Ad Fatigue | Advertising is effective (sometimes)

Have you ever been watching a YouTube video or scrolling through TikTok and, no matter how interested you might be in an ad, you don’t even stop to watch it? That’s Ad Fatigue. In other words, it’s the tedium we feel from so much publicity.

Although ads have a high impact on awareness and interactions, sometimes, for one reason or another, they don’t work. This is often due to something called Ad Fatigue, and that’s what we talk about in this article.

What is Ad Fatigue?

It is a new trend in marketing psychology and consists of a deliberate (or even unconscious) action where a user ignores an ad. We can call it a reflex. The presence of advertisements on social media triggers this.

Although ads are hardly avoidable, they can be ignored. It can occur directly or indirectly. For example:

• Directly, when a user uses an ad blocker on a website.
• Indirectly, when the user voluntarily decides to ignore what an ad says.

The first method is found in many ways. Ad blockers are in plugins or VPN services. On the other hand, the second method leads to Ad Fatigue. Here, users train (with no actual intentions) their subconscious to dismiss an ad.

Ads have very predictable behaviors (the content they publish) and formats in which they are displayed (with buttons, ad branding, and specialized messaging). These signals allow the user to exclude the ad from their feed deliberately.

Where does it come from?

We have reached the point where there is ad fatigue due to the insistent need of several brands and platforms to generate more sales without caring about the user experience. This is due to:

• Brands that disinterestedly publish ads to any audience.
• We see a vast number of ads in apps like Meta.
• The intrusive nature of certain ads like YouTube or Netflix.
• The excessive amount of promoted content in search engines such as Google.

Some brands are to blame for backing this up. While today’s algorithms strongly favor promoted content, too much of it can lead to consumer fatigue and burnout.

Effects of Ad Fatigue

Of course, social media platforms and many brands that promote content on them rely on ads to make money. Ad Fatigue can have a negative implication on any campaign. For example:

• Decrease in the number of clicks generated in a campaign.
• Less awareness, interactions, and lead generation.
• Higher cost of ads with worse results.

It should also be noted that ad fatigue does not necessarily have to do with implementations, optimizations, or content quality. In other words, some users choose not to see ads. Consequently, this can severely affect many campaigns with objectives such as increasing awareness or promoting content.

How to fight against it (ethically and effectively)

The idea is that the ad should not be intrusive, invasive, or abusive. Unfortunately, ad campaigns, in their attempt to sell more, fall into these problems. The result? We find plenty of campaigns with poor results and misleading data.

How can we address this problem? RPB Marketing suggests the following to fight against ad fatigue and publish better ads:

• Demographics. Target your ads to the right audience by age, location, language, etc.
• SEO optimizations. Use the right keywords and compelling copywriting.
• Friendly content. Know your audience so that your message is the right one.
• Data analysis. Study your audiences and their behaviors before launching an ad.
• A/B testing. Before launching an ad, test, and launch several versions of the same ad.

Remember that you cannot mitigate or deal with ad fatigue by running more ads. On the contrary, our best recommendation is to know your audience well and be responsible. 

Listen to the audience and study the data you have. Don’t be invasive, insensitive, or insistent. Ads are an excellent vehicle to generate online leads, as long as it responds to the needs and interests of users.