The news: Identity resolution in digital advertising is in a rocky state. Sweeping changes to ad technology and privacy regulations have made it difficult to effectively reach customers. And according to a survey from parcelLab, consumers are taking note. Forty-nine percent say they’ve been incorrectly targeted for ads.
By the numbers: The damage doesn’t stop there. Consumers who feel they’re incorrectly served an ad often respond intensely.
- Of that 49% who said they received incorrect ads, 42% immediately unsubscribed from the brand’s content.
- 24% went so far as to block the brand on social media.
Responses also showed that current ad solutions are failing to identify even the most basic aspects of a consumer’s profile:
- 28% of respondents said they were served an ad for a product that was not age appropriate;
- 28% also said they were served an ad for a gender they do not identify with.
What this means: Consumers are already not receptive to ads, and the state of digital advertising is only making things worse.
- But despite this, digital advertising is a booming industry and consumers are about to be served more ads online than possibly at any point prior: US programmatic ad spending will reach $123.2 billion in 2022 and $141.96 billion in 2023.
- Digital ad revenues also increased 35% last year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. That huge increase in spending is driven by the rapidly expanding channels available to advertisers.
- Every industry from streaming services, to game publishers, to retail brands, and beyond want a slice of the digital ad pie, but as those industries take the plunge into developing advertising platforms, they should also be mindful that badly implemented solutions can seriously alienate consumers.