Why Consumers Don't Like Your Ads

In today's edition of CMO.com, Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) shared the latest research on the disconnect between how great digital marketers think their advertising is...and how poor their consumers perceive it.  In summary, 58% of the surveyed marketers think they are providing high-value advertising to their consumer.  Only 38% of their consumers agreed.

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The surveyed consumers reported most digital advertising was irrelevant to their needs and lacking customization.  ADI's take was that companies have an "exceedingly instantaneous amount of time (to) demonstrate value to the consumer. Companies are still not built to be able to do that.”

The article records a 42% increase in search spend with only a 11% increase in web traffic.

With all of the online advertising platforms out there, how can this be possible?
With so many search and retargeting tools, it suggests to me:

• Advertisers are pursuing broad filters on the online tools, AND
• Ad creative is not targeted and compelling enough to breakthrough the "consumer-value barrier".

The ADI study was relatively small -- 1000 consumers and 300 digital marketers. But the 20 point disconnect was significant enough to confirm the direction our marketing future is headed.

In the "old days" (less than five years ago), many marketers still adopted the "spray and pray" online marketing philosophy.  This method believed the internet gave advertisers access to larger audiences for less money, so let's tell everyone what THE COMPANY wants the consumers to know and a percentage of them will convert.

With advancements in digital marketing, savvy marketers have embraced the nuance of a carefully crafted message to a laser-targeted audience in both online and offline media.

But today's online consumers are much more sophisticated with a significantly shorter attention span and a hair-trigger desire to click onto the next button.

As appropriate to your product or service, I believe creating a larger quantity of customized ads to smaller audiences can provide higher ROI.  BUILDING LOYALTY with those converted consumers to retain them and make them brand ambassadors is worth every penny.

If you have questions about YOUR digital marketing, please contact The Marketing Muse.