Building Brand Voice.
Selected blogs
Ad-filtering users are a force to be reckoned with.
That’s not just because the demographic is impressively large—although that’s certainly true. Approximately 250 million users consent to being served nonintrusive ads while browsing, a practice known as ad filtering.
Yet, however impressive the sheer quantity of ad filterers is, it’s their qualities that have been a subject of even greater fascination. As we’ve noted before, this demographic tends to be tech-savvy, ad-aware, and digital-first—not to mention supportive of publishers and a valuable resource for advertisers.
Characteristics like the impact of social media on consumers’ behavior are widely acknowledged and documented, but equally important is the impact of media and popular culture. Marketing scholars agree taste plays a critical role in judgment and decision-making online (Source) and is a valuable consideration in any marketing strategy.
Thus, the eyeo team worked through data available on GlobalWebIndex (GWI) on internet behavior to investigate just how art and culture fit into the lives of ad-filtering users, and how that differs from the trends seen with other users.
How enthusiastic are ad-filtering users about arts and popular culture?
In a word: very.
When asked whether they self-identify with the term “arts and culture enthusiast,” 58.4% of ad-filtering users responded “Yes.” An even higher percentage—72.2%— of ad-filtering users self-identify as “pop culture and leisure enthusiasts.”
These numbers are significant, especially compared to non-ad-blocking users. Only 30.8% of non-ad-blocking users self-identify as arts and culture enthusiasts and 51.6% of non-ad-blocking users as pop culture and leisure enthusiasts.
If such significant gaps exist, it’s also representative of a different outlook and different priorities, something crucial to understand when addressing such audiences.
How much time are ad-filtering users spending online?
Continuing, when we examined the data concerning two primary online cultural pastimes—film/TV and audio entertainment—a trend emerged. Ad-filtering users spend more time engaging with arts than non-ad-blocking users.
Users who don’t block ads are more likely to forgo watching online TV/using streaming services than ad-filtering users, and nearly 40% of ad-filtering users report watching between ½ an hour and 2 hours per day—more than non-ad-blocking users. The trend continues: ad-filtering users are more likely than non-ad-blocking users to watch between two and four hours, and nearly twice as likely to watch 4 or more hours.
And, compared to non-ad-blocking users, ad-filtering users are likely to be devoted consumers of both podcasts and music streaming.
A higher percentage of ad-filtering users than non-ad-blocking users listen to more than four hours of podcasts and/or music streaming. They’re also more likely than non-ad-blocking users to listen to between 30 minutes and four hours of music streaming and to tune in to podcasts. Additionally, non-ad-blocking users are far more likely than their ad-filtering counterparts to forgo podcasts and music streaming.
What genres do ad-filtering users enjoy?
Ad-filtering users' tastes in TV entertainment genres are varied, although “films and movies” and “entertainment and variety” get top billing—the largest numbers of ad filterers report having watched these genres in the past week. And when ad filterers choose to consume TV for purposes of information and education, they overwhelmingly choose the genres of news/current affairs and docuseries.
While this is important for advertisers/brands to acknowledge, it’s also interesting, as with the data above, to consider what differences manifest between ad-filtering user viewing habits and the habits of non-ad-blocking users.
Across the board, all genres are more popular with ad-filtering users than non-ad-blocking users—but the genres that see the most discrepancy between the audience groups are the most popular.
66.5% of ad-filtering users watch films and movies in a typical week, compared to just 53.8% of non-ad-blocking users, and
70.5% of ad-filtering users watch entertainment/variety shows, compared to a mere 55.2% of non-ad-blocking users.
More than 2/3 of ad filterers reported watching the news in the last week, a higher percentage than non-ad-blocking users, and
55.5% of ad filterers reported watching documentaries in the past week, compared to 36.6% of non-ad-blocking users.
And when ad-filtering users listen to music, they are, in general, more likely to listen to a variety of genres than their non-ad blocking counterparts. Not only do they listen to more music streaming than non-ad-blocking users, but they have a more omnivorous approach to listening. Their tastes are wide-ranging and eclectic.
Responding to the answer “Which of these music genres do you listen to?” answers ranged from alternative to hip-hop, classical/opera to EDM/dance, R&B to jazz.
Why does this matter?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the general trend in these statistics—the strength of ad-filtering users’ enthusiasm for culture and art—was mirrored when users were asked about their motivation for being online in the first place. This is a crucial point.
More ad-filtering users replied that they used the internet to “access/ listen to music” and “watch videos, TV shows, or movies,” compared to their non-ad blocking counterparts. Based on an ad-filtering MAGNA study, it was proven that uncluttered ad environments helped increase brand recall and trust for users.
