Ad blocking seems to have the advertising industry in crisis but there doesn't seem to be a unified plan to do anything about it. Why? If you haven't become addicted to The Marketing Companion podcast yet, this would be a good episode to try it out. Tom Webster and I cover some amazing topics ... with a little humor and fun thrown in the way as well.  In the latest episode, we unwrap: Ad blocking -- A crisis is emerging in the online ad industry. 9 percent of all Internet ads are now being blocked. To make things worse, Ad Blocker is holding the Internet hostage and extorting money to allow ads through to customers -- ads that have already been paid for. Why are marketers playing along with this? Where is the reaction from businesses? We propose that no less than the future of content on the Internet is at stake. An advertising victory or disaster? McDonald's is having problems executing on the "Love" campaign introduced during the Super Bowl. When they actually introduce the idea to customers, it might put them on the spot and embarrass them.  Is it brilliant? Is it the worst marketing campaign in history? Tom proposes a solution: a "pay with hate" campaign. The resurgence of SEO -- Ad agencies report that SEO is hot again. Staffs at many companies have doubled in the past 12 months. Why? I propose this is a natural consequence of Content Shock -- brands are pouring money into content that isn't being seen. Now the cost of content marketing is increasing as brands try to figure out how to get their content to rise to the top. Tom and I debate the budgeting implications of this. Podcasting and brands -- Tom reveals new research on podcasting use, reach and ideas for brands. He points to the reasons for this growth and the implications of companies. Are you ready to dive into this? Let's go: Resources mentioned in this podcast episode: Scott Monty and article in Mother Jones about McDonalds Love campaign Lee Odden and the TopRank blog AdAge article on the resurgence of SEO Jay Baer's Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype Infinite Dial research Please support our extraordinary sponsors. Our content is free because of their generosity.   gShift’s Web Presence Analytics platform provides agencies and brands with search, social and mobile content marketing data in one place. Monitor and report on an entire web presence. Create smarter, faster content through gShift’s proprietary data. Report on the engagement and performance of your content marketing investment. Our podcast is also brought to you by Voices Heard Media. Please check out this tremendous resource for scaling social media engagement. Take a look at building an engaged and relevant audience through innovative new game, analytics, and polling platforms.