Bluesky-Walter Graff Weblog

Revenue Science, Inc. announced the results of a study on consumer receptivity to online advertising, conducted by JupiterResearch, that found that more online consumers are consistently more receptive to behaviorally targeted ads than to contextual advertising, outperforming contextual by as much as 22 percent in some categories.

Marla R. Schimke, vice president of marketing at Revenue Science, said : “This study… reaffirms our belief that Internet users favor advertising relevant to them personally…”

Schimke concludes that the research shows behavioral targeting is the solution to maximize a limited opportunity to move consumers through the purchase funnel.

For advertisers, the study shows that behavioral targeting outperforms contextual advertising in terms of consumer attention by at least 10 percent across 14 major product categories, from Financial Services to Consumer Electronics to Pharmaceuticals to Fashion and Style.

Specifically:

* 17 percent more online purchasers of computing products are more receptive to behaviorally targeted ads
* 18 percent more online auto purchasers are more receptive to behaviorally targeted ads
* 20 percent more online telecom purchasers are more receptive to behaviorally targeted ads than to contextual ads

“With behavioral targeting, marketers will be more effective in reaching both a higher value audience and the overall audience of online shoppers,” added Schimke.

I believe the same rule applies in television advertising. If you’re watching TV and see a bunch of ads, but none relates to you or to what you are looking for, then they are like web ads that have little to do with your life, useless. If an ad doesn’t relate to peoples lives and make some pertinent emotional connection, all the humor, cool themes, and cool music will not get your point across as easily and as simply as making a connection to peoples lives. It’s no wonder why folks scan through commercials in some instances. Like visiting a website, it’s just a bunch of pictures that don’t ring a bell, or make a connection and so you’d rather block ads than see them, or in the case of television, skip through them. Could it be that folks skip through ads that mean little to them because the ads are presented in a away that doesn’t relate to them, their life, or their lifestyle? I know I skip for exactly that reason.

http://www.revenuescience.com/site/media/press-releases/2007/20070912.asp