Digital advertising is experiencing a shift towards a multiscreen world, and despite increasingly available opportunities, user experience tends to be overlooked by brands and their agencies. To better understand this opportunity, Choozle recently conducted a survey to get a better understanding of how consumers felt towards the digital advertisements they see online. Initially, the Consumer User Experience Survey had 688 people respond. Of those 688 people, 39% were bounced due to either not having a smartphone or using an ad blocker. Thus, knocking down the number of respondents to 270 consumers.
The Consumer User Experience Survey conducted by Choozle found some engaging data related to the increase of ad blocking and overall ad sentiment from users.
AD BLOCKING
Ad blocking has been slowly picking up steam lately but this could be a result of marketers’ disregard of speed, relevance, quality and security as it relates to a user’s advertising experience. The Consumer User Experience Survey found that (out of 600 respondents) 53% of respondents reported using an ad blocker, which is in line with other industry reports. To break it down further, respondents aged 30-44 reported the highest use of an ad blocker (62%), and those aged 60+ reported the lowest use (47%).
In addition, the Consumer User Experience Survey shed a light on behavior and engagement towards digital advertising. 41% of users claim they never click on any ads with 19% of users click on 1 in every 10 ads they see. Beyond clicks, 41% of users say they rarely trust that the ads they’re shown are true and 54% of users believe that less than half of the ads they see are true
In the display advertising world, ad blocking is increasing as consumers try to avoid viewing ads they see as intrusive or disruptive to their experiences online. In an effort to thwart this growth, marketers need to focus more efforts on delivering an improved ad experience. The idea is simple: If ads are great instead of a nuisance, fewer people will download ad blockers. As the survey suggests, marketers can do more work during the creative development process as well as strategy execution to ensure that they are thinking about the overall experience for the user which could impact the use of ad blockers.
AD SENTIMENT
A consumer’s sentiment towards digital advertising is a natural precursor to the use of ad blockers. In stark contrast to the marketing of the past, today’s marketers are measured by how much revenue they bring in per dollar spent versus how they made their customers feel. The attitude towards digital advertising and your brand can impact how many ads are clicked on, how they convert, what is working and what is not, is tracked at every level and segment. Based on the Consumer User Experience Survey, 1 in 3 dislike online ads, but most people don’t have strong feelings one way or another—55% reported “neutral”. Additionally, the online ad sentiment varied with age. The older the user, the more likely they were to dislike online ads—44% of users 60+ compared to 28% of users 18-29, did not like online ads. Overall, 81% of users would rather be shown ads on their computer than their smartphone and women tended to have a stronger affinity for online ads than men. Just take a look at why users disliked online ads versus why they liked online ads.
Reasons Why Users Disliked Online and Mobile Ads:
- They slow down the web and mobile page
- The same ad is shown multiple times, regardless of the user’s interest
- They take up too much space on the web page
- They pop up on the screen and block the mobile page
- It’s easy to accidentally click on the ad without knowing
Reasons Why Users Liked Online and Mobile Ads:
- Exposure to new products
- Ads are tailored and relevant to their specific interests
- Saves them money with coupons or sales
- Ads are for products they interested in
- Ads keep apps free
In the Mad Men era of marketing, marketers had no idea how their campaigns were doing. Nowadays, marketers can track how campaigns are performing in real time but we must remember to keep the user in mind. The more advertisements placed with no thought towards user experience, the more challenging it is to gain an interaction. To get the engagement needed from users, there are different ways marketers can improve the user experience in display advertising.
1. Engaging and Clear Creative
In order to create a better user experience, it is important for advertisers to create creative that not only catches the eye of the targeted audience but is also clear on understanding. Each advertisement should have a call-to-action stating what the advertiser is wanting the consumer to do (i.e.: Read More, Download Now, etc.).
2. Better Targeting
Targeting the correct type of audience for your ad is one more step in creating a better user experience for consumers. Take a look at the data and focus on the user who is most likely to engage and convert. Think about excluding customers that have already purchased your product within your retargeting campaign. Or think about only targeting individuals with higher income for the luxury car campaign. This will ensure that your ad falls into the interests of the user and not just another consumer on the internet.
Frequency and Recency
One last step to take to ensure a better user experience is to check the frequency and recency of the ads being displayed. One of the major turnoffs of online advertisements is the same ad being shown over and over in a short amount of time. Get your message across without being that annoying ad that keeps popping up on the side of the screen.
The Consumer User Experience Survey showed great insight into how users really feel about online and mobile ads, while also proving the need for better understanding of the opportunities for marketers to improve experiences for users.
