Unruly launches video research lab to help advertisers deal with ad blocking software
Video ad tech company Unruly has launched a new video lab designed to help advertisers deal with the increase in ad blocking software.
The new lab, based in London, will provide brands and agencies with real-time data and targeting strategies designed to get through the ad block shields. Furthermreo, it will identify the most effect emotional triggers by market, brand category and demographic and use that data to create a video distribution strategy.
It has been launched in light of a growing body of research into the prominence of ad blocking software. Unruly’s own research revealed that more than half of UK consumers say they are likely or very likely to use software to block adverts online because they feel there are too many ads and many find them “creepy”.
Unruly Co-CEO and co-founder Sarah Wood said “video constantly presents marketers with new opportunities, but where there is opportunity, also there is threat”.
She added that the “digital video advertising landscape has evolved so rapidly that we saw an urgent need to help our clients use Unruly’s video data and expertise to future-proof their digital video advertising strategies”.
The Unruly Future Video Lab replaces the company’s existing Social Video Lab, which was launched in 2013. The announcement of the new lab follows on from last week's news that News Corps acquired the company for a sum of $176m.
The company's decision to accept the buyout will allow it to compete with a number of its competitors which have also recently become part of larger groups.
Discussing the state of the industry Unruly’s managing director Oliver Smith said the advertising industry was “hurtling towards an ‘ad-pocalypse’, where there’s a risk that internet users will abandon advertising if brands abuse their relationship with consumers”.
He concluded that the video lab would “to help advertisers reconnect with their target audiences and restore this trust".