Internet Users Attitude towards Online Advertising.

Table of content

1. Title page.pg.1 2. Abstract...pg.3 3. Introductionpg.4 4. Literature Review.pg.5-7 5. Research Design..pg.8-9 6. Findings and Data Analysis..pg.10-11 7. Graphical Representation...pg.12-16 8. Conclusion...pg. 17 9. Appendix (a) Sample of questionnaire..pg.18-19 (b) Sample of a filled questionnaire.pg. 20

2|Page

Abstract
This research is about how internet/online advertising affect its users. Today, with the ever increasing development in the technology field, there has been a drastic change in the mass media department. Print media is no longer the only source of advertising. Outdoor Advertising and Online Advertising has become a great competition. The influence of online advertising is affecting to great number of population. Through this research I basically wanted to know has the new media really replaced the old techniques and how influential it is to the masses. To go about with this research I used the survey method. I asked 70 respondents between the age of 18-50+years who use internet daily. With the help of tallying and then through graphical representation I got my result. By the end of this research I got to know that though new trends would have come up in the recent years but still people are more inclined towards the old form of advertising. Internet advertising is still not successful in gaining the trust of the masses. This new form of media has still a long way to go.

3|Page

Introduction Topic: Internet Users Attitude towards Online Advertising. Question: How does internet/online advertising affect its users?

Objective behind choosing this topic

In the recent years, there have been phenomenal changes in the mass media department, with the introduction of Internet in the market the means of communication has spread to a great extend. Online Advertising has become a completely new way of marketing your product to the consumer in a faster, cheaper and highly effective manner. But if we keep the literacy rate of our country into consideration than this medium may be as appealing as we think it is. So to know exactly what is the actual future of online advertising I choosed this topic

Hypothesis

Null: Internet users find Online Advertising less interactive, unreliable, and complicated and dont have a favorable attitude towards advertisements viewed on the internet as against print or outdoor advertisements. Alternative: Internet users find Online Advertising interactive, reliable, user-friendly and have a favorable attitude towards advertisements viewed on the internet as against print or outdoor advertisements.

4|Page

Literature Review
Online Advertising: Since 1994, the Internet has emerged as an important medium for advertising. Online advertising has enabled marketers to target specific customer segments, gather information, assess sales potential, and ensure product/service exposure across geographic boundaries. The Internet has the capacity to reach a global audience faster than any other medium. The multiple forms of online advertising tools used by advertisers over time have been aimed at developing exciting, interactive, eye-catching advertisements that can draw consumers attention while at the same time increasing their brand or sales online. Thus interactive advertising has become a cost-effective solution for driving sales. The increase in the number of Internet users worldwide has also given a tremendous boost to this medium. Types of Online Advertising Online advertising consists of an array of formats including display advertising or banner ads, sponsorship, e-mail advertising/opt-in email advertising, search, lead generation/referrals, classifieds and auctions, rich media, skyscraper ads, pop-up / pop-under ads (interstitials), floating ads, and search engine advertising. Brief Summary of Online Advertising The advent of the Internet opened up the possibility of personalized messages being delivered to targeted individuals. Online advertising enabled marketers to target specific customer segments, gather information, assess sales potential, and ensure product/service exposure across geographic boundaries in a cost effective manner. The Internet has the capacity to reach a global audience faster than any other medium. The multiple forms of online advertising tools developed by advertisers over time were aimed at creating exciting, interactive, eye-catching advertisements that could draw consumers attention while at the same time increasing their brand recall or online sales.
1

Outdoor Advertising - Marketing Communications Textbook - Courseware - IBS Center for Asia's Most Popular Collection of Management Case A Report on Online Advertising/ Report Code : BREP037/ Pub Date : 2007/ Introduction pg.5/ Types of Online Advertising pg 6

5|Page

Some of different types of online advertising include display advertising or banner ads, sponsorship, e-mail advertising/opt-in e-mail advertising, search, lead generation/referrals, classifieds and auctions, rich media, skyscraper ads, pop-up / pop-under ads (interstitials), floating ads, and search engine advertising. Video advertising is also emerging as a new trend in online advertising. There are also a number of tracking programs that help advertisers and businesses in gauging the effectiveness of online advertising. The major players in online advertising include Google Inc, Yahoo! Inc, MSN, and AOL. Considering the effectiveness of online advertising, many companies across the world have begun to divert a share of their advertising budget to online advertising. As a result, the share of television in advertising expenditure has been projected by some experts to decrease by the year 2007. Some of the various factors that have led to the growth of the online advertising market are the increase in number of Internet users worldwide, increase in the length of time spent by Internet users online, and more widespread broadband Internet usage. However, some of the challenges that could impact the growth of online advertising are the issue of click frauds that occur with pay per click search engine based advertising, and certain intrusive software such as popups and adware. These problems can affect the credibility of the advertiser and the website. An economic slowdown can also negatively impact the growth of online advertising as companies resort to cutting their advertising expenses during an economic crisis. Past Researches A past research was made by BizReport which said that: Older Internet users less likely to tolerate ads The fact that most Internet users dislike online advertising isn't breaking news, however Connect Insight's study adds a new dimension - age. They found that just 17% of Internet users find online ads "impactful and appealing" while the vast majority found them unappealing and intrusive, among other things. However, when broken down by age, the data suggested that younger users were more likely to engage with online ads than their elders. For instance, almost a quarter (24%) of 16-34 year olds found online ads impactful while half of over-55 year old Internet users made a point of avoiding online destinations where ads were intrusive."These headline figures only tell part of the story. The Internet is a highly fragmented environment that users personalize based on their own needs and interests," said Faye Weeks, director of U.K.-based Connect Insight, reports nma.co.uk.
2

