Aptus Consultants

The Mintel report found that consumers are most likely to pay attention to ads placed on search engines (54%) and price comparison sites (43%) than social networks (28%) and email (22%).

The report also found key gender and age differences for which types of sites consumers pay more attention to ads on.

Women are more likely to see ads on social networking sites, 47% compared with 41% of men. But men are more likely to see ads when consuming on-demand video content as just 27% of women had seen an ad around VOD content compared with 36% of men.

Jim Clark, analyst at Mintel, said, “The gender differences occur simply because of the basic differences in their media habits. Men tend to focus on entertainment and women use the web to communicate, so therefore they are more likely to engage with ads on these sites.”

Young people are also more likely to pay attention to ads on social media sites with 48% of 16 to 24 year-olds paying attention, compared with just 16% of over 55 year-olds.

SCA feminine hygiene brand Bodyform is running an online campaign that features display advertising and social media as part of an ongoing partnership with the Jemma Kidd make-up range.

Julia Kretova, marketing manager for Bodyform, said social media was chosen for the campaign because Bodyform’s core audience of young women were spending more time there. “It is really hard to engage with our target audience because they are not watching TV or other traditional channels. Some 95% of our core target audience use social media sites, so it is the best way to reach them,” she said.

The factors that drive people to view ads differed according to age. Young people were more likely to interact with ads if they were entertaining. Older people were more inclined to want simplicity and information.