30 Jul 12
Your Online Choices
by Laura Anderson, Digital Planner/Buyer
The Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) continues to drive understanding of behavioral targeting amongst consumers through the re-launch of the UK Your Online Choices website.
The website has been launched in response to a recent study carried out by IAB UK and ValueClick. The study highlighted that, although the majority of consumers acknowledge the role and requirements of online advertising to fund online content, the need to have increased control over how information is collected & used was still a concern.
Designed to inform consumers about how ads are displayed on websites based on their previous browsing behavior – ‘behavioral’ or ‘interest based adverting’ – the website includes video content showing how the advertising works, information about the types of companies involved, and an improved feedback process to help answer any consumer queries.
The website is proving popular with UK consumers who want to find out more and exercise greater control over behavioral targeting. In June the UK site received 291,812 unique visitors – a 43% increase from the previous month. Interestingly, only 18% of those consumers visited the control page suggesting that the information provided was reassuring enough for many visitors not to wish to prevent ads targeting them online.
The re-launch of the UK site is a prelude to a pan-European consumer advertising campaign due to launch next year however the new advertising icon is now appearing on or around ads/websites already. In the UK, 95% of businesses serving behavioral ads are already participating in the self-regulatory initiative which is currently the highest compliance rate of all EU markets.
