Education about ad targeting can create more fear

Internet users have been sending mixed messages about their attitudes toward targeted ads: They sometimes say they appreciate the relevance targeting brings; they sometimes indicate they would be willing to provide personal information to facilitate targeting; and they also report concerns about advertisers and publishers having too much data.

While some of these mixed messages suggest consumers may be confused about online privacy and what behavioral targeting entails, research from online ad preference management provider PreferenceCentral calls into question whether consumer education is a solution for marketers.

Online advertising spending will resume double-digit growth in 2010, reaching $61.8 billion worldwide, according to eMarketer.

Unlike other major media, online advertising spending increased in 2009, growing 2 percent to $55.2 billion, the research firm reported.

By 2014, eMarketer estimates online spending will leap to $96.8 billion worldwide, growing at an 11.9 percent compound annual rate, despite the slow, uneven and fragile global economic recovery.

Marketing tactics come and go, but no matter what business you’re in, one thing remains a constant: Customers love coupons. Thanks to the increase in the number of Americans online (more than 70 percent of the population), consumers are embracing online coupons as a quick and easy alternative to spending an entire Sunday clipping them from the newspaper.