Fewer people see ads

Of course, we are all somewhat blind to ads, but the 4 out of 10 who have completely blocked ads really don’t see them. This clearly shows the problem with old-style marketing.

Today, 4 out of 10 Swedes use an Ad Blocker. 40% don’t see ads at all. This weekend, our Head of SEO, Aaron, reminded us of John Wanamaker’s old truth:

• Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.

I would argue that today you have to subtract 40% before you halve it, since 40% of potential ad viewers don’t even have the possibility to see your ad.

Blocking is growing

Many in the advertising industry think we’ve reached a plateau, that no more people will install ad blockers. What they’ve failed to realize is that both Google and Apple are hard at work installing ad blockers as default on their many platforms. Think iPhone, Android, Chrome, and Safari—cleared of these, there aren’t many left willing to stare at blinking banners.

How extensive this blocking will be remains to be seen. There are different levels of aggressive blockers today, and we can probably expect the same in the future. How will they treat Google’s highly relevant AdWords—they can hardly be compared to TV commercials or print ads? Maybe Google won’t block them while Apple deems them “far too intrusive.” Maybe Google will be allowed, or maybe the EU Court will put a stop to it, as they tend to do.

The advantage of Pull

When talking about Push or Pull in marketing—forcing yourself on strangers versus attracting the interested—Pull undoubtedly gains even more of an advantage today. It also gives an edge to organic and communication. SEO gets a certain advantage over SEM, PR gains over Native.

Personally, I like this development—I really am one of the ad-fatigued. It’s been a long time since I ditched linear TV, and I can’t stand banner-heavy websites. If marketing budgets shift to the smarter paths, I’ll be happy in so many ways. Above all, because advertisers will have to learn to listen to us—hear what we want to see rather than forcing hours upon hours of repetition on us. And no, Programmatic doesn’t cut it—it’s just more of the same. I actually know which half of your marketing money is wasted: it’s the half spent on reach.