Thursday, March 20, 2014

Surprise! Consumers Prefer Big, Interruptive Web Ads

The online ad industry might want to rethink its trend toward native ads that fade into the background of Web pages. Consumers, as it turns out, prefer in-your-face ads that take over their computer screens, at least according to a new study on high-impact ads reported in AdWeek. The study, conducted by Ipsos ASI on behalf of Undertone, surveyed more than 3,000 panelists last September, examining a slew of the home-page takeover-type units and comparing their impact with standard banners. The take-over ads became popular a few years ago as Web publishers sought bigger brand budgets. Although these intrusive ad types may be favored by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Online Publishers Association, they are now out of vogue with many advertisers, who are gravitating toward native units that look and feel like Web content. Surprisingly, it was the big, interruptive ads that received likability scores 30% to 49% higher than standard display units in the Undertone study. People were 90% more likely to agree that these full-screen units are "an ad people will talk about" compared to other display ads, and 86% found them to be more entertaining. Similarly, respondents were 79% more likely to find these ads "unique" and 78% more likely to credit these ads with "making me want to learn more about the product or brand." For the full story, go to http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/people-prefer-big-interruptive-web-ads-155165

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

65% of E-mail Opened First on Mobile Devices

More than half of all e-mail — a full 65% — is now being accessed via mobile devices, according to the "U.S.  Consumer Device Preference Report: Q4 2013" from Movable Ink. Of the 65% of e-mail opened on mobile gadgets, smartphones took the lion’s share of messages. Around 16% of messages get opened on tablets. Although data shows these messages don’t get more than a few seconds of readers’ attention, iPhone users are more likely to devote at least 15 seconds; about 38% of iPhone users spent 15 seconds or more viewing each message, compared with 35% of Android smartphone owners who report spending 15 seconds or longer per message. The latest data inspired Movable Ink Cofounder and CEO Vivek Sharma to declate that "we are in the midst of a mobile takeover." For more data from the report, check the VentureBeat story at http://venturebeat.com/2014/01/22/65-of-all-email-gets-opened-first-on-a-mobile-device-and-thats-great-news-for-marketers/