If It Matters To Them, It Should Matter To You
Why young consumers are skipping your ads
You’re reading Section 2 of 4 of the DEFY Media and TMI Strategy “Brand Love & Ad Nausea” report. Check out Section 1.
We know young people are loyal brand consumers, but they’re not without opinions…and a desire to act on them. So, what sparks this fickle group to ignore and hide ads on social media?
It’s simple (in theory!): relevance.
In research DEFY Media and DoSomething Strategic conducted of young people ages 13–25, boring and irrelevant content are the primary reasons young people disconnect from a brand on social media.
This finding may seem a no-brainer, but it has unique implications when consumers are empowered to selectively shut out individual brands by skipping, hiding, blocking and reporting their ads.
This is more than ads just being annoying. It’s about brands not understanding who their consumer is and what he/she wants from the brand (more on that in Section 3 of this report!).
Simply put, brands are making it too easy for young people to ignore them.
The Good News!
Unlike past generations that came of age as the internet took off (and have flashbacks of the “pop-up” ads of yore), young people today actually don’t hate ads. While ads can be annoying — particularly when they interrupt the user experience — most young people (80%) also understand that ads are part of their online life, which may explain why 84% are not willing to shell out their dough for an ad-free social or digital experience.
They also don’t have a negative perception of brands that do advertise (78% of respondents are not bothered by “product placements” in TV, movies, videos). In fact, 71% of respondents to our survey said they consider ads on social a good way to find out about new brands.
Depending on the platform, anywhere from 30%–40% of young people say they recently looked at an ad on social simply because it caught their eye. Most ads are audio off, so they need to break through the scrolling behavior with strong visual appeal to create that thumb-stopping moment.
Snapchat is the outlier—young people don’t see (or want to see!) ads on this platform. Instagram is the opposite, people are much more likely to pay attention. Beyond merely viewing the ad, on Instagram one in five report they took a positive action such as liking, commenting, or sharing the ad.
TL;DR
Relevance is king (or queen!). Know your target: young consumers will watch your ad as long as it’s relevant to their interests and lifestyles.
So what about those 62% who follow brands directly. What are those brands doing that makes young people want to pull them into their social feeds. Read Section 3 of our report and find out…it might surprise you!
Research & Editorial Team
Meredith Ferguson, Managing Director, DoSomething Strategic
Andy Tu, CMO, DEFY Media
Charlotte Horseman, Data and Research Analyst, DoSomething Strategic
Nichole Becker, VP, Research, DEFY Media
Irene Pedruelo, Editor, Director of Research , DoSomething.org
Methodology
Data was collected via an online survey distributed to individuals age 13–25 years old living in the United States. Removed from the analysis were individuals with completion times of less than 5 minutes and those younger than 13 years or older than 25 years.
Results have been weighted to create representations across gender, age, and parents’ education to match those reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The final sample includes 1,334 observations. With an estimated U.S. population of 59 million 13–25 year olds, this sample size allows for a 2.7% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.
About DoSomething Strategic
DoSomething Strategic is the data-driven social impact consultancy arm of DoSomething.org. We help brands and organizations engage young people for positive social change. We combine proprietary data with a deep understanding of what young people care about to help clients build relationships with this unique demographic and activate them for social good. Our expertise is grounded in moving 6 million DoSomething.org members — ages 13–25 in every area code in the United States and in 131 countries worldwide — to take social action, and we’ve been doing this work successfully day in and day out for over 25.
About DEFY Media
DEFY Media is built on the idea that media should be as meaningful and dynamic as the audiences it’s made for, creating expansive and authentic content brands — Smosh, Screen Junkies, Clevver, AWEME, Break, and Made Man — that young people obsess over. Powered by in-house studios and the most adept talents and producers, DEFY has uniquely scaled its digital sensibility, expanding 75 regularly scheduled programs across more than 25 video platforms, including SVOD, television, and film. In a world where viewers hold the power, DEFY’s brands have earned more than 110 million followers on YouTube and the world’s largest social platforms combined, driving more than 800MM total video views each month through content that matters to young audiences.
