Mindshare and Unruly create a manifesto to combat adblocking

Video ad tech company Unruly and global media agency Mindshare have unveiled a manifesto for brands looking to beat the ad blockers, ahead of the Mindshare APAC Leadership conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, which starts next week (May 3-5).The APAC Future Video Manifesto advises advertisers on how to future-proof their video advertising and deal with the rise in adblocking, predicted to wipe off $41.4bn from the global economy in 2016 (source: Adobe/ Page Fair).An Unruly survey found that 90% of internet users across APAC would consider using ad blocking software because they feel there are too many ads and they find them “creepy”.The manifesto sets out 7 pillars to help brands understand why ad blocking is on the rise and what they can do to be part of the solution rather than the problem.Read also: ‘Ad-blocking can make us better marketers’Phil Townend, Unruly APAC MD, said: “Our survey highlights some of the huge challenges facing the ad industry right now.  The industry has largely adopted an interruptive video model, which is a hangover from TV, and consumers are being bombarded with hard sell sales messages which deliver little emotional value.""You could argue we’re hurtling towards an ‘adblockalypse’, where there’s a real risk that consumers will abandon advertising if brands don’t listen to the signals and adopt more engaging, non-invasive ad strategies for the long term."Sanchit Sanga (pictured), chief digital officer, Mindshare APAC, said: “The eruption of online video viewing in APAC creates the single largest opportunity and threat for marketers. Consumer-centric companies will recreate their content pipes and storytelling techniques at the core to address these fleeting, restless and picky audiences.“Relevant, targeted, native and contextual video which doesn’t disrupt viewing patterns will be the mainstay for successful video delivery. Conversely, dumping and spraying 30-second commercials across the web, solely looking at old world metrics alone like eGRPs, will spell doomsday for brands of today and tomorrow.”Other key findings from the survey - which asked 3,200 consumers from around the world what they want from video advertising online - include:Almost two-thirds of Australian (65%) consumers are put off a brand when they are forced to watch a pre-roll. South-East Asian audiences are more forgiving, with less than half (45%) admitting they would feel negatively toward a brand after being forced to watch a pre-roll video;More than three-quarters of internet users (77%) across APAC say they mute video ads;67% of South-East Asians find ads that follow them around the internet creepy - higher than the global average of 63%;86% of South-East Asian consumers say they would lose trust in a brand if they felt an an ad feels fake - the highest of any region. Authenticity is also important to internet users in Australia, with 77% saying they would think less of a company if their ad felt fake;Control of video content is key in Australia, with 68% of Australian viewers stating that they like to be able to control video ads, higher than the global average of 61%.