Millennials unfazed by paid for content

Just over half of UK adults aged 18-33 will visit online content that appeals to them - even if it is clearly an advert, according to a new study.

This figure rises to 63% when just looking at younger adults aged 18-24 year olds.

The data, which has been collated by Adblock Plus, came from a survey of 1,000 people and found that written feature articles are the type of paid-for online content that most adults prefer to see, (32% of users), followed by list-based articles, (24%) and videos, (17%).

Ben Williams, head of operations at Adblock Plus, said: “What this survey demonstrates is that millenials are interested in online ads so long as they are served non-intrusively. Online users want good content - content that is interesting to them - and they are just as interested when this content is paid-for, so long as they feel in control.

“Online consumers, especially millennials, are becoming increasingly aware of the differences between editorial and paid-for online content, and because of this, transparency in online advertising is more important than ever.

“Users don't want to feel manipulated or deceived by advertising when they are online, and are much more likely to be open to advertising if they are not. If users are presented with ads that do not intrude upon their experience and these are clearly labelled as sponsored, users are showing us that they don't mind it being there.

“Advertisers need to take this change on board and focus more on open and interesting content – ads that their users will actually want to click on -- rather than intrusive and invasive ones.