Similarly in a GWI study, it was found that 23% more ad-filtering users discovered brands via ads seen on websites and 20% via ads on social media as compared to ad-blocking users.
What this means for brands and advertisers is that ad-filtering users, all in all, have a higher probability to view and engage with these ads.
For those of us with a general awareness of ad-filtering users and their role in the ad ecosystem, this doesn’t come as a surprise. After all, media consumption is generally less appealing when it’s broken up with intrusive ads.
When a user is served ads that neither disrupt nor dilute their browsing, they’re able to have a more satisfying and immersive cultural experience, whether their interest is film, fine art, music…or anything else that falls under the umbrella term of “arts and culture”. At the same time, they're able to better recognize the ads they do see, and are able to recall them more easily, rather than succumb to ad blindness.
Advertisers that specialize in these entertainment categories should consider targeting this valuable and reachable set of ad-filtering users in their campaigns. Learn more.
These days you might hear “data protection” mentioned more frequently. It’s a topic that has become a part of our collective unconscious. Thanks to the efforts of organizations like the National Cybersecurity Alliance, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), and Mozilla, the importance of data privacy and protection has grown in visibility and, hopefully, will continually garner higher priority in businesses’ agendas.
As long-time advocates of privacy on the web, we at eyeo want to mark the upcoming Data Protection Day by shining a light on concerns and trends within the realm of online privacy, for we see it as a societal problem. Thus, we sat down with our Group Data Protection Officer, Cornelius Witt, to discuss the state of affairs, solutions and complications prevalent in the field
Data Protection Day – can you explain what this day means and where the idea comes from?
Originally, the Council of Europe initiated the Data Protection Day in 2006. Back then, polls showed that 70% of European citizens did not understand how their personal data was being protected. Thus, as a reaction to this lack of awareness, the Data Protection Day was born.
The 28th of January was chosen as it was the date when the Council of Europe’s data protection convention, known as “Convention 108”, was opened for signature. The “Convention 108” is the first international treaty that aims to protect the personal data of individuals. By now, 55 countries have signed and ratified the Convention.
But what does Data Protection Day stand for today?
Well, over time, Data Protection Day has become a global phenomenon. Organizations across the globe celebrate Data Protection Day – or Data Protection week, even – for instance with companies releasing new privacy-enhancing features or NGOs initiating awareness campaigns on the importance of privacy.
And what is meant specifically by “privacy” in our current online world? Sometimes it’s used as a catchall.
I do think there are two dimensions to this answer: on the one hand, from a more legal point of view, privacy is a fundamental right. The Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations defined privacy and the protection against attacks against or interference with personal data as a universal right, similar to other individual rights, such as the right to freedom of expression or the right to seek asylum. And this fundamental right is then manifested in more concrete laws, such as the GDPR in Europe.
On the other hand, privacy has also become a more critical topic from a societal and business perspective: More and more laws provide legal protection for citizens, whereas at the same time many businesses are shifting their stance on privacy as well. One example for this is the privacy tech sector, meaning technologies that preserve or enhance privacy by having fundamental data protection principles built-in. This market is booming right now, with privacy startups receiving more than $4 billion in investment in the over 500 funding rounds.
So, how has privacy become also a socio-political issue? What implications does it have on our lives and society in general?
It’s interesting to think about this question from a historical perspective: the very first attempts to legally protect an individual’s privacy aimed to safeguard citizens against interference from government or rulers. Nowadays, at least in most parts of the world, the focus has shifted to protect the privacy of users against the practices of private corporations, even though government access practices remain a data-protection issue as well.
A very current example on the societal implications of privacy is the use of facial recognition software: many organizations and politicians are calling for a general ban on facial recognition, arguing that this technology is fundamentally undermining privacy and, when adopted in public places for instance, creates a de-facto surveillance. Others see benefits in this technology, for example in law enforcement. And, no matter which side of the issue you stand on, this crossroads of privacy and technology clearly shows the huge societal implications we are witnessing.
As you mentioned the role of the user – what is your take on the so-called “privacy paradox”?
The “privacy paradox” was first coined by researcher Barry Brown in 2001, who worked at HP and found out that there is a disconnect between what users say about privacy and how they actually behave. In a nutshell, the paradox says that users are saying that they care about their privacy, for instance in surveys, but they actually don’t make privacy-friendly choices regarding the services or apps they use.
For a long time, I was a strong supporter of this hypothesis, as so much evidence pointed in that direction: while studies often recorded that users say they care about their privacy, the actual user behavior showed the opposite, and people did not seem to, in truth, care if services were infringing upon their privacy.
