Marketers Contend with Quality Control in Emerging Channels

Marketers seem to have found the right quantity of ads on several emerging channels, but the quality of those ads is still lacking, according to a study by ROI Research for marketing services provider Bluestreak.

The study, which looks at adoption, attitudes and behavior toward emerging channels, finds consumers are generally accepting of the quantity of advertising attached to free Internet services, but many think the messages could be better targeted, according to Leah Holzman, director of marketing for Bluestreak.

“We asked them about the quality of the advertising that they see, and that’s the one area with opportunity, they felt the advertising was random and not directed at them,” Holzman said. “It’s an opportunity to deliver marketing that is more targeted and consumers will respond.”

Among the 1,000-member panel, 100 percent of respondents currently use e-mail, and more than half of those respondents have held onto at least one e-mail address for a significant amount of time. Meanwhile 88 percent use text messaging; 71 percent use message boards; 63 percent use blogs; 36 percent use podcasting and 28 percent use RSS. Just over 32 percent of the panel was 35 or older.

That kind of penetration among newer channels represents a huge opportunity for marketers, if they can find and maintain the right level of ads, she said. For blogs and message boards, 55 percent of respondents think that the number of ads is appropriate, while 61 percent say the same for podcasts. For RSS, only 48 percent think the quantity of ads is right.

Early adopters of these new communication channels are not necessarily the stereotypical hip young tech geeks, but a slightly older generation, Holzman said.

“The people that are picking up on these new technologies span gender and age demographics,” Holzman said. “The early adopters have redefined themselves and are not who you expect.”