Target Me - Please

There's another new study which reinforces my own firmly-held (and frequently expressed) belief that most consumers would rather receive RELEVANT advertising info than the hit-or-miss ads that bedevil us on most web sites.

Brand Week reports that a study by Prospectiv, a Massachusetts-based marketing firm, finds 56% of respondents said their social networking experience would be improved by seeing targeted ads. 62% said they would be interested in seeing offers from favorite brands.

That's the good news. Here's the down side: 87% say NONE of the ads they see match their own preferences or interests.

I wonder if some of that is because of the cries of "invasion of privacy" that we hear every day. Seems possible to me. I would hope that the various legislators who feel they have to pass new laws to make sure that nobody can receive ads that conceivably might interest them - at least not without going through some formal opt-in system - would pay attention. I certainly don't object to opt-in. What I fear is that too many sites will decide it's more trouble than it's worth and will simply keep pumping out irrelevant ads.

Hat tip: IAB SmartBrief