Tag: ad filtering

Enthusiastic purchasers of digital content: ad filterers

Posted on by AAX Team

Whether it comes to news services, online magazines, study programs, or learning materials… ad filterers want to purchase it.

Ad filterers flock to digital content, outspending their non- ad blocking user counterparts at a rate of three to one. And, while this might not be surprising given ad filterers’ sky-high levels of engagement and the amount of time this dynamic demographic spends online, it’s worth spending a bit of time considering the implications of this staggering statistic.

The desire to premium content, especially the kind that comes at an extra cost, fits in with some things we know about the ad filtering demographic. This is a group composed of wealthier-than-average, highly educated, engaged individuals.

We know that ad filterers use their wealth to purchase products after seeing ads at a greater rate than non- ad blocking users, so it’s not surprising that some of that disposable income would also go towards digital paid content. It also stands to reason that ad filterers would purchase digital content: news subscriptions, study materials, and magazine subscriptions are generally purchased at a higher rate by people with higher levels of education. And “engagement” isn’t a personality quirk that’s relegated to brand loyalty or social media engagement—studies show that people who are engaged in one aspect of their lives tend to show similar levels of engagement in other arenas. That means that ad filterers’ choice to dive deep into digital media could very well be a result of the same kind of curiosity and engagement that propels them towards following their favorite brands’ social media.

And, of course, it’s a matter of priority. We touched on the topic of prioritization in our last study, which answered the question “What do ad blocking users prioritize?”

Here’s what we found:

Ad blocking users, as it turns out, prioritize being well-informed. 79.2% agreed with the statement “It is important to be well-informed about things.” […] A well-informed person, then, is someone who is not only omnivorous when it comes to knowledge…but also always hungry for the next brain snack.

Ad filterers, a subset of ad blocking users, appear to have similar priorities. They certainly exhibit the same appetite for knowledge of all kinds, and the desire to access information that will enhance their baseline of knowledge is strong enough that they’re willing and ready to purchase access to premium, paid, digital content.

***

In January of this year we published our groundbreaking study, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ad Blocking Users,” which drew back the curtain on the youthful, affluent, and well-educated users that have ad blockers installed on their devices.

But it turns out that there was even more to discover about this dynamic demographic.

We’ve once more consulted the trove of data that GlobalWebIndex (GWI) keeps about internet behavior and teased out more insights ad filterers, who GWI defines as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month.”

The result? AAX’s second study: Ad Filterers Online: Purchasing Habits and Media Consumption In The USA.

We’ll be publishing the study in full in November, but we wanted to give our followers a preview of the insights to come. That’s why, for the next five weeks, we’re highlighting our findings in a series of posts that consider some of our findings in a new light.

Ad filterers + brand discovery: a love story.

Posted on by AAX Team

Here’s a fact that might surprise you: ad filterers are three times more likely to discover brands from website ads than non- ad blocking users.

This destroys the common misconception that ad filterers—defined by the GlobalWebIndex as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month”—are less likely to discover brands than users who have no ad blocker installed.

But why does this misconception exist in the first place? And what are some of the reasons that ad filterers are so likely to find out about brands on the internet?

A lot of this has to do with a fundamental shift in the ways that people use ad blockers. Gone are the days of the so-called “scorched earth” approach, when people would use ad blockers to block out every single ad on the internet.

That scorched earth mentality, a response to the prevalence of glittery pop-ups and garish banner ads that littered the internet in the first decade of the new millennium, was soon proven to be detrimental to the values of the free web. It was clear that a middle ground needed to be found—one where ads existed but users remained content.

Luckily, findings into user behavior showed that users with ad blockers weren’t opposed to all ads. What they were repelled by were obnoxious ads.

In fact, many of these users then chose to consent to be served ads that were respectful and unobtrusive. When faced with tasteful ads, users found that their user and browsing experience remained pleasant. And this appealing browsing environment is naturally more conducive to the open-minded state that fosters brand discovery.

So while people tend to think that everyone who uses an ad blocker is engaged in scorched earth-style blocking—behavior that certainly doesn’t create a good environment for fertile brand discovery—that belief is outdated and false.

