Millennial men like mobile ads far more than women of same age

There is something about mobile ads targeting young men that make them far more likeable that those aimed at women if the results of an InsightExpress study are to be believed.

by Helen Leggatt

According to eMarketer estimates, mobile ad spending in the US will reach $2.61 billion this year, up 80% on 2011. However, new research from InsightExpress shows that men will enjoy mobile ads far more than women, at least among Millennials.

InsightExpress' research found that men age 18-29 were far more likely than women of the same age to recall having seen a mobile ad on their device - 69% vs. 49%. That compares with 59% of mobile users of any age or gender that had reported seeing mobile ads.

Furthermore, Millennial men appear to enjoy the ads they encounter on their mobiles far more than women in the same age group. According to eMarketer, who recently reported on the research "just 12% said they liked mobile ads at least somewhat, while a plurality were ambivalent. But fully 40% of men that age actively enjoyed mobile advertising, including 20% who said they liked it "very much.""

Could it be that ads targeted at Millennial men are just that much less boring? Consider the ads for beer and aftershave - they do tend to be far more entertaining than for, say, hair and feminine hygiene products. So perhaps the results of InsightExpress are telling marketers not that women dislike mobile advertising but that the current swathe of ads just aren't entertaining or enjoyable.

Tags: gender targeting, Millennial marketing, mobile advertising, mobile marketing, research