Personalization promised much for the digital ad industry. Serving up relevant ads tailored to a specific consumer at a particular time and place was bound to be a winner. Not so, say consumers in the UK. According to a June 2015 study conducted by YouGov for Deloitte, internet users in Great Britain generally viewed personalization efforts with disdain.

A survey-topping 66% said they were concerned about the amount of information that companies had about them in order to fuel their personalization efforts. A further 50% said they weren’t happy for companies to use such information in order to offer personalized products.

The survey did offer a glimmer of hope, though, with 48% saying they would be willing to wait longer to receive a customized product or service. And it’s this sliver of enthusiasm that marketers in the UK are hoping to tap into, for they are unrepentant in their drive to make personalization work.

An April 2015 study produced by Edelman Berland for Adobe found that a substantial 39% of UK marketers felt personalization and targeting would be the most critical marketing tactic for the next three years. Even some of the other cited tactics spoke to personalization aims, with big data, mobile marketing and internet of things marketing all making the list.

Marketers are clearly trying very hard to make personalization work; they just need to try even harder if they’re going to convince UK consumers.