Commentary
Consumers' And Marketers' Response To Digital And Traditional Advertising
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 9, 2012
New research from Adobe Systems Incorporated, The State of Online Advertising, exposes new insights into the beliefs of both consumers and professional marketers that traditional marketing is still more effective than online marketing. According to the online survey, print magazines and while watching a favorite TV show are the two most preferred places to look at an ad, as rated by consumers and marketers.
Preferred Places To Look At An Ad (% of Respondents) | ||
Media | Consumers | Marketers |
Favorite Print Magazine | 45% | 55% |
Favorite TV Show | 23% | 21% |
Favorite Website | 11% | 3% |
Billboard | 10% | 4% |
Window Display | 6% | 2% |
Social Media | 3% | 2% |
Favorite Digital Magazine | 2% | 3% |
Apps | 0% | 1% |
Source: Adobe Study, October 2012 (Q: Where do you prefer to look at an ad?) | ||
Respondents were presented with 17 statements about marketing and advertisements and asked with which they agree. Two-thirds agreed that a video is worth 1,000 words and that user product reviews are the best source of truth.
Key Findings in Bold:
68% of consumers find online ads “annoying” and “distracting”
Attitude About Online Advertising (% of Respondents) | ||
Attitude | Consumers | Marketers |
Annoying | 68% | 47% |
Distracting | 51% | 44% |
All Over the Place | 46% | 50% |
Invasive | 38% | 36% |
Creepy | 16% | 11% |
Eye-Catching | 14% | 21% |
Clever | 10% | 22% |
Persuasive | 7% | 10% |
Evil | l6% | 3% |
Source: Adobe Study, October 2012 (Which of the following adjectives would you use to describe online advertising?) | ||
“Like” encourages consumers to “check out” a product, but doesn’t translate to sales
Action on Seeing “Like” From a Friend | |
Action | % of Respondents |
None | 35% |
Check out the product | 29% |
I do not visit social networking sites | 20% |
Visit the product's website | 14% |
Visit the product's social media page | 11% |
Like' the product | 5% |
'Comment' on the product | 4% |
Hide that person from your social media newsfeed | 2% |
Recommend the product to others | 2% |
Purchase the product | 2% |
De-friend that person on social media | 1% |
Source: Adobe Study, October 2012 (Which of the following would you do if you saw your friend like a product on social media or social networking site?) | |
Consumers and marketing professionals agree that marketing is valued, strategic to business and paramount to driving sales
Best for marketing and advertising (% of Respondents) | ||
Media | Consumers | Marketers |
Traditional Media: Newspapers / TV Traditional | 45% | 42% |
Family/Friends/Coworkers Traditional | 36% | 27% |
Consumer Forums / Publications Traditional | 28% | 24% |
News Websites Modern / Digital | 9% | 13% |
Company Websites Modern / Digital | 22% | 23% |
Company Social Media Pages Modern / Digital | 9% | 11% |
Industry Publications Traditional | 7% | 18% |
Blogs Modern / Digital | 4% | 9% |
Source: Adobe Study, October 2012 Q40. (Which source is best for marketing and advertising?) | ||
Professional advertising is the most effective form of advertising, 27% of marketers believe that user-generated content is the most popular form of online advertising
Type Of Promotion Most Effective (% of Respondents) | ||
Promotion | Consumers | Marketers |
Advertising Created By Professional Marketers | 36% | 49% |
Consumer/User-Generated Content | 28% | 27% |
Social Media Endorsements | 7% | 7% |
Outdoor/out-of-home advertising | 6% | 3% |
Email Marketing | 4% | 5% |
Paid Search Listings | 3% | 7% |
Source: Adobe Study, October 2012 (Which type of promotion is most effective?) | ||
53% of consumers think most marketing is a bunch of B.S., 53% agree; 44% of consumers feel advertising works better on women than men
Consumers Agree With Following Statements | |
Statement | % of Respondents |
Advertisements should tell a unique story, not just try to sell | 73% |
A video is worth 1,000 words | 67% |
User product reviews are the best source of truth | 67% |
In-Store experiences trump online experiences | 67% |
Television commercials are more effective than online | 66% |
People buy what celebrities wear / like | 57% |
The Super Bowl is the best advertising opportunity of the year | 57% |
Web Banner advertisements do not work | 54% |
Most marketing is a bunch of B.S. | 53% |
Beautiful advertising is more effective | 51% |
Advertising works better on women than on men | 44% |
Online advertising isn't effective | 30% |
No one watches TV commercials anymore | 27% |
All "likes" are good in social media | 22% |
Every brand needs a funny viral video | 19% |
Advertising works better on men than women | 12% |
Source: Adobe Study, October 2012 (Rate each of the following statements based on whether you agree or disagree) | |
N.B. The data points referenced above come from a study commissioned by Adobe, produced by research firm Edelman Berland and conducted as an online survey among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults, 18 years or older, and 250 professional marketers in the United States. Interviewing took place from October 8 to 16, 2012. The margin of error is +/-3% for consumers and 6% for marketers, and may be considered as a benchmark for further exploration.
For additional information and access to the PDF report, please visit Adobe here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.