Mr Branding: Repetitive Ads Can Ruin a Brand’s Reputation, Here’s Why

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Repetitive Ads Can Ruin a Brand’s Reputation, Here’s Why

Brands have a tendency to streamline various processes, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, sometimes this can do more harm than good. A recent study conducted by IPG and Nexxen revealed that repetitive ads, which are often used to cut down on costs, can make a consumer’s purchasing intent lower than might have been the case otherwise. This is mostly due to the damage that it can do a brand’s reputation.

According to the survey that was conducted as part of this report, 48% of people find repetitive ads to be annoying. 33% went so far as to say that they were a serious disruption that ruin the immersion that they are looking for in terms of their viewing experience. While it could be said that brands are not aware of how repetitive their ads are becoming, 83% of the people that responded to this survey were of the opinion that this was an intentional move on their part.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 68% placed the blame for this repetition squarely on brands themselves, although 44% said that streaming services also shared at least some of the blame.

The study also revealed that seeing an ad six times or more led to 92% brand recall, which might be useful because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up keeping the brand in the customer’s mind. However, it can also have a damaging effect, since most of these customers would form a very negative opinion of the brand. Given the high level of recall, this negative perception will not end up going away anytime soon.

All in all, the brand recall came at the expensive of purchasing intent with all things having been considered and taken into account. The study noted a 16% decline in purchasing intent for those customers who were forced to see an ad half a dozen times, so the cons definitely outweigh the pros in this regard.

It can also be detrimental for streaming services, since customers are not likely to want to stick around if they are shown the same ad repeatedly. There is a chance that these consumers would get fed up of the streaming service, thereby leading to them turning to other platforms in order to satisfy their content consumption needs.

This highlights just how necessary it can be for both brands as well as streaming service providers to partner with companies that can diversify the ads that customers will see. Six exposures do have the undeniable advantage of boosting recall, but if these occurrences happen too closely to one another, the decline in purchasing intent can become an unavoidable eventuality.

It will be interesting to see how this study impacts the performance of ads across the world. The enormous saturation of the digital ad landscape is posing numerous problems, and with third party tracking and personal data getting ever harder to come by, digital ads need to change for the better. Steps must be taken to ensure that the proper cadence is attained when it comes to ads being shown.