AD-ITIVES
Getting Around The Block
Ad blockers have earned the wrath of digital advertisers, who stand to lose billions in revenue thanks to these online tools, and many digital content heavyweights are fighting back by banning, or installing paywalls for, users who keep such tools in place. But some ad industry experts see the conflict as an opportunity to learn more about the consumer.
Some advertisers are beginning to change how they approach their outreach, switching to formats such as native ads to be less intrusive into the user’s digital experience. Pre-roll video ads have been cited as the biggest driver of ad-blocking growth, says Ben Williams, spokesman and operations manager for popular blocking software company Adblock Plus.
Of course, more subtle advertising doesn’t address concerns over privacy and malware, both issues that top the list of reasons users install ad-blocking software in the first place. To ease privacy fears, Williams says pop-up ad producers might consider removing the trackers that drop cookies onto their customers’ devices.
