Banner Advertising Ah-Ha..... People More Likely to Click Ads that are Relevant

Found a great article today on Marketingcharts.com today involving what makes people (Ages 18-24 & 45-54) more likely to pay more attention to an ad they see online.  The two times people pay the most attention to an ad they see online:

1). When the ads are relevant to me (50%)

2). When it is useful to me (43%)

Other influencing factors that make people pay attention are:

3). If it gives me money off 

• 40% - 18-24 yr. olds
• 32% - 45-54

4). If it is entertaining

• 26% - 18-24
• 14% - 45-54

5). If it gives me new and/or exclusive information

• 20% - 18-54
• 16% - 45-54

Not a surprise that consumers would prefer ads that had some relevance in their life.  Is your marketing team serving your ads in relevant areas, on contextually relevant sites or are they just buying impression numbers to make the ads entertaining?  There is probably a reason that only 14% of adults 45-54 click on entertaining ads, but more than double that (32%) click on ads when they are relevant.  Give them what they want, what they can use, what they are asking for.