BURST! Media Study: Online Ad Clutter Can Negatively Impact Brands
Over One-Third Will Abandon a Site with Too Many Ads
Burlington, MA (May 26, 2004) - BURST! Media, an Internet ad services company, has found that for a majority of online users there is a low tolerance for more than two advertising units per web page and that users have a less favorable opinion of a marketers product or service when their advertising appears on a web page perceived as cluttered.
BURST! surveyed over 3,100 Internet users to better understand how clutter impacts the web users Internet experience, and its impact on their perception of advertisers. The BURST! survey focused solely on advertisings contribution to perceived site clutter. That is, it did not examine the impact site design or content may have on the web users experience.
Among the findings:
Low Tolerance for Clutter:
The BURST! survey found that web users accept advertising on a web page. However, the findings show that for a large majority (60.9%) there is low tolerance for more than two advertising units per web page. In fact, one-third of web users (34.2%) say they will tolerate a single advertisement per web page, and another one-quarter (26.7%) of respondents say they will tolerate two advertisements per page. Interestingly, men are slightly more tolerant of multiple advertisements on a web page with 29.3% saying that three or more advertising units on a web page is acceptable - compared to 23.3% of women.
Brand Favorability at Risk:
The most resounding finding from this survey is the negative impact advertising clutter has on consumer perception of advertisers products and services. One-half (51.2%) of respondents say they have a less favorable opinion of an advertisers product or service when their advertising appears on a web page they perceive as cluttered.
Women are slightly more likely than men to say that clutter negatively impacts their opinion of an advertiser, 53.6% versus 48.8% respectively. Additionally, clutters negative impact on consumers opinions increases as a respondents age increases. Whereas, only 40.7% of 13-17 year olds, and 43.1% of 18-24 years olds say clutter has a negative impact on their perception of an advertiser, fully three out of five respondents 45 years and older say clutter had a negative impact on their feelings toward an advertisers product or service.
Perceived Clutter Causes Site Abandonment:
More than one-third (36.8%) of respondents say they immediately leave a site if it appears cluttered. This finding is identical for men and women as well as all income segments. Among age segments, nearly three-quarters (72.4%) of respondents under the age of 24 years say they will stay on a site they perceive to be cluttered - while only half (50.0%) of respondents 55 years and older stay on a site they perceive to be cluttered.
Message Effectiveness Deteriorates:
Fully three-quarters (73.4%) of respondents who remain on a site they perceive to be cluttered say they pay less attention to advertisements appearing on its pages. This finding is consistent for men and women and all income segments and slightly less for respondents under the age of 18 years.
Clutter diminishes the effectiveness of advertising messages and can negatively impact consumers brand perception. As clients and agencies plan media, they must recognize that clutter is a hidden cost that will impact not only the effectiveness, but also the return on the media dollars spent, says Chuck Moran, BURST! Medias Market Research Manager. Advertisers should choose web sites that have a reasonable number of creative units per page and avoid sites where messages will have to battle for consumers attention. Just as importantly, consider the relevance of advertising messages to the sites content and target audience.
BURST! Media is an Internet ad services and online ad sales rep company that delivers more than 2.4 billion advertising impressions for over 2,000 web publishers every month, BURST! reaches 1 in 4 people online and is the 20th largest online media property in terms of unique visitors and reach* making it one of the largest online ad companies in the U.S. By providing thousands of web publishers with tools and expertise from ad sales to email newsletter tools and community forums for learning, BURST! helps publishers generate sustainable revenue. The company, founded in 1995 and based near Boston, also markets AdDesktop, a competitively-priced, ASP ad management solution that helps web publishers securely target, serve, track and report the performance of online advertising campaigns.
*(according to comScore Media Metrix)
CONTACT:
George H. Simpson Communications
(212) 309-9068
georgehsimpson@att.net
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