When do consumers find digital ads engaging?

Research compiled by eMarketer suggests that digital buyers are more likely to have positive feelings towards ads when they’re receiving free content in exchange – or when the ads are relevant. 
However, consumer tolerance for tech companies who use their personal data is a growing issue of concern, and consumers are looking to lawmakers to set standards about its use.

About 48% of US internet users believe there should be a single national policy addressing consumer data privacy rules in the US, according to an April 2019 survey by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) and Civic Science.

Yet, a majority of US digital buyers surveyed by eMarketer believed viewing ads in exchange for free content online was a fair trade sometimes — depending on the device, site or app — suggesting, as eMarketer notes, that media owners must prioritize user experience.

Many premium publishers are employing a holistic strategy to advertising.

From the eMarketer report:

“We’re trying to take a much more thoughtful approach about this whole concept of context as a larger part of how we think through targeting,” Vox Media’s [Edwin] Wong said. “Yes, we can do targeting specificity around CRM matching. We serve over 4 billion impressions across Concert and our partners annually, so we have a lot of data. But it’s really about thinking through what the planned intent is of the experience for the consumer. It’s about not just people’s passions and interests, but it’s also what the editors actually intended for the consumer.” 

Read more in the report by Nicole Perrin, “Consumer Attitudes on Marketing 2019: Privacy Concerns Mount, and Ad Blocking Isn’t Going Away.”