Most Hated Advertising Techniques

Jakob Neilsen's recent study on Internet advertising raises some interesting questions. The results of the study highlighted some web site techniques that raised an extreme emotional response in the users who participated in the study. Foremost among "The Most Hated Advertising Techniques" were pop-up ads. Users equated the use of pop-ups with "the worst Internet sum". Yet many very successful direct marketers swear by them. Is this a case of the message, not the messenger? Specifically, if the message is relevant to the user, are they less annoyed by intrusive advertisments? This study appears to indicate that this is, in fact, so. Study participants reported that they didn't mind, even liked, ads that clearly indicated what the result would be if they were clicked on, and which related to what the user was doing online ate the time. Pop-ups which provided additional information without having to leave the page, were not viewed negatively at all. So advertisers who mislead users into clicking through may drive up their CTR, but will probably not see a corresponding increase in sales. Ticking off customers never drives up sales. You can read the complete study here