What happens when high earners opt out of advertising?

The continued rollout of multiple streaming services has made it easier than ever for customers to bypass marketing messages, as they pay a premium to enjoy programming without any commercial interruptions. This poses a challenge for marketers, who remain keen as ever to reach higher-income households: the customers with the most disposable income are those in the best financial position to skip advertising altogether.

This conundrum is poised for a transformation in the marketing landscape as advertisers rethink how to best use their ad spend. As noted by Eric Schmitt, analyst and research director at Gartner, “The people advertisers want to target the most are hiding from the advertisers.”

Audiences ‘buy out’ of advertising

Brands that target the ultra-wealthy aren’t traditionally big spenders when it comes to TV advertising—but the same can’t be said for those that position their products as aspirational purchases. And yet advertisers and media buyers are all too aware that ads are not welcome at the best of times, regardless of their content or audience. Customers will do whatever is within their power to access the content they want without sitting through ad breaks.

What’s more, wealthy customers are more likely to own iPhones, which come with a wider range of digital privacy restrictions as standard than other mobile devices. And while how we even define a ‘high-income’ household in the first place is somewhat arbitrary, in the US at least it’s often delineated...