IAB UK Study: Interactivity Key With Tablet Ads

Alex Kozloff, Senior Mobile Manager of IAB UK

Consumers respond better to tablet ads that are interactive, but, so far, marketers are letting them down. That’s the conclusion of a new study released by the Internet Advertising Bureau UK, and conducted by Ipsos in partnership with Renault and their agency, Publicis.

“There is a clear expectation from consumers for tablet advertising to match the high quality of the overall tablet experience,” said the IAB UK’s senior mobile manager, Alex Kozloff. “It is still early days for tablet advertising, but consumer expectations are already raised.”

The research, which involved 1,000 tablet users and Celtra’s rich media ad platform, found that interactive ads were seen to be 238% more innovative, 140% more engaging and 90% more memorable, as compared with static ads. Fifty-four percent of those exposed to an interactive ad had a positive overall opinion of them, versus 27% for a static ad.

However, the advertising experience on tablets, thus far, hasn’t lived up to their expectations. Thirty percent of respondents had a negative opinion of tablet ads they’d seen in the past.

Interactivity isn’t the only ingredient in the winning formula. Users also found context important. Eighty-two percent of respondents said they’d be more likely to interact with an ad on a tablet if it was adapted for the content around it. Meanwhile 95% of those surveyed said it was important that advertising is unobtrusive and doesn’t interfere with what they are doing.

If consumers get their way, they’ll likely be seeing a lot more ads on tablets. They’re twice as likely prefer to pay less up front for content, and see more ads, rather than paying more for content and seeing fewer ads. Additionally, they seem to feel that ads on tablets have unique characteristics — 55% of tablet owners think advertising on tablets can do things other media can’t.