Response for Week 2: Content Engagement
Both articles for this week discussed engagement with web advertising. I was surprised to learn that it is typical and expected for at least 30% of a company’s intended ads to not be seen by anyone for at least one second. It seems to me that having such low expectations for advertising would lead to minimal growth in a company’s audience reach. Some companies are attempting to combat this by developing systems that match Facebook or Twitter IDs with a given campaign and subsequent retail sales for a product. This has raised privacy concerns which the FTC has urged Congress to pass legislation about which would give consumers the right to opt out of such data collection. This made me think of all the times when I Google a certain brand or visit a certain retail website and then see pop-up ads for those same brands or products pop up on all my devices for days or even weeks following my search. It is an eery feeling knowing that these programs are able to tailor my ads so specifically to my browsing habits.
The Time article discussed some of the interactions we have with such pop-up ads. One of the myths the article debunked was that banner ads don’t work. According to the article, someone looking at a page for 20 seconds while an ad is there is 20–30% more likely to recall that add afterwards. As irritating as it is for ads to pop up that block the content I am actually trying to view or serve as distractors at the top of a web page, I can say that I can specifically recall exactly what some of the most recent banner ads I’ve had pop up look like and which retailers they are for.
After doing the readings for this week, I found myself much more aware of the advertising I came across online and on social media. I find that the advertisements that made the biggest impression on me were sponsored ads on Instagram that came across as I scrolled through my feed. When pop-up ads or banner ads come up on web pages, I find myself annoyed by them and try to click out of them as quickly as I can. However, if an aesthetically pleasing ad with several images and a simple caption comes up on Instagram, I almost always found myself spending a few moments looking through it. It grabbed my attention rather than just gaining a simple look from me.
