Ad Blockers: do your customers use them?

Originally posted on rfs marketing’s website

Ad blockers. You may not realise it, but your customers may be using them.

I recently used Facebook for a bit of ethnographic research. Totally accidental, but it sure was an eye opener into attitudes about ads.

The conversation went something like:

25 year old: “I can’t believe they’ve taken Peep Show off Netflix.”

Me: “It’s on All 4. The entire box set.”

Them: “No way I’m watching it with ad breaks.”

Me: “You’d rather pay a subscription for no ads?”

Them: “Absolutely.” <—- and lots more agreed.

A small window into the emerging world of ad avoidance, ad blocking and general mistrust of overtly commercial content. Check this chart out from GlobalWebIndex.

When surveying users of online ad-blockers, those aged 21-34 are more likely than the average to be purchasing content without ads in order to avoid seeing the ads.

Three quarters are willing to spend money on some type of digital content on a monthly basis. The use of ad blockers is forecast to rise to about 30% of all internet users next year. It’s part of an important trend.

There’s not only a huge distrust of ad content, they also find them massively annoying. They want reputable content, authentic storytelling. Be genuine, honest and transparent. What are you doing to ensure your content isn’t swerved by your customers?