LONDON, September 22 /PRNewswire/ --

- ad:tech London Research Reveals Real Consumer Perceptions Towards 
Digital Marketing Channels

The UK digital marketing industry was today warned that marketers need to
be better invest in understanding consumer attitudes towards online
advertising or face negativity and apathy that will lead to a drop in
revenues, according to independent research* commissioned for the start of
this year's ad:tech London.

The research of over 1,200 respondents found that only 14 per cent found
online advertising necessary, comparable to traditional advertising methods
such as TV and radio, which 70 per cent of those asked said was necessary. In
turn, over a third of those asked (38%) went as far as to say they found
online advertising to be either intrusive or annoying, posing a significant
question about how online content can be monetised.

The research demonstrates the need for self regulation across the
industry to ensure a tide of negative perception can be turned, Christophe
Asselin, group marketing and content director for ad:tech explains, "Trust is
the biggest issue for marketers, and in the case of online that trust is at
an all time low. We need to face the reality and find ways to build and
harness trust amongst consumers, otherwise the industry will be in very real
danger of finding itself against the wall. By listening to the consumer,
making them the most important part of the cycle, we can learn how best to
provide them with relevant marketing messages that find entertaining,
informative and indeed necessary."

When asked what forms of marketing techniques UK consumers respond to
most positively, it was revealed that the most admired were (in order), TV,
magazine/newspaper, direct mail (postal), radio and outdoor advertising.
Respondents were asked to score their favourite and least favoured methods
from a choice of 13 forms of marketing, such as sponsored links and online
advertising. The least favourite form of marketing was shown to be telesales.
More worryingly for the online industry, social media (including social
networks like Facebook) was said to be the second least favoured marketing
technique. This challenges existing industry perceptions about the benefits
of personalised marketing.

Asselin continued, "Of the feedback we received from the research, there
were some very insightful comments which showed us exactly what consumers
thought about marketing as whole, but more importantly digital marketing
methods now that they have become more commonplace. One of the standout
comments said that 'online is intrusive, but so much easier to ignore'. It's
a natural assumption for marketers to think that because of the popularity of
social media channels, it's a good channel for brands to target for marketing
activity. This research suggests not so, and show's why the industry has to
invest more time in understanding exactly how consumer's want to be engaged.
"

The research also showed that the majority (56.3%) of respondents feel
that advertising is still the best way to fund internet services, challenging
marketers to come up with more effective, imaginative and relevant
advertising campaigns. A third of respondents would gladly see a reduction in
the amount of premium content (32.9%) in exchange for no advertising, whilst
the two least popular sources of funding for the internet were a TV license
type subsidy (9.2%) followed by subsidisation by the tax payer (1.7%).

Commencing today and running until Wednesday, 22nd-23rd September, at
London Olympia, the conference and exhibition has become established as the
largest gathering of the digital marketing industry in the UK (
http://www.ad-techlondon.co.uk). This year's conference programme includes
the following speakers and discussions;

- Rory Sutherland, Chairman, Ogilvy UK and President of the IPA - In his
      first address as new President of the IPA, Rory will address how the 
      body intends to regulate online advertising

    - Alex Hunter, Head of Online Marketing, Virgin Group - Alex will be
      discussing why brands should actually give a damn about their customers

    - Richard Titus, CEO, Associated Northcliffe Digital - The former
      controller of BBC audio and music interactive and BBC mobile will 
      discuss how Northcliffe Digital will be adapting to improve the digital 
      experience across The Daily Mail Online

    - Thomas Gensemer, Managing Partner, Blue State Digital - A year on from
      the 2008 US election, one of its key architects will discuss what 
      British parties and brands can learn from Barak Obama's online success

    - Jacek Utko, Design Director, Bonnier Business Press CEE - Will be
      addressing the issue of the digital impact on media consumption and how
      design (not just the appearance) can save newspapers

    - Jane Nicholson, Regional Director, Tourism Queensland - will showcase
      the best PR campaign of the year leveraging social media: "Best job in 
      the world" campaign to find a caretaker for an Australian paradise 
      island

The full seminar and conference programme can be viewed at:
http://www.ad-techlondon.co.uk

* Notes about the study: The findings are representative of the UK online
population, with a total number of 1,248 respondents. The study was out in
the field from 7th September 2009 to 14th September 2009, conducted by Zussi
Research, the Consumer Research division of Associated Northcliffe Digital.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About ad:tech London (http://www.ad-techlondon.co.uk)

Dedicated exclusively to Interactive Advertising and Marketing
Technologies such as Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile
Marketing and E-Commerce, ad:tech London is the only event in the UK that
gives its visitors from blue-chip companies and SMEs the opportunity to
investigate a complete range of end-to-end interactive advertising and
marketing solutions. ad:tech London is a unique opportunity for CEO,
brand/product managers, marketing directors, media planners/buyers, creative
directors, PR manager, campaign managers, agency executives and marketing
service providers to reveal latest trends and market figures, share best
practices, address industry challenges and further understand how digital can
generate results that translate directly into increased marketing performance
and ROI.

About dmg world media:

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