According to a recent study, 79% of U.S. consumers find targeted ads “annoying”
Mobile advertising spend is expected to exceed all traditional media types combined by 2020. But consumers have a problem with mobile marketing, and many aren’t optimistic that ads will become more relevant over time, according to a report from Ogury. The technology company, which specializes in mobile journey marketing, released the second portion of its “Reality Report,” a survey in which 139,180 U.S. mobile users shared their views about mobile marketing and data. The survey was also conducted with additional global users.
Despite new regulations, the survey found that mobile users are still concerned about privacy and are unclear about precisely how their data is used by marketers. In the year after implementation of the GDPR, only 8% of consumers claim to have a better understanding of how their mobile data is used by organizations that request it.
“Despite the media publicity and all the similar laws being passed around the world, consumers still don’t understand how their data is being used. They still don’t trust the internet,” write the authors of the report.
The report also found that consumers have an opinion about the channels from which they prefer to receive messages. According to the survey, 82% of global users prefer to receive messages through mobile ads or email, while phone alerts such as texts and push notifications are the least popular.
Looking past privacy and experience concerns, 79% of U.S. consumers are generally annoyed by targeted ads, according to the results of the survey. But the report’s authors note that consumers will respond more favorably to an ad if they deem it useful.
The report notes that mobile users are more willing to provide data to access content than to pay money to access mobile apps and websites.
“If the industry focuses on asking permission from consumers, and gives them a fair choice regarding content access and marketing, not only will this result in more compliant data for marketers to leverage, but it also shifts the advertiser-to-consumer relationship dynamic,” write the authors of the report. “It becomes one of mutual understanding and trust.”
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Katie Powers is editorial content intern at the American Marketing Association.