Dive Brief:

• Almost four in five consumers accept that advertising funds free online content, but "they need to feel in control, particularly on mobile, and ad blocking is the way to gain control,” according to a study released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau UK and conducted by Differentology.
• The solution, in part, is to give some form of control back to consumers by not hijacking the user experience with too many ads, too “heavy” ads in the amount of data served, and allowing users to exit the ad.
• 58% of consumers surveyed said that a clear “x” or “skip ad” button is the best way to make ads more acceptable.

Dive Insight:

While the results are focused on the UK, ad blocking is a global problem for advertisers and publishers. In order to combat ad block tech, the IAB recommends that advertisers offer more transparency and consumer control over digital ads.

Interestingly, the news comes as Google just rolled out its new “My Activity” and “Ads Personalization” features within users’ “My Account” that accomplish that exact goal. The new features allow users to remove topics from ads served and content recommendations, and overall offer a great deal of control over their online experience from an easy-to-use interface.

Mobile ads are of particular concern in the IAB UK study, even though ad blocking isn’t nearly as prevalent on mobile as it is on the desktop. Only 10% of consumers in the U.K. block mobile ads, although that figure jumps to 63% with millennials. The Media Ratings Council recently released a study that found mobile ads take twice as long as desktop ads to load, a poor user experience that could lead to increased ad block adoption on mobile devices.

“Getting mobile ads right is a delicate balance – even consumers have mixed feelings about what they like,” Mike Reynolds, the IAB UK’s mobile and video manager, said in a statement. “For instance, ads with higher impact can be more annoying, while relevant ads based on location or behavior are welcomed but may raise privacy concerns. With higher impact comes higher risk but the golden rules involve common sense – don’t hijack the user experience (78% ‘can’t stand’ ads that take over the whole screen) and don’t omit, or make it difficult to find, the ad close/skip button, which inevitably annoys people.”