Sellers Beware!Excessive Ad Exposure May Have Negative Consequences

During the pandemic, people have significantly increased their use of social media and mobile devices as they seek to stay connected and informed. This trend provides growth opportunities for marketers, but it also creates challenges.

Audience positioning company GWI and researcher WARC conducted a new study on U.S. consumers. More than half (52%) of consumers said that excessive advertising exposure is most likely to make them have a negative perception of a brand, followed by is a message that appears next to suspicious content (32%).

40% of consumers claim that they now look at their smartphones every few minutes, and when asked “Which word best describes the ads you usually see…” 32% of consumers said that on TV, social media Advertising in the media and on websites is “excessive”.

In addition, online ads are also considered distracting (31%) and annoying (27%), with only 10% of consumers saying these ads are memorable.

This consumer fatigue with advertising is likely to intensify as people spend more time online due to the epidemic. Research from GWI and WARC highlights that consumers’ patience with heavy advertising is waning, with many people suffering from being bombarded with brand messages.

The level of aversion to digital advertising can further harm marketing campaigns. Of those surveyed, when asked what specific activities they performed after seeing the ad, three in 10 said they deleted cookies from their device; 53% said they had Video ads were skipped during the week; 40% of respondents only watched one video ad.

So what kind of advertising do consumers want to see? Half of consumers want to see ads that provide product information, 40% want to receive deals and discounts, and 39% want to see entertainment ads. Additionally, a third of consumers want ads to teach them something new, and 12% expressed interest in ads related to how brands are responding to COVID-19.

In summary, advertising is necessary, but sellers should pay attention to the proportion of advertising in order to avoid counterproductive effects.