Some 94% of Japanese consumers say they would consider using ad blocking software, the highest proportion in the world, according to a recent survey that reveals most brands still fail to adopt a non-invasive approach to advertising.
With the Advertising Week Asia conference debuting in Tokyo on Monday, video ad tech company Unruly has launched the APAC Future Video Manifesto, which provides guidance to brands on how to respond effectively to the rise of ad blocking.
“Our survey highlights some of the huge challenges facing the ad industry right now,” said Haruyo Kagawa, Japan Country Manager at Unruly.
“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.”
She said consumers are fed up with “ad clutter”, such as too many anti-social, interruptive ads, and that the solution is to provide “polite” and “respectful” ad formats that give consumers a better experience.
The extent to which brands need to work on improving their engagement with Japanese consumers was borne out by Unruly’s survey, which covered 400 Japanese and another 800 consumers in the rest of Asia-Pacific. It also involved a total of 3,200 consumers around the world.
Among the findings for Japanese consumers, the survey revealed that almost two-thirds (62%) are put off a brand when they are forced to watch pre-roll, compared to just 45% of their counterparts in Southeast Asia.
(Source: Warc.com )