Brands need 'funnel vision' to avoid consumer fatigue

Brand owners aiming to keep their digital marketing funnel flowing – from awareness and consideration to conversion – need to balance personalisation, relevance, frequency, and creativity with the most appropriate channels for the products they are selling or risk consumer fatigue.

That is according to Tangoo’s “Awareness to Conversion: Mapping the Power of Programmatic Channels in the UK” report, which reveals that, across all age groups, when it comes to brand awareness, social media is the top dog, with over half (52%) of UK consumers recalling ads on the likes of Facebook and TikTok, while streaming TV (47%) is not far behind.

For purchase consideration, however, two-fifths (39%) of Brits who acted on an ad cited video as the key inspiration, while digital OOH was credited with driving the most immediate purchases of high-value items.

Conducted by Censuswide, the nationally representative study of 2,000 UK consumers maps how different channels and ad formats perform over a seven-day period, providing advertisers with the insight they need for omnichannel programmatic strategies.

At the top of the funnel, in the awareness stage, social media was found to be the channel with the highest ad recall overall, particularly in younger audiences, with 66% of 25- to 34-year-olds remembering ads on the likes of Instagram. Both social media and streaming TV captured older demographics, too, with more than 40% of over-55-year-olds recalling ads on both platforms.

Other digital channels also play a role: over a third (37%) of respondents recalled seeing ads on websites, 23% on mobile apps, 23% on digital billboards, and 19% on audio platforms. However, while visibility is high, more than 1 in 6 consumers did not recall seeing any ads.

When examining the role of ad formats in the consideration stage, video (39%) and digital banner ads (28%) were found to drive the best engagement from those consumers who acted on seeing an ad in the last week. These formats came out on top in helping consumers consider both high and low value purchases.

The study identified that short and to the point content (22%) and eye-catching visuals (21%) are the top features that help to drive engagement mid-funnel on video ads.

Despite their value in the awareness and consideration phases, video ads were found to be less effective when it comes to conversion for the purchase of high-value items, however, with digital billboards driving the most immediate purchases of all the ad formats.

For low-value items, sponsored articles and banner ads were found to drive the most immediate purchases out of the different ad formats surveyed.

When expanding the timeframe to a month, audio (88%) was the ad format identified as the most effective for driving high-value purchases, and video (84%) was most successful in converting low-value items.

When asked about relevance and personalisation, nearly two-thirds (61%) of consumers cited no improvement in the ads they see online, and nearly a third (29%) said that ads rarely or never match their interests or needs.

Furthermore, more than 80% of consumers reported seeing the same ad on multiple platforms regularly, and 44% said that they would begin to ignore or feel frustrated by ads after seeing them just three times or less on mobile apps.

Tangoo international partnership lead Riccardo Morabito said: “Consumers are sending brands a clear message: just being seen doesn’t drive results – getting the balance right is key to avoid pushing consumers out of the funnel.

“Brands need to understand how to leverage the right channels and ad formats according to the value of the product and the demographic they are targeting.

“This is not a static picture, though – how consumers use technology and platforms is constantly evolving, making it vital for advertisers to continually test their full-funnel programmatic strategies and adapt accordingly to ensure their campaigns are effective.”