Consumers Turning Off from Digital Ads

Digital/Online

February 24, 2012 -- A new report from YouGov, commissioned by mobile marketing firm Upstream, finds that consumers feel there are too many digital ads, and that they are too pervasive.

 

The inflation of global advertising impressions over any digital device are up from 172 billion in 1996 to over 5 trillion today, resulting in click through rates going from  an average of 7% in 1996 to less than 0.1% today (Source: comScore).  

Surveying 4,150 consumers across the US and UK  (2,105 US and 2,054 UK), the results show a strong indication that the majority of consumers surveyed feel they are reaching a marketing saturation point.  

Key findings:

 

• Two-thirds (66%) said that they got bombarded with too many digital ads — online and on their mobile devices.

 

• An equal number, 66%, said their perception of brands changed when felt their promotions became too invasive.

 

• When asked about what their response would be to a company sending advertising and promotional messages too frequently:

• Two-thirds of all respondents said they would ignore, delete, or unsubscribe;
   
• 28% of US and 32% of UK respondents said they would be less likely to ever respond positively to a message from the company in the future; 
   
• 20% US and 27% UK respondents said that too frequent advertising or promotional messages would result in them not using the product from the brand in question completely;
   
• 10% would complain online via Facebook, Twitter, or the likes.

 

• The age group which feel most overwhelmed by digital advertising are those age 55+. The results show that 75% of US and 74% of UK older adults feel they are subjected to excessive numbers of promotions.  Among young adults (18 -34 year olds),  44% of US and 59% of UK feel digitally bombarded.

 

• The research findings show that 69% of adults in both countries are open to receiving marketing messages via digital channels from brands they are interested in -- if it is not too often. The results indicate that in most cases, consumers ask to be targeted no more than once a month.

 

• Approximately one-quarter (23% US and 24% UK) said they receive about the right amount of digital advertising and promotions.
   

The research also shows consumers today are using a range of digital devices to access multiple digital channels, with 80% of US and 77% of UK consumers using more than one device to view electronic messages.  Additionally, text-based promotions over different channels – SMS promotions (52%), email marketing (42%) and ads in mobile apps (37%), have been identified as the preferred method of advertising communication by consumers.

About: This UK survey was conducted using an online interview to administered members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 350,000+ individuals. The US survey was conducted using an online interview to administered members of the YouGov Plc USA panel of just over 1 million individuals. Panelists for both were selected at random from the base sample according to the sample definition. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry accepted data.

Source: Upstream/YouGov, 2012 Digital Advertising Attitudes Report, February 2012.