Ad filterers (who make up the vast majority of the entire ad blocking user base) are open and willing to be served the right kind of ads.

And that leads to astounding levels of brand discovery.

***

In January of this year we published our groundbreaking study, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ad Blocking Users,” which drew back the curtain on the youthful, affluent, and well-educated users that have ad blockers installed on their devices.

But it turns out that there was even more to discover about this dynamic demographic.

We’ve once more consulted the trove of data that GlobalWebIndex (GWI) keeps about internet behavior and teased out more insights ad filterers, who GWI defines as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month.”

The result? AAX’s second study: Ad Filterers Online: Purchasing Habits and Media Consumption In The USA.

We’ll be publishing the study in full in November, but we wanted to give our followers a preview of the insights to come. That’s why, for the next five weeks, we’re highlighting our findings in a series of posts that consider some of our findings in a new light.

What’s behind ad filterers tremendous online engagement?

Posted on by AAX Team

We know that ad filterers—defined as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month”—are hungry for knowledge and spend a ton of time online.

But we didn’t realize the extent of it.

Especially when compared to the segment of the population that doesn’t use an ad blocker at all, ad filterers are voracious readers of websites. In any given month, ad filterers in the United States are 100% more likely to visit business news websites, 35% more likely to visit travel websites, and 29% more likely to visit a news website than non-ad blocking users.

Of course, there are many implications to this website-loving behavior. The fact that ad filterers devour business and non-business news alike points to a dedication to keeping up-to-date and abreast of current events. And the fact that they visit travel websites hints at another characterizing trait of ad filterers: they tend to be affluent, with the means to travel off to that dream beach getaway or wilderness adventure.

However, when you start to look deeper into these insights, an even more compelling portrait of ad filterers starts to emerge.

What are some personality traits that define the individuals that dream of far-away places, new experiences, and remote destinations—the kind of person, in other words, who spends a lot of time on travel websites?

It’s what Condé Nast Traveler calls the “science of wanderlust,” and recent science suggests that people who have a desire to explore new destinations are also motivated by a strong sense of curiosity, thrill-seeking, and restlessness. That means that the urge to fill your passport with new stamps is connected to the urge to go on roller coasters, go big in Vegas, plan a spontaneous trip to a museum, or dye your hair a bright pink on a whim.

But what about the personality traits associated with the typical news junkie: the kind of person who can’t start their day before reading through five different newspapers, whose Twitter feed is littered with Reuters and AP tweets, and who always wins the “Current Events” section at Trivia Night?

One of the standout traits associated with reading the news every day is, perhaps unsurprisingly, success. When Business Insider looked at the habits of the wildly successful—from Warren Buffet to Bill Gates—everyone reporting that reading the news built the foundation of their days.

So the fact that ad filterers love reading news and travel websites doesn’t just point to a love of political facts and pictures of palm trees. It also hints at curiosity, a tendency to take risks, and overall success.

***

In January of this year we published our groundbreaking study, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ad Blocking Users,” which drew back the curtain on the youthful, affluent, and well-educated users that have ad blockers installed on their devices.

But it turns out that there was even more to discover about this dynamic demographic.

We’ve once more consulted the trove of data that GlobalWebIndex (GWI) keeps about internet behavior and teased out more insights ad filterers, who GWI defines as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month.”

The result? AAX’s second study: Ad Filterers Online: Purchasing Habits and Media Consumption In The USA.

We’ll be publishing the study in full in November, but we wanted to give our followers a preview of the insights to come. That’s why, for the next five weeks, we’re highlighting our findings in a series of posts that consider some of our findings in a new light.

Ad filterers love gaming consoles. Here’s what that means.

Posted on by AAX Team

When the New York Times announces that 2020 is “shaping up to be a huge year for gaming,” you know it’s not just the world of tried-and-true gamers that’s about to be turned upside down. We’re all going to be affected.

This is because the release of two eagerly-awaited gaming consoles, the PlayStation 5 and the XBox Series X, has turned autumn 2020 into what the New York Times has described as “the return of the game console wars.” The fact that these “wars” are breaking out mid-pandemic, when people are staying indoors and turning to the enjoyment and creative immersion of gaming more than ever before, raises the stakes even higher.

