Half of UK consumers ‘ambivalent’ to advertising

Over three-quarters ( 77%) of the 1,000 UK consumers surveyed say that they see the same ads repeatedly, while 55% say that the ads they see online are not relevant to them. Over half of respondents ( 53%) say they are ambivalent to advertising, while 38% dislike it.

Although 57% say advertisers are better at communicating with them now than in the past, this figure has declined from 59% last year, suggesting marketers are struggling to make the best creative use of communication channels.

The ‘Dimension’ report also found that almost all respondents ( 96%) say they still watch TV via a television set. Other established media channels remain strong, with 86% listening to offline radio, and 73% and 72% reading print newspapers and magazines respectively, the report found.

Richard Poustie, chief executive, Kantar Media UK & Ireland, said the report indicates that the industry is “struggling to make sense of the myriad of communication options out there.”

He said: “Marketers are exhibiting some scepticism of the role of digital in the media supply chain, with some of the big players going as far as moving advertising spend away from such platforms due to a lack of transparency. At the same time, we continue to see pessimistic headlines around the future of traditional advertising.”