35M People. Gone. What That Means for Your Media Plan.

35 million people. Gone. Simply unaddressable.

That is half the online population in Germany. And in most media plans, they don't appear at all.

Why? Because 50% of all signals are blocked. Restrictive privacy settings directly within profiles on major social media platforms, no consent, ad blockers, Apple iOS restrictions, incognito mode. You think you're dominating the market. The truth is: you're only talking to one half of it. And the other half holds a lot of money.

If you take your job seriously as a consultant or planner, you need to answer these questions now:

1. How many people from the advertiser's product category are in these 35 million?

Run the numbers. If your client's product category has a market penetration of 45%, they are currently losing access to over 15 million potential buyers. At 10%, you lose 3.5 million people. This isn't just signal loss. It is your client's largest untapped revenue source.

2. How many new customers?

How many potential new customers and switchers from adjacent categories are sitting in the signal loss segment and could be convinced to buy your advertiser's product?

3. Who are these users?

People who actively protect their privacy: by turning off tracking directly in their social media accounts, using ad blockers, incognito mode, or Apple IDFA opt-out. They act deliberately and are digitally savvy, make informed decisions, and frequently have above-average purchasing power. Exactly the audience your advertiser would pay a premium to reach. Don't leave these people to the competition.

4. Human or machine?

This is where it gets really expensive. Bot farms don't use ad blockers. Bots always give consent obediently. They want to be tracked – that's how they make money. Which means: in the addressable 50% of the market, all advertisers are bidding on the same impressions, because every advertiser works with the same cookies and identifiers. And in the end, they're paying for clicks from machines. The signal loss segment, by contrast, is human.

These 35 million people are not a technical challenge. They are the largest untouched growth opportunity your client will have in the coming years. 35 million people of incremental net reach.

The CEOs and CFOs of Alphabet, Meta, Reddit, Pinterest, The Trade Desk, PubMatic, Magnite, Viant, Criteo, Omnicom, and WPP have been flagging signal loss as a risk in their investor reports since 2026. The issue has reached the very top of the boardroom.

Put this topic on the table with your advertiser and position yourself as a trusted advisor at eye level – one who gives them a competitive advantage. Show them a solution for these 35 million people before their own CEO or CFO asks the question and your competence comes into question.

Get in touch with us. We'll show you how to reach this audience again – bot-free and with high efficiency.