But if there’s one demographic that’s going to be especially implicated by the console battles of late 2020, it’s ad filterers. (Ad filterers are users defined by GlobalWebIndex (GWI) as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month.”)

Ad filterers in the USA nurture especially steady gaming habits, with 11.4% reporting spending thirty minutes to one hour on their gaming consoles each and every day. And it doesn’t end there. 10.8% of USA-based ad blocking users spend 1-2 hours each and every day on their gaming consoles. And 3.3% percent comprise elite-tier gamers: people who spend 6 to 8 hours on their gaming consoles per day.

And, when compared to the segment of the population that doesn’t have ad blockers installed on their devices—known as “non- ad blocking users”—ad filterers appear even more as consummate gamers. A mere 8.4% of non- ad blocking users report spending thirty minutes to one hour on gaming consoles.

If late autumn 2020 is truly shaping up to be “the return of the game console wars,” we anticipate that ad filterers are going to be at the vanguard of every battle. Because the users that spend more time on gaming consoles are more likely to upgrade each and every time a new console appears…and, of course, they’ll also be the first in line for new games as well.

So it seems like the “game console wars” won’t really have any losers. Everyone will be victorious… maybe especially the ad filterers excited to use their new consoles.

***

In January of this year we published our groundbreaking study, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ad Blocking Users,” which drew back the curtain on the youthful, affluent, and well-educated users that have ad blockers installed on their devices.

But it turns out that there was even more to discover about this dynamic demographic.

We’ve once more consulted the trove of data that GlobalWebIndex (GWI) keeps about internet behavior and teased out more insights ad filterers, who GWI defines as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month.”

The result? AAX’s second study: Ad Filterers Online: Purchasing Habits and Media Consumption In The USA.
We’ll be publishing the study in full in November, but we wanted to give our followers a preview of the insights to come. That’s why, for the next five weeks, we’re highlighting our findings in a series of posts that consider some of our findings in a new light.

How much time do ad filterers spend online?

Posted on by AAX Team

In January of this year we published our groundbreaking study, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ad Blocking Users,” which drew back the curtain on the youthful, affluent, and well-educated users that have ad blockers installed on their devices.

But it turns out that there was even more to discover about this dynamic demographic.

We’ve once more consulted the trove of data that GlobalWebIndex (GWI) keeps about internet behavior and teased out more insights on the people GWI defines as “users who have blocked ads in the past month but discover brands or products through ads seen online and have clicked on an online ad in the past month.”

We call these users ad filterers.

The result? AAX’s second study: Ad Filterers Online: Purchasing Habits and Media Consumption In The USA.

We’ll be publishing the study in full in November, but we wanted to give our followers a preview of the insights to come. That’s why, for the next five weeks, we’re highlighting our findings in a series of posts that consider some of our findings in a new light.

The first point we wanted to examine in our study lays the foundation for understanding ad filterers’ purchasing habits and media consumption: we wanted to see just how many hours per day American ad filterers spend online.

And what we found was that this famously online segment of the population was…extremely online.

When examining the population as a whole, we found that the largest segment of ad filterers (18.4%) spent 6-10 hours on a PC, tablet, or laptop but that significant percentages were also online for slightly less time, with 16.4% logging approximately 4-6 hours per day and 13.7% spending 3-4 hours online.

And these findings are especially striking when compared to non- ad blocking users. The largest percentage of people who don’t have an ad blocker installed spent only 1-2 hours online per day.

These numbers align with what we already knew about ad filterers, who are, overall, younger, more educated, and more affluent than their non- ad blocking user counterparts. After all, it’s widely documented that, as an Atlantic Monthly article titled “Rich, Young, Educated People Spend the Most Time Online,” phrases it, “all over the world, the people who spend the most time online tend to be young, educated, and wealthy.”

But it might also signal another defining feature of ad filterers: high rates of productivity. As delineated in the Wall Street Journal, studies have shown that higher rates of time spent online correspond with higher rates of productivity; that “browsing the internet at work […] may actually improve your performance.”

