• by March 16, 2004

Respondents who participated in a Dynamic Logic AdReaction Study said that the appropriate number of ads running over free Web content they were browsing was two per hour on average. The study defined over-content ad formats as pop-ups, out-of-frame ads, and rich media-enabled floating ads. Interstitials and pop-unders were not considered over-content ad formats.

The finding represents the first part of a three-part series of findings from Dynamic Logic's annual AdReaction Study, which evaluates consumers' attitudes toward advertising.

The Study also found that one-third or 32 percent of respondents indicated that over-content ads are never appropriate, even to support free Web content, while two-thirds said that some over-content ads are acceptable.

In addition, when asked what--if anything--bothers them about intrusive ads on the Internet, 70 percent of respondents said there are too many intrusive ads; 58 percent indicated having to close the ads in order to read editorial content; and 56 percent said ads completely blocking content.

The findings suggest that "while so many [Web] publishers have moved to get rid of pop-ups altogether, there is still an opportunity there to address consumer concerns," said Christina Goodman, marketing manager, Dynamic Logic. "It could be by frequency capping or by more sophisticated ad-serving that would lead to less of a negative perception."

The Dynamic Logic research was fielded in December 2003. Respondents were chosen from a database of more than one million people who have completed surveys over the last four years. For the AdReaction study, ultimately, 425 respondents were randomly chosen. Ironically, Dynamic Logic recruits survey respondents in real-time via pop-up ads that Goodman says the firm is attempting to move away from.

Part 2 of the study focuses on consumers' attitudes toward traditional advertising including print, TV, and radio in comparison to online ads, and Part 3 addresses their opinions on specific online ad formats.