Forced Advertising

When was the last time you did not come across an ad on the Internet? From Television to Radio, Mobile phones to Internet, Advertisements have spread like cockroaches. They are here, there, everywhere and there are loads of them right? 

Every business sees advertising as the most feasible and creative of ways to grab attention. Innovative concepts, impressive audio-visuals and catchy lines have made advertising more attractive. However, with the excessive spread of these ads in digital media, we have grown skeptical of their acceptance. Haven’t we?

 A small survey conducted to determine peoples’ views on this issue revealed the following opinions.

Most Netizens find the ads on youtube very annoying. “Open a video and boom! What you get is a surprise unwanted ad that is neither chosen nor asked for. That’s exactly when we wait for the “Skip Ad” button to come to our rescue”, they say. Contrary to this, there are also a set of people who say that they are fine with watching these ads. However, what proportion of them pays attention to these ads and what proportion of them actually takes interest in going ahead and taking action is unanswerable.

Expressing their opinion on the advertisements seen in other Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc., Netizens have opined that ads that come up with good deals and offers are always appreciated while plain informative ads are often overlooked. (If you are one of them too, trust me it’s so not your fault!)Several e-commerce sites like Amazon.com and Flipkart provide excellent deals especially on tech-goods which is very lucrative especially to students (the low or no income group).

In other websites where advertisements swallow the entire screen all of a sudden, are frustrating. They say that it’s not the ads they are looking for anymore, but for the close button. Students engrossed in sites like Wikipedia, HowStuffWorks, etc. find these ads a hindrance in their main job unless they are extremely creative and good.

Here or there, most Netizens feel that ads would grab more eye balls only if they are either highly creative or if they are deal prone. I agree. Flashy ads or the ones that come with obnoxious music are a total no-no.

While there many people who find these ads intruding, there are also a section of people who believe that ads form a normal part of their digital media, since most of them no more watch television. If there is anything they are missing out there, they find these ads filling that gap. New movies, new products, or new anything for that matter; ads for them, are a way of catching up with the latest trends.

 So why do you think many businesses still choose to walk this path? In my perspective, one reason for this could be the ever changing unpredictable opinions of the people. Yeah I mean us! Today we like A but tomorrow we want to try B for some or no reason. Today, we are fine watching an ad and tomorrow we aren’t. Migration from one product/service to the other is growing rapidly. 

All the algorithms derived to analyze consumer behavioral patters have proven insufficient. All said and done, businesses are hence looking at “all-round-visibility” or “omnipresence” as a safer option. We may curse them today, but if we find them useful tomorrow, that’s all they need because in the digital age, gaining or losing a customer is just a click away. And with almost the entire world being immensely engaged with digital media, an opportunity like this is too risky to lose.

So, are you ready to witness a dose of digital ads today!?