Ad blocking is hitting publishers hard by preventing them from monetising their content. We explore how publishers can continue to keep their readers happy while making money from their online content, and whether there is a viable alternative to advertising.
The start of 2016 heralded gloomy prophecies for the advertising technology market. Growth appeared to be slackening as the optimism that kept the sector buoyant gave way to general scepticism, VCs completed far fewer deals with adtech companies – dropping from 251 in 2014 to 127 in 2015 – and overall investment in the market declined. The value of public adtech company stocks also plummeted and several high-profile adtech businesses made cuts to their workforce.