Advertiser indifference a threat to mobile ad growth: BuzzCity

• Can no longer afford to work digital channels as independent media
• Consumers have high expectations and expect relevance in mobile ads

MOBILE Internet users have mixed feelings towards advertising – just as many have positive (65%) views of advertising as they do negative (54%), according to mobile advertising network BuzzCity.
 
The report includes a spotlight on mobile users’ attitudes towards advertising, the company said in a statement. About 5,100 respondents across 25 countries were surveyed between Sept 11 and Oct 2.
 
Despite their ambivalence, 79% of mobile surfers claim to use advertising to make purchasing decisions – nearly one in four (21%) use advertising for purchasing decisions daily, and nearly one in five use advertising to make purchases weekly.
 
A quarter overall (27%) feel that advertising is informative, said BuzzCity, which recently released its latest quarterly report on the mobile Internet. About 21% find most mobile advertisements “are offensive and insult my intelligence.”

“The mixed feelings mobile users have towards advertising indicates their high expectations as connected consumers,” said BuzzCity’s chief executive officer and cofounder Dr K.F. Lai (pic).
 
“If there is a threat to mobile advertising, it will be advertisers’ indifference to consumers’ wants. Advertisers can no longer afford to work digital channels as independent media but as an integrated digital approach across devices,” he added.
 
The findings revealed that consumers have high expectations of advertising and feel that they see the same advertisement (ad) too often ( 38%) and that there are too many ads (38%); 19% feel that the ads they see are not relevant.
 
Despite a quarterly softening of mobile advertising, the BuzzCity report noted a 24% year-on-year (YoY) growth of mobile advertising compared with 2013.
 
In Malaysia, for example, mobile advertising on the BuzzCity network grew by some 20% as international value added players intensified promotional efforts, the Singapore-headquartered company said.
 
The section on mobile surfers’ attitudes towards advertising showed the influential role digital media now has on consumers, BuzzCity said.
 
Among traditional media, TV appears to have retained its position as an influencing media on par with the Internet, mobile and online video amongst a quarter of mobile surfers.

BuzzCity recommended that advertisers should not stop at just measuring performance but also develop engagement metrics relevant to their service. Advertisers must look beyond banner advertising to other rich media and video formats to deliver their message.
 
To download the full BuzzCity report, click here.
 
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