by Christoph Seehaus, Senior Account Manager at adlicious
We encounter online advertising at any time and on any device, on the go or at home. Whether banners or videos, programmatic ads are omnipresent and accompany us on almost every website. It is therefore quite understandable that the number of AdBlocker users has increased over the years. However, anyone who sees the main culprit in the plethora of advertisements is seriously wrong. Because even online advertising is like human interaction — the first impression counts. We are only impressed by visually appealing, content-rich and value-added advertising, and we would like to hide the rest. And so do. As a natural reflex to disruptive online advertising, 22.8 million German citizens, and thus 36% of German online users, used software to suppress ads last year. AdBlocking is not a new trend phenomenon, but has been on the rise since 2015 - and not just in Germany. Looking beyond national borders, this is also clear: 3 out of 10 Austrian and Swiss online retailers suppress ads. Most AdBlock users in the DACH region are between 18 and 34 years of age relevant to advertising for brands and spend several hours on the web per day. They are also above average educated and have a high household income. A target group with purchasing power that doesn't want to see online advertising - or does it? She wants to, but not everyone. Because: 59% of AdBlocker users are annoyed by ads that are widely distributed but have barely any content related to their preferences and preferences. Intrusive advertising, especially pop-ups and interstitials, is permanently clouding the surfing experience for 58% of users. Don't do it as usual, do it better!
Although users with appropriate software are more critical of online advertising, they do not fundamentally reject it. Only just under a quarter of refusers want to consume content on the web completely ad-free; the majority do not finally reject ads. Through AdBlock advertising providers, brands and agencies can still use these ranges. Quality is the key word here — more personalized and dynamically tailored advertising formats are needed to reduce the usage rate of ad blockers. In particular, display banners are pioneers, which draw on data fully automatically and in real time, thus presenting each user with the content that is now most relevant in their individual decision-making process. After all, it's no secret that banners with generic and redundant “one message fits all” content never achieve the highest KUR or lowest CPO.
High-quality advertising materials should offer:
The benefits of personalized advertising are obvious to both sides: Advertisements tailored to the user not only activate the memory of the brand and product they have seen more strongly, but are also perceived as more innovative and personal in the long term. The initial creative effort pays off through higher click rates and more efficient use of media. These in turn are reflected in a higher probability of purchases and transactions.
What does ad blocking mean for advertisers now?
First things first: The user has the longer lever and has received a powerful tool with AdBlockers. The steadily increasing number of ad blockers since 2015 is the result of a lack of quality in the creation and management of advertising material. Customers and agencies are required to define existing process models for target groups and advertising formats as well as the framework conditions for programmatic campaigns more precisely and to better manage them. If this continues to be neglected, AdBlock advertising providers will be the bright winners from AdBlocker growth. For customers and agencies, on the other hand, the conditions for successful campaigns are made more difficult by additional purchasing charges. There are therefore enough arguments to act now and to impress with high-quality advertising material in precise campaigns.
