76% of UK consumers are willing to watch advertisements in exchange for free content

Seedtag, an EMEA and LATAM specialist in contextual advertising, has released the results of a survey conducted by international data analysis and market research firm YouGov into European consumers' privacy concerns and attitudes toward advertising. The UK was significantly more likely to support an ad-funded model for online content (76%), than Italy (56%), France (52%), and Spain (51%). The disparity in behavior demonstrates the need for a regionally tailored strategy, as brands can capitalize on the fact that the majority of consumers are still willing to be served ads. More than half of UK respondents have already taken steps to protect their online privacy and limit cookie tracking. 52% of UK consumers either limit the scope of cookie storage or refuse cookies entirely when shopping online. This is consistent with France (59%), Italy (58%), Spain and the Netherlands (both 54%), and Germany (49%). Customers also changed their cookie preferences based on the website they were visiting. Other key survey findings include:

• 82% of Europeans are either very positive or very positive about brands ceasing to use personal data for targeting.
• Consumers are acutely aware of the importance of safeguarding their data, particularly when it comes to data collection via cookies. 53% of people reject cookies on specific websites.
• Consumers are generally content to view advertisements in exchange for free editorial content. Instead of paying for a subscription, paying per article, or receiving a limited number of free articles, 58% of participants chose hybrid or ad-supported models.
• 53% of consumers believed that ads embedded within high-quality content were more likely to catch their attention, and half of participants ranked creativity and visual content as the top two most important factors in an advertisement's recall value and appeal.
• 64% of these respondents were very positive about brands whose ads were embedded in relevant content.

The survey focused on the privacy concerns and preferred methods of online advertising of 3,000 internet users from Spain, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It also concentrated on what they find most valuable about the internet advertising they encounter and the environment in which it is presented. The specialist research team at Seedtag examined the respondents' ages in relation to gender and area to make sure that they were representative of the general community. Paul Thompson, UK national manager for Seedtag, commented on the poll results, saying: "Consumers are increasingly taking control over their own data and privacy expectations. Consumers are aware of what they want and anticipate from brands and publishers, according to the report. Brands and publishers must recognize that different countries have radically different requirements and adjust their strategies accordingly. Consumers appear to embrace the transition to a cookie-free world, therefore as a sector, we need to explore for solutions that don't require the requirement for personal data. This is a great potential. Since its debut in 2014, Seedtag has led the way in the market with a privacy-first advertising solution that is presently the top contextual solution in EMEA and LATAM. Seedtag also pioneered the use of AI and machine learning to develop contextual AI technology, LIZ. The firm just raised €250M, and it wants to utilize the money to scale LIZ even more, as well as to increase its innovation and international operations.