop ads. Moreover, this move encapsulates Facebook’s strategy in dealing with the increasing usage of ad-blockers –– blocking ad-blocking usage but also working on improving the ad experience –– is a strategy that brands should benefit from as it seeks to improve both the viewability of Facebook ads and the relevance of those ads. In the meantime, brands should try their hands at native ads or branded content to reach consumers that are growing tired of subpar digital ad experiences and are therefore turning to ad-blockers.

For more information on how brands can effectively reach consumers who are actively choosing to avoid ads, please check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: New York Times

Hulu Shuffles Ad-Supported TV Content To Yahoo

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Hulu is set to end its ad-supported TV service as it aims to push for paid subscriptions. The free-to-watch content will be distributed via Yahoo as part of an expanded deal it inked with Yahoo for the impending launch of streaming service Yahoo View, for which Yahoo will be using Hulu’s video player and running ads sold by Hulu’s sales team. Hulu, which recently added Time Warner as a minority shareholder, has amassed 12 million subscribers and launched a completely ad-free subscription tier last fall.

Why Brands Should Care
As viewers get increasingly accustomed to the ad-free experience that popular OTT services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video provide, it is understandable that Hulu is revising their content structure and focusing on building its paid subscription service instead. Soon, Hulu will most likely carry no ads in its SVOD service. (It will most likely still carry ads in its upcoming Live TV service.) But for advertisers, the ad inventory that Hulu provided will simply move to Yahoo’s new streaming service.

For more information on how brands can effectively reach consumers who are actively choosing to avoid ads, please check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

How Mercedes-Benz Is Working With Social Influencers To Battle Ad Avoidance

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
In a bid to reach a younger demographic, Mercedes-Benz has been working with a number of social influencers to promote its brand. With the launch of a content initiative named “MB Photo Pass” earlier this year, the luxury car maker has been working closely with content creators and around 25 influencers to craft branded and sponsored content across various social channels including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, and YouTube. Besides the usual narrative featuring fancy vehicles and extreme sports, Mercedes also branched out and created its first 360-degree video that featured an emotional storyline.

What Brands Need To Do
As consumer attention becomes increasingly fragmented and the subpar mobile ad experience drives many users to use ad-blockers, it is becoming more and more difficult for brands to reach their desired audience via traditional media channels. Therefore, brands should take a cue from Mercedes’s influencer efforts and be willing to explore new forms of advertising such as sponsored or branded content, as well as new media formats such as VR and 360-degree video, to circumvent consumers’ growing ad aversion and pique their interest.

For more information on how brands should leverage interesting branded content to earn consumer attention, check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Digiday

 

Mondelēz Inks Deal With Fox To Tackle Ad Avoidance

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Snack giant Mondelēz International has struck a deal with Fox to tackle the increasing usage of ad blockers. Beyond simply buying ad inventory, the deal will center on an effort by Mondelēz to leverage Fox’s TrueX ad platform and content initiatives that cut through the clutter. As part of the deal, Mondelēz is working with Fox to create new ad formats for VOD and streaming on Fox’s website and Hulu, and it is experimenting with TrueX’s engagement ads, which allow viewers to interact with one ad at the start of viewing in exchange for watching content ad-free. Also, Mondelēz will be developing branded content to reach the Fox audience.

What Brands Need To Do
The latest study from the IAB reports that 26% of desktop users and 15% of mobile consumers are using ad blockers to avoid seeing ads on websites. This Mondelēz-Fox deal is representative of some the necessary steps that brands can take to collaborate with media companies to improve their ad experiences and ensure their ads are viewed. For more information on how brands can fight the increasing usage of ad-blockers, check out the Ad Avoidance section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdAge

Network-Level Ad Blocker Shine Wants Brands To Pay For Whitelisting Ads

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Shine, an ad blocker that operates on carrier network level, is reportedly looking to charge brands for showing ads on those networks. The company has hired its first Chief Revenue Officer as it seeks to introduce a new feature that charges brands and agencies for letting their ads be seen on sites and apps. Shine has already struck deals with Caribbean carrier Digicel and Europe’s Three Group to wipe out all mobile ads for about 100 million phone subscribers by default unless they opt in to see ads.

What Brands Need To Do
While it remains to be seen if Shine will be picked up by more carriers and how much damage it may cause, it seems likely that this paid-whitelisting approach would make a dent in regional ad buyers’ digital budgets. As we pointed out in our previous write-ups about Shine, when it comes to dealing with the rise of ad blockers, brands need to be pre-emptive by developing new communications strategies and try to reach customers via sponsorships and branded content instead. Also, since Shine’s software won’t affect in-feed ads on social networks, brands may consider increasing their social ad spend.

For more information on how brands can fight the increasing usage of ad-blockers, check out the Ad Avoidance section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Sources: AdWeek

 

History Channel To Air Ad-Lite Programs Backed By Yeti’s Branded Content

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Continuing an industry trend of networks trying to appease viewers by reducing ads, A&E Networks’ History channel is set to air a Saturday programming block sponsored solely by outdoor equipment brand Yeti. During the weekly “Wild History” block, which starts on July 9 and features reruns of History’s original series, a series of short-form branded content videos from Yeti will air during the limited breaks in between programs. The deal also includes a dedicated Yeti films playlist featured on History’s YouTube channel and History.com.

What Brands Need To Do
Yeti’s branded content is a natural fit for this programming block as they both target the outdoor enthusiasts, thus creating an environment where Yeti’s short videos seem less intrusive than regular commercial breaks. At a time when ad blockers and ad-free streaming services are helping millions of viewers avoid ads, brands and media owners need to take proactive measure and experiment with new ways, such as sponsored content and native ads, to win back the eyeballs.

For more information on how brands should leverage interesting branded content to earn consumer attention, check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdAge