Video, Search Ads Drive Most Action Among Affluents

Digital ads drive clicks and conversions among high-income web users

Digital ads tend to appeal to consumers of all income brackets, and affluents—those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more—are just as responsive to them as the general population. But high-income internet users are especially responsive to video and search ads.

Nearly 60% of affluent consumers have taken action based on a digital ad in the six months prior to the survey, which was conducted in February 2011, by Ipsos Mendelsohn for the Interactive Advertising Bureau. While the readiness to take an action is slightly higher (61%) among consumers in households earning less than $100,000, when it comes to awareness and making an actual purchase, affluents overindexed.

For example, digital ads created awareness of new products for 55%, and awareness of new companies for 51% of affluents. Only 49% of lower-income households reported awareness in both these categories.

In addition, some 17% of well-off consumers went to a retail outlet to see or purchase a product and 16% purchased the product online. Among non-affluents, the percentage was 16% and 15%, respectively.

The most effective digital formats among affluents are video and search, as 41% said that they took an action after seeing one of these ad formats. Email and banner ads are next, with 37% of respondents saying they acted after seeing an ad in either format.

Affluents seem particularly understanding of the need to provide information about themselves to marketers if it means the ads they see would be more targeted. In response to the statement, “I am usually willing to share some information about myself online so that I can get a more customized online experience,” 32% of the well-to-do consumers said yes, compared with 23% of the less well-off.

High-income consumers even seem receptive to behavioral targeting, with 37% saying that when on the internet they are most likely to pay attention to “ads relevant to activities I happen to be thinking about, whatever website I happen to be on.” Only 32% of the lower-income respondents agreed with that statement.

SOURCE eMarketer