70% of Consumers Could Care Less about Behavioral Targeting

32% of people say that they would be willing to allow their online information to be used anonymously according to a new study from market research firm Synovate. However, 35% said they were not interested in technology to that collected information about them nor did they want advertising modified to match their behavior. 41% of the respondents said they had modified their own behavior and sites they visit to avoid advertising, mostly those with intrusive ads and pop-ups and an astonishing 87% have attempted to avoid advertising on TV by changing channel, turning off TV or using DVRs.

This study reinforces how little media technology companies understand the consumer and how they perceive media and technology. In order for the consumer to modify his or her behavior to the benefit of the marketer they need something of real value. Facebook for example is now carried in the pocket of nearly every Facebook user and updated daily because it solved the problem of staying connected, or reconnecting with friends and family. Behavioral advertising solves a problem for the marketers but has yet to show its true value to consumers. Behavioral needs to be leveraged in a way that helps the consumer improve their day to day life and not just put the same old push-type advertisement in front of them. Consumers prefer to pull information, entertainment and even advertising on-demand, Google made this very simple with Search and then syndicated it through Adwords, consumers see value in that and I suspect would find the same in brand advertising.

The study went on to showcase that more than 50% of all respondents said they have never done a search for a brand or advertisement, elected to follow a brand on Twitter or shared an advertisement with a friend. This proves that it is very hard to go viral and consumers don’t see social networking sites as a way to connect with their favorite laundry detergent. The brands that create content or partner with media companies to develop and deliver unique content or information that speaks directly to the consumer and makes their life easier has the best chance at success.

Here are a few good examples I can think of:
- BabyCenter.com’s pregnancy tools
- Tide’s Stain Brain iPhone App
- Nike’s running training center