Industry reacts cautiously to forecasts of a media boom
Advertisers have reacted with caution to an industry survey projecting that the entertainment and media industry could be worth as much as £54bn by 2018, warning that around half of all ads still go unseen by consumers.
Martin Pugh, CEO of incentivised advertising start-up, Adpoints said: “Advertisers are racing to keep up with the digital advertising gravy train, but in their haste to take advantage of the opportunity that digital formats offer, they’re forgetting to check if consumers are on board. In recent years the market has been flooded with digital, mobile and video ads, but the latest stats show that around 50% of ads aren’t seen and there’s still no guarantee that people are engaging with them.
“Advertisers have always designed ads to engage the consumer in a creative way that leaves a lasting impression, but in the age of digital, it’s easy to adopt a quantity over quality approach. But these days consumers are savvy, know the value of their time and attention and have begun rebelling by downloading adblockers or simply diverting their attention away from online ads. Alongside that, the threat of non-human traffic and botnets is only amplifying the problem and they’re gaining in intelligence all the time.
To counter this Pugh suggests: “Brands need to look for new ways of reaching people via video and mobile, in a way that is both relevant and advantageous to the consumer. Otherwise, advertisers might find that they’re on a train to nowhere.”