Marketers are missing a powerful opportunity to engage with consumers and deliver personalised experiences that drive brand affinity through digital advertising.
This is according to global research by Adobe Systems, titled "The State of Online Advertising", which polled consumers and marketers in seven countries across the US, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
The study revealed that a significant portion of consumers (32%) and marketers (21%) feel online advertising is still not effective. Marketers in the US and Europe were the most dismissive of online advertising. Consumer (49%) and marketing (36%) respondents globally believe that banner ads do not work.
"Banners have brought much of the worst characteristics of advertising - being intrusive and manipulative, catching one's eye with hyperbole, and using surreptitiously-captured information - into the digital space," says David C Edelman, global co-leader: Digital Marketing and Sales Practice at McKinsey & Company.
"Consumers realise they are now in control and won't accept it. Yet, beyond banners, there is a lot of online marketing content that consumers do interact with, and the era of creativity to explore what works is just beginning," he adds.
"The best marketers will focus on building their muscles in data to drive relevance, design to generate an experience that makes consumers feel good, and delivery to bring it on-demand. And, as a side benefit, as consumers appreciate those experiences more, they will also value the marketing profession more highly, helping it attract the talent that will drive the right virtuous cycle."
The study also discovered that traditional media, such as print and TV, received higher scores for credibility and effectiveness among consumers and marketers in all regions (traditional media: 94% consumers, 91% marketers; modern/digital sources: 52% consumers, 68% marketers).
Some 42% of respondents in Asia-Pacific were most likely to enjoy TV and print ads, followed by 36% of European consumers and 31% of US consumers. Interestingly, text message ads in Asia-Pacific are not considered annoying by 34% of consumers and 24% of marketers, compared to 62% of consumers and 59% of marketers in the US, and 62% of consumers and 57% of marketers in Europe.
"Digital marketing has created a remarkable opportunity, but it comes with higher expectations from consumers. They expect a story tailored specially for them, a level of trust and transparency with the brands they do business with, and, most importantly, a great experience. Brands delivering anything less will ultimately be ignored," says Ann Lewnes, chief marketing officer at Adobe.
"These survey results demonstrate that we aren't quite delivering on digital marketing's full potential yet. We now have the technology and know-how to target relevant and personalised marketing messaging and media to our customers. Shame on us if we don't deliver on that."
Across all regions, the study also found that one-third of respondents agreed it is valuable when a Web site makes personalised product and service recommendations. Respondents in Asia-Pacific were less concerned than those in the US and Europe about sharing private information in exchange for more personalised and customised experiences online.
More specifically, respondents said they were comfortable with targeted advertising based on their behaviours (US: 74%; Asia-Pacific: 63%; Europe: 71%). However, some actions, like being asked to share personal information such as government-issued ID numbers were viewed as crossing the privacy line (US: 86%; Asia-Pacific: 55%; Europe: 60%).
According to respondents, the marketing profession was consistently ranked as one of the least valuable to society, although the profession is viewed most positively by consumers (24%) and marketers (47%) in Asia-Pacific.
While marketers across the regions (US: 45%; Asia-Pacific: 25%; Europe: 28%) agree that marketing primarily helps inform consumers on brands, products and services, in Asia-Pacific, a significant percentage of marketers think it both educates (15%) and reflects and shapes cultures (14%).
Further, US consumers "like" brands they regularly buy (53%) or that have promotions (46%), while consumers in Asia-Pacific and Europe are more driven to "like" by aspirations and brand personality (40%).
Share