Social media platforms are an important part of any online marketing campaign, but companies attempting to entice us with their wares face the constant challenge of how to design effective display advertisements that keep our attention when many people ignore or actively avoid such efforts.
Given that display advertisements represent almost half of the global advertising market, it is obvious that much of the money spent is by users that do not engage with them. Research in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing has looked at the factors that contribute towards advertisement avoidance and how advertisers might address this problem more effectively.
Priscilla Teika Odoom of the Ghana Institute of Journalism and Raphael Odoom and Stephen Mahama Braimah of the University of Ghana Business School in Accra, Ghana have built upon a psychological model known as the stimulus-organism-response. This frames how we behave when confronted with external stimuli, such as online advertisements. It has long been known that user reactions to advertising can vary greatly, but this new research looks specifically at two key features of display advertisements: personalization and exposure conditions.
The researchers explain that personalization refers to the tailoring of advertisements based on an individual’s past behaviour, such as browsing history or previous interactions with the advertiser or its associates. Exposure condition refers to whether a user has control over when and how they view advertisements, or if the advertisements are imposed upon them, as is often the case with pop-up advertisements, for instance.
The researchers found that advertisements that are both personalized and shown in a way that allows the user to control the viewing experience are far less likely to be avoided as one might expect. However, the overall effect can be tempered by the user’s personality. For instance, extrovert consumers are, the team found, more likely to engage with well-personalized advertisements. Whereas those with higher levels of neuroticism tended to less responsive to advertisements, regardless of whether the ads were personalized or not. This difference complicates the task of creating a universal advertising strategy, because the advertisers will not tend to know the specific personality traits of their target audience.
Moreover, the team found that other psychological factors, such as scepticism and trust, can affect advertisement avoidance. Consumers who are sceptical of online advertising are more likely to avoid advertisements, especially if they feel the advertisements are not relevant or trustworthy. Conversely, users with a more favourable attitude toward online advertisements tend to engage more positively with them.
However, regardless of the psychological factors, advertisements that are novel or creative were found to be more likely to capture a user’s attention and reduce avoidance. If advertisers can identify personality traits among their prospects and at the same time develop new and creative campaigns that target users appropriately they are, the work suggests, more likely to succeed in their marketing efforts.
Odoom, P.T., Odoom, R. and Braimah, S.M. (2025) ‘Minimising display advertising avoidance on social media platforms – the role of exposure condition, personalisation, and personality traits’, Int. J. Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp.104–132.
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