This is because time spent online can be refreshing, invigorating tired workers and increasing overall productivity. And this isn’t just in comparison to working straight through without taking a pause to read a favorite news site—it turns out that checking the internet is actually more relaxing (and therefore ultimately productivity-boosting!) than other leisure time activities like making personal phone calls or sending texts or emails.

Maybe this holds the key to the ad filtering demographic’s success in work and in the field of higher education: could it be that it’s easier to get an advanced degree or make strides in the workplace when you’re refreshed by frequent internet-browsing breaks?

Meet AAX: Hart Gliedman, Director of US Sales

Posted on by AAX Team

For Hart Gliedman, it all comes down to education. He knows the challenges facing publishers, pays attention to what pain points might be especially acute, and this knowledge gives him certainly: that AAX has the solution they need.

But, he admits, there’s a lot of noise being directed at publishers and it’s invaluable that your information—in this case how revenue can be boosted via Acceptable Ads—make it through what can too often be cluttered with spam and the words of bad actors.

Hart Gliedman

For a native New Yorker like Hart, being heard through the noise is something that comes almost naturally. Especially, as he tells it, since he learned about the AAX solution by seeing it take place in the wild, on a friend’s computer.

That, explains Hart, was the aha! moment, when he realized what Acceptable Ads could actually, as he puts it, “make the pendulum swing.”

 

AAX: Let’s begin at the beginning. You mentioned that you learned about AAX by seeing it operating in the real world—can you run us through that?

Hart Gliedman: Well, being in the industry I always had a certain view of ad blockers—and I had certainly never installed one. But I certainly knew people who used ad blockers. And, in fact, I was coworking with a friend who had an ad blocker installed, and I looked at his screen and saw…ads being served. And not only that, but there was no annoyance, no frustration.

This was my introduction to ad filtering. My first thought was “Wow, this is a no-brainer. Everyone is searching for that extra revenue boost, but it’s next to impossible to do that without negative impact or downside—except this. I was seeing how Acceptable Ads worked, and understanding it could change the future.

 

AAX: So you had gotten a sense from working in the industry of what was needed, and the fixes that had been tried already?

Hart Gliedman: Yes, and that history gives you an amazing sense of perspective. When I was working in the past with publishers, I learned all about all the day-to-day pain points—bandwidth, resources, everything going into monetization, etc. And now, with that perspective, I can see what a publisher really needs; I can explain that what AAX is doing really is completely different.

I can say: “Look, AAX is so relevant because it allows publishers looking for that extra revenue boost to add entirely incremental revenue stream with no negative impact. It’s the cleanest, simplest way forward for publishers that might be looking for extra revenue.”

My word of advice to publishers is: don’t fall back into old, bad habits! There’s revenue right under your nose.

 

AAX: And this seems like especially urgent advice in 2020, I’d imagine. The pandemic is impacting everyone, publishers included.

Hart Gliedman: Absolutely. What we’re offering is value for publishers that need it; what publishers can to tap into in a low maintenance, sustainable way.

But the reality is there’s so much noise about adding value. Publishers are constantly confronted with “double your revenue with a single line of code,” and it’s oversaturated, obnoxious, and intrusive. This was true even before the pandemic, but it’s intensified.

One of the challenges has always been education: separating what you’re saying from what bad actors are promising. And when it comes to AAX, as soon as the publisher hears and understands, they want to get involved. AAX is that unique; and Acceptable Ads users understand the value exchange.

 

AAX: How does that understanding impact their behavior, exactly?

Hart Gliedman: These users know that not all ads are bad; not all ads are created equal. And when they’re served Acceptable Ads, everyone is suddenly benefiting from that situation. The users feel respected; they’re staying longer on sites; they’re even clicking on ads. And not just by accident.

Acceptable Ads is really hitting the reset button on the entire industry.

 

AAX: And what does that mean for the future of AAX, looking into the second half of 2020 and into 2021?

Hart GliedmanWe’re going to continue to bring incremental value to publishers that need it in these uncertain times. And I’m excited about the project of educating not just publishers but also DSPs. I think we’ve gone so far and we still have so much potential moving forward.

