Approximately 18% of U.S. web users have already installed ad blockers, according to research by PageFair Ltd., reports Bloomberg. Even higher percentages of users outside of the U.S. have embraced the technology. In Indonesia, for example, 58% of users of mobile phones have already installed ad blockers.
With millions of individuals already using ad blockers, responding to the growth of the technology is crucial for marketers. Being able to leverage the growth of the technology as part of marketing programs, furthermore, can be an appealing strategy.
Brave, which offers what it calls a privacy browser, is an example. The company is developing a cryptocurrency system that compensates its browser users who agree to receive advertisements while remaining anonymous. Brave recently announced that digital publisher Townsquare has agreed to participate in the program.
Townsquare provides the hip-hop website xxlmag.com, the country music website tasteofcountry.com and the classic rock website ultimateclassicrock.com. It also offers the pop culture website popcrush.com.
As part of the arrangement, individuals that use ad blockers will be asked to switch to the Brave Browser when they visit Townsquare webpages. Brave will then compensate Townsquare with Basic Attention Tokens when individuals view the firm’s websites with the browser.
In the meantime, Brave is experimenting with a program that would also provide Basic Attention Tokens to users of the Brave Browser. For Brave, the goal is to reconnect brands with individuals who have implemented ad blockers.
As a group, individuals who use ad blockers are an appealing target market, maintains ExchangeWire. The publication reports that individuals who use ad blockers tend to be highly educated, influenced by advertisements and likely to spend more online than other shoppers.
According to ExchangeWire research, 37.8% of individuals who use ad blockers say they spend $250 or more a month online compared to only 31.9% of individuals who don’t block ads. Users of ad blockers also are more likely to learn about brands online than are other individuals.
By following Acceptable Ads guidelines, furthermore, brands can use platforms such as Criteo, Taboola, Outbrain, Stroeer SSP, and Media.net that are already integrated with publishers. The platforms are officially licensed by ad-blocker extensions, which means marketers that use the services are likely to have their ads appear on individuals’ computer screens.
Yet, some individuals are developing Pi-hole, which is an aggressive ad blocking platform that could potentially throw an even more troublesome wrench in marketers’ plans, reports Bloomberg.
Pi-hole is a free, open source platform that runs on Raspberry, which is an inexpensive handheld computer that costs about $35. Unlike other ad blockers that only work on individual computers, Pi-hole blocks ad through entire networks. As of now, it can’t block ads in YouTube, Hulu or within Facebook, but it can stop Facebook from tracking users activities on other websites.
Some of its features include silencing sponsor ads on NPR and blocking banner ads that appear on internet connected televisions. So far, Pi-hole has been installed on only 140,000 networks, but its users have found spying via internet-connected TVs and lightbulbs that unexplainably have connected to their manufacturers’ servers.