Some of the world’s biggest brands, including Google, Facebook, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, the World Federation of Advertisers, Group M and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, have joined forces to tackle the reasons behind ad blocking.
The Coalition for Better Ads brings together major players from the brand world, media companies, agencies and industry bodies to achieve the goal of banishing ads that frustrate consumers.
The move, announced at last week’s marketing conference Dmexco in Cologne this week, is a reaction to the growing number of consumers choosing to employ ad blocking software to filter out ads on the web.
The coalition was announced on stage by Stephan Loerke, the chief executive of the World Federation of Advertisers.
ts goals are to create standards the industry can refer to, develop technology to help implement the standards, and promote them among consumers and businesses.
The coalition will make use of technology currently being developed at IAB’s Tech Lab.
The use of ad-blockers in the UK has now reached 22%, according to figures from the IAB. Eyeo, the company behind Adblock Plus, has caused consternation among digital ad companies by announcing it will itself sell ads.
Randall Rothenberg, the president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), which is one of the founding coalition members, says: “Advertising funds the diversity of information, entertainment and services on the free internet, but that doesn’t give business a license to abuse the good will of consumers.”
Rothenberg adds it is essential that the industry create standards to assure that consumers get safe, fast, secure delivery of the sites and services they love.
The coalition emphasises the belief that a unified, industry-wide effort will drive the change consumers want.
Jason Kint, CEO at Digital Content Next, also a coalition member, says the foundation for any premium publisher is consumer and advertiser trust.
“Consumers are clearly frustrated with the current dynamic of digital advertising across the wider web. No industry has ever survived by ignoring consumer needs,” he says.
Bob Liodice, CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), says with advertising becoming the economic driver of the explosive growth of the internet and mobile media, to assure that advertising fulfills its critical role, the digital marketplace needs continually to be strengthened. This means leading brands need to develop a deep understanding of consumer needs and work to meet them.
View this discussion at Dmexco on ad blocking here: