Online consumers' attitudes and behaviour

Amy Kean, senior PR and marketing manager, Internet Advertising Bureau and Marc Dautlich, technology partner, Olswang

For years in the advertising world we’ve talked about “putting the consumer first”. What once may have been simple lip service to make us marketers appear to have our audience’s interests at heart, is now an incredibly significant concept. As online becomes more about the internet user and ads become more targeted, it’s never been more important to consider and respect consumers in order to keep digital marketing popular, and effective.

With various social media properties amplifying the voice of the general public, if consumers aren’t happy then sooner or later you’ll know about it. As an industry we have a genuine responsibility to keep them informed of new marketing techniques.

Dispelling the myths

Many myths surround the practice of online behavioural advertising, with the phrase ‘Big Brother’ commonplace amongst the misinformed commentary ever since OBA emerged. Tall tales of Minority Report-esque scenes depicting greedy advertisers stalking unwitting consumers are unfounded, yet in its early days, OBA was an easy target for those who did not understand the technology that facilitates it. But what do real people really think about targeted or interest-based advertising, and do they even care?

A study in 2009 conducted by Coremetrics found that marketers currently misunderstand consumer attitudes towards online behavioural advertising. The survey revealed that two thirds of UK advertisers believe that consumers are not happy to be targeted in this way, and almost half felt that consumer opinion towards behavioural targeting is so negative that the marketing tactic needs to be renamed with a less aggressive sounding term. At the same time, the survey found that 45% of consumers felt behavioural targeting brought offers and promotions to their attention, whilst 35% thought it helped them to discover new and relevant products. Such results prove just how essential it is to incorporate consumer research into their views on the practice of OBA, and then tailor our communications and offerings accordingly to avoid any future backlash towards this type of marketing.

IAB Online Behavioural Advertising research in partnership with Olswang, 2009

In September 2009, the Internet Advertising Bureau in partnership with law firm Olswang carried out a landmark quantitative study into online behavioural advertising.

Enlisting research company Basis, they conducted research using a nationally representative sample into consumer opinion and behaviours including general trust in the internet, feelings towards online privacy and how much information consumers currently share online in order to provide us with a bigger attitudinal picture. Quotas were also set on hours spent using the internet for personal use to get a good mix of light, medium and heavy user.

The results confirmed what we’ve all been expecting throughout our marketing careers, that consumers are relatively indifferent to advertising. They would rarely seek out branded content and few could describe themselves as ‘fans’ of online ads, but make sure they don’t have to pay for content, and provide marketing messages more relevant to their interests and in the main they’re much happier folk. Currently there is a lack of general knowledge surrounding online behavioural advertising accompanied by a moderate level of public appeal, however the study found that there is strong potential for greater acceptance given wider consumer education. Quite predictably, those who are more acquainted with the internet, for example heavy internet users and the younger demographic are more trusting of online, and marketing methods such as OBA.

The sections that follow, whilst undeniably statistic-heavy, present a thought-provoking and thorough picture of where the land lies in terms of consumer opinion, wants and needs, and present us with some important conclusions for the industry.

Do people trust the internet?

Many of us remember those early days of online which were dogged with tales of SPAMMING, phishing and pharming, but confidence in the internet has increased dramatically as consumers understand the extent to which their data is protected. So in short, yes, people today do trust the internet. When asked if, compared to five years ago, they trusted the internet more (in terms of it being safe and secure) 50% agreed that they did, with only 4% of respondents stating that they trusted the medium less. Unsurprisingly, the younger demographic (16 – 24 year olds) were far more comfortable with the internet, with 65% of this group claiming to find the internet more safe and secure than 5 years ago.

Sharing personal data with other sites

Most people have shared personal information via these sites so are familiar with doing this online – although lighter internet users were less likely across the board to have provided information


In fact, 90% of respondents in the study have shared personal data with at least one type of website, with shopping sites (73%) and banking sites (71%) being the most popular. Even for the relatively new social networking sites, almost a third (28%) of people had shared personal information, and were comfortable doing so. Displaying an overwhelming trust in the internet of today, only 1% of people believed that personal data either on their own computer or that shared with other suppliers was not at all secure, compared to 94% of respondents who were happy to share personal data online.

But do people like online ads?

Once again a look at the history books tells us that the early days of online weren’t so great for building the reputation of online advertising. For those not immersed in the industry it’s easy to revert back to images of dastardly pop ups and intrusive irrelevant ads that were served when advertisers and agencies were still finding their feet in digital creativity. Whilst 30% of respondents stated that they didn’t like online advertising at all, what the study revealed was a general feeling of indifference to ads online, possibly due to the fact that they have now become part and parcel of our surfing experience. Whilst 46% felt some positivity towards online ads around a quarter of people (24%) neither like nor dislike internet advertising.

