Apple’s ad-block buzz

Apple’s new adblocker technology — and what publishers can do to thwart it — emerged as one of the hottest topics among advertisers and media outlets at the weeklong Advertising Week under way in Midtown.

“I think the arms race has already begun between publishers and ad blockers,” said Scott Cunningham, a senior vice president at the Interactive Advertising Bureau. “There is a daily battle being waged by engineers over this.”

“People who are creating content need to make money,” said Sandy Pelland, of MomLifeTV. “Consumers need to understand this.”

At the same time, Pelland said, ads cannot be overly intrusive.

Rick Jaworski, who with his wife founded the Joy of Baking Web site, estimates that about 10 percent of his ads are now being blocked.

“It is not killing us at the moment, but it is the canary in the coal mine,” he said. He also recognizes, however, that some consumers have had bad experience with intrusive ads and cluttered screens that obscure content. “Somehow, we have to figure out a way” so consumers do not feel the need to use ad blockers.

“Make no mistake, there is a platform war going on between tech companies,” said Cunningham, who is an exGannett exec.

“From a news organization perspective, it is a very troubling development,” Cunningham said. Ad blockers are already a bigger problem in Europe than in the US and he expects the percentage to expand here.

“Most people believe 10 to 15 percent of the market is blocked in the United States,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar, an ad analytics company. But he thinks publishers can adapt long before their businesses are savaged. Keith J. Kelly