Unruly And Mindshare Launch Manifesto To Help Brands Beat The Ad Blockers

Video ad tech company and global media agency advise advertisers on how to deal with the rise in adblockers ahead of Mindshare APAC Leadership Conference; Survey finds 90% of APAC consumers would consider using ad blocking software

SINGAPORE, SYDNEY – April 28, 2016 – Video ad tech company Unruly and global media agency Mindshare today unveil 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.

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.

“We launched the APAC Future Video Manifesto to help brands in the region rebuild trust, re-connect with consumers and re-set the ad economy so we can collectively survive the existential threats that face the ad industry in the 21st Century and realise the full potential of video as a medium.

“Consumers are fed up with ad clutter – too many anti-social, interruptive ads. The solution is polite advertising: polite-page loading, respectful ad formats that give a better user experience, and better ads in the first place – content that’s worth watching.”

Sanchit Sanga, 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%.

About Unruly

Unruly is the ad tech company that gets videos seen, shared and loved across the Open Web. Positioned at the intersect of video, social, native & mobile, Unruly uses emotional audience data and user-friendly video formats to massively increase viewer engagement, brand performance & publisher revenues.

With 3 out of every 4 video views now taking place outside of YouTube, 90% of Ad Age 100 brands have already used Unruly to connect with audiences at speed and scale across the Open Web.

Differentiated by a unique data set of 2 trillion video views and powered by a full tech stack, Unruly adds value by algorithmically evaluating content shareability and programmatically targeting custom audiences. Viewability is 100% guaranteed to an audience of 1.44 billion monthly unique users across mobile, tablet and desktop devices.

UnrulyX is the first supply side platform (SSP) for mobile video to offer scaled delivery of native ad formats and guarantee the viewability of premium video impressions bought via RTB.

Unruly employs 200 people across 15 offices, with regional HQs in London, New York and Singapore.

Its super power is emotional ad tech. Its secret weapon is passionate people on a mission to #DeliverWow. Unruly was acquired by News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) in September 2015.

About Mindshare:

Mindshare is a global media agency network with billings in excess of US$34.5 billion (source: RECMA). The network consists of more than 7,000 employees, in 116 offices across 86 countries spread throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.  Each office is dedicated to forging competitive marketing advantage for businesses and their brands based on the values of speed, teamwork and provocation. Mindshare is part of GroupM, which oversees the media investment management sector for WPP, the world’s leading communications services group. Visit us at www.mindshareworld.com and follow us on Twitter @mindshare and facebook.com/mindshare and LinkedIn.com/company/mindshare.