Meet AAX: Otilia Otlacan, Head of Operations

Posted on by AAX Team

For the last fifteen years, Otilia Otlacan has worked in both start-ups and well-established tech companies, specializing in content monetization and getting a close look both at what it means to develop in the industry and what it means to keep apace with growth once your company has hit its stride. She also founded Ad Tech Daily in 2008, acting as editor and publisher until 2016.

Now, of course, she’s the Head of Operations at AAX…which means she’s a key ingredient in the glue that holds the Acceptable Ads Exchange together. (She’s also a font of aviation-related knowledge, and the driving force behind keeping the AAX fridge fully stocked with energy drinks.)

Otilia Otlacan in the Berlin Weltballon

We chatted about everything from Otilia’s thoughts on the current, definitely unprecedented historical moment, to living the work-from-home life in Berlin, Germany, to her thoughts on the future.

 

AAX: 2020 is…quite a year. How are you holding up?

Otilia Otlacan: It’s been an unfortunate couple of months, to put it mildly! But I have to say I’m feeling pretty lucky, all things considered. Not just because of the big issues—health!—but because switching to working from home has been a really smooth transition for us.

We’re a distributed team at AAX and, even pre-COVID, we primarily conducted work through video and messaging and emails. We’ve always blended office and home office. Since the AAX team is so global, we always worked with diverse locations. It’s very much business as usual!

 

AAX: You have such a wealth of industry experience. How did this prepare you for AAX?

Otilia Otlacan: What I’ve really seen, first hand, is the struggle of publishers to monetize through ads. It’s something that’s been going on for a long time and isn’t even necessarily something to do with the rise of ad blockers…although obviously that makes things more difficult.

What I saw first hand, over many years, is that ads didn’t monetize well in the first place, which led to publishers adding extra ads, which just snowballed. The end result? Ad blocking.

One reason I was drawn to AAX in the first place is because it’s a solution that doesn’t doesn’t disregard the users’ wishes while still helping publishers increase their revenue. Pubs can very easily sell this audience of ad filterers that monetize well and—and this is so, so important—everything is fully consented to. This solution respects the options and the wishes of the users…while keeping the balance between buyers, sellers, and users in check.

 

AAX: Tell us more about the lessons you learned from engaging so closely with the news that shapes the ad tech industry.

Otilia Otlacan: When you’re curating news constantly you start to notice trends, products, technology, regulations—everything going in and out of favor. You’re aware of what replaces what, and what replaces that replacement. You glean information through the important announcements being made. You’re also aware of how and where people, especially industry veterans, move across the industry.

It’s great to have that kind of big-picture view; if you’re missing the forest for the trees it can be harder to find your place.

And I found my place. This view of the industry and industry players really helped when I joined AAX, when AAX was a brand-new company.

 

AAX: Let’s move away from the past and talk a little bit about the future. What are your thoughts going forward, into an industry landscape changed by COVID-19?

Otilia Otlacan: Well, at the moment we see a recovery in CPMs and in ad spend from April and May. I think this is seen across the board.

But a big challenge right now is that this industry works well with in-person events. The events are like rituals: they occur every year, you get to see familiar faces. But now, without warning, that’s gone. Of course there are calls and technology, but while those work brilliantly within a team, it’s harder working with people external to your team. There’s always a risk of losing or misreading nuance and nonverbal communication, and that can be an added stressor.

That being said, I think we’ll learn to overcome this. We’ve already learned so much about navigating conferencing technology in the last few months, and I envision training and seminars and events that will help us navigate the growing pains…and get the industry back to a sense of bonding.

 

AAX: And where do you see AAX? What’s one of your hopes for the immediate future?

Otilia Otlacan: If I have to limit it to just one hope? Besides us existing in a world where 4K video conferencing is everyone’s default!

In that case, I’m particularly keen to see AAX expanding, especially in the EU where our solution is aligned with privacy regulations.

Meet AAX: Chirag Shah, Director of Partnerships

Posted on by AAX Team

For Chirag Shah, ad tech and programmatic are the future.

Shah has spent almost fifteen years working in the world of tech, working closely with top management, top level partners and managing diverse teams that, despite their size, stay close knit and cohesive. It’s been an immersive experience. And it’s exactly that immersion, more than anything else, that he credits with his success. “What you learn on the job,” he says, “end up being the most valuable lessons.”

