Unruly Launches New Video Lab In Paris To Help French Advertisers Survive Ad Blocking Phenomenon

• Video ad tech company launches its mobile ‘Future Video Lab’ in Paris to help advertisers create video ads people want to watch and share rather than avoid
• New consumer survey highlights pain points facing digital advertisers and publishers, with 58% of French consumers likely or very likely to use ad blocking software

PARIS – February 10, 2016 – Video ad tech company Unruly has launched a new video lab designed to help French advertisers deal with the increase in ad blocking software.

A new survey from the tech company has found that 58% of French consumers say they are likely or very likely to use software to block adverts online because they feel there are too many ads and they find them “creepy”. 92.5% percent also said they would consider using ad blocking software in future

The results highlight the growing issues faced by advertisers who are struggling to engage their target audiences online. A recent YouGov survey found that trust in advertising is at an all-time low, and McKinsey has cited that word of mouth is still the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions.

To help French advertisers deal with the rise in ad blocking, video ad tech firm Unruly has launched a new mobile video lab at its office in Paris. The Unruly Future Video Lab provides brands and agencies with an interactive overview of the online video ecosystem, customised real-time data for brands and agencies and best practices on how to use targeting and distribution strategies to cut through the clutter and deliver ads that beat the ad blockers and earn consumer attention.

Gilles Douieb, Country Manager of Unruly France, said: “Our survey highlights some of the huge challenges facing the ad industry right now. There is so much video content being pumped out by brands into people’s newsfeeds and social feeds, it’s no wonder that people are feeling overwhelmed.

“We’re hurtling towards an ‘ad-pocalypse’, where there’s a risk that internet users will abandon advertising if brands abuse their relationship with consumers. But we are not there yet. We launched the Unruly Future Video Lab to help advertisers reconnect with their target audiences and restore this trust.”

Unruly Co-CEO and co-founder Sarah Wood said: “Using social, emotional and behavioral data in the Future Video Lab, brands can power up their video content and ensure their video distribution strategy doesn’t alienate the very audience they’re trying to attract.

“Video constantly presents marketers with new opportunities (live-streaming, vertical viewing, short-form content to name a few), but where there is opportunity, also there is threat. Two years is a lifetime in digital years and marketers that can’t adapt will die. The digital video advertising landscape has evolved so rapidly  – with viewability, mobile audience data and ad avoidance all becoming critical pain points –  that we saw an urgent need to help our clients use Unruly’s video data and expertise to future-proof their digital video advertising strategies.”

Key findings from the survey – which asked 3,200 consumers from around the world what they want from video advertising online – include:

• 58% of French consumers are likely or very likely to use ad blocking software in future;
• The majority of French consumers mute video ads sometimes, always or often;
• 72.4% of French consumers find ads that ‘follow them’ around the internet creepy;
• Almost two-thirds of French consumers (62.5%) get annoyed with a brand when they are forced to watch a pre-roll video.

You can download the survey’s findings and Unruly’s Future Video Manifesto below:

To book a tour, email LabTour@unrulygroup.com.