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S
weden is one of the most
digitally advanced countries
in Europe, counting Spotify, Skype,
Candy Crush inventor King, and
Mojang, the firm behind Minecraft,
among the successful tech firms that
have emerged from the Stockholm
startup scene. On a darker note, it
is also the home of The Pirate Bay,
the highly influential – if highly
controversial – file sharing platform.
And, according to IAB Sweden, an
estimated 30% of the country’s
digitally savvy Internet users block
ads.
In part, the adoption of ad blocking
software can be explained by
the ease with which users can
access browser plugins and, to a
lesser degree, mobile ad blocking
apps, either for free or at very
low cost. Adoption has also been
driven by publishers imposing
intrusive advertising formats and,
in the case of some video content,
disproportionately heavy ad loads.
In Sweden, as elsewhere around
the world, the advertising industry
has come to a recognition that the
only way to address this challenge in
the long-term is to take coordinated
action and return the focus to the
user experience.
And a new initiative by IAB Sweden
could serve as a valuable template
for other markets looking to tackle
the long-term negative impact of
ad blocking, improve the digital
ad user experience and develop a
new relationship of trust between
publishers and their audiences.
A d v e r t i s i n g F r i e n d l y
S w e d e n : a m o d e l
f o r a d d r e s s i n g a d
b l o c k i n g
I n i t i a t i v e :
A d v e r t i s i n g
F r i e n d l y S w e d e n
M a r k e t :
S w e d e n
D a t e :
2 0 1 6
D e v e l o p e d b y :
I A B S w e d e n
T a r g e t
a u d i e n c e :
B 2 B ( b y
e x t e n s i o n
B 2 C ) – d i g i t a l
p u b l i s h e r s a n d
m a r k e t e r s
O b j e c t i v e :
T o i m p r o v e
t h e d i g i t a l
a d v e r t i s i n g u s e r
e x p e r i e n c e ,
t h e r e b y
r e d u c i n g t h e
n u m b e r s o f w e b
u s e r s d e p l o y i n g
a d b l o c k i n g
s o f t w a r e
A coordinated initiative to build a
better digital ad experience and drive
down ad blocker usage
In early 2016, The IAB began to
develop a coordinated approach
to addressing the challenge of ad
blocker usage in Sweden – a problem
that is increasingly hampering
the ability of digital publishers to
generate revenue around their
content – under the Advertising
Friendly Sweden initiative. The
IAB’s ultimate objective is to
facilitate a better digital advertising
environment, one in which Internet
users gain a stronger appreciation
of the value exchange between high
quality content and ads. In turn,
while there may always be a core of
militant ad blockers, this is expected
to reduce the volume of blocked
advertising, ensuring that publishers
have a sustainable revenue base to
support the content they deliver to
their audiences.
Developed in close conjunction
with Sweden’s digital publishers,
and drawing on expertise in IAB’s
international network, the initiative
can be seen as something of a
forerunner to the global Coalition for
Better Ads announced in September
2016. IAB Sweden is taking a data-
driven approach to analysing,
understanding
and
eventually
mitigating the impact of ad blocking,
mirroring the foundations of the
wider Coalition’s work.
The IAB has to date published two
reports, Ad Friendly Sweden and
Adblocker Guidance for Publishers.
The first report draws on interviews
with a wide range of stakeholders,
from the Swedish and international
markets and including both buy and
sell-side representatives. It makes a
number of clear recommendations
that are designed to improve user
experience,
including
reducing