As the number of publishers turning to advertising to support their site’s business model increases, so too is consumers’ understanding about the necessity of ads.
Cloud technology company CloudSense found that 46% of its new survey’s respondents preferred to pay for content through online advertising. Meanwhile an additional 28% were happy to view ads before reaching their intended webpage destination.
That 74% who said they did not pay for digital media sites or apps rose when drilling down into 16-24 year olds. The number prepared to accept ads in content increased to 54%, whereas 37% had no qualms with up-front ads.
Only 12% are prepared to stump up the cash for ad-free browsing experience in the same category, suggesting publications with a paywall have a fairly small market in which to generate readers.
Age-related scepticism
There is a clear trend that consumers harbour more reservations about ads as you progress through the age ranges, which Richard Britton, CloudSense’s CEO, thinks is a warning for publishers’ future plans.
“If the younger generation in particular aren’t paying for content, then it’s essential that publishers are able to profit from advertising,” Britton said.
“It is now more important than ever for publishers to attract advertisers relevant to the audience, provide a positive user experience and ultimately, this will give publishers the ammunition to sell more advertising.
Privacy, widely cited as a bone of contention for ads among consumers, is again proving divisive, according to CloudSense’s findings. Slightly more than half (51%) did not want to share more data to improve the accuracy of personalised ads.