Topic: Advertising

So What Annoying Ad Technique Will Replace Pop-Ups?



Pop-ups and other "interruptive" formats now represent just 0.7% of all online ad spending (BugMeNot required), which the head of an internet ad trade group says reflects their relative uselessness since people ignore them, or simply don't see them thanks to blocking software. It's hard to tell if the number of popups has decreased that significantly -- and we're not willing to turn off our blockers to find some anecdotal evidence -- or if they've simply become so worthless that prices have fallen through the floor, making them represent such a minute share of overall ad spending. But the bigger lesson for legitimate online advertisers is that these sorts of interruptive ads don't work, while well-targeted, useful and compelling online advertising is proving to be very effective. There is plenty of inventory for online ads, but the challenge now facing the ad industry is figuring out how to effectively target users, and how to offer them advertising they want to see, rather than ads they're simply forced to tolerate.