Marketers spent $112 billion dollars on display ads last year, and the dirty little secret is that most of the money is wasted. This presentations makes the business, brand and moral case against display ads. From terrible conversion rates, negative brand value and disturbing downstream effects, display ads are one of the worst channels in marketing.

1. Death to Display Ads
@phil_herbert#DSSLC phil-herbert.com/dtda

2. #DSSLC @phil_herbert
I’ve worked with

3. Internet
TV
Newspapers
Global Ad Spend

4. $129 billion
Total US Display Ad Spending
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

5. 67.3%
Of all digital advertising will be on mobile in 2019
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

6. Why Do Brands Like Display?

7. Easy implementation
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

8. Broad reach to new audiences
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9. Data about behaviors and clicks
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10. Why Do Agencies Like Display?

11. Historical Infrastructure
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

12. Commissions
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

13. For every dollar spent on display ads

14. 15% commission to the agency + creative costs

15. 32% kept by Google

16. $.58 on every dollar actually goes to the end website

17. Bad Business

22. Actual Conversions (enlarged to show texture)

23. $0.000008
Of increased revenue per targeted ad
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

24. #DSSLC @phil_herbert
Return for every dollar spent
Display
$2.63

25. #DSSLC @phil_herbert
Return for every dollar spent
Display Paid Search
$2.63 $3.67

26. #DSSLC @phil_herbert
Return for every dollar spent
Display Paid Search Email
$2.63 $3.67 $44

27. Display is bad for business

28. Brand Damage

29. 1. People hate them

30. #DSSLC @phil_herbert

31. #DSSLC @phil_herbert

32. The most intrusive ad types are the least liked
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

33. 56%
Of internet users have enabled some type of ad blocking
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

34. 67%
Of all 18-24 year olds use ad blocking software
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

35. If you want to reach Millennials
and Gen Z consumers, display
is not the place.

36. 60%
Of all mobile ad clicks are mistakes
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

37. #DSSLC @phil_herbert
68%
Annoyed
22%
Angry
42%
Frustrated

38. 2. People are worried about data

39. 71%
Worried about how brands use their personal data
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

40. Real-time bidding exposes sensitive personal data
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

41. ● Sexual Orientation
● Race and ethnicity
● Survivors of incest and abuse
● Health data
● Eating disorders
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

42. The IAB knew real-time bidding would violate
GDPR before it became law.
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

43. “Incompatible with consent”
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

44. 84%
Don’t want tailored ads once educated about the platforms
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

45. 35%
Think executives should be jailed if data is used illegally
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

46. 3. People think it’s creepy

47. 75%
Of all consumers consider many forms of marketing creepy
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

48. AND THEY WILL ALL
SAY THE SAME THING
Ask your non-marketing friends about a
creepy ad experience

49. RETARGETINGRETARGETING

50. 55%
Of customers will put off purchasing if shown too many
retargeting ads
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

51. 22%
Of customers will choose other brands after a
creepy ad experience
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

52. 11x
Ads on unrelated sites cause customers to be 11x less
likely to purchase
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

53. Is display on brand for you?
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

54. Ad Fraud

55. 77%
Of marketers know ad fraud exists
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

56. 1 in 5
Believe their campaigns are affected
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

57. 1%
What marketers think they lose to fraud
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

58. 20-50%
Ad spend lost to fraud
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

59. 1 in 5
Ad-serving websites are visited exclusively by fraud bots
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

60. Of clicks on Facebook ads come from bots
80%
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

61. Increase in in-app fraud in 2018
800%
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

62. DAILY (!) revenue generated by a single fraud operation
$3-5 million
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

63. $19 billion
Lost to Fraud in 2018
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

64. $44 billion
Lost to Fraud in 2022
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

65. Where are your ads showing
up?

66. Brand with ads that have shown up on ISIS Sites,
Pro Nazi Groups or Child Exploitation Apps
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

67. “We had strict rules to prevent our ads
from serving on sensitive content and
they were not effective as promised”
Spokesperson for Vitacost to Buzzfeed News, 2/22/19

68. These brands preemptively pulled all of their
YouTube ads over recent child pornography reports
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

69. What can you do for your marketing?

70. Mitigate the downsides
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

71. Mitigate downsides
Move away from problematic ad types
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

72. Mitigate downsides
Buy directly from publishers where possible
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

73. Mitigate downsides
Scale back creepy and disruptive content
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

74. Move the Money
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

75. Move the Money
● Paid Search
● SEO
● Organic Social
● PR
● Print, TV, Outdoor
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

76. Move the Money
#DSSLC @phil_herbert
Focus on high ROI channels first

77. Move the Money
#DSSLC @phil_herbert
Contextual, non-disruptive advertising is preferred
by consumers and is more effective.

78. Sell into Stakeholders
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

79. Sell into Stakeholders
Ignore vanity metrics
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

80. Sell into Stakeholders
Nail your attribution models
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

81. Profit
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

82. Profit
Seriously. You will make more money this way.
#DSSLC @phil_herbert

83. Thank You
phil-herbert.com/dtda@phil_herbert#DSSLC