Now, as AAX’s Director of Partnerships, Chirag is busy spreading what he’s absorbed over the course of his career. Chirag is a constant source of knowledge and inspiration…and adorable videos and pictures of his ten-month-old daughter, Meher.

Chirag Shah and his daughter Meher

We talked to Chirag—who’s based in Mumbai—about the path that brought him to AAX, his thoughts on our tumultuous global present, and what exactly makes ad tech and programmatic the future.

 

AAX: You’ve mentioned that so much understanding can be gleaned on the job. What’s one example of this: where you learned something in person, in the workplace?

Chirag Shah: My mind always immediately goes back to a core team I worked with for seven, almost eight, years. I was the main go-to person but the team, as a whole, was responsible for everything it accomplished. We built things from scratch, all together. And that helps you not only become bigger as a person, but evolve as a cohesive unit.

That, I think, is an example of a fundamental learning process that can only be learned through experiencing—it’s impossible to consolidate all of the lessons of working in a team for the better part of a decade into a book or classroom setting—and has changed everyone involved in a significant way.

 

AAX: That sounds really applicable to working in our industry…

Chirag Shah: Exactly. The online advertising space is continuously evolving and changing and you have to be adapting. If you don’t adapt, you’ll be lost and won’t be able to survive. You need to evolve with the industry.

 

AAX: Speaking of adaptation—we can’t hold an interview in 2020 without mentioning COVID-19. How are you adapting to the pandemic?

Chirag Shah: It’s hard not being able to go to the office and see your team. But because I’ve always dealt with so many teams internationally, and because we’ve always operated remotely, we’ve always had a work-from-home culture. Having that culture in place already definitely makes it easier: I realized that when talking to friends and family that don’t have that in place.

I think that one of the ways COVID-19 will change things that people are going to understand that working from home is possible. People won’t have to go to the office five days a week—they can be more flexible. It’s going to create new learnings for everyone around. We’ll save on travel time and, here in India, we’ll be happy not to have to go into the office during monsoon season.

And personally, working from home means I get more time with my 10-month-old daughter. During my breaks I’ll play with her and take her up to the rooftop. Not much good has come out of the pandemic, but that’s a silver lining.

 

AAX: But what will happen in the industry in a post-pandemic world? Do you have any predictions for the future?

Chirag Shah: If I could predict exactly I’d be a millionaire!

The good news for our industry is that online industries are less affected than others. There was some fear, and definitely revenue loss. But things are gradually opening up—maybe not in India, but the internet has no boundaries. It’s a global scene, and countries and businesses opening up in other areas of the world is having a healing effect. Things are looking better in Q3 and we’re seeing signs of life—which is great because it means revenue isn’t going to continue going down. It’s either going to stabilize or get better.

 

AAX: And how will that impact AAX specifically?

Well, AAX can help.

With AAX, publishers can unlock revenue that already exists; publishers can regain lost revenue. It’s a simple integration but we believe this will help the entire ecosystem: when publishers are helped so are advertisers.

AAX has a very strong supply and demand pipeline, and we have the new presence of Scott Schwanbeck as AAX CEO. And that’s going to get stronger as people realize the ease of meeting targets with AAX—we already see AAX becoming more of a presence and a priority.

Meet AAX: Tim Cronin, VP of Sales

Posted on by AAX Team

Tim Cronin is undaunted. An industry veteran, he’s still charged by both the thrill of existing in an ever- evolving and growing arena and by a personal sense of enthusiasm.

Tim began as the VP of Sales at AAX in March 2019, becoming the first AAX presence on US soil. Since then, he says, the AAX position has just gotten stronger…and his excitement level and enthusiasm are just the same as when he started. The fact that there’s “lots of work left to do” only adds fuel to the fire.

We talked about his time at AAX, looked back on a career that began in 1997 when Tim was at his first start-up, and touched on what the future will bring.

And of course we talked about what’s keeping Tim, who’s based near Boston, occupied during the era of COVID-19. Short answer? Creating a family-wide “jog club” that keeps everyone fit and reduces stress, and becoming a (sometimes reluctant) star of his daughters’ trending videos on TikTok.

