A new study from iHeartMedia and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries finds that 44% of Americans feel ignored by advertisers — underscoring the differences between a large group of consumers and the values of marketers trying to reach them with products and services.
The findings, which were released Tuesday in the second annual “The New American Consumer 2.0” study, also offer insights designed to aid marketers in avoiding their own biases and better understanding and serving key audience segments.
The report, for example, cites research showing consumers are much more likely to enjoy hunting, fishing and buying lottery tickets — while marketers are more likely to choose pickleball and tennis.
“We marketers have more data at our fingertips than ever before, yet almost half of American consumers are feeling ignored,” said Gayle Troberman, CMO, iHeartMedia. “As marketers, we have to be careful not to let our personal perception guide our marketing decisions. This study lays out where our perception matches the marketplace and where there are major differences — so we can use that information to make new and better decisions about maximizing the appeal of our products to all consumers, not just those who align with our own perceptions and values.”
According to the study, 72% of consumers don’t want to patronize brands that make them feel ignored, and three-quarters say they’d even pay a bit more to bolster brands that share their values.
“As marketers, we need to be reminded that we are not the target for most of our marketing campaigns,” added Troberman. “There’s a big opportunity to improve marketing results with a more conscious focus on the real-life influences that the majority of consumers rely on — and by more accurately reflecting our customers’ real values, passions and priorities.”
The study also finds that consumers increasingly feel “creeped out” by marketers’ reliance on hyper-targeting, data and AI, with 67% saying they hate being “targeted” by ads. In addition, it appears that intensely focused ad targeting may not be generating the desired results: seven in 10 consumers say digital ads irrelevant, despite targeting.
“Today’s consumers are acutely aware of their social and economic environment and hold higher expectations for the brands that target them, sometimes relentlessly, based on the very traits that define their individuality,” said Gladwell. “This study is crucial in revealing the underlying biases that often inadvertently shape marketing strategies.”
Among the report’s key findings:
44% of Americans feel ignored, and consumers will pay more for brands that support their values. According to the study, these sentiments prevail across urban, suburban and rural communities, as well as races and ethnicities.
The path to purchase is much longer for consumers vs. marketers. Consumers make purchase decisions after seeking approval, researching and saving, over weeks or even months, for purchases of $100. Marketers can make purchases — even those exceeding $1,000 — without permission from others, in a matter of hours or days.
Ad personalization is getting old. The report finds 67% of consumers hate being trailed by targeted ads. And 82% of consumers say they’re influenced by their communities, friends, family and religious leaders — and not professional influencers. This potentially reveals a new way to target audiences, by messaging those around them who play key roles in their lives.
Consumers much more focused on religion, law and order. Consumers place twice the emphasis that marketers do on religion and law and order, despite both groups agreeing on the primary values of family, health and safety.
“The key here is for us as marketers to check our own biases at the door. We see this all the time — for example, when marketers who live in big cities and don’t commute as often as the average American don’t necessarily understand the huge role that broadcast radio and podcasts play in people’s lives, particularly in the car,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of the iHeart Digital Audio Group. “Consumers spend about one-third of their media time with audio, but marketers lag in matching that time with media spend — and often underestimate the real usage of broadcast radio, which makes up over two-thirds of all audio listening.”
The findings were presented by Byrne and Gladwell at iHeartMedia’s AudioCon 2024 on Tuesday in New York City.
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