Media ads are everywhere, so you can’t ignore their existence in the digital world. However, the question is, “Do people enjoy or hate watching media ads?” The majority of marketers around the globe are willing to increase their ad spending. How does that make sense if people don’t like watching these ads? It’s like solving the mystery of the egg and the hen – which one came first in the world? So, we need to determine whether people watch ads because they are everywhere or ads are being created because people want to watch them.
According to recent research from Quantilope, 55% of US adults are willing to get premium subscriptions to skip ads. However, it depends upon the type of ads and platforms. They are likely more inclined to pay to skip ads on some platforms than others. It includes the fact that they might feel different for different ads.
When US adults were asked about print media ads, majority (47%) said that they were indifferent about such ads. The remaining 24% said they enjoy print media ads, while 11% agreed they love them. On the other hand, 13% said they don’t enjoy watching this specific type of ad. At the same time, 6% of US adults hate them.
Surprisingly, the results were the same for different types of ads. It implies that the majority of people were reported to be in favor of the media ads. However, the extent of how much they favor such ads varies for each type.
Adults have the most mixed opinions for media ads of “Audio streaming platforms,” that is, e-books, podcasts, and music. 35% said that they love these ads, while 34% don’t enjoy or hate them. The 34% share of those who hate ads on audio streaming platforms is more than any other medium or platform. Consumers should make up their minds to see more ads on audio streaming platforms as it was declared the fastest-growing medium for digital advertising last year.
As regards social media, where digital marketers are wholeheartedly ready to invest more money, one-third of the US adults (33%) said that they don’t enjoy or hate ads on social media platforms. Surprisingly, 40% of US adults said they enjoy or love watching ads on social media platforms. The remaining 27% don’t have any opinion about the ads on social media.
Now, if we compare the results of “Cable” with “Video streaming platforms,” they almost have a similar share of US adults who dislike them,that is, 31% and 30%, respectively. However, more US adults are indifferent about ads on “Cable”’ (33%) than on “video streaming platforms” (26%). On the other hand, US adults enjoy ads more on “Video streaming platforms” (44%) than ads on “Cable” (37%).
Another surprising result was for the “Websites” as 43% of the US adults said they either enjoy or love ads. 27% enjoy ads while visiting multiple websites and 16% love watching them. Meanwhile, while 30% said they hate website ads, 27% were indifferent.
US adults also have different preferences for media platforms. According to another survey, the majority of US adults (80%) prefer watching streaming videos on Netflix, Disney+, etc., and only 55% prefer radio or cable as broadcast media. The number of US adults using social media is relatively higher. Almost 8 in 10 US adults (79%) said they prefer spending time on social media, 55% reported listening to streaming music, and 35% agreed on podcasts.
What Are the Effective Ways for Marketers to Improve Ads?
Since the number of people who enjoy watching media ads is more than those who don’t, it implies that ads are doing pretty well. But to further reduce the share of people who hate ads, marketers must work harder.
Here are a few effective ways for marketers to improve ads.
Diversity
The ads can be more diverse if marketers include people of different sexual orientations and colors. According to a result, 56% of internet users agreed that diversity in ads matters for them. So, if we start making what people want to see, it will help improve the share of adults who love to watch ads.
User Experience
Marketers must consider the user experience while making ads. If they want the ads to be more relevant and diverse, it can help ads improve on different platforms. It might not improve the performance of the ad, but it would benefit the brand’s reputation in the long run.
Accurate Claims
People would love watching ads they can trust. The brand must maintain consistency to deliver a message through its ads. The brand will retain credibility if the ads claim something accurate and trustworthy.
Wrapping Up
People who love or enjoy media ads are more than those who hate them. It shows that the media are winning clearly. However, the marketers who invest in these ads must try to improve the quality of the ads even more. It would help ensure that the consumers can see ads as something meaningful or valuable that can help them find what they need.