However, once you delve slightly deeper into consumer attitudes there exists a significant correlation between those who like online ads and those who feel internet advertising is relevant to them. The graph below illustrates that those who feel they are exposed to relevant ads are more likely to hold them in a more positive light.

Relevance of current online ads

Strong correlation between likeability and relevance, with those who dislike advertising being the least likely to see any relevance in what they see. Just over a third of respondents believe they are currently being exposed to relevant advertising

Which paves the way for Online Behavioural Advertising…

As discussed earlier, it’s essential for OBA practitioners to be aware of the consumer understanding and acceptance of this type of advertising, not only to make sure your ads are likely to be effective, but also as a customer service exercise. The IAB and Olswang research investigated awareness, reactions and general levels of appeal of OBA, as well as how much control they would like over targeted advertising online. As expected, there were varying degrees of knowledge about OBA, however the results showed that the more people knew about it and the more they knew about their online choices, the more comfortable and receptive they were to being served ads based on their interests and anonymous surfing behaviour.

• General knowledge was low, with 72% of respondents claiming to be unaware of online behavioural advertising.

• However this increased to 46% when they were given a prompted explanation and example suggesting that education is key in this area.

• Awareness was mixed, with 38% of people having actually noticed (or thought they noticed!) OBA taking place.

• Whilst around the same amount (35%) stated they had never noticed being served more relevant ads.

Among those who had heard of OBA there was a good level of comprehension, with the majority able to accurately describe the concept, an interesting finding here was that definitions and responses were, on the whole, unemotional – they were aware of the facts and were satisfied with what took place. In fact, when the process of OBA was explained to respondents in more detail almost a quarter (23%) found the concept appealing.

But online behavioural advertising doesn’t exist without negative connotations attached to it, and it’s important to recognise these in order to inform future communications and that a further job needs to be done to educate consumers.

Of those who found OBA very unappealing (20% of respondents) reasons included that it feels invasive, that people are concerned that personal data will be stored permanently without their knowledge, and also that other companies would somehow have access to their personal data. All of which are (understandably) misinformed and need to be addressed as the industry moves forward.

The need for education

What the study found is that when people become more educated about online behavioural advertising, they find the process far more appealing. Just 22% of respondents were aware that – in the vast majority of cases - no personal data is collected or stored for OBA. Once those surveyed were informed that this was the case, the level of appeal increased, with 38% finding OBA more appealing. When asked whether they would prefer OBA as opposed to non-targeting ads, the responses were polarised, with 27% of people opting for OBA whilst 17% preferring non-targeted ads.

So what sectors would consumers most like to receive advertising on, based on their previous surfing behaviour? The more ‘leisurely’ and less personal categories appeared to come out on top, with holidays and entertaining receiving the most interest, as shown in the graph opposite.

Interest in targeted ads by product type

There is most interest in receiving targeted advertising on the more leisure centric areas – holidays, entertainment and clothes, although frequent & functional items such as groceries and personal care products are also popular

The importance of consumer empowerment

Consent was found to be a very important factor for consumers within the realm of online behavioural advertising, and rightly so. One of the key objectives for the IAB’s Good Practice Principles, discussed later in this document, is to both inform consumers and let them opt-out of OBA if they wish. 92% of people said that it was important to be notified of OBA. Clearly internet users crave this feeling of empowerment with regard to the tracking of their online behaviour and the marketing messages they are served, there is a certain level of protectiveness surrounding their activities on their ‘personal’ computer.

An extremely significant 81% of respondents weren’t aware that they could stop or decline online behavioural advertising (however it’s important to remember that a large number of people don’t know what OBA actually is!) Knowing that online behavioural advertising could be stopped or declined had a dramatic effect on how comfortable respondents felt with the concept – three quarters (74%) of people felt more so when they were told they were able to opt-out.

So what next?

There is a real appetite amongst consumers aware of online behavioural advertising to know more, and once they do, the comfort levels rise remarkably. In fact, 72% of respondents in the IAB’s study wanted to know more about the practice. The graph below shows just how significant the effect of education is, and once people know the facts, appeal of OBA sees a substantial increase.

Summary of appeal of OBA

Initial appeal for OBA may be moderate, however, it is clear that informing respondents that the data is not collected or stored, and that there is the option to opt out, can have an positive impact on overall appeal and the level of comfort respondents have with the idea


Moving forward the industry is faced with some challenges. To begin with, there exists a clear need to increase the likeability of online advertising, largely in terms of enhanced relevance and an increased sense of control, or consumer empowerment. The results show that once people understand the benefits of OBA, and are aware that they have a choice about whether it takes place or not, this type of advertising becomes far more appealing to the general public. This is what the industry needs to capitalise on, and fulfil one of the key requirements set out in the IAB’s Good Practice Principles in online behavioural advertising – to educate and respect consumers.

For more information on Olswang please visit www.datonomy.blogspot.com and www.plustechnology.co.uk

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