I want stuff for free! And I am willing to pay for it!
Some kind of defense for online advertising
It is hard to be an online ad nowadays. Nobody loves you. Users despise you, adblockers hides you, if you are a targeted ad then you are yourself targeted. You are not good enough or relevant enough. You are blamed for ad fraud. And on top of that, you are a thing from the past, about to die. The list goes on.
You are definitely not without faults, “a can of worms” is an expression that comes to mind. Still, we cannot really live without you, so here is one to your defence.
Cheers!
Without ads the Internet would grind to a halt
Remove all ads and many of the service we use daily would be out of money pretty soon. Ads are fuelling the Internet as it looks ttoday. With no ads all these services would have to find a new business model or die.
Subscriptions instead of ads?
Some argue that we are entering a new phase where companies are moving away from ads to subscriptions. This is a change in business model, but would it have any impact on ads in general?
Let’s take Netflix as an example. They rely on traditional advertising to get new customers and to stay ahead of the competition. There is no reason to expect this to change.
There is only that much subscription fee to grab
Netflix, HBO, AMC, Amazon etc are comparable services except for their content. So if you want to watch Game of Thrones, Stranger Things and The Walking Dead, then you have to have three subscriptions. How many subscriptions are the customers willing to have? And how much money in total are they willing to part from?
Ads are a part of the marketing mix
There could be a place for ad financed streaming video. At some point people might be longing for some good old fashioned interruption for the benefit to NOT have to sign up to one more subscription.
Other services cannot use a subscription model, and even if they could they would still depend on advertising to build their business. There are other business models and marketing strategies that would change the balance but it is safe to say that ads will be a part of the mix.
It is a communication problem…
People don’t like ads!
In theory ads are a win-win proposition. I get something for free and in exchange I watch some ads that are relevant to me. That seems like a fair value exchange. It is ironic that the communication experts in the ad world have not been able to get that message across. Users are vaguely aware of this but the understanding isn’t really there.
The trend of sites asking you to turn off your ad blocker is an interesting trend. It gives the sites an opportunity to communicate that ads are what makes it possible to deliver their service for free. It makes the users aware, even for a that short moment.
… and a matter of relevance…
The brands want their ads to be shown to people that are likely to buy their product or service. This is also in the interest of the customer. From this perspective (and this perspective only) it makes perfect sense to collect user data to allow targeted advertising.
Others see it differently. Some has gone so far to say that “we are the product”. If the data is used to target ads then we are not the product. If the data is sold to a third party, yes, then we are obviously the product.
Getting relevant ads is necessary for a good user experience, for the transaction to be a win-win. However, from a privacy and data security perspective we need a completely redesigned system, where the user is in control of their own data but that is a completely different discussion.
…but more than anything, it is a question of trust
A TVC or an ad in a magazine feels credible, it is a real company that can pay its bills. A banner online feels more like “if you come with me into the woods I will give you some candy”.
To some extent we can blame the agencies for the lower quality, but there is something else at play too. The online ad model where you can spend $10 on a highly limited and targeted audience makes it possible for ANYONE to advertise, for example the candy man above. The ad you see could be from anyone. The barrier of entry in TV and magazines doesn’t exist online. We don’t trust the online ads anymore, and for good reasons.
We need to make ads online credible. It will require a lot of work and some guts, but there is no way around it. Ads are too valuable for brands, publishers and customers alike.
Conclusion
Ads are here to stay. In theory it is a win-win proposition, and that is what we should work towards, not try to trash the whole concept.
I want to get stuff for free and I am willing to pay for it. With my attention.
So how do we solve the trust issue? That is for sure a story for another time
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