Google seeks to bury the hatchet with media firms to counter ad blocking
Google is attempting to curb the growing use of ad blockers by finding common cause with some of its fiercest critics in the European media business to counter growth in ad blocking technology.
Sensing the very real threat posed by such tools to advertising revenues, Google is seeking to rally the industry behind a common threat by uniting behind a drive to weed out aggressive online advertising practices which irk consumers.
Speaking at a media conference in Germany Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, Google's president for EMEA strategic relationships, said: “The problem is that ad blockers that block all ads are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We need to work together to create a standard for better ads online.”
Google has been engaged in a six month charm offensive known as its Digital News Initiative to win over sceptical newspaper publishers angered by what they see as Google’s profiteering from their work.
This approach has led to some tangible progress with 100 European publishers signing up to the initiative since April.
Google currently derives around 90 per cent of its revenues from advertising with Europe’s online advertising market as a whole valued at $33bn in 2014.