Embargoed till 9am NZST on Tuesday, May 2
Unruly And VeNA Launch Manifesto To Help Advertisers Beat The Ad Blockers
· Video ad tech company and ad platform advise New Zealand advertisers on how to deal with ad blocking and future-proof
their video strategies
· Survey finds 93% of New Zealanders would consider using ad blocking software; 66% are put off a brand when forced to
watch pre-roll
· Unruly to launch manifesto at Future Video Lab sessions in Auckland
WELLINGTON - May 2, 2017 - Video ad tech company Unruly and ad platform VeNA today unveil a manifesto for New Zealand brands and agencies looking
to deploy best practice video strategies.
The New Zealand Future Video Manifesto advises advertisers on how to future-proof their video strategy and deal with the
rise in ad-blocking.
Almost a quarter of New Zealanders (24%) already use ad blockers (source: Page Fair 2017) - a higher proportion than in the US (18%), the UK (16%) and Australia (20%) - while an Unruly survey conducted in
January 2017 found that 93% of internet users across New Zealand would consider using ad blocking software because they
feel there are too many ads and they find them “creepy”.
Two-thirds of New Zealand viewers (66%) are annoyed or put off a brand when they are forced to watch a pre-roll - more
than the global average of 62% and New Zealanders are most likely to want control over their online video ad experience
than the rest of the world. When asked the question, "I like to be in control of video adverts (e.g. to control when
they start to play, to be able to close, replay, share and interact)", 75% of New Zealanders agreed, much higher than
the global average of 62%, and higher than the UK (74%) and Australia (68%);
The manifesto sets out 7 pillars to help brands put viewers in control of their viewing experiences.
Phil Townend, Chief Commercial Officer, Unruly APAC, said: “Our survey highlights some of the huge challenges facing the
ad industry right now. The industry has largely adopted an interruptive video model, which is a hangover from TV, and
consumers are being bombarded with hard sell sales messages which deliver little emotional value. There’s a real risk
that consumers will abandon advertising if brands don’t listen to the signals and adopt more engaging, non-invasive ad
strategies for the long term.”
Stuart Kruger, Group Sales Director, ANZ, added “We launched the New Zealand Future Video Manifesto to help brands in
the country rebuild trust, re-connect with consumers and re-set the ad economy so we can collectively survive the
existential threats that face the ad industry in the 21st Century and realise the full potential of video as a medium.
“Consumers are fed up with ad clutter - too many anti-social, interruptive ads. The solution is polite advertising:
polite-page loading, respectful ad formats that give a better user experience, and better ads in the first place -
content that’s worth watching.”
Unruly distributes ads across premium publishers using non-intrusive players which comply with the Coalition for Better
Ads guidelines, including Unruly-In-Article - a viewable outstream format which only begins to play when the video is
in-view.
Toni Knowles, General Manager NZ, VeNA said: “Unruly and VeNA are excited to be bringing emotional intelligence to New
Zealand's digital advertising landscape with the Future Video Survey and Manifesto. The survey findings showed us that
consumers are tired of anti-social formats, poor content, and irrelevant ads - and that advertisers and publishers will
need to adopt new strategies in order to beat the blockers.
The Future Video Manifesto provides clear guidelines, informed by real responses, on how to create advertising
experiences that engage, rather than enrage audiences. At the end of the day, the best way to survive the adblocking
phenomenon is to create content that consumers want to watch and share, and to shift thinking towards the IAB’s L.E.A.N.
principles."
Other key findings from the survey - which asked 500 consumers from New Zealand what they want from video advertising
online - include:
· Over half of millennials in New Zealand (59%) are likely to use ad blockers in the future. The main reasons for this
are:
· There are too many ads (68%), they are sick of being shown the same ad over and over again (47%) and dislike being
followed around the web by ads (33%);
· New Zealanders are more likely to have already installed ad blocking software on their phones than the global average;
· New Zealanders are also more likely to mute a video ad than the average global consumer (50% v 59%).
Unruly will unveil the full survey findings, along with a guide on how brands can future-proof their video strategies,
at an event in Auckland today and tomorrow.
To download the Future Video Manifesto, click here.
About Unruly
Unruly gets videos seen, shared and loved across the open web for brands that want to move people, not just reach
people.By bringing emotional intelligence to digital advertising, we help 91% of Ad Age 100 brands inform and inspire
1.44bn people around the world, using polite outstream formats on sites that people love. UnrulyX, the viewable video
SSP, creates better ad experiences for consumers, improved brand outcomes for advertisers and increased revenues for
top-flight publishers.
Emotion matters in marketing. Emotion creates values and sets preferences. Inspires action. Drives sales. Unruly has a
decade's data of consumer responses to video and uses that to hone content, model audiences and deploy ad dollars in
ways that heighten emotional response and maximise brand impact. Unruly was founded in 2006 and acquired by News Corp
(NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) in 2015. With 300 Unrulies across 20 locations worldwide, our super power is
emotional intelligence and our secret weapon is passionate people on a mission to #DeliverWow.
About VeNA
Video Entertainment Network Asia (VeNA) is one of the largest premium advertising and technology platforms operating
across the Asia Pacific region, delivering advertisers access to millions of engaged consumers across all screens. VeNA
is an independently owned and operated media company with offices in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. For agency
partners, VeNA provides a wide range of solutions for distribution of video advertising at scale. For site/app and
technology partners, VeNA offers a range of video asset management and platform services that add value and align
complementary business objectives, to develop new revenue and strategic opportunities.