Advertisers Lose Interest In Internet
Consumers are embracing the internet just as advertisers are losing interest, according to research into consumer attitudes towards online advertising.
Research, commissioned by Starcom IP and carried out by e-hauck, reveals that consumers are more and more comfortable using the internet as part of their daily lives, but are disappointed at the lack of sophistication and invention displayed by advertisers within the medium.
The study shows that advertisers have displayed hesitancy towards the internet following the collapse of the dotcom boom and the wide publicity given to falling banner click-through rates. This, says the report, has led to the online advertising market growing at a rate far below that expected and to profit warnings for leading online publishers such as Yahoo, whose business models depend on online advertising revenues.
According to Starcom, the obsession with the click-through rates has made the industry blind to the opportunity represented by the continued growth of internet usage.
Director of Starcom IP, John Owen, said; “Everyone keeps going on about how online advertising isn’t working, but no-one has thought to get the opinion of the people who really matter- the internet users themselves. So we though we’d ask them.”
The research, which balanced the views of consumers with those of marketing heads from companies including; Nike, Argos and Barclaycard, concluded that most online advertising is failing not because of the deficiencies of the medium, but because of a deficiency of ideas.
Associate director of e-hauck, Katie Collins, said: “Our study tells us that people want to be engaged, entertained and involved. But most digital advertising is dull, it’s just trying to sell stuff. 89% of people agreed that currently the point of online advertising is to get them to click on the ads, and its not giving them anything back. This leads to a high level of disappointment, but when an ad does entertain or it’s relevant, they are receptive to it and claim that it does influence them.”
She added: “Advertisers look at the situation and say: ‘online advertising isn’t working, lets give it up.’ Consumers are saying: ‘You’re wrong. Don’t stop advertising.'”
Starcom Motive: 020 7453 4444 http://www.starcomip.co.uk
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