Commentary

Give Consumers Ads They Want To See

by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, January 25, 2010

Consumers want to view ads if you give them the opportunity to pick the ads they view. That's according to one panelist during the "Data if the Name of the Game" panel at OMMA Performance in San Francisco Monday, who also says in the same breath that most consumers don't understand cookies and retargeting ads. Okay, guys, what gives?

1 comment about "Give Consumers Ads They Want To See".

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Josh Grossman from Springpad, January 26, 2010 at 9:49 a.m.
I've written previously that advertising gets a bum rap (http://blog.springpadit.com/2010/01/advertising-is-useful/). Consumers do appreciate advertising when ads are tailored for them, in an unobtrusive way. I think we're still a long way off from relevant ads being shown no matter what web site you're on until advertisers shift the bulk of their dollars to online advertising. Currently, there is just too much ad inventory filled up by banners that don't remotely relate to what consumers would be interested in. It's amazing to me how many AdSonar ads on major websites are for teeth whitening, and smoking solutions. The ideal path that hopefully publishers will go down is reducing the amount of inventory they show in exchange for better, more targeted ads with higher click through rates and usefulness.
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