By Mark Macias
Google Chrome is about to add a new feature that allows consumers to block ads from their browsers. (Read WSJ article here) Last year, Google earned $60 billion in revenue from online advertising, so if the search engine is about to block ads from their browsers, it’s something we should pay attention to.
Reaching your potential customers is about to get a lot harder if you rely on advertising. At the same time, PR is about to become more influential.
Consumers already disregard commercials on TV, and we’re now immune to ads that surround our environment. But it’s different with an actual news story.
Why Ad Blockers Make PR More Valuable
There are currently 615 million devices that actively block ads, according to PageFair. The percentage of consumers using ad blockers is up 30 percent in 2016. If your business is relying on online advertising, your pool for reaching them is getting smaller.
Now contrast that with actual content. Viewers with local and online news are climbing, according to Nielsen stats. PR gets your product or service into the conversation with an audience base that is growing.
I just learned today Amazon bought Whole Foods from a news story and within 5 minutes of hearing the news, I heard people talking about how great Amazon is as a company. Everyone at the water cooler had an opinion on why Amazon was taking over the world and a great innovator. They were talking about why they love Whole Foods. They didn’t hear that from any advertisements. Their conversation was ignited by the news cycle.
As you approach your marketing budget, take a closer look at how your dollars are being spent. The VLOG above goes more in-depth on why PR is going to benefit with this ad blocking surge.
Macias PR was named the 2015 and 2016 top PR Firm of the Year – USA by Finance Monthly. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He is also a PR contributor with CNBC, providing media analysis, insight and crisis advice on timely business topics.