Plus: Tablet ads outperform their print versions; 3 ways that consumer data can improve ad creatives; and context gives content a run for the crown
Nearly 1/3 of display ads are never seen by consumers: Thirty-one percent of display ads run in campaigns by a dozen major brands (including Allstate, Chrysler and General Mills) were never seen by consumers, according to a comScore 
study. The ads were literally lost or hidden, due to an overabundance of ad inventory or poor placement on Web pages. On the bright side, the study supports the effectiveness of geotargeting; an average of only 4% of impressions missed their targeted locations.
Tablet magazine ads outperform their print doppelgangers: Based on a study of 4,000 digital ads, media researchers at Affinity found that tablet advertisements outperformed the traditional printed versions of those same ads in key areas such as recall and action scores---how often a user does what the ad asks, like make a purchase or visit a link. Interactivity is the tablet's key advantage, said the study, offering consumers more opportunities to spend quality time with ads via links, videos and more. This is what the Livestand from Yahoo! people have been saying for months.
Tablets continue their scheme for world domination: Seventy-two million tablets were shipped in 2011, a 256% increase over 2010, according to a Displaysearch report. Tablets now make up 25% of all mobile devices (notebooks, tablets and mini-notebooks), says the report, which projects the tablet population will reach 383 million by 2017. Rounding out the 2011 stats: 188 million notebooks (65.7% of the mobile computing market) were shipped, along with 25.2 million mini-notebooks (8.8%).
Three ways that consumer data can personalize creatives: Move over campaign metrics and audience targeting; consumer data can also be used to personalize ad creatives and make them more relevant and effective, says Michael Kaushansky in MediaPost. Data can be used to beef up campaign creatives from early design to in-market optimization, he says; and here are three ways to use it.
Content, schmontent---maybe context should be king: Contextual advertising is when marketers place ads in related Web content, and it's long been used to raise brand awareness among target audiences. Turns out it also improves performance in both online display and mobile campaigns, according to a study by Kontera. In display campaigns, the study found that contextual ads hit a click-through rate that's 0.05 percentage points above the U.S. industry average. Big whoop, you say? On the mobile side, click through rates averaged 0.65%, which is five times the U.S. industry average.
--- Bob Pickard
