Mobile Advertising Intrusive and Largely Ignored

Smartphone users in the UK consider mobile advertising intrusive, and tend to ignore the ads they see on their phones, according to new research from YouGov, based on a survey of 2,082 smartphone owners from YouGovs quarterly Smartphone, Mobile Internet, eXperience tracker (SMIX).

79 per cent of smartphone users questioned believe that mobile ads are intrusive. Only 5 per cent think they are a good idea and welcome them. 88 per cent of respondents say they ignore ads in applications, while 86 per cent ignore them on the mobile web.

Active responses by smartphone users to ads remain low, says YouGov. 6 per cent click on a link in a text, 6 per cent from an email, 4 per cent from the mobile internet, 3 per cent from an app, and 2 per cent from an instant message. Even fewer users have bought a product or service as a result of advertising – 3 per cent from a trusted text and 1 per cent from advertising on an app.

However, some 27 per cent of respondents agree that they would welcome more advertising if it offered money off deals or special offers. 21 per cent agree that they do not mind ads as long as they are relevant to them. (In fact, while YouGov describes these response rates as “low”, I’m not sure these figures look too shabby, compared to typical clickthrough rates to online ads or response rates for direct mail sent in the post – Ed.)

On a brighter note, awareness of advertising on smartphones in the last three months is high. iPhone users and O2 and 3 customers are most likely to have seen ads – 46 per cent of Apple users, 42 per cent of O2 customers and 40 per cent of 3 customers have received ad messages of some sort.

For smartphone users, the basic banner remains the most recognised format – 87 per cent see them while browsing the mobile internet, and 80 per cent while using apps. When browsing, recommended links to search (63 per cent), rollover banners (51 per cent), and special offers (47 per cent), attract the most attention. While using apps, sponsored apps and games (45 per cent), recommendations linked to apps (44 per cent) and a full screen ad before an app is activated (38 per cent) are the most recognised ad formats.

Embedding ads into applications is the most effective way to get messages to smartphone users – with 33 per cent of respondents recognising placements every time they use an app, and 19 per cent recalling ads on apps they use daily. Apple and HTC users are most likely to have been reached via in-app advertising.

Unsolicited texts, along with advertising in apps, are the main types of advertising smartphone owners remember receiving in the past three months. However, these ads are not acted on by respondents. 64 per cent of Orange, 57 per cent of O2, and 56 per cent of T-Mobile and Vodafone customers have received unsolicited texts from advertisers in the last three months, compared to only 33 per cent of 3 customers. 79 per cent of respondents said that they generally receive these less often than once a month. When asked how they deal with these messages, 53 per cent said that they ignore the message and delete it.

Adele Gritten, head of media consulting at YouGov, says the results of the research highlight the fact that mobile advertising is still an infant channel.
“The findings indicate that marketers and media planners have not got to grips with what mobile advertising can do, and how it might be used as tactical marketing ploy, or as a wider part of the media mix. Those questions have not yet been fully addressed,” she says. “Marketers need to harness the higher level of personal engagement that mobile users have with their handsets to provide them with something truly unique, relevant and interesting. In particular money off deals and special offers will appeal to consumers. Ad treatments must be more relevant and personal, and advertisers have to stop hoping that spam volume alone will drive response rates.”