Dive Brief:

• Attention to online ads often depends on the age of the viewer, according to a press release about the second in a series of reports on ad experience from digital ad platform RevJet. Among 18-to-44 year olds, there's a 47% increase in attention compared to 2018, but only 7% for those 45 and older. For Facebook ads, the increase is 49% for the younger set and 25% for the older crowd. But, for YouTube ads, there's a 38% increase over 2018 for 18-to-44 year olds, compared to an 85% increase for those 45 and older.
• Both age groups are maintaining the status quo for skipping video ads, with 2% less for each, compared to 2018. And both are more accepting of auto-play video ads, with a 43% increase in acceptance among 18-to-44 year olds and 143% increase in acceptance for those 45 and older.
• The report also found that consumers aged 45 and older are buying 38% more online products now compared to 2018, while there was only a 9% increase in online purchases by 18-to-44 year olds during the same period.

Dive Insight:

RevJet's findings point to a couple of positive trends for digital marketers and arrive amid new research showing that digital ad revenue topped $100 billion for the first time last year. Younger consumers paying more attention to ads is particularly noteworthy, as this group has, in the past, been shown to have a penchant for using adblockers or simply ignoring ads. Both millennials and Gen Z are big users of adblockers, according to separate research. However, when researchers take a more granular approach there are indications that Gen Z is interested in some forms of advertising, particularly out-of-home and video.

It's also interesting that older consumers are becoming more comfortable with shopping online. This supports other recent trends like CPG brands putting a bigger focus on direct-to-consumer offerings and a surge in shoppable digital ad formats.

However, the report also underscores some of the ongoing challenges in digital media, in particular concern over data privacy. Eighty-six percent of both age groups combined expressed concern about digital privacy, although there’s a slight age split: 18-to-44 year olds are becoming more concerned, but those over 45 are becoming less concerned.

Another key takeaway from the RevJet report is that marketers need to keep their digital content relevant and avoid putting the same creative in front of consumers as they move around web properties. More than 90% of those 45 and older dislikes a company that is repeating an ad or whose ads are not aligned with the viewer's interests or situation. But, among the 18-44 set, only about 68% would feel negatively toward such an advertiser.

Conducted online in January, the survey sampled 1,000 individuals aged 18 and older in the U.S.