The future of advertising is in the hands of the ad blockers
Young adults are hungry for the ad industry to be better, and by ad blocking, the next generation of creatives and strategists are going to make it just that, argues Laura Desmond.
“I block ads because I believe ads can be so much better.”
This was a direct quote from an advertising student at the University of Texas. I visited campus recently and had the opportunity to talk informally with advertising students from the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations.
What I learned affirmed my faith in the future of advertising. I also walked away with a strong sense that these young students, if given the chance to practice the craft the way they see it, would upend the whole industry.
First, I was blown away at how smart, thoughtful and energised these young professionals are about advertising and media. Second, the students already have a high standard for corporate excellence and behaviour. They are savvy and sophisticated, watching and studying everything. This extends to how they think about brands, advertising and the value exchange between their time and attention, as well as a brand’s message or promise.
When the topic turned to ad blocking, I asked the students which of them employed ad blocking. Half of them raised their hands. I asked why, and the professor interjected, “I know it doesn’t make sense that advertising students are blocking advertising.”
But the thing is, it did make sense to me. Their range of answers were fascinating and counter-intuitive. In the end, it may be exactly the type of radical, post-digital, 21st-century advertising thinking we need.
So why do they ad block? Expectations and relevance.
1) They expect more for their time and attention.
They simply do not want to sit through pop-up ads, banners, displays and 30-second commercials that are not entertaining or informative. They want more creativity.
A great example of creativity cited by a student was “OK Cupid’s DTF campaign.” It broke through because it was a strong example of user need (dating) and technology (their app) coming together.
The ads and messages were relevant, irreverent and meaningful to the young singles dating scene, and their anxiety about being noticed. One of the students said it was obvious the company and its agency did their homework and research on young professionals and millennials want from dating, as it was obvious from the messaging and the use of media, they got it’s all about getting past the anxiety.
2) They respect and give serious credibility to ads, content and memes that get through their ad blocking software.
In fact, if content and marketing makes it through their ad blocking, they find it more interesting and they pay attention. Why? Because they believe it was more targeted and embedded into content they care about, and therefore, more effective.
Spotify’s “Thanks, 2016. It’s been weird” stood out for one student because it was not only witty and funny, but very relatable. Their media strategy was to be on platforms that related their ad messaging back to search and social data such that the student saw the campaign during his search and social activity. It was a great example of targeting interests through different media platforms versus trying to target an audience with an ad. This is a classic example of fighting through ad blocking. The student would not have seen the ads in a conventional way, but because they targeted interests, they followed him through his consumer journey — exactly what the future should be about.
3) They expect advertising to be relevant and to take them seriously.
They want better targeting. They want more creativity and more authenticity. They are begging for brands to be more vulnerable, real and authentic. It’s ok if you make a mistake — not everything has to be packaged. However, they do expect companies and brands to admit when they are wrong. And, they want to know upfront, what’s happening with their data. The best value exchange with any person starts with honesty.
For one student, the “Truth” campaign from The New York Times stood out because it spoke to him and respected his time and interests on many levels. The student loved the media placements in a mix of traditional TV, out of home and digital. There was nothing fancy about this campaign other than it respected his intelligence and being a thoughtful young adult in an increasingly complex world.
So what does this mean? Young adults are hungry for the ad industry to be better. By better I mean to be more creative, to use data more strategically and ethically, and to use media in unexpected and surprising ways.
I, for one, am relieved. By ad blocking, these these students will make advertising better. They know what works, they know what doesn’t, and they are determined and idealistic enough to go after it. They have the insight to build a better model that is authentic, more creative and uses technology and data better than the experts on Madison Avenue today.
Graduation day can’t come soon enough.
Laura Desmond is an operating partner at Providence Equity Partners and founder/CEO of brand, media and technology advisory firm Eagle Vista Partners. She is the former CEO of Starcom Mediavest Group. This article was first published here.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
I hope that these ‘genius’ students are going to go out there in to the industry and revolutionize everything, making the world a better place.
Hopefully they are not just like 90% of people who like to criticize things without doing anything to change them.
The one thing I don’t like about this article, is it seems to insinuate that those of us working in the advertising industry of today, are happy with the way the industry runs. Hint: We aren’t.
I’d love to do away with pop up ads, I’d like to get rid of full page takeovers, but this is what brands want. This is what drives revenue, and businesses run on revenue generation, not rose tinted glasses.
It’s also going to be increasingly difficult for marketers to deliver ‘personalized’ advertising with things like the GDPR flying around.
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I find it hard to believe brands won’t listen to reason on this. Surely its not that hard to explain to them that if they go down the pop-up/soft porn/auto-play options then in the very near future they won’t be able to access the market via the net at all. (My prediction – in the very near future a mobile company or browser will launch with ad-blocker auto installed, the market will follow suite and voila – now you have the same chance reaching the wrinklies as you did the kids – Buckley’s).
Honestly if they don’t get it – fire your client. They won’t exist in the near future anyway. At worst you suffer a quick dignified death (often instead of a humiliating death by a thousand cuts over time). At best you call their bluff and actually get to work with your head up high.
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That can’ be in only one way that these youngsters don’t like these pop-up ads so they installed ad blockers but they can focus on the work in their hands at that time i.e. study when the use ad blockers. They don’t want to get distracted. After all, it is always better to get thorough training in a field instead of only experimenting.
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I block ads for a much more elemental reason: I don’t want to see them.
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Personalised advertising shouldn’t absolutely require the harvesting of personal information. It should be about hiring creatives that understand people and trends on a personal level.
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