A study from TNS Global finds most people aren't comfortable with having their online behavior tracked for ad delivery purposes, reports ClickZ.
The research reflected broad awareness among consumers that third parties collect information about their online activities: 71 percent said they knew they were being virtually watched, though only 40 percent were familiar with the term "behavioral targeting."
57 percent were uncomfortable with having their browser cookies analyzed for ad delivery. This held true even if respondents believed their personal information was protected from fraud or other forms of identity abuse.
(For more findings, including tables, from the study, see coverage by MarketingCharts.)
Proponents of behavioral advertising argue that data-mining practices help the consumer, which as a result sees less, and more relevant, advertising in exchange for free content.
Oddly, most consumers surveyed did express a desire for highly targeted, relevant ads; 55 percent said they would be willing to fill out an anonymous survey to get them.
TRUSTe's VP of communications Carolyn Hodge says education on behavioral targeting can help overcome the qualms people have about it. She cited Amazon, which gathers data to share relevant products with users, as one example where behavioral consumer profiles make everyone a winner.
A recent survey by MarketingSherpa found that among marketers, behavioral advertising was among the best ROI deliverers online. To balance practitioner enthusiasm, the FTC released some behavioral ad targeting guidelines late last year.
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