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Publishers must accept responsibility for personalised ads, says Guardian Media’s Tim Gentry

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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

April 2, 2014 | 2 min read

Tim Gentry, revenue director at Guardian News and Media, has said that when it comes to online advertising and the growth of personalised ads appearing on sites, publishers should accept responsibility to “honour the trust that people invest in us when they spend time with us”.

Speaking on a panel around personal advertising at Advertising Week Europe, Gentry said that publishers should adopt a more “nuanced, conscious way of having a relevant experience for users.”

He added: “We need to make sure that we learn from consumers and treat them with respect. It is as much about creating a beautiful ad experience as a relevant one.”

Colin Strong, managing director of market research institute GFK UK, who also spoke on the panel, said that changing consumer attitudes to advertising and the increase in ad blocking means that new thinking is needed in the industry.

“We are seeing consumers are concerned. The 'creepiness' factor is a big issue - 69 per cent [of 1000 surveyed by GFK UK] find it creepy the way some companies use information about them,” he added.

Sacha Bunatyan, chief operating officer of Dentsu Aegis Network's trading desk Amnet UK, blamed the increase of consumer ad blocking on the creative industry and said it does not pay enough attention to online advertising.

“Very little has been brought in from the creative side… part of the solution is that the adverts are better and more engaging.”

Also speaking on the panel was Adam Freeman, chairman, Media Business Course and Tim Abraham, director data and audience for Xasis EMEA.

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