How Advertisers Adapt to Ad Blockers and Premium Streaming Services

The rise of ad blockers and premium streaming services are the bane of advertisers. Let’s look at recent trends:

• Ad blockers are increasingly more popular. More than 50% of UK consumers are likely to use ad-blocking software, 95% would consider using them in the future.
• The rise of premium streaming service. Streaming services like Netflix is increasingly seeing massive growth, as more and more consumers are looking to “unplug”. In Q2 2015, Netflix grew to a massive 65.6 million users globally.
• YouTube is planning to have ad-free subscription. Combined with the ability to skip ads, this development would affect your ability to target affluent, tech-savvy consumers.

Overall, consumers are looking to protect themselves against “annoying ads.” While it is an alarming trend for some advertisers, there are many things you can do to stay ahead. Spot Trender has a full team of dedicated analysts to help you prepare and outperform your competition. Based on our experience working with top Fortune 500 companies, we’ve developed a comprehensive First Impression Metric to leverage on these new trends (as some clients lovingly call it, “Defense against the Dark Arts Metrics”).
How it works:

• Focus on the first 5 seconds: The first 5 seconds is essential. It ensures viewers see your message fully without it being muted, switched channel, or skipped/blocked entirely. You can ask participants how likely they are to skip the ad if given a choice. This way, they can pick the most effective first 5 seconds and incorporate it into their future spots.
• Closely analyze live reaction graphs and verbatims: As part of our standard methodology, you’ll have access to second-by-second reaction graphs and live verbatims as respondents watch your video. Generally, for the first 5-10 seconds, a highly positive reaction graph along with sentiments that express emotion (surprisingly, love, sympathy etc.) correlate well with low likelihood to skip ad.
• Test your spots without sound: Many people mute ads by default when they see them. Additionally, social media platforms such as Facebook mute videos in their feeds. Find out how your spots perform without sound and optimize for it will ensure that you get the highest ROI for your campaigns.

Let us help you ensure your spots get maximum exposure and maximize your ad-spend ROI. Contact us today.