Le Figaro follows up on anti ad-blocking stance with AppNexus APS deal
Le Figaro Group has today (23 March) inked an agreement to implement the entirety of AppNexus’ Publisher Suite (APS), the same week as it participated in a multi-publisher trial in France that will see refuse to serve ad blocker users with content.
Under the terms of the deal, Le Figaro Group will adopt the full AppNexus Publisher Suite, including its ad server, supply-side platform (SSP), plus its forecasting tool Yieldex Analytics, which the ad tech company claims can better help the publisher decide on how best to allocate its inventory.
Le Figaro president of advertising Aurore Domont said the measures formed part of its strategy to “control our own destiny”. He added: “By combining the ability to perfectly execute the most particular branding campaigns for our advertisers with an absolute understanding of our needs as a leading premium publisher, APS allows us to drive meaningful business outcomes for our clients.”
Le Figaro is the fourth-largest publisher in France according to Mediametrie/NetRatings numbers, ranking behind Facebook and Google, and the tie-up with AppNexus fits in with the ad tech outfit’s vocally anti-Facebook and Google mantra.
Commenting on the deal, AppNexus CEO Brian O’Kelley, said: “Anyone who cares about the future of independent publishing should be rooting for companies like Le Figaro.”
He added: “Le Figaro is an example of how independent publishers can apply a sophisticated, data-driven strategy to survive and flourish in the digital age. We share a common commitment to maintaining a vibrant and competitive ecosystem for great journalism and content.”
Earlier this week Le Figaro implemented software that can detect the use of AdBlock Plus during a browser session on its site.
This formed part of a France-wide experiment that sees media owners there take a joint stance against ad blocking by collectively asking users of such software to uninstall the blockers, or go without content.
France had the highest incidence of ad blocking, with 27 per cent of web users there installing such software, according to a recent report from Adobe and anti ad-blocking outfit PageFair (see chart below).
Media owners in France have a strong history of acting in unison to combat outside threats with French publishers pioneering the publisher collective model with La Place Media and Audience Square (which itself is powered by AppNexus technology) dating back to 2013.