How Many Ads Do You Actually See Daily?!
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Have you ever wondered how many ads we see online on a daily basis?
Dozens? Hundreds? Or maybe thousands? In fact, our daily ad exposure depends on many factors - from where we live to what job we do and how we prefer to spend our leisure time.
If folks from marketing firm Yankelovich, Inc. are right, the average modern person is exposed to around 5,000 ads per day. Wait … that number is from 2007.
Every time I go online I’d like to see as many ads as possible. Said no one. Ever.
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Given the huge spike in ad exposure we’ve seen in recent years and how we’re now facing a deluge of ads online as well as in the offline world, chances are this number has already doubled (at least!).
If you’re curious to find out more, you can always follow the work of Ron Marshall. This popular marketing expert ran a crazy experiment to find out how many ads he was exposed to during a typical day. He decided to spot as many ads as possible and count them in 24 hours. Long story short, he counted 487 ad messages before even finishing his breakfast. He was so shocked and amazed, he decided not to continue.
Whatever the exact number of ads we see every day, one thing remains clear: the amount is enormous. So it shouldn’t surprise any of us that we can only recall a tiny percentage of them.
Why does this happen? We see so many ads, yet we can’t remember the majority of them.
Well this takes place for two reasons. First, the human brain cannot absorb and digest so much information. Second, super saturation of ads has resulted in a phenomenon called banner blindness. Essentially, most of us have learned to ignore any banner-like information we see on the internet.
So here’s what we’ve learned so far:
- Ads seem to cover any blank space both online and offline
- For the sake of sanity, human brains learn to ignore ads
Advertising clutter makes it difficult for brands to stand out and for users to enjoy their online/offline experience
It sounds like a perfect moment for ad blocking solutions to come into play. It also looks like the right time for brands to recognize the need for less intrusive marketing strategies.
The problem of too many ads: the brand perspective
Advertising has become cheap in cost and quality. Now it takes only a few hours (or less) to run a massive advertising campaign capable of reaching millions of perfectly-targeted users from all around the globe. It’s no wonder brands big or small want to make use of the opportunity.
But there’s a catch.
The more ads released, the less effective they become. When spoken simultaneously, even the most well crafted messages become little more than noise.
This oversaturation of ads is also a problem for brands and advertisers.
High competition and an ever-decreasing consumer attention span makes brands do whatever they can to compel us to buy. Desperate to be heard, some brands switch to “bigger, louder, more” mode. The outcomes are drastic. The world becomes cluttered with ads. Should we call it a global ad pollution problem?
There is always a way out. Instead of trying to cover every blank spot with a logo, company name, or marketing message, brands should consider a different approach. But what?
- Value-added marketing where customers are always put first
- High-quality advertising, both educational and entertaining (why not do both?)
- An interactive experience that is polite, ethical, and does not feel like an ad
In a world where the fight for our attention is so frenzied, there is no more room for poor-quality, intrusive advertising.
Making our way through advertising clutter: user perspective
We can’t escape advertising. Or can we?
Even armed with the most efficient available ad blocker, you’ll need to live with your ears and eyes totally shut to avoid any messaging from entering your world. Just like true love, marketing will always find a way. So the answer is: “No, we can’t escape ads completely. But yes, we can significantly limit their number.”
In most cases, advertising is just another form of information clutter. The only goal is to hook new customers and trick them into buying something they might not even need.
Since the majority of ads are aggressive and manipulative in nature, it’s no wonder people want them blocked. This is especially true in regards to pop-ups, banners, and pre-roll video ads - the ad formats people find the most annoying.
There are too many ads: what can we do?
It’s clear our lives are so inundated by ads that we now need to take action. The ultimate act is to block all online ads but it’s important to remember that not every piece of advertising should be considered spam or malicious. We actually want to see certain adverts so we can stay informed of relevant products or news from companies we know and trust. That's where Clario's ad blocker app comes in.
At Clario, we are working on a next-generation cybersecurity tool to help offer you an enhanced online experience. It aims to combine the iOS, macOS, and Android antivirus app along with cross-platform ad blocking, secure VPN, and privacy protection features. Stay tuned for future updates.
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