GumGum’s latest “Digital Advertising Pulse Check” highlights consumers feel “unnerved” by identity-based ads.

GumGum, the leader in contextual-first technology for digital advertising, unveiled new findings from its Digital Advertising Pulse Check, an initiative tracking consumer sentiment around identity-based advertising. Based on a survey of over 1,500 North American consumers, the index provides insights into the growing discomfort regarding the invasive nature of data-heavy ad-targeting strategies.

“The new findings continue to drive home the point we already know: advertising strategies that track consumers across the internet are not the way forward,” said Kerel Cooper, Chief Marketing Officer at GumGum. “Consumers are telling us they feel violated and unnerved by these practices, blocking these ads, and are considering no longer interacting with brands that try to reach them this way. What more does the industry need to hear to make a change? This is a wake-up call to implement respectful and transparent methods that protect personal online behaviors. If not, brands will get left behind.”

This is a wake-up call to implement respectful and transparent methods that protect personal online behaviors. If not, brands will get left behind.

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Highlights from the second release of the Digital Advertising Pulse Check:

Support for Transparency in Advertising:

• The call for transparency in digital advertising resonates strongly with consumers, as nearly four out of five respondents (78%) reacted positively to the idea of a law mandating advertisers to fully disclose the personal and identity data used in targeting.

Consumers Feel Creeped Out:

• An overwhelming 62% of respondents reported feeling uneasy about the online tracking involved in identity-based advertising. Specifically, 19% described this as feeling “completely violated,” while 43% likened it to having “an unwanted shadow.” Additionally, when asked, “Would you prefer a first date who knows as much about you as identity-based ads do?”, 42% of participants said they found it “creepy.”

Reactions to Over-Personalization:

• Encountering ads that seem to know too much about them elicited strong consumer reactions. Forty percent of respondents found it “unnerving” and 27% considered it a “violation.” Conversely, only 14% considered these such ads as”helpful.”

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Threat to Brand Loyalty:

• Concerns over intrusive advertising have real consequences for brand loyalty. Approximately one-third (28%) of consumers determined that they would be “very likely” to stop using a brand if its advertising felt intrusive, while 44% indicated they were “somewhat likely” to do so.

Targeting Puts Consumers on the Defense:

• In response to invasive ads, 38% of respondents reported using ad blockers and 30% opted to reject cookies to avoid over-personalization. Meanwhile, only 22% said they were comfortable with personalized advertising.