• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 6, 2010

According to the second year of an Opinion Research Corporation consumer preference survey sponsored by Adfusion, consumers are more likely to read and act upon online advertising than they were a year ago. For the second year, consumers say articles that include brand information is the type of online advertising they're most likely to read and act upon, compared to banner ads, pop-up ads, email offers or sponsored links.

Article-based advertising was preferred by 53% of respondents who said they are "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to read and act upon the material, compared to 51% a year ago. Coveted demographic groups are even more likely to express a preference for articles. According to the survey, 66% of people between the ages of 25 and 34, and 60% of those making at least $75,000 per year, say they are "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to read and act upon article-based advertising. Pop-up ads were least likely to be read or acted upon.

In the national study of 1,053 adults conducted in March 2010, survey respondents rated their likelihood to read and act upon five types of online advertising:  banner ads, pop-up ads, e-mail offers, articles that include brand information, and sponsored search engine links.

Consumer Likelihood to Read and Act On Online Advertising (% of Respondents "Very Likely" or "Somewhat Likely")
	% Likely to Act
Ad Tactic	2009	2010
Articles with brand information	51%	53%
Email offers	47	51
Sponsored search engine links	39	40
Banner ads	25	28
Pop-up ads	13	19
Source: Adfusion.com, March 2010

When asked how frequently they conduct Internet searches for products or services they read about in online articles, frequency increased from about 50% a year ago saying they initiate a search "very frequently" or "somewhat frequently," to 57% this year. Younger and high-income people showed a considerable propensity to conduct a search after reading online articles. with 72% of 25-to-34-year-olds saying they were likely to conduct a search for products or services based on an article, up from 66% a year ago. And 70% of those making more than $75,000 per year expressed their likelihood to perform a search - 13 points higher than last year's 57%.

According to ARAnet president Scott Severson, year-two of the online advertising study revealed three critical areas of data for marketers:

• All these areas of online advertising are being received favorably by consumers, which means they are tuning in to marketers' online messages
• A growing and healthy preference for article-based advertising
• Younger and more affluent audiences are receptive to all types of online advertising, and article-based advertising in particular

Severson says the data revealed that other high-potential demographic segments said they frequently conduct searches for products or services after reading about them in online articles, including:

• 65% of respondents with household size of three or more;
• 72% of households with children in the 13-17 age group; and
• 63% of college educated respondents - compared to 57% of the general population.

"We're seeing that article-based advertising rates highest with these important and discerning audiences. Compared to other online advertising options, consumers prefer reading an article, evaluating it, and then deciding to click through for more information," says Severson.

For additional information about the study by Opinion Research, please visit here.