The State of Adblockers and You - How It Affects Your Marketing

In the digital age, ad blockers have become a prevalent tool for consumers of media worldwide. According to Censuswide in a 2024 study, 52 percent of Americans use an adblocker, up from 34 percent in 2022. As marketing professionals, we can no longer ignore the impact of ad blockers on our strategies and campaigns. Understanding the state of ad blocking and its implications is crucial for adapting to the ever-changing digital landscape.

Currently, ad blockers are most prevalent as extensions on computer-based web extensions, with a few instances on mobile appearing, especially for Android phones. The most popular adblocking tools are AdBlock, AdBlock Plus, and uBlock Origin, with over a billion combined downloads. Another popular extension is SponsorBlock, which detects sponsored segments in a YouTube video based on user reports, and automatically skips the sponsored segments completely, allowing viewers to get back to their intended content immediately. 

In order to counteract ad blockers, some websites have implemented a content block when ad blockers are detected, as the website would lose their ad revenue if covered by an ad blocker. YouTube specifically has implemented a content block for all of its videos when an ad blocker is detected, warning the user before completely disabling video playback for detected ad block users until they disable it for YouTube. While YouTube has successfully implemented ad block detection on major web extensions, viewer community coders are constantly developing methods to get around the detection and content blocking, and have succeeded through uBlock list filtering.

As a result of ad block, Traditional display advertising and online video campaigns may become less effective as a larger portion of the target audience remains unreachable. This reality demands a shift in strategy, requiring alternative channels and innovative approaches to engage with consumers on their terms.

Enter Rembrand. Rembrand’s "In-Scene Media" platform offers a unique solution to the ad blocker conundrum. By leveraging AI technology, Rembrand seamlessly integrates branded objects, logos, and products directly into video content during the post-production process, rather than an interrupting segment that would be reported and skipped by the SponsorBlock extension.This approach ensures that your brand's presence becomes an organic but noticed part of the viewing experience, bypassing ad blockers altogether.

With Rembrand's "Regenerative Fusion" technology, your brand can achieve unparalleled visibility and engagement without disrupting content or triggering ad blockers. By aligning your brand with the stories and creators that your audience loves, you can create authentic connections and leave a lasting impression, even among those who have embraced ad blocking.

written by Dilan Luo.