Consumers said they are more likely to buy something if an advertisement is personalized, according to a new survey by Innovid.
In the survey, 29% of respondents said there was a better chance they’d buy something if the ad they saw was personalized and 31% said they tend to be more brand loyal to brands that employ personalized ads.
“Advertisers aren’t doing enough to personalize across channels, despite strong demand among consumers,” said Stephanie Geno, senior VP of marketing at Innovid. “COVID-19 is also accelerating the need to be more personalized as a one-size-fits-all approach in this environment can turn off customers, hurt your reputation and undercut revenue.”
TV is slowly coming to the personalization party. In the survey, 45% of those answering said they see more personalized ads on Facebook and Twitter. That compares to 20% on websites, 15% on YouTube and 13% on connected TV.
Asked what type of personalized ads they would pay attention to, 18% said social media, with 17% saying video ads and TV ads.
Innovid recently examined campaigns across more than 600 advertisers and found that interactive ads on CTV produced an engagement rate almost six times higher than mobile.
“Although interactive CTV ads are currently under-utilized by brands, they repeatedly outperform every other format and device,” Geno said. “We predict as more brands embrace what is possible through interactive ads, clicking a CTV ad will become a learned behavior similar to engagement with ads on mobile and PC.”
Ads that understand and address the context of the moment were most popular with consumers, followed by those that incorporate general demographic information about the consumer.
Consumers said they want to see personalized advertising in the retail category the most, followed by entertainment, consumer packaged goods, hospitality, quick-serve restaurants, automotive, telecom and financial services. Brands found to personalize ads effectively included Walmart, Apple, Nike, Target and Kohl's, all retailers.
“While retail is an early adopter of personalization, all verticals can and should take advantage of the benefits of personalization,” said Geno. “Not only does dynamic creative improve relevance, it can help brands quickly address massive industry interruptions like what we’ve seen with COVID-19. Marketers that have the flexibility to swap out creative in real-time and adjust messaging on the fly can appeal directly to consumers during challenging times and maintain consistent, meaningful connections.”
