Att blunda för annonser. En studie av konsumenters och annonsfinansierade företags uppfattningar om annonsblockering på webben
The majority of free content on the internet is financed by online advertising. A requirement for thismodel to work is that the visitors see the ads. The emergence of ad-blocking software has shifted thepower from the advertiser?s choice of publishing ads to the consumer?s choice of viewing ads. Weexamine the consumers? opinions regarding the use of ad-blocking software and compare them to theopinions of companies using online advertisement. Our research show that young generations use adblockingsoftware to a high degree, and they see it as their right to use it. The attitude among the usersregarding advertising and ad-blocking suggest an increased usage, which will require attention fromcompanies using the financial model. Companies? current opinions vary, depending on theirgeographical location and their target audience, between accepting ad-blockers to consideringsubstantial countermeasures against it. In our conclusion we present four strategies for facing thethreat of ad-blocking; To ask the users to disable their ad-blocking software, to block specific parts ofa website to ad-blockers, to block the entire website to ad-blockers, or to offer an ad-free version ofthe website for a fee. Consumers can shut their eyes to advertisement but companies can no longershut their eyes to ad-blocking.Keywords: Adblock, ad-blocking, e-business, online advertising, digital strategies, ad-avoidance