How Consumers Prefer to Receive Advertising - a New Segmentation
A new consumer segmentation analysis from Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI), titled “Responsiveness to Ads Across Media,” categorizes US adults according to the media via which they prefer to receive advertising messages (segment definitions, below).
Some 9% of US adults belong in the “Ads on Emerging Media Vehicles” segment, which has the youngest median age (35.5) among the six segment. They are most interested in advertising delivered via non-traditional media such as mobile devices and product placement in videogames, movies and TV shows.
Ads delivered via mass media are preferred by 17% of US adults. An additional 17% of consumers belong in the “Ads on Paper” segment and are most interested in ads delivered via print.
The most populous segment, at 32% of US all adults, is labeled “Ad Averse”; that is, they are either uninterested in advertising delivered by any medium or have not been exposed to a particular ad platform.
The 9% of US adults who comprise the “Ads on Emerging Media Vehicles” segment are far more likely than the average adult to agree with the following statements (see table, above):
- A celebrity endorsement may influence me to consider or buy a product.
- I’m always one of the first of my friends to try new products or services.
- I follow the latest trends and fashions.
- Brand name is the best indication of quality.
“Consumers who prefer advertising messages delivered through their mobile devices and through product placement tend to be younger, pro-innovation, pro-celebrity and pro-fashion,” said Anne Marie Kelly, VP of marketing and strategic planning at MRI.
Responsiveness to Ads Across Media - Consumer Segments
This segmentation classifies consumers according to their interest in advertising across different media:
- Ads on Emerging Media Vehicles: Members of this segment are most interested in ads delivered through non-traditional media, including mobile devices and product placement in movies, TV shows, and videogames.
- Ads on the Road: Members of this segment are most interested in advertising on billboards, taxis, buses and trains, at bus stops and train stations, and atop taxicabs.
- Ads in Mass Media: Advertising delivered through magazines and electronic media such as TV, radio, and the internet appeals the most to this segment.
- Ads on Paper: Members of this segment are most interested in advertising delivered through print, which they find informative, relaxing and/or inspirational.
- Ads at Events: The advertising that appeals most to this group is displayed at sports or entertainment events and through product placement in movies and TV shows.
- Ad Averse: Consumers in this segment are most likely either to be not interested in or to have not been exposed to advertising in TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet.
August 11th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Why would people ever PREFER to receive advertisements? They wouldn’t. What a waste of money to study this. That’s my comment. Thanks.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I agree with Duane..
August 20th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I’m sure nobody just “wants” to see an ad for the sake of seeing the ad. However, most consumers are aware that advertising is one of the ways in which they discover products, offers, features, discounts, etc…
Advertising that is delivered in a way that is more appealing to the consumer is simply going to be more effective so it makes sense to find out what sort of preferences consumers may have.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Seriously, have any of you ever done research? That’s why they have “ad adverse” in the graph – to represent those that don’t pay attention to ads. Many consumers consider their brands to be part of their lifestyle. Those are the people advertisers want to reach since they can become a megaphone for their own product. That’s why we want to know who prefers what ads where. Not only that, but this is a longitudinal trend research study, so we can track media consumption changes over time among the general population – my guess is that this study has been done before. Great ad folks want more info so they can make decisive, informed and calculated integrated and engaging campaigns. Thanks for doing the research.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
It’s always nice with a new contribution to the never-ending segmentation debate. However, I agree that it’s very hard to trust an individual’s opinion on media and ad exposure ‘preference’. The processing of advertising stimuli at subconscious levels of the brain is far too significant to really rely on consumers to have a preferred medium for ad exposure that can be expressed verbally at the conscious level. Also, the average consumer is likely to have ‘fluid’ preferences depending on factors such as mood and ambience. A media-based segmentation model is probably more of a pragmatic tool helping marketers with some generalizations on consumers who are exposed to various media.