Agencies and Brands Shrug Off Ad Blocking: ‘This Is Not On My Radar'

September 14, 2015

RAPP USA’s own Frank Iqbal contributes to a piece in Digiday, written by Shareen Pathak…

“While publishers scramble to figure out what ad blocking is going to do their businesses, those creating and buying the ads — brands and agencies — couldn’t care less.

RAPP USA chief creative officer Frank Iqbal said that while privacy is something that many in the agency are always discussing, he has never heard clients or brands bring up ad blockers specifically. That’s mostly because brands aren’t feeling the pinch. At least, not yet. With Apple’s announcement that the new iOS operating system will support ad blockers, Iqbal said he expects brands to sit up and pay attention.

The battleground is obviously more fraught for publishers, many of whom fear an erosion of advertising revenue streams as these blockers become more popular. Some, like the Washington Post, have gone as far as to block content for users using blocking tools. The U.K.’s top broadcaster ITV also turns away those using ad blockers. Others will tweak URLs or code ads directly into pages so ad blockers won’t be able to block them.

“It’s partly our fault as advertisers,” said Iqbal. “For years we have bombarded people with irrelevant messages. It’s horrible.””

Read the full article here:
http://digiday.com/brands/agencies-brands-ad-blocking-not-radar/