With more and more frustrated consumers blocking ads, in 2017 digital marketing will shift from volume-based advertising strategies toward quality experiences across the entire customer life cycle.
This is according to a recent Forrester report: Marketing Predictions 2017: The Dawn Of 'Less Is More' In Marketing, which notes almost a third of US adults are using ad blockers and 48% say they actively avoid ads on Web sites. As a result, marketers will be forced to focus on quality rather than quantity, it says.
Juniper Research predicts the rising use of ad-blocking technology globally could account for a $27 billion loss in advertising revenue by 2020. It adds the loss will account for almost 10% of the total digital advertising market. In response to the call for fewer, better quality ads, Forrester believes publishers will respond by lowering the ad inventory on their sites and raising the cost of available ad space.
According to Kantar Millward Brown, in the online space Gen Z are significantly more likely to skip ads, suggesting they have a lower threshold for boredom. They are also more turned off by invasive, interruptive online video formats, it adds. This may be because the digital realm is truly their space, and advertising there is even less welcome than for other generations, notes Kantar Millward Brown.
Marketers also need to experiment with more innovative online formats like mobile rewards, video and sponsored lenses, it continues. When developing video, marketers should ensure ads deliver early impact and intrigue to avoid being skipped, says Kantar Millward Brown. Also, they need to identify the shared attitudes and values they want to use to connect with people of all ages - planning these things is crucial to maximising impact, it explains.
"Publishers will not just improve ads in 2017, they will also start to limit the total number delivered. This modulation won't lower total spend, as greater buyer sensitivity to ad experience, more sophisticated targeting, and enhanced attribution let premium publishers justify higher pricing, at least to themselves," says Brigitte Majewski, Forrester business to customer VP, research director and lead author of the report.
In addition, Forrester notes the move to produce better quality ads that are less intrusive and more targeted has been supported by the formation of new standards and new industry groups such as Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) proposed new LEAN ad standards and the newly formed Coalition for Better Ads.
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