Ads Annoy Mobile Users in the UK
Mobile users want something in exchange for an ad view
November 23, 2015
UK mobile device users’ primary attitude toward paid mobile placements is not one advertisers will like, according to October 2015 research. More than half called mobile ads annoying and disruptive.
In the polling conducted by Instantly (formerly uSamp), 24% were content to look at mobile ads in exchange for free content, but 9% hoped for something a bit better in exchange, like special deals. Well targeted mobile ads could also help for this group, which was interested in placements for products that were relevant to their interests.
In Germany, too, web users have expressed annoyance with mobile ads. But discontent with mobile ads has not (yet) led to much ad blocking on mobile devices just about anywhere, though rates in Asia-Pacific do dwarf those in Europe and North America.
About two-thirds of UK smartphone and tablet users told Millennial Media in late 2014 that they thought it was fair to see mobile ads—if the apps and websites they were using were free. That was slightly lower than the US rate of acceptance, but higher than in France, where 37% characterized such a tradeoff as unfair.
Unsurprisingly, the best way for marketers to avoid mobile annoyance is to be relevant and try not to disrupt. More than half of respondents to the Instantly survey said they would click on mobile banner ads if they offered services that fit their immediate needs. And nearly half of internet users in Great Britain surveyed separately in October by the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB UK) and YouGov said they were less likely to block ads that did not interfere with what they were doing.
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