10 marketing facts missing from the internet narrative
THE advertising industry and the business press developed a “narrative” about advertising 10 years ago. The narrative was that the internet was going to “change everything”.
This narrative colours everything you read about advertising, marketing and media.
The “experts” – consciously or subconsciously – curate the facts to select only the ones that bolster their narrative.
Think we’re overstating the case? If so, explain why you’ve never seen or heard any of these facts:
1. More than 95 percent of all video viewing (in the US) is done on a television. Less than 5 percent is done on a web device. (Nielsen Total Audience Report, Q3, 2015)
2. The rate of engagement among a brand’s fans with a Facebook post is 7 in 10 000. On Twitter it’s less than 4 in 10 000. (Forrester Research)
3. Fewer than one person in 1 000 clicks on a standard banner ad. (DoubleClick)
4. E-commerce accounts for 6.8 percent of retail sales in the US. (US Department of Commerce, Q3, 2015)
5. Over half the online display ads paid for by marketers are unviewable. (Wall Street Journal)
6. Fewer than 2 percent of retail transactions happen on a smartphone. (US Department of Commerce and Internet Retailer)
7. Only 38 percent of traffic on the web is human. (CNET)
8. One “bot-net” can generate 1 billion (yes, with a b) fraudulent online ad impressions a day. Nobody knows how many “bot-nets” there are. (Yahoo)
9. Half of all US online advertising dollars may be lost to fraud. (Adweek)
10. Americans spend more time watching TV than all other leisure activities combined. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The literature and the narrative of the advertising and marketing industry have been hijacked by a) People with an agenda. b) People who do not know the facts.
c) People who are afraid to contradict the prevailing plot line.
And one more thing. According to Solve Media, you are more likely to complete Navy Seal training than click on a banner ad.
Adapted from a newsletter by Bob Hoffmann, the Ad Contrarian. http://bobhoffmanswebsite.com