There is no doubt digital has shifted consumer expectations, but where are brands getting it wrong? To find out, World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has partnered with social agency We Are Social to uncover the seven most common triggers of consumer backlash.
The study, conducted over six months, looked at English language Twitter comments about advertising, as part of WFA's 'Project Reconnect', which aims to better align brand and marketing strategies with consumers.
It found that there were more than two million negative advertising tweets in the past year, in all languages but three million positive tweets in the same period.
Common complaints included a “generic dislike of commercials,” interruption of content and an “overkill” of ads with too many ad breaks going on for too lengthy a period of time.
Other issues included exaggerated claims, clumsy online retargeting and poor quality adverts.
Consumers were also said to feel frustrated by brands choosing the wrong moment or the wrong audience to send their advertisement, or engaging in “constant retargeting.”
Earlier this year, US brand Nationwide lit up Twitter after airing an ad about childhood death during the Super Bowl. Some of the feedback was positive, with consumers glad the brand was starting a conversation about the topic, while others found the timing of the ad extreme and inappropriate.
WFA MD Stephan Loerke said boosting the quality of advertising should be the aim of the industry.
“The good news is that there are three million positive tweets compared to two million negative ones,” Loerke said.
“But it's the latter we should focus on as an industry. We are not blind to the fact that ads can be annoying, intrusive and even be seen to contribute to social problems.”
The finding of the research will be presented as part of the WFA's Global Marketer Week in Marrakech.
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