Extensive Consumer Research Defines First Set of the Most Objectionable Ad Experiences
The Coalition for Better Ads today recommended that brands, ad agencies, and publishers in North America and Europe voluntarily retire six desktop and 12 mobile advertising formats that fall beneath the threshold of consumer acceptability and which correlate highly with consumers’ willingness to block ads.
The recommendations, part of the initial set of standards developed by the international marketing and media industry alliance formed to improve consumer experiences on the advertising-supported Internet, are based on comprehensive research in which more than 2,500 consumers ranked 104 ad experiences for the desktop web and mobile web that were presented to them while they read online articles.
The desktop ad experiences that rated the lowest among consumers and correlated most highly with consumers’ propensity to adopt ad-blocking software are pop-up ads, auto-play video ads with sound, prestitial ads with countdown and large sticky ads at the bottom of the page. For the mobile Web environment, the least favored ad experiences are pop-up ads, prestitial ads, ads with density greater than 30%, flashing animated ads, auto-play video ads with sound, poststitial ads with countdown, full screen scroll over ads, and large sticky ads. For additional information about these and all other ad experiences tested, as well as the supporting methodology, please visit the Coalition’s research page.
“As an industry, we have a responsibility to find better ways of making great advertising and content that really engages people. It’s in everyone’s interest; better advertising leads to a better experience for the viewer and more effective advertising for brand,” said Keith Weed, Chief Marketing Officer for Unilever. “The work of the Coalition to identify consumer preferences around ad formats will be a highly useful and insightful tool for the brand builders, advertisers and advertising agencies who are working to improve the quality advertising for the viewer while driving effectiveness and efficiencies for the brand.”
Research to Improve User Experience
Least Preferred Desktop and Mobile Ad Experiences
Retired Six Desktop and 12 Mobile Advertising Formats
