4 things you need to know about ad blockers in 2018
What you should learn before planning a digital marketing strategy
Software and apps to block online ads are getting more and more popular among Internet users. Worldwide, ad blockers are installed on an estimate of 600 million devices, and more than half of them are smartphones and other kinds of mobile devices.
In view of this trend, advertisers need to take into account ad blockers and their influence on the market before planning their investment. In Latin America, experts recommend targeting mobile audiences, especially inside mobile apps, since the in-app environment is closed off to ad blockers. This way, it’s easier to ensure high returns of investment and optimal metrics for our campaign.
1️⃣| Users install ad blockers out of safety concerns
According to a recent report, the main reasons for ad blocker installs are:
- protection against virus and malware (30%),
- avoiding interruptions by annoying ads, such as banners that obscure content and unskippable videos (29%), and
- reducing the number of ads they are exposed to (14%).
It’s worth noting that users perceive web advertising as a threat. Fortunately, ads inside the in-app environment — particularly, games — don’t provoke the same sensation, because they must comply with security standards to be approved for distribution in app stores. That’s why users are far more likely to trust in-app ads than their desktop counterparts.
2️⃣| Blocked ads means (many) millions in revenue losses for the industry
Ads that don’t yield impressions represent a significant problem for publishers, who lose monetization capability. On the other hand, advertisers see viewability of their campaigns reduced, another obstacle added to ad superabundance and the fact that users need to scroll down to see some ads.
According to research company Ovum, the industry is expected to lose USD 35 billion worldwide by 2020 if the penetration rate of ad blockers keeps steady, even if publishers raise their efforts to counter the problem.
3️⃣| In Latin America, very few users have installed ad blockers in their devices
The outlook urges marketers to think about new investment strategies, taking into account the traits of the market to which advertising is aimed at. In Latin America, ad blocker penetration in desktop and mobile devices is at 7%. However, in countries like Argentina, Chile y Uruguay, where Internet users have more experience, up to 14% of the online population blocks ads in their desktop devices. In turn, only 1% block ads on their mobile devices.
One way to overcome the problem caused by this software in Latin America is increasing the share destined for mobile ads. Going for mobile marketing allows advertisers to follow the natural movement of users, as these devices are becoming more popular. A 2017 study reported that the amount of time people spend using their devices has increased more than 300% in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
4️⃣| Investing in in-app advertising is the best way to to get ahead — and stay there.
Investing in in-app advertising instead of traditional web formats is a key strategic step for advertisers whose eyes are set on the future of a digital world. This is so because apps are gaining more users every day, and also because they build a closed environment, completely controlled by their developer. Ad blockers cannot exercise their influence in the in-app ecosystem, even if their presence raised significantly in the Latin American market.
Unlike mobile apps, where the amount of ads that are shown on screen is limited due to space constraints, the web environment allows for heavy space sharing, usually resulting in sites overcrowded with banners and videos trying to outshine one another. This causes banner blindness in users that are habituated to this kind of exposure. Not to mention that frequently, ads aren’t even seen unless users scroll to a lower part of the page.
