When you think about the last digital advertisement you saw, was it relevant to your interests at all? Digital ad spending is on the rise and is projected to account for 43.5% of advertising investments in 2018. By 2020, digital’s share of total advertising will near 50%.
CivicScience conducted a poll to 1,813 respondents asking just how relevant they would rate the majority of the digital ads they are shown compared to their personal interests.
If you work in marketing or advertising, the results are unsurprising. 73% indicate the ads they see are overall not at all relevant to their interests. About ¼ say they are at least “Somewhat relevant,” and a jarring 3% say “Very relevant.” So, what’s the deal?
Digital Ads Have an Edge with Younger Generations
63% of those who consider the majority of the digital ads they see very relevant to their personal interests are Millennials. Marketers should jump for joy, but hey, this is likely because this group is on social media more than other age groups, which is a better way to target people with ads based on behavior:
Here’s the breakdown looking at social media usage crossed with ad relevance:
The longer one spends on social media a day, it seems, the more relevant they will find digital ads. But of course, the more the machine knows about you, the better they can target you with ads of brands you are already after or which are similar to your taste.
Relevant Digital Ad Viewers Don’t Have Spending Power
It’s worth noting that the group that finds ads completely relevant may not have the spending power a brand or advertiser desires. In fact, the results of the poll show the more relevant an ad is to someone, the less money they have:
The main takeaway from this study should be: it’s increasingly difficult to get digital ads right most of the time. Social media is likely the ticket to do so. But even then, digital ads may not be on the radar of those with the spending power. And while this, again, may just be preaching to the choir of what you already know to be true about getting digital ads right; let it fuel your fire.