A Report on Online Advertising/ Report Code : BREP037/ Pub Date : 2007/ Executive Summary pg.5 , BizReport/ Advertising/ August 23, 2010

6|Page

Another research was made by Marketing Charts Publication said that: Internet users are more likely to prefer targeted online ads when they are asked to make realworld, value-for-value trade-offs, such as free access to Internet content, according to a new survey by Preference Central. Prior research on consumers attitudes toward behavioral targeting used simple, single-option questions, leading to, PreferenceCentral said, an incomplete and misleading view of consumers real-world perspectives on online advertising. In this survey of 1,050 U.S. Internet users, PreferenceCentral asked consumers to state their preferences for tailored online advertising in the context of real-world trade-off scenarios and found that over half of consumers surveyed indicated that they prefer relevant targeted online ads as a trade-off for access to free content. Annoying Online Ads the Real Culprit Another myth debunked in this study was that privacy concerns were behind earlier findings of consumers distaste for targeted ads. Rather, the study found, it was dislike for annoying online ads. According to the survey, when educated about behavioral targeting, 29% of respondents became less comfortable with the trade-off of free content for targeted ads. However, when subsequently informed that behavioral targeting information is anonymous and non-personally identifiable, 35% of these Internet users became more comfortable, indicating a need for consumer education on this topic. Also, when presented with the option of a solution that would give them more control over their exposure to targeted ads and transparency into the data used by advertisers, 70% expressed interest in using such a tool, with 33% stating they are very to extremely interested. In addition, 41% of consumers became more comfortable and were 27% more willing to receive targeted, relevant ads in exchange for free content if they were given a control solution. Finally, across all trade-off exercises, only about 10% of consumers expressed a preference for paying for content with no advertising. The core takeaways for the advertising industry are that its not enough to just educate consumers on targeted advertising; we must also provide meaningful choice and control over their online ad experience, according to Karl Lendenmann, vice president of marketing and analytics for PreferenceCentral parent company Datran Media. For online publishers, these results mean that they should be offering multiple content-access models to optimize appeal and monetization.
3

Marketing Charts Publication/In Right Context, Internet Users Like Targeted Ads

7|Page

Research Design
Statement of problem Today, with the ever increasing development in the technology field, there has been a drastic change in the mass media department. Print media is no longer the only source of advertising. Outdoor Advertising and Online Advertising has become a great competition. The influence of online advertising is affecting to great number of population. Research questions 1. Do you use the internet? 2. For how many hours do you use internet daily? 3. Do you look at Internet Ads while browsing net? 4. Do you find Internet Ads intrusive/ irritating? 5. Do you find Internet Ad informative? 6. Do you use Internet Ad for reference while making purchase decision? 7. Are you comfortable with purchasing any item through an address or phone? 8. Does Internet advertising help you in getting the best price of a product? 9. Do you get influenced by Internet Ad?

Hypothesis Null: Internet users find Online Advertising less interactive, unreliable, and complicated and dont have a favorable attitude towards advertisements viewed on the internet as against print or outdoor advertisements. Alternative: Internet users find Online Advertising interactive, reliable, user-friendly and have a favorable attitude towards advertisements viewed on the internet as against print or outdoor advertisements.

8|Page

Objectives To find the popularity of internet ads. To know till what extend does internet ad influence an individual.

Method To go about with my research I used the survey method. Statistical surveys are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population. Surveys of human populations and institutions are common in political polling and government, health, social science and marketing research. A survey may focus on opinions or factual information depending on its purpose, and many surveys involve administering questions to individuals. When the questions are administered by a researcher, the survey is called a structured interview or a researcheradministered survey. When the questions are administered by the respondent, the survey is referred to as a questionnaire or a self-administered survey. I have chosen this form of methodology because I wanted to know the views of a considerable amount of audience. My research is a qualitative one because I could only survey 70 people.

Sampling design I adopted RANDOM SAMPLING which is the purest form of probability sampling. I have asked 70 respondents viewpoints on this topic in a span of 4weeks. My target audience was mainly between the age of 18years-50years, mostly who use internet daily. Location from Santacruz to Andheri.

