Study: Three of Five Consumers Respond Best to Contextual Targeting

Three out of five consumers prefer contextual targeting - more than double the number who respond best to demographic, geographic or behavioral targeting, according to a new survey of consumer attitudes online conducted in late January by market researcher Synovate for Traffic Marketplace, the ad network division of Vendare Media.

When asked about the type of targeted online ad they are likely to respond to, 62 percent of consumers cited contextual or, as worded in the survey, “a subject of particular interest to you.” That’s more than twice the number who engage based on demographic criteria (28 percent) worded as “a specific group you may be a member of.”

Just 24 percent of those surveyed said they respond most to geographic targeting (”businesses in your local community”); 18 percent said they were most apt to respond to behavioral targeting (ads based on “your past behavior on a given website”).

But those with annual household incomes above $75,000 and those with post-graduate degrees are roughly twice as likely to respond to demographic, geographic and behavioral targeting as their counterparts at the bottom income and educational levels. Women are slightly more likely to respond to contextual targeting than men (63 percent to 60 percent).

One-third of respondents weren’t sure or had no opinion on what method moves them most.

Meanwhile, Forrester has recently issued a major report on behavioral targeting concluding “that the widespread adoption of behavioral targeting is eminent and will cause search engine marketing agencies (SEMs) to expand their current offerings and catalyze the rebirth of the online marketing suite.”