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Ad-blocking technology is the latest in a list of concerns for digital marketers, joining the likes of click-fraud and viewability and lack of transparency in programmatic digital puchasing. But Grant Le Riche, Managing Director, Canada for programmatic ad-software company TubeMogul, argues that, when it comes to ad blockers, there isn’t as much cause for alarm.

The ad industry has trust issues.

Canadians are particularly wary of digital ad formats; according to a new eMarketer report, 56% of Canadian consumers believe that digital ads are “not trustworthy.” Only 4% of viewers thought they were “very trustworthy,” the lowest figure for any medium by a wide margin.

Some might see those figures, recall the recent study that found that over 20% of Canadians use ad-blocking technology and think, “Aha! This explains everything!” But we’re not so sure a general mistrust of ads explains the recent hype behind ad-blocking – or their increased adoption.

For those who are unfamiliar, “ad blocking” collectively refers to software that prevents digital ads from appearing on computers and mobile devices. Ad-blocking technology can prohibit both display as well as video ads from appearing.

While the implications underlying ad blocking should concern the entire advertising industry, marketers need not fear: there is more than enough inventory available to offset an uptick in ad-blocking adoption. Globally, ad blocking grew an estimated 41% last year. However, the total number of impressions in Canada available through our platform grew by 275% over that same period.

Also, keep in mind:

• Many premium, broadcast-quality publishers proactively detect the presence of ad blockers and require viewers to disable them in order to view content.
• Most ad-blocking technologies have a “whitelist” of publishers that have created ad experiences that don’t detract from the user experience. While some of these publishers have paid upfront to be placed on these whitelists, it’s possible that smaller media publishers could collaborate and spearhead the creation of an industry trade group to help standardize inclusion.
• Finally, as the quantity and quality of data used for audience targeting improves ad relevance and drives increased engagement, ad blockers’ popularity and prevalence should stabilize.

Recently, ad-blocking fears were escalated with Apple’s announcement that they would allow ad blockers on the iOS 9 operating system. But 88% of time spent by smartphone users occurs in mobile apps – not on the mobile web – which means that the majority of ads will be unaffected. In fact, earlier this week, Apple removed an ad-blocking app that blocked ads within other apps.

It is of course possible that, eventually, a non-invasive in-app ad-blocking app could be created, so it will be interesting to see how Apple and other companies that are highly-dependent on in-app advertising revenue adjust their approach.

As topics like suspicious traffic and viewability remain top-of-mind, advertisers will naturally gravitate towards premium, top-tier publishers that prioritize user experience. The rise of programmatic TV, connected TV, and other non-traditional formats like native and social (which accounted for about 20% of spend through our platform in Q2 2015) will further mitigate ad blocking, since those mediums are less likely to be affected than standard desktop pre-roll.

Finally, and perhaps the most compelling reason why ad blocking should not give cause for alarm: it seems very unlikely that the global publishing community – which exists because of advertiser support – will stand idly by and let this phenomenon threaten billions of dollars and thousands of livelihoods.

Trust us: ad blocking isn’t a big deal.