Most consumers are happy for advertisers to use personal data to personalise adverts

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Most consumers are happy for advertisers to use personal data to personalise adverts Duncan is an award-winning editor with more than 20 years experience in journalism. Having launched his tech journalism career as editor of Arabian Computer News in Dubai, he has since edited an array of tech and digital marketing publications, including Computer Business Review, TechWeekEurope, Figaro Digital, Digit and Marketing Gazette.


As many as 61% of UK consumers are happy for companies to use their personal data to personalise ads and offers for them.

Personalisation specialist A Million Ads, in collaboration with research company, Attest, recently conducted global consumer and marketer research identifying perceptions and preferences around personalised advertising.

The results revealed that 77% are very or somewhat annoyed when seeing or hearing exactly the same ad many times over. Moreover, 61% of UK respondents are very or somewhat willing for advertisers to use their data to personalise ads and offers, if it keeps content free and data anonymous. When asked what data points they were happy to share for personalised ads and offers, the respondents cited: 

Gender: 66%

Age: 57%

Preferences / interests: 53%

Language: 53%

Occupation: 32% 

Browsing behaviour: 30%

Name: 26%

Household income: 17%

More than half (56%) prefer or somewhat prefer personalised ads that are relevant to their current context over standard, generic ads. Indeed 55% are very or somewhat more likely to purchase a product or service after having seen or heard a personalised ad. Netflix, Amazon and Instagram were the top three companies listed for excelling at personalisation. 

65% of the marketers surveyed revealed that personalisation is a high or very high priority for their advertising strategy, with half saying they use personalised advertising to drive better engagement. Indeed, the verticals that have seen the most success with personalised advertising were cited as beauty (34%), entertainment (31%) and finance (26%). 

Similarly, when asked what strong or very strong uplift in brand metrics they had seen by using dynamic, personalised creatives, brand awareness (74%), brand consideration (73%) and purchase intent (73%) came out on top. 

Steve Dunlop, CEO, A Million Ads, said: “The advertising marketplace has changed forever, requiring advertisers to build a new respect-based relationship with consumers. Bludgeoning your audience with repetitive messaging is a tactic that should be consigned to the past. 

“Instead, brands should leverage the power of personalisation through dynamic creative that adapts to the real-time context of their target audience to boost relevance, engagement and results. Our survey revealed that a clear majority of consumers want personalised ads and are willing to share the information brands need to make it happen – if the value exchange is right. 

“Today, personalisation at scale is more accessible, more affordable and more achievable than ever before. It’s time for brands to reap the rewards.”

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Find out more about Digital Marketing World Forum (#DMWF) Europe, London, North America, and Singapore.  

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