9|Page

Findings and Analysis

My research included a survey of 9 questions all related to my research topic. It was done on 70 respondents ranging between the age group of 18-50+ years, who use internet in their daily life.

The 1st and 2nd question was an introductory one where as I just wanted to get an idea that how many people use internet and for how much time. Here I found out that a majority of youth that are from 18-30 use internet the most as it has become a necessity for them. Whereas the age group of 50+ who represent the old generation utilize internet every rarely.

1. Do you use the internet? 2. For how many hours do you use internet daily?

The 3rd question gave me a relatively neutral answer where the respondents gave me mix answers which showed that Internet ads have still not gained the attention of most of the people.

3. Do you look at Internet Ads while browsing net? 4. Do you find Internet Ads intrusive/ irritating? 5. Do you find Internet Ad informative?

My 4th and 5th question was a really important question as it represented my objective. The result of which made me almost clear about what I really wanted to know. 41 out of 70 people thought that internet ads are irritating and intrusive which clearly showed that internet ads are still unsuccessful in gaining that trust.

The results to this question was that a group of only 12 people out of 70 really used internet ads for reference will purchase decision whereas rest dont consider as an important source.

6. Do you use Internet Ad for reference while making purchase decision? 7. Are you comfortable with purchasing any item through an address or phone?

By this question I found out that still our citizens are not so comfortable purchasing any items through phone or address as they dont trust or believe in this type of shopping. 51 out of 70 people are not comfortable in buying or we can say they prefer the old form of shopping only

10 | P a g e

By the result of this question I got to know a new prospective of internet ads that is people dont mind viewing a product price online they have problem in buying it. 49 0ut of 70 depend on internet to know the best price of a product which shows that there are a chances of some progress in the near future.

8. Does Internet advertising help you in getting the best price of a product?

This was my last question in my survey which concluded my whole research. 58 out of 70 dont get influenced by internet ads which is proven that internet ads still havent been able to affect the masses. This new technology has not much success.

9. Do you get influenced by Internet Ad?

11 | P a g e

1. Do you use the internet?

Graphical Representation

Sample

12 Yes No 82 Sometimes

2. For how many hours do you use internet daily?

Sales
12

13

5 hrs + 3 - 5 hrs 33 42 1 - 3 hrs 1 hr

12 | P a g e

3. Do you look at Internet Ads while browsing net?

Sample

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

68

23 9

Sample

Yes

No

Sometimes

4. Do you find Internet Ads intrusive/ irritating?

Sample

22 Yes 67 No Sometimes

11

13 | P a g e

5. Do you find Internet Ad informative?

Sample

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes 32

58

Sample 10 Sample No Sometimes

6. Do you use Internet Ad for reference while making purchase decision?

Sample

Sometimes

16

No

51

Sample

Yes

33

10

20

30

40

50

60

14 | P a g e

7. Are you comfortable with purchasing any item through an address or phone?

Sample

60 40 20 0

43 32 25 Sample

8. Does Internet advertising help you in getting the best price of a product?

Sample

29 28

43

Yes No Sometimes

15 | P a g e

9. Do you get influenced by Internet Ad?

Sample

Sometimes

11

No

77

Sample

Yes

12

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

16 | P a g e

Conclusion
Thus I would like to conclude that after doing this research I came to know that though new media would have created huge change in technology world but it still hasnt been able to appeal the general masses so much. In spite of a decade of Internet Advertising, people still mostly prefer print adverts. For most of the respondents in my research thought internet advertising is irritating, unreliable and it didnt influence them at all. This shows that our old techniques are still being appreciated and used than the new trends. Internet Advertising has still a long journey to go. I would like to mention that after going through the extensive research for this project, I am better able to understand the importance of market research in the field of media. I am now better equipped at designing a questionnaire, selecting a sample frame and drawing conclusions. As regards to Internet Advertising, we can say that the future of IA is only going to broaden if the hassles of the users are successfully addressed. If these are not attended to, people will tend to feel irritated due to the intruding pop-up ads etc, and hence will be turned off due to Internet ads. Alternative methods like side banner ads and floating ads must be increased.

17 | P a g e

Appendix(a) Name : Age : Gender: Location:

1. Do you use the internet? o Yes o No o Sometimes

2. For how many hours do you use internet daily? o Less than 1hr o 1-2hr o 2-3hr o 3+

3. Do you look at Internet Ads while browsing net? o Yes o No o Sometimes 4. Do you find Internet Ads intrusive/ irritating? o Yes o No o Sometimes 5. Do you find Internet Ad informative? o Yes o No o Sometimes

18 | P a g e

6. Do you use Internet Ad for reference while making purchase decision? o Yes o No o Sometimes 7. Are you comfortable with purchasing any item through an address or phone? o Yes o No o Sometimes

8. Does Internet advertising help you in getting the best price of a product? o Yes o No o Sometimes 9. Do you get influenced by Internet Ad? o Yes o No

19 | P a g e