The evidence is all around you and yet those pesky advertising agencies are still pestering you to waste vast sums of money on Web 2.
Consider this: Businesses that advertise on line are facing an uphill struggle to connect with users of social networks as they grow weary of brash ads and become more hostile to digital marketing, according to research.
In a poll conducted by Facebook, more than half of users between 13 and 49 said that they never trust the marketing material they receive and 46% went as far as to say Internet advertising was driving them 'insane'. The ubiquitous pop-up is a particular source of irritation – 90% of the 800 people surveyed voted them the least trustworthy source of Internet marketing.
The results demonstrate that marketers are at risk of alienating their target audience and are damaging their chances of making sales by swamping potential customers with banner ads and pop-ups.
There is also anecdotal evidence that there is growing distaste among consumers regarding networking sites using their details for marketing purposes, according the latest research.
Additionally almost seventy per cent of major marketers world-wide who advertise on line admit to uncertainty that they actually get what they pay for. That percentage increases to 75% in the United Kingdom and 78% in North America.
Moreover, 68% of the three thousand business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing professionals polled "didn't know" if they could trust the visitor/traffic profiles claimed by on line media owners and publishers.
And despite a recent forecast that on line ad revenues will hit $147 billion (€93.27bn; £73.43bn) by 2012, a report reveals that marketers appear to have a major trust issue when it comes to the overall reliability and credibility of on line ads.
Their top five concerns?
1. They don't know if they actually get what they pay for.
2. They don't know if they can trust the visitor and/or traffic profile on line media owners and publishers claim their sites have.
3. They have the feeling there is a lot of click fraud.
4. They don't know if their ads appear in the sites and/or sites' sections where they should appear.
5. They don't trust the traffic and click-through reports digital media owners give them.
This could explain why 40% of marketers around the world did not run on line campaigns in 2007, a figure reaching 65% in high GDP growth markets such as Greater China, India and Singapore.
We have been saying for years that regular advertising desperately needs accountability and now so does Web 2.0!
While looking ahead through 2008, marketers’ world-wide say they intend to take a prudent approach and spend only a small percentage of their marketing budgets on line.
Recent research suggests that, "One of the main reasons for such poor results is that with more than 70% of the on line campaigns we audit track across all types of on line media platforms (display ads, emails, paid search, referrals, rich media and sponsorships), our clients did not get what they paid for.
"One million impressions purchased often ended up with 800,000 impressions served; an email blast to a third-party 10,000-record database was more often than not sent to a 7,000-active-email base.
The bottom line: the discrepancy between what is claimed and/or purchased and what is actually delivered is beginning to cast a shadow on the long-term credibility of the industry.
On line media have now the immense challenge of winning the trust and confidence of marketers and must be prepared to be audited and be accountable for the results they deliver.
In closing we must say that the Web is the modern equivalent of the Wild West and as such is totally inappropriate to the successful branding of your product or service.
Despite all this Marketers are becoming more and more interested in using social networking websites as an effective marketing tool (which they’re not) to target specific types of consumer. However consumers feel their privacy is being undermined and that they are being targeted by irrelevant marketing. We advised companies to think of ways of connecting with customers in a less obtrusive manner.
Related Articles
'consumers Increasingly Do not Trust Marketing Messages.'
By: Paul Ashby | 02/03/2008 | Marketing
You know, try as I may to say something positive about advertising these sort of studies are being issued forth on almost a daily basis and could well lead to the demise of advertising as we know it!
And so where can advertisers go to slap their obnoxious messages?
The Web?
Enough of Tolerance. Now for Some Necessary Action!
By: Paul Ashby | 23/03/2008 | Marketing
Additionally there is the proliferation of Digital Consultants, On Line Consultants, Web advisor's, Media Teams, Communications Experts together with Tin Headed, Jargon Spouting New Media Experts.
Plus the legion of Students pursuing pointless courses in woolly Media/Marketing/Advertising classes.
Stuck on an Uncertain Sea…without a Captain!
By: Paul Ashby | 25/03/2008 | Marketing
Recently I watched that Peter Sellers classic movie “Being There”. Simple-minded Chance, who has never left his employers’ house, watches television obsessively. He has TV sets in every room, and with short attention span he flicks mindlessly from program to program, from drama to humor to tragedy to an ad. break.
Today’s Tip: Don’t Buy Shares in Anything to Do With Advertising!
By: Paul Ashby | 31/03/2008 | Marketing
Sad to say that no one is offering a devastating account of the way naïve advertising people, who, by the way, most certainly don’t understand the communication process, have managed to hoodwink Clients into parting with vast sums of money into dubious, unaccountable TV advertisements!
Back to the Future!
By: Paul Ashby | 07/04/2008 | Marketing
Simply put …nothing. Advertising Agencies are still dancing on the head of a pin called a 30’ TV commercial. The really terrifying aspect of all this is that advertising agencies have come up with no new ideas as to how to combat clutter; or even customer mistrust and outright avoidance of traditional advertising.
Can you Speak Fluent Gibberish? Then Advertising is the Job for You!
By: Paul Ashby | 18/01/2008 | Marketing
There is no organisation in the world, which is so utterly cavalier as advertising about the capability of the people it puts into managerial positions. Appointed one day and then making big spending decisions the next. As a result they are easy prey for sharp talking media salesmen and fast-talking Management Consultants who promise to reinvent advertising or “gold-plate” its functions.
Where Can Advertising Go Next?
