Advertisers work hard to avoid a situation in which their brand or marketing messages appear in close proximity with offensive, violent, or other forms of inappropriate content. But such proximity might not be the primary source of consumers’ alienation and attempts to avoid advertising. Rather, approximately 52 percent of respondents to a recent survey said that what disturbed them most about advertising was overexposure. Only 32 percent of them found the surrounding content to be similarly off-putting. Especially when they use various media channels, such as television, online sites, and social media, the glut of marketing messages is what led respondents to this survey to describe advertising (unprompted and in their own words) as excessive and intrusive. Some of this advertising bombardment results from their own behaviors, in that consumers check their smartphones constantly. Furthermore, they respond to advertising on social media, particularly personalized versions of the messages, which means the ads are working. When asked what could make the advertising more appealing, the survey respondents suggested more informative marketing, as well as more discount and deal offers. In this sense, what people want from advertising hasn’t changed much: information and value. And even as consumers increasingly complain that there are too many ads, spanning today’s various and multiple media channels, their behaviors encourage advertisers to keep making and broadcasting more.

Source: Peter Adams, “Study: Ad Overload Could Pose Steeper Risk to Brands than Messages Near Inappropriate Content,” Marketing Dive, March 16, 2021