 

AAX: The path that led you to AAX has been a fascinating one—you’re been in tech since the very beginning of tech! Can you tell us a bit about that?

Tim Cronin: Yeah, I was at my first start-up back in 1997. If there was an “aha” moment, it was getting equity—to be young and get stock options is a formative thing!

What that meant to me, in that moment, was the reason we all work so hard: because you have a little piece. And that piece has worth. It has worth monetarily, of course, but it’s also valuable because it points to something bigger. When you’re in a career with so much risk/reward it’s amazing to see that the reward is real.

Plus, when you take the time to look back on it, the reward is seeing how far you’ve come and accomplished and knowing there’s more to do.

I think the success in that first start-up launched me in a very real way: when you experience success you chase that. And I love that about the ad tech industry: it’s always evolving, always presenting new ways to serve ads to the consumer. There’s so much innovation and growth, and I love the excitement of that.

 

AAX: Was it that excitement that led you to AAX, then? Or was it something else?

Tim Cronin: It was another early stage ad tech challenge, and there’s always excitement there! I really saw the need for AAX and a unique value proposition for publishers and brands. We talk a lot about restoring balance between monetizing quality content while providing use controls, and that’s exactly it: AAX brings some badly-needed balance.

When I first came to AAX— I was hired to reach out to American publishers—there was a lot of groundwork to be done to be a presence. I felt comfortable that we had a great value proposition and great product.t. Most importantly, I knew that success was attainable after meeting the team, our most valuable asset.

I was drawn to AAX’s global culture. Work environments need to provide you with a place where you’re primed to succeed: you need a healthy, positive culture. The energy needs to be focused on moving forwards. And that’s what AAX has.

 

AAX: You’ve been at AAX since March of 2019. What’s changed since then, if anything?

Tim Cronin: Our position has just gotten stronger! We’re able to work with some really high quality publishers and reach these unique users.

The pandemic hit everyone, but aside from some changes to me personally (like working from home and eating a lot of the bread my wife has been baking) things are going full steam ahead at AAX.

 

AAX: You didn’t get into bread-baking, then?

Tim Cronin's family Jog Club in action

No, I went the fitness route! My family started something called Jog Club: just jogging around the track at the high school down the street. Everyone in the family—my college-aged daughters were home during lockdown— was running at different paces, but we started and ended together. That was great for me as a dad.

Then I made a few TikToks with my daughters. I indulged them at first but now it’s a little annoying. Sometimes I’m still in their TikToks, but it’s more in the role of an unwilling star.

 

AAX: From your vantage point, what are some challenges ahead? How is COVID-19 going to change things up for the industry?

Tim Cronin: I’d like to see continued consolidation in the marketplace and fewer middlemen. There have been a lot of middlemen in the ad tech space. What I’m hoping to see in the era of COVID-19 are more acquisitions and consolidation—that’s a good thing.

 

AAX: And what does the future for AAX hold?

We’ll continue to be the marketplace for the web’s most tech savvy, well educated, and discriminating consumers.

And when it comes to these consumers, our focus will continue to be on the choices they make, and their right to enjoy an excellent online browsing experience. AAX will keep prioritizing the serving ads to exclusive consumers and continuing to respect their feedback, letting them decide what the right amount of ads is.

There’s a lot of work left to do—but my excitement level and enthusiasm is just the same as when I started.

Meet Scott Schwanbeck, CEO of AAX

Posted on by AAX Team
On June 8th, AAX ushered in a new phase of growth by welcoming Scott Schwanbeck as CEO.

Scott, an industry veteran with over two decades of experience, has a history of building high-performance teams and overseeing significant business growth.

Scott Schwanbeck

Before joining AAX, Scott spent eight years as the EVP of Business Development at Yieldmo, closing commercial agreements with top 500 global publishers and facilitating significant expansion and growth. The previous years saw Schwanbeck in highly successful leadership roles at an array of companies including; Vizu (acquired by Nielsen), drop.io (acquired by Facebook), News Corp, and IGN Entertainment (acquired by News Corp).

