Consumers Say They Prefer Targeted to Random Online Ads

April 19, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

Data-driven | Digital | Personalization

DAAZogby-Consumer-Interest-Targeted-Ads-Apr2013Asked whether they would rather see online ads for random products and services or ads directed towards their interests, 40.5% of respondents to a new survey [pdf] chose the latter (targeted ads), while another 27.6% were content to see both. The study, conducted by Zogby Analytics on behalf of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), found only 16.1% preferring random ads, with another 15.8% unsure. Late last year, a study from Ipsos similarly found Americans giving targeted social networking ads a vote of confidence.

Separate results from the DAA survey indicate that 47.3% of respondents are opposed to a law that “restricted how data is used for online advertising, but also potentially reduced the availability of free content such as blogs and video sites.” Still, opposition to such a law is possibly due more to potential reduction of free content rather than restrictions on the use of data: elsewhere in the study, 9 in 10 respondents said that free content like news, weather, email, blogs and videos are either extremely (68.7%) or somewhat (28.6%) important to the overall value of the internet.

Other Findings:

  • 75.4% of respondents would rather get free ad-supported content, compared to 9.3% who would rather pay for ad-free content.
  • Almost 6 in 10 respondents said an online ad had at some point helped them find an offer or product they wouldn’t otherwise have known about.
  • 42.1% of respondents reported having purchased a product because they saw or clicked on an online ad, but that was fewer than the 46.3% who said they had never done so. The remainder were unsure.
  • 1 in 2 said an online ad has ever helped them save money on a purchase or saved them time in finding it.
  • 3 in 4 believe they should be the ones making choices about what sorts of ads they see and how they’re generated, while 11.3% feel the company that makes their browser software should choose, and 9.4% think the government should choose.
  • Identity theft is respondents’ biggest concern about the internet, cited by 38.7%, followed by viruses and malware (33.5%).
  • 61.5% don’t trust the government to trust how internet advertising is delivered, while 17.8% do.
  • 41.1% of respondents believe that if a major internet browser makes it harder for companies to display advertising to users, the impact will be that they will have access to less free content. A similar proportion, though, believe that it either wouldn’t have any effect (27.8%) or that it would result in access to more free content (8.7%).

About the Data: The poll, conducted on April 2-3, 2013, surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults and possessed a margin of error of +/- 3.2% points.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This