-One in four consumers in Australia use ad blocking technology, but marginal decline in usage
Awareness of ad blockers has increased from 59 percent to 63 percent, but current usage has declined by two percentage points to 25 percent of online Australians (or one in four), compared to 27 percent since October 2016.
Download the latest Infographic and Report here.
The results indicate that Australia is following the global ad blocking stablisation trend of the last twelve months and heading to the UK level of 22 percent. The full results of the survey are being released today at the IAB Australia Digital Ad Ops 2017 Conference being held in Melbourne.
The penetration of mobile ad blocking is still significantly lower than on desktop, with only four percent of Australians indicating that they had an ad blocker installed on their smartphone versus 21 percent on desktop or laptop.
“Whilst it is positive news that the use of ad blocking appears to be stablising in Australia, it is imperative that the advertising industry continues to double down on our efforts to evolve and improve the ad experience for consumers,” said Vijay Solanki, CEO of IAB Australia. “As mobile emerges as the channel of choice for many consumers, it will be key to ensure that mobile advertising respects the close relationship that a consumer has with their mobile phones and adheres to the LEAN principles of providing lighter, relevant and higher quality advertising experiences.”
The number one reason for turning off an ad blocker remains “prevents me from seeing content”. The research indicates that messaging to consumers from sites encouraging them to turn off their ad blocker (or white list their site) is impacting consumer behaviour. Over 6 in 10 people who have seen messaging about turning off ad blockers have taken some action as a result on at least one site. This represents an increase from 55 percent in October 2016 to 62 percent this year. The number of people who have trialed an ad blocker but no longer have one installed on their digital devices is growing, increasing from 14 percent to 17 percent of online Australians in the last six months.
Fear of obtaining viruses remains the primary driver of installing an ad blocker, though over 6 in 10 people with an ad blocker have concerns over the quantity and intrusive nature of some digital ad formats. IAB Australia is helping to drive better ad experiences through work being carried out by the global initiative Coalition for Better Ads as well as a range of projects being driven out of IAB Tech Lab in the US.
Issues surrounding ad blocking will be addressed at today’s IAB Australia Digital Ad Ops 2017 Conference in a session including representatives of Google, Sizmek, The Guardian and New Atlas. IAB Australia members can access the digital fact sheet for the conference here.
The full infographic can be downloaded here and the full research report is available for IAB Australia members on the IAB Australia website. The first wave of the research can be viewed here.
/Ends
About the Interactive Advertising Bureau
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Limited is the peak trade association for online advertising in Australia and was incorporated in July 2010. As one of over 43 IAB offices globally, and with a rapidly growing membership, IAB Australia’s principal objective is to support and enable the media and marketing industry to ensure that they thrive in the digital economy.
The role of the IAB is to work with its members and the broader advertising and marketing industry to assist marketers to identify how best to employ online as part of their marketing strategy, to better target and engage their customers and build their brands.
By addressing the core pillars of growth of the online advertising industry – simplified and standard online audience measurement, research, and online operational standards and guidelines, and regulatory affairs, IAB Australia leverages the skills, experience and commitment of its members to advocate the benefits of online advertising by acting as an authoritative and objective source for all online advertising issues whilst promoting industry-wide best practice.
IAB Australia is a registered not-for-profit organisation; membership fees and revenue generated is invested back into the IAB’s membership benefits such as resources, events, reporting, and industry representation.
For further information about IAB Australia please visit: www.iabaustralia.com.au
About Pureprofile (ASX: PPL)
Pureprofile Limited (ASX: PPL) connects brands with empowered consumers across the world by finding, understanding and engaging them through direct-to-consumer technology platforms. The Pureprofile group is now a global leader in data insights, programmatic media, big data, and quantitative research, as well as consumer lead generation through the recently acquired Cohort group. Pureprofile delivers next generation marketing solutions for more than 700 brands, publishers and research groups worldwide. businesses.pureprofile.com
For further information please contact:
Vijay Solanki
CEO – IAB Australia
E: Vijay.Solanki@iabaustralia.com.au
Pru Quinlan or Sue Ralston
Einsteinz Communications
T: (02) 8905 0995
E: pru@einsteinz.com.au | sue@einsteinz.com.au
Lizzie Babarczy
Pureprofile
Tel: (02) 8905 0995
E: lizzie@pureprofile.com
