British marketers? relevant mobile ads are well received: report
As marketers in Britain continue to move away from broadly targeted mobile ad campaigns, consumers say they are more likely to find ads informative and helpful compared to last year, according to a new report from xAd and Telmetrics.
The second annual UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study found that consumers are 76 percent more likely to find mobile ads informative and helpful than last year. Additionally, one-third of respondents reported clicking on at least one mobile ad in the last 30 days.
?The big news is that consumers are really starting to becoming more open to advertising on their mobile devices,? said Sarah Ohle, director of marketing intelligence at xAd, New York. ?Positive associations with mobile ads have risen 76 percent since this study was initially run in 2013.
?This is largely driven by the value that mobile ads are now delivering to consumers,? she said. ?Value can really be anything from free content to time savings to locally relevant messages.
?This improved level of acceptance ultimately results in greater influence over a brand?s target audiences ? and ultimately an increase in its bottom line.?
Of interest
The study reviewed what 2,000 consumers in Britain are doing via smartphones and tablets, capturing preferences and behaviors.
Key findings include that one in three respondents reported they clicked on an ad because it was something they were interested in or looking for.
The importance of geographic relevance, or how close a consumer is to a store where they can actually purchase the product being advertised increased 40 percent since last year.
The findings suggest that marketers and consumers both are gravitating away from untargeted ads in favor of brand messages that are delivered based on an analysis of consumer shopping behavior patters and real-time location, resulting in more personal, relevant and timely ads.
As a result, consumers are clicking on ads more frequently.
Free content
The report predicts that marketers will continue to see an increase in ad engagement as mobile ads continue to improve.
British consumers also reinforced the importance of readily available and easy-to-find business contact information, with a quarter of survey respondents saying that they prefer ads with phone numbers.
Additionally, 41 percent more consumers prefer a free Web site with ads over paying for an ad-free subscription compared to a year ago. This data point suggests that as mobile advertising matures, consumers are becoming more aware of the fact that the revenue generated by ads enables their favorite sites and apps to continue producing free content.
The report also revealed that consumers are engaging in secondary actions with mobile ads, suggesting purchase intent, with post-click mobile shoppers two-times more likely to be looking for a specific location or contact information.
The findings include that 77 percent of users who took action post-click purchased or plan to do so in the near future and 63 percent were looking to do so within the hour.
Additionally, 40 percent of respondents who took secondary actions expected the business advertised to be within 8 km of their current location. This finding underscores the importance of accurate location data in mobile advertising.
?One of the more interesting findings is the clear relationship between secondary actions after clicking on a mobile ad - such as calls and store visits - and immediate conversion,? Ms. Ohle said. ?Consumers who engage post click, are more likely to want to purchase within the day and then ultimately complete a transaction.
?They also have closer expectations for business proximity ? in fact, they?re 36 percent more likely than those who click but don?t engage in secondary actions to expect businesses to be within five miles,? she said.
Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Marketer, New York
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Marketer, New York