The Blog on Branding

The Age of Online Advertisements: What We Want to See

Believe it or not, the average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day! From billboards to commercials, bus ads to print ads, online pop-ups to street flyers, we unconsciously see many, many more (whether you like it or not). But let’s stick to online advertisements: the average person spends anywhere from 1-4.5 hours on the Internet each day, so while you’re surfing the web or checking your e-mail, how many online ads do you see? Hundreds!

Just think about the pop-ups that don’t get blocked, or the Facebook and MySpace ads stretched down either side of your profile page. Even on your favorite website, nothing is stopping that annoying, interactive, blinking and flashing banner on the top of the screen.

But they’re there because they work. Let’s take a look at how effective these ads can be when we give the people what they want.

Judging Clickability

After we see an ad, what compels us to click? A study by LightSpeed Research (pdf) outlined in the article, Online Ad Preferences Vary by Age: Discounts Appeal to Everyone, compares online advertisement preferences between various age groups. Of course everyone wants an ad that is relevant and useful because if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t click on it.

Consumers want advertisers to understand their needs and ultimately provide a solution. The difference in preference arises when an ad is either entertaining or gives you money off. The younger generation (18-24) will pay more attention to an ad if it is entertaining, while older Internet users (45-54) could almost care less, seeing how there is a significant 12% difference in preference.

Discounts are also important when judging how successful an advertisement is. The studies show that all generations are looking for advertisements to offer discounts, but 18-34-year-olds rank the highest in preference at about 40%, while 35-year-olds plus are about 10% less likely to pay attention to an ad if it gives discounts.

The difference is not huge, but during these difficult economic times, it may not be that older people don’t want to save money, but that they are less likely to even consider luxury purchases when bills, mortgages and car notes are factors concerning their disposable income. On the other hand, those younger than 35 don’t have as many obligations and are in a very mobile stage; either still living at home or in college, or they may just be starting their careers so they are more willing to view an ad with a discount and be attracted to purchasing.

New Generation of Online Advertisements

Traditional types of media such as sponsored links, banners ads and emails are not completely out of the marketing mix because people are attracted to relevant search results to give them exactly what they are looking for. Search results also generate click-throughs by sparking some interest causing people to scan and browse an advertiser’s web page. But nowadays a simple “Click Here” is not enough.

Web surfers want to see blinking and scrolling, video seeding, audio and interactive games! All this in efforts to keep the consumer interested and entertained.

“This information is not specific to any age group; it is an average of all respondents from Figure 1.”

New forms of online advertising, like the use of sound, video, and *free Facebook gifts, are finding their place primarily in the young adult population (18-24-year-olds) while emails tend be more effective in those over the age of 25. Think about it, this data makes sense. The 18 to 24-year-old age bracket generally attend a university or college and have access to a computer, whether they are at home or on campus, and take advantage of social media networks, which give them the opportunity to be exposed to the posted advertisements. For example, Facebook started as a college social network to connect with other students attending their prospective institutions. Now, anyone can belong to Facebook, as long as they are categorized into a network; therefore, Facebook can create and market their ads to those who do not go to college or universities, but are still between the ages of 18 and 24.

On the other hand, emails generally reach an audience over the age of 25 because this population bracket is generally looking for future career paths, taking advantage of opportunities, reaching personal goals, acquiring banking accounts, accumulating expenses, paying bills, and so on, which exposes them to email advertisements and even spam. 34% of those between the ages of 25 and 34 say they have seen and sometimes clicked on an ad from an email.

*Branding Facebook gifts??

Advertisers aren’t only buying Ad space on Facebook, but branding free Facebook gifts. When you log into Facebook, the news feed updates you on upcoming events and birthdays, and then Facebook recommends giving him or her a free promotional gift, which are offered in limited supply. These gifts are are usually little cartoon trinkets like stuffed animals, a birthday cake, or bouquet balloons, but now it may be a box of Skittles Gum linked to a sponsored fan page or even a High School Musical DVD linked to its corresponding website.

Marketers are now educating themselves on this new wave of technology to find smarter and more innovative ways to penetrate the market!

Robin Miller Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.