Tuesday, October 06, 2015

New app blocks ads in all iOS apps

A company called Been Choice has recently released its app of the same name in iTunes store. The app blocks ads in native applications in iOS including Apple's own News app. It also has a feature that allows a user to allow their information to be shared to an even greater degree than if ads were just allowed and tracked based on views and clicks. When this setting is on, users can accrue points, which can then be cashed in for actual money.

It is an interesting question whether the future of digital marketing will consist of only those consumers who have opted in or not. There is certainly value in advertising to a consenting population willing to share all information needed to craft an effective strategy. However, the question of whether this population will be big enough or lucrative enough to cover the costs of content that advertising revenue alone supports.

It seems to me that if this trend persists, content providers will need to have the power to offer different levels of content according to the degree of opt-in an individual consumer has committed to. For example, for those consumers that have opted out of all advertisements and data collection, they would have to enjoy less content that is paid for by those things to avoid a free-rider problem. Furthermore, there needs to be sufficient incentive for consumer to share their info and see ads.

Been Choice is just one of many avenues consumers have to avoid ads. Time will tell whether content providers and blockers continue to outwit each other or work together.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/06/apple-approves-an-app-that-blocks-ads-in-native-apps-including-apple-news/#.hwskl7:TkRM

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