Why Ad Blocking Is A Bigger Problem (And Opportunity) Than You Think

Jellyfish Online Marketing EVP, Managing Director, Americas Kevin Buerger and Allie Vadas, US PPC Director at Jellyfish, provide needed wisdom on a polarizing industry trend.

For the longest time, free mobile app and content providers had an unwritten agreement with the public, through which they would allow consumers to use an app or consume content for free, in exchange for being presented with advertisements.

With the advent of ad blocking, which has grown by 48% in the U.S. between Q2 2014 and Q2 2015 (source: Adobe/PageFair), this agreement is becoming null and void. Ad blockers typically work by installing root certificates on computers, which then allow app developers to establish a VPN, where all traffic is run through the developers’ servers to remove the ads.

In fact, with the recent introduction of iOS 9, mobile ad blocking became a choice for Apple iOS users, too, who comprise more than 40% of the US mobile computing population. This trend raises several questions, including: How will ad-blocking impact digital advertising as we know it? And, what are the upsides and downsides for retailers and consumers?

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