Study: Mobile banner ads very unpopular

Awareness of ads on smartphones is high. A YouGov study last year found that almost half of Apple users (46%), 42% of O2 customers and 40% of 3 customers remember seeing advertising on their mobile device.

But, and it's a big but for advertisers, the vast majority of consumers turn a blind eye to these ads. YouGov's study discovered a whopping 88% ignore ads in apps and 86% ignore ads on the mobile web. Overall over three-quarters (79%) said ads on their mobile devices are irritating.

YouGov's most recent study of 2,054 UK mobile users, commissoned by Upstream, contains more bad news for mobile advertisers. Mobile users still feel there are too many ads taking up space on their mobile screens.

How much is too much? The report finds that "too much advertising" means, on average, more than once per month although among younger age groups (18-24) once a week was deemed too often.

Among British mobile users 64% said mobile ads were offensive and banner ads particularly so. Over three-quarters find banner ads irritating. Only 11% of UK mobile users said they had ever clicked on a banner ad on the mobile web and even less, 1%, click on banner ads frequently.

"Consumers are not generally averse to being marketed to, but the past decade of ever-increasing volumes across all available channels is finally taking its toll," said Marco Veremis, chairman of Upstream.

"Mobile is the next frontier in advertisers' sights, driven by the promise of long-anticipated developments in handset technology and marketing opportunities in apps, such those rumored for Facebook. However, marketers need to be especially mindful that the mobile will always be a deeply personal medium and to avoid a backlash, any advertising must be personal, intimate and targeted."

Tags: advertising, banner ads, consumer insight, mobile advertising, mobile marketing, mobile web