And now, from his home base in New York, Scott will be leading the global AAX team, which spans three continents and multiple cities. To mark his sixth week as AAX chief executive officer we chatted with Scott about the past that shaped him, the experience of being a leader in this tumultuous time, and his plans and predictions for the future of AAX.

***

AAX: Welcome! Let’s start out with the basics: what drew you to AAX? 

Scott Schwanbeck: The digital advertising ecosystem has always required a balance between content owners, marketers and users in order to thrive. But currently the ecosystem is in need of some recalibration.

I joined AAX because I see an amazing opportunity to restore fair value between users who dislike intrusive and annoying browsing experiences, publishers that need to generate revenue for the content they create, and advertisers that want to reach a high-value audience.

Because that’s what AAX does: AAX works with ad blockers to gain access to consumers who have chosen to utilize an ad blocker but who have also opted-in to view ads that are not intrusive. Then, AAX offers these users to buyers looking to capitalize on an exclusive, high-value audience. We also provide a substantial revenue share to our publisher partners by monetizing an audience they were previously unable to reach.

 

AAX: You’ve been in the industry for 2+ decades, so it’s pretty hard to isolate one learning experience or lesson. But maybe you can share a few of them?

Scott Schwanbeck: Looking back, I can chart the beginning of my early career into digital media. In the mid-1990’s I moved to San Francisco to work with a major financial services client and I noticed that a few of my fellow employees had left to join these new “internet” companies.

It became an inescapable trend and I quickly decided I wanted to be part of it. I saw an interesting future in digital so I took a risk, leaving the path of more traditional media and becoming a pioneer in the internet space.

As far as lessons I’ve learned along the way? While it’s not possible to highlight one single lesson as the answer, there are a couple of important ones that come to mind.

One of these is growth. You have to always be looking for ways to grow; whether that’s growing revenue, developing your team, or working more closely with customers. Growth should always be top of mind.

And, in a similar vein to growth, you want to embrace evolution. You never want to become stagnant. It’s vital to always look for ways to evolve, solve new problems, make your product or solution easier to use, find new customers who didn’t know your company existed. And–a cool side benefit—evolution leads to growth.

And then, of course, there’s trust—which is invaluable. Employees want to work for companies and leadership teams they trust. Customers are more willing to buy products and services from people and companies they trust. Too often people forget how important trust is in business.

 

AAX: The phrase is now infamous: we’re living in unprecedented times. What is the most significant way that COVID-19 has impacted the industry, and how do you see it shaping its future?

Scott Schwanbeck: It goes without saying that these are challenging times for our entire industry. In Q2 we’ve watched publishers experience record breaking web traffic but at the same time have steep declines in total revenue. We’ve also watched the buy-side reduce and in some cases stop all marketing activities due to C19. And we still haven’t addressed the data challenges that regulation like GDPR and CCPA pose much less the loss of the cookie.

Having said that. I do think our industry will emerge stronger and once again thrive and survive starting in Q4.

The good news for AAX is that C19 didn’t have that big of an impact to our CPMs or revenue. We’re seeing explosive growth in the number of publishers that want to further monetize their audience. And we’re seeing more and more buyers spend to reach our unique audience.

 

AAX: And what about the future of AAX? What can you tell us about your short (and longer!) term plans?

Scott Schwanbeck: A few of my main goals as CEO include positioning AAX for the future, establishing market leadership, and accelerating growth.

Our growth has accelerated in 2020. Despite C19, we’re seeing significant interest from publishers, agencies, brand and programmatic platforms.

We also want to continue to change the discussion of ad blocking towards a meaningful dialogue around providing a better ad experience for users—which will help our entire industry thrive in the future. The users we reach don’t use ad blockers to remove all ads; these are users who are seeking a better and cleaner browsing experience.

We’ve now partnered with leading DSPs and SSPs to expose buyers to the savvy, highly educated digital spenders that are our audience.

And, of course, accelerating growth is part of the process. We’re expecting a good return to normal levels of spend, and a decent recovery in Q4 and 2021. It’s impossible to talk about the future of AAX without considering the industry as a whole—we think in terms of interconnectedness and sustainability—and we’re optimistic.