Thursday, October 1, 2009

New Survey Finds that "Two-Thirds of Americans Object to Online Tracking"

Effective targeted or customized advertising has been the holy grail for online advertising, but a new study shows that consumers aren't so thrilled.

I'm not surprised. Actually, I'm more surprised someone had to conduct a study to find that out.

I'm also not surprised that of adults, there's one group that consistently responded that they're interested in getting targeted ads, discounts and news. That group: 18-24 year-olds.

So who doesn't like targeted advertising? Respondents 35 and older, who have the old-fashioned perspective of wanting to protect their privacy more. (Click here for a few charts.)

I find it mildly interesting that, 1,000 people were willing to answer questions about their preferences regarding advertising -- especially since two-thirds of them were concerned about their privacy.

What's more interesting, and potentially more troubling for online marketers, is that 69 percent of respondents said they would favor a law that would give people the right to know how much information a web site has about them.

On the other hand, as they become adults, teens may feel the same way 18-24 year-olds feel, and in a few years, the Times could report that most people like targeted ads.

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