Having said that, what I see more and more is that the “privacy paradox” seems to be more and more outdated. For example, the recent uptake of WhatsApp competitors is a good indication of this: in spring 2021, reports showed a stellar 1200% uptake in downloads of Signal and Telegram, coinciding directly with WhatsApp being heavily criticized for their announced privacy policy changes. Another example are projects like the 4Privacy app, which raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter to develop a private communications app.
So, my hypothesis is that the “privacy paradox” is becoming less and less applicable. We have ever more wells of information to suggest that actual, tangible changes are happening.
What can businesses do to protect consumers’ data?
In general, I think it’s crucial that companies fully implement the core privacy principles, such as collecting as little user data as possible and only to the extent that is really necessary. This is not something particularly new, but I see so many online services that do not follow these principles, e.g., by requiring users to set up an account and providing personal information where it would not be relevant for the service as such. Also, I believe that companies should have a very good understanding on data governance, meaning that organizations should be fully aware of all personal data they hold and how this information is processed. Especially for data-driven companies working across many teams, this can be challenging, but it is an absolute necessity, and more and more privacy tech providers offer innovative solutions for this.
Lastly, I think the potential for data anonymization and pseudonymisation is not yet being fully implemented in the market, and there are many ways how data can be used compliantly when properly anonymized or pseudonymized.
We recently contributed a series of privacy-related questions to a GWI study of 4,009 UK and US users. To achieve a more balanced and fairer digital world, it's essential to listen to users' voices, especially when it comes to their privacy. As an additional bonus, the results were quite inspiring, as we saw how the views of those users dovetailed with our own. As a company vested in fostering data privacy as a basic human right, it's further proof that we’re on the right path.
Excited to see what users had to say? Let’s go through some of the results.
Factors influencing comfort with data sharing
It is no surprise that the two highest ranking responses — 60.9% and 59.3% — regarding the most important factors for a user to know before they’d feel comfortable sharing data are, how will my data be used? and how will my data be protected? As we’ve seen, it's exactly this lack of transparency that is driving the new data privacy revolution. Users want to be a part of the discussion. They want to know just how and in what ways companies are profiting from their personal information. How can a user feel safe if the rules of the game are not clear? The following highest ranked factors attest to that further: Why are they collecting it (data)? and will my data be anonymous?
Our data is precious and sensitive, and thus it is of paramount importance to empower users by pushing for better industry practices and educational efforts. Informed stakeholders can, and should, establish functional data governance models that account for these aspects.
Online data sharing
What is interesting about the results from the second question, “Which of the following data types, if any, are you willing to share with an app or company” is that they represent the most basic information, things that are not used to easily identify a specific individual. These broad, large-level data types don’t narrow the spectrum in the way your medical history or bank data would.
To wit, 65.1% responded they are okay with sharing their gender, 55% their country and 51.9% their language (the second and third of which are generally practical as first-party information on favorite websites to save some settings for user convenience). Whereas only only 28.5% wanted to share their history of past purchases, i.e. information that narrows in on them as individuals.
Currently topics-based targeting is one of the most interesting proposals brought forth by the industry as an alternative to profiling users — our privacy product Crumbs and Google’s Topics API being two possible viable solutions in this vein — and these results show that it's exactly this need to avoid being too closely identified as an individual that most concerns users.
Factors influencing browser choice
So this all leads to the big question: which browser should I use then? What factors are most important to me when using a mobile web browser?
Of course, it’s no surprise that the first-ranked answer was performance related, the speed when loading websites (44.9%), but what is highly interesting is that a close second (40.6%) was privacy & security features (e.g. anti tracking). Performance has always been, and will always be, a primary consideration when choosing a browser, and yet, it speaks volumes to the current moment in the online environment that right next to performance is privacy. It's no longer a buzzword. The data revolution really is in the here and now. And companies will need to respond to these user needs or fall behind the times, or risk noncompliance with changing GDPR or CCPA (state law in California) governance, to name a few.
Moving forward and continued discourse
An active approach toward transparency and working with users to find sustainable solutions, as with topics-based data collection, is the way forward and the path we’re forging at eyeo.
Because we believe the discourse around this topic is so important, our CRO Jan Wittek recently presented a session at MozFest titled “The Next Data Revolution”, where he focused on just these topics of end-users’ data, with an emphasis on empowering users by giving them the means to control and benefit from how their data is used.
This is something that we want to continue doing, being as much a part of the conversation as possible, and helping our partners and their users to have the peace of mind that comes from transparently handling user data across the industry. We believe that fostering user privacy is not a hindrance for businesses, but rather a unique selling point, as it is exactly this kind of prioritization of privacy that will define the internet moving forward. Not only that but it shows that they are listening to users’ voices, which is not only good business but essential for the digital world.
If you missed our session at MozFest, you can watch the recording here. Please note that you need to register on Mozilla’s platform to do so.