12 Nov Consumers Declare a Price for Viewing Ads

Whether it’s channel surfing when commercials come on, recording shows and skipping through advertisements, or selecting “Skip Ad” the very second it becomes available online, 50% of Americans report they will do ANYTHING to avoid seeing ads, according to Media Post.

An interesting new report from Razorfish chronicles the digital habits and behaviors of those living in the U.S., UK, China, and Brazil so that marketers can incorporate the results in 2015.

Believe it or not, the four countries varied greatly in their responses to advertising. 83% of Brazilians said that ads give them ideas about things they want to buy, contrasting the 58% in the UK.

One common denominator in this survey is that all countries agreed – advertising works best when it is part of a value exchange. Consumers, now aware of how much their time and attention are worth to marketers, expect to be compensated for watching ads in the way of loyalty programs or free and useful content. In fact, 70% of consumers in U.S. and UK and 77% in China don’t mind viewing ads in exchange for access to content online.

In order to continue to connect with consumers, brands need to engage them and interact with them in ways that they already interact with technology.

Age Matters

Also discovered in the survey is that the advertising industry is not drawing big enough distinctions between Gen X and Millennials. For example 56% of U.S. millennials say their phone is their most valuable shopping tool in-store, compared to 28% of Gen Xers.

image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net