Mobile Ads Need to Work on Building Trust

According to a report recently released by Nielsen, mobile ads lag far behind other forms of advertising when it comes to trustworthiness. Nevertheless, mobile ads are growing in popularity and importance, and are finding their way into more mobile apps.

The report, titled “Trends in Advertising Spend and Effectiveness,” 13 percent of mobile users ages 13-17 “always” look at mobile advertising, while 45 percent “sometimes” look at it. This makes the teenage demographic the most receptive to mobile ads.

Meanwhile, 6 percent of users 18-24 “always” look at mobile ads, while 40 percent “sometimes” look at it, according to Nielsen.

The company also notes that 37 percent of men say they’re not likely to respond to ads on mobile devices, and that 44 percent of women say the same.

“Approximately one-in-five apps users say they have used a search engine or looked elsewhere online for more information after viewing a mobile advertisement or told someone about the advertised product or service,” according to the report. “Seventeen percent have forwarded a link or video to others and 10 percent have recommended an advertised product or service. Sixteen percent have used a coupon and 14 percent have entered a contest or sweepstakes.”

Nielsen also examined how much consumers trust different forms of advertising. Recommendations from people they know was the clear leader here, with 76 percent of consumers saying they trust this medium — 18 percent saying they “completely” trust this and 58 percent saying they “somewhat” trust it.

Consumer opinions posted online got a 49 percent response (4 percent “completely,” 45 percent “somewhat”) and emails signed up for got a 40 percent response (4 percent “completely,” 36 percent “somewhat”).

Ads on mobile devices, however, only got a 13 percent response (2 percent “completely,” 11 percent “somewhat”), making it the least trusted form of advertising in the survey.

A separate webinar from comScore, Mobile Marketing Association and Where Inc., titled “The State of the U.S. Mobile Advertising Industry and What Lies Ahead,” highlighted SMS ads. According to the webinar, 28 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers received one or more SMS ad in March