Personalized Advertising, Ad-Blockers, And How Publishers Can Better Handle Both

Publishers are all too familiar with the rock, the hard place, and the struggles of being caught between both.

The rise of ad-blockers has presented one such unwelcoming surface, and a new YouGov study has examined the relationship between that technology and ad personalization.

The “Ad-Verse Reactions” report found that more than half of the Americans surveyed (54%) are creeped out by personalized ads, with 44% of those creeped out taking action by running an ad blocker at all times, no matter what site they visit. 

It’s a “situation that should alarm publishers … not to mention advertisers,” according to MediaPost’s Ray Schultz, though the report’s alarm bell doesn’t come without some insights to be gleaned and takeaways to consider.

(Photo Source: YouGov)

Ads based on browsing history were considered the most invasive type of personalized advertising (for 59% of those surveyed), followed by ads based on social media behavior (48%) and ads based on purchasing history (42%). Of the actions that would make them more comfortable with personalized ads, 52% said opt-out options, 35% said minimal data collection, 33% said clear privacy policies, and 30% said ads that used anonymized data.

“1 in 4 Americans agree that personalized advertising is helpful for discovering new products that they may want to buy,” the study says, with that number rising to 30% for Gen Z and Millennials. “However, Americans are less likely to find personalized advertising helpful compared to all other surveyed regions across the world.”