By: Paul Ashby | 07/04/2008 | Marketing
As a result each fails to diagnose the problem correctly and opts to solve all their clients' communications issues with one tool. Ask WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. He bemoaned the fact that most agencies 'redefine every problem in terms of their proposed solution.'
No One in Advertising Appeared to Notice.
By: Paul Ashby | 29/01/2008 | Marketing
These unpalatable truths contribute to the increasing problems facing advertising, like the “meaningless noise” syndrome. Together with a total lack of understanding as to the true meaning of the word “accountability”, or, for that matter “communication”.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Marketing Articles
Tell Them Why They Should Buy
By: Karen Scharf | 21/08/2008
Our customers don't know our products inside and out. They do not make the mental leap from features to benefits. We need to show them, to spell out exactly what our product or service will do for them.
The Number One Killer of Information Marketing Success and How to Avoid It
By: Caleb Scoville | 20/08/2008
The longer you hang onto an idea without implementing it, the less viable it becomes. It's better to implement and learn from your mistakes than to obsess over it for weeks or months that you could be focused on more important things.
Want to Attract New Dental Patients? Think About a Referral Contest
By: James Erickson | 20/08/2008
A referral contest is a great way to get your current patients bombarding you with new, quality patients. Referrals are always the best new patients, because they generally come in already liking you. So, why not do something to double, or even triple the number of referral you receive?
Relationship Marketing: Lead Scoring for Success
By: Christian Fea | 20/08/2008
Developing a relationship marketing platform for your business is an important step in every marketing campaign. Having a relationship marketing plan for your business puts the focus of your business on customer fulfillment and strong customer relationships.
5 Powerfull Tips For Optimizing Your Viral Marketing Campaigns
By: Paul Baican-Vist | 20/08/2008
The media has focused recently more on Viral marketing, or "refer-a-friend" email campaigns. These campaigns are making more active the recipients of promotional emails to forward the messages to their companions. They were garnering both positive and negative comments from customers, privacy advocates, and industry pundits.
The main issue are the...
The "Secret" of Voice Broadcasting Exposed
By: David Seldon | 20/08/2008
Voice broadcaster exposes a little-discussed yet obvious "secret" that has major implications for those considering using voice broadcasting. Those considering utilizing voice broadcasting in their business should consider this before spending any money for voice broadcasting.
Article Submission Services: How To Choose The Right Company
By: Deep Arora | 20/08/2008
These days the mantra for modern business is marketing. Marketing plays an integral role in your end results of sales for your organiation. While you may understand the benefits, for many the process of article submission may be better left to experts.
How to Design a Slick and Professional Website
By: Chris Coleman | 20/08/2008
It's amazing how quickly business changes. Before the internet, the only contact you had with customers was using the phone and face to face.
Now, due to the advent of e-commerce via the internet, customers can discern much about your company without leaving their office or home.
More from Paul Ashby
Game Playing and Marketing Games Offer You a Unique Way to Entertain -- and Sell at the Same Time!
By: Paul Ashby | 25/06/2008 | International Marketing
Games allow Brands to become engaging, interactive and entertaining -- thereby providing something of value in exchange for attention. Brands such as Persil, Birds Eye and Quaker Oats have relied on game playing to create narratives that consumers want to be a part of. In the process, they've done more than just break through the clutter, or better position themselves in consumer's minds.
The Poor Old Clients Have Nothing at the Moment!
By: Paul Ashby | 18/06/2008 | International Marketing
Few advertisers harbour doubts as to the desirability of accountability. Andrew Jung, Kellogg's senior director for advertising probably spoke for the majority of his peers when he told a recent conference: "Without change I don't know how long television can be sustainable [for advertising]."
As More Power Shifts to Consumers the Need Grows for 'renaissance Marketers'
By: Paul Ashby | 14/06/2008 | International Marketing
Engaging in conversations with relevant markets (Interacting) will become an important source of knowledge and innovation, the quality of this market intelligence has already (and will do so more in the future) proved to be more accurate than research and will determine market share.
How to Avoid Ruining Your Marketing Strategy!
By: Paul Ashby | 11/06/2008 | International Marketing
Why this shift from the creative and artistic towards a more scientific approach to the marketing function? Simply put to become more accountable, that which passes for accountability in the current marketing environment is, to say the least, highly unsatisfactory.
No More Retreat. We Must Admit to Advertising’s Failure!
By: Paul Ashby | 04/06/2008 | International Marketing
Advertising people don’t understand the real world, they don’t understand the meaning of the word “communication”, and with the decision to split the creative role and the media role, there has been a proliferation of “experts” who still don’t understand communication.
Yes the System is Totally Broken and is Best Summed Up by the Quotation (below)
By: Paul Ashby | 01/06/2008 | International Marketing
The sad fact is that within the advertising industry the old (bad) way is invariably the comfortable option for most advertising people. New ideas have to be imposed or they will never be implemented. Bottom-up reform is as plausible as bottom-up rain.
Our Media is Terribly Exposed to the Inefficiencies of the Advertising Industry!
By: Paul Ashby | 11/05/2008 | Marketing
The nagging dichotomy between advertising form, function and price on traditional TV and on the Internet is in the process of rendering a new hybrid standard to extend across all media platforms.
It’s Time We Woke Up to the Fact That Sir Martin Sorrell Does Immense Damage to the Advertising Business!
By: Paul Ashby | 04/05/2008 | Marketing
As some of his recent pronouncements will serve to confirm.
He was quoted as saying that London and New York were no longer the creative centers of the advertising world.
So what?
Marketing 
