01 Nov 10

iPad users are more open to online ads

by Jonathan Sepulchre, Digital Planner/Buyer

According to research by Nielsen, iPad owners are more receptive to advertising than people using other gadgets, including the iPhone, and more likely to make a purchase after seeing an ad. Nearly 60% of users across the iPad, iPhone and all other connected devices said they were "OK with advertising if it means I can access content for free."

45% of iPad owners said they were more likely to click on ads that included multimedia, compared with 26% of iPhone users and 27% of other connected device owners (ie. Amazon Kindle, non Apple tablets or smartphones).

The only question is how much of the enthusiasm for ads on the iPad is driven by the tablet's novelty factor and will naturally diminish over time. Only time will tell.

The Nielsen study also found iPad owners tended to skew younger and more male than users of other devices, including the Acer Aspire One (netbook), the Kindle, the iPhone, iPod touch and Sony PlayStation Portable. So 65% of iPad users are male and 63% are under the age of 35. That's closest to the PlayStation demographic: 62% male and 68% under 35.