Today’s consumers are advertising savvy; they understand the importance of advertising, and how targeted advertising can provide access to relevant content related to their interests and desires.
Despite ongoing privacy concerns in the industry, many consumers are open and willing to exchange their information for access to that content, but publishers should be cautious about taking advantage of this.
Connatix recently polled more than 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 18+ on their viewpoints around disclosing information in exchange for access to free content. Our findings revealed interesting insights for publishers who are looking to cultivate trusting relationships with their target audience.
Viewers report that they are increasingly comfortable with sharing their data and information if the result is access to relevant content. 49% of respondents noted that they would share information like age and gender identity, and beyond this, we found that 37% of consumers are willing to provide access to websites where previous purchases were made, and 33% would share websites they visited.
When it comes to disclosing more personal information including size of family, height, weight, and address, the number decreases to 25% of people willing to share. A small percent of respondents were willing to get even more up close and personal, with 5% noting that they would be open to sharing their social security number.
While consumers generally have an open mind when it comes to advertising and sharing private personal information, publishers should be wary of not taking advantage of this receptiveness, but rather having a balanced strategy in place. Chris Kane, Founder of Jounce Media, says, “Consumers are smart. They understand that access to content is never truly free, and that without a paywall they will likely need to engage with some form of advertising to access the content they want to see. But at the same time, we can’t take advantage of their willingness to consume ads. It’s important for publishers to have a balanced ad strategy that protects, rather than disrupts, the reader experience."
The first step to ensuring a balanced ad strategy that protects the reader experience is having a team on your side that can help. Connatix's full-stack solution integrates video creation, delivery, monetization, and analytics into one unified platform. Our tech stack can help publishers deliver video experiences with versatile, lightweight, and fully customizable video players and utilize advanced customizations, to create a user experience unique to their site. Our custom reporting tools including access to dynamic dashboards and data-driven contextual and audience insights can help inform content and business decisions to grow video strategies while keeping the consumer in mind.
For publishers, providing access to contextual data can help advertisers make smarter targeting decisions. Contextual insights can suggest articles and videos that will keep readers engaged and on-site longer. Contextual targeting can also help advertisers reach their target audiences in a forthcoming era of cookieless, privacy-first advertising while making brand messages more memorable and effective.
Consumer experience is paramount, and working with partners who can help you design an effective and memorable experience for viewers, in accordance with the IAB Tech Lab's new guidelines, will help you achieve that. This year the IAB Tech Lab updated their Ad Formats Guidelines for Digital Video and CTV introducing new categories, one of them being accompanying content. Accompanying content includes pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, which can expose end users to discoverable content and provides publishers with the opportunity to further engage readers. Publishers can leverage this new category to suggest quality content in the same way social platforms and YouTube do today, without being labeled as outstream. Connatix’s content creation suite can help publishers strengthen their video content strategies by producing more on brand video experiences. From plug-and-play video syndication to customizable templates, publishers can drive user engagement with more video inventory and create more premium experiences for viewers.
The conversation over the value exchange in advertising will march on, and for publishers and advertisers, it’s clear that an open, trusting relationship with consumers is key to success.
To find out more about how publishers can develop balanced ad strategies that enhance the consumer experience, download the full report here.