New Study From iHeartMedia and Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries Finds Consumers Feel Increasingly Ignored By Advertisers – And Provides Key Insights to Help Marketers Reach the 44 Percent of Consumers Who Feel Unserved

Rhea-AI Summary

iHeartMedia and Pushkin Industries released a study revealing that 44% of Americans feel ignored by advertisers. The research, conducted by Morning Consult, Advertiser Perceptions, and Critical Mass Media, highlights a disconnect between marketers' perceptions and consumers' realities. Key findings include:

1. 72% of consumers don't want to buy from brands ignoring them, while 75% would pay more for brands sharing their values.

2. Consumers are increasingly uncomfortable with hyper-targeting, with 67% disliking targeted ads.

3. Consumers prioritize religion and law and order twice as much as marketers do.

4. Consumers define luxury differently, focusing on practical indulgences rather than designer labels.

The study aims to help marketers better understand and serve key audience segments, emphasizing the importance of aligning marketing strategies with consumers' real values and priorities.

Positive

• iHeartMedia is the No. 1 audio company in the US, reaching 9 out of 10 Americans monthly
• The study provides valuable insights for marketers to better understand and reach ignored consumer segments
• 75% of consumers are willing to pay more for brands that share their values
• 82% of consumers are influenced by their communities, friends, family, and religious leaders, offering new targeting opportunities

Negative

• 44% of Americans feel ignored by advertisers, potentially limiting iHeartMedia's reach and effectiveness
• 67% of consumers dislike being targeted by ads, challenging iHeartMedia's advertising strategies
• 70% of consumers find digital ads irrelevant despite targeting efforts
• Marketers' perceptions and values significantly differ from those of consumers, potentially impacting iHeartMedia's advertising effectiveness

Market Research Analyst

This study reveals a significant disconnect between marketers and consumers, with 44% of Americans feeling ignored by advertisers. This presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses:

• Consumer Loyalty: 72% of consumers avoid brands that ignore them, while 75% would pay more for brands aligning with their values. This highlights the importance of understanding and addressing consumer needs.
• Targeting Inefficiency: Despite increased spending on personalization ($9.5 billion expected in 2024), 70% of consumers find digital ads irrelevant. This suggests a need to reassess current targeting strategies.
• Influence Channels: 82% of consumers are influenced by community, friends and family, not professional influencers. This indicates a potential shift in marketing focus towards community-based strategies.

Companies that can bridge this gap and better resonate with the "ignored consumer" segment may gain a significant competitive advantage in the market.

Financial Analyst

The study's findings have significant implications for companies' marketing strategies and potential financial performance:

• Revenue Opportunity: With 75% of consumers willing to pay more for brands that share their values, companies that successfully align with consumer values could see increased revenue and customer loyalty.
• Marketing Efficiency: The revelation that 70% of consumers find targeted ads irrelevant suggests potential wastage in marketing budgets. Reallocating these funds to more effective strategies could improve ROI.
• Market Expansion: The 44% of consumers feeling ignored represent an untapped market segment. Companies that successfully engage this group could see substantial market share growth.

However, the flat aggregated revenues reported by Fortune Global 500 companies in 2024 indicate a challenging economic environment. Companies will need to balance adapting to these consumer insights with managing costs in a potentially tight market.

Consumer Behavior Expert

This study unveils important shifts in consumer behavior and preferences:

• Value-Based Purchasing: Consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on brand values, not just product features or price.
• Privacy Concerns: The 67% of consumers who dislike targeted ads indicate growing privacy concerns and potential backlash against data-driven marketing.
• Community Influence: With 82% of consumers influenced by their immediate circle, we're seeing a return to word-of-mouth and community-based decision making.
• Practical Luxury: Consumers' definition of luxury focusing on practical indulgences suggests a shift towards value-based consumption.

These trends point to a more conscientious consumer base, prioritizing authenticity, community and practical value. Brands will need to adapt their messaging and product offerings to resonate with these evolving consumer priorities to maintain relevance and market share.

The ‘Ignored Consumer’ Audience Spans Generations, Regions and Cultures, and is More Likely to Prioritize Religion, Law and Order and Family Values

Report released to marketers at iHeartMedia’s AudioCon 2024 in NYC

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- iHeartMedia, the No. 1 audio company in the United States with 9 out of 10 Americans listening to iHeart broadcast radio every month, in partnership with bestselling author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries, today released the findings from its second annual study, “The New American Consumer 2.0.” The study, which found that nearly half of Americans (44 percent) feel ignored by advertisers, highlights the stark differences between a large group of Americans and the personal beliefs and values of the marketers that are trying to reach them with products and services – and provides insights to help marketers avoid the pitfalls of their own biases to understand and better serve these key audience segments.

According to the Fortune Global 500, the world's 500 largest companies posted near flat aggregated revenues in 2024. The research, conducted by Morning Consult, Advertiser Perceptions and Critical Mass Media, highlights how a disconnect between the average marketer’s life and that of the average consumer can sometimes impact marketers’ efforts to effectively connect to and reach all important consumer segments in ways that help all consumers feel seen and heard. For example, in one finding, the research showed that consumers are much more likely to enjoy hunting, fishing and buying lottery tickets, while in contrast, pickleball and tennis top the list of activities marketers find cool.

“We marketers have more data at our fingertips than ever before, yet almost half of American consumers are feeling ignored,” said Gayle Troberman, CMO, iHeartMedia. “As marketers, we have to be careful not to let our personal perception guide our marketing decisions. This study lays out where our perception matches the marketplace and where there are major differences -- so we can use that information to make new and better decisions about maximizing the appeal of our products to all consumers, not just those who align with our own perceptions and values.”

The study found 72 percent of consumers don’t want to buy products from brands that are ignoring them, and 75 percent would even be willing to pay a little more to support a brand that shares their values. “As marketers, we need to be reminded that we are not the target for most of our marketing campaigns,” added Troberman. “There’s a big opportunity to improve marketing results with a more conscious focus on the real-life influences that the majority of consumers rely on -- and by more accurately reflecting our customers’ real values, passions and priorities.”

In another key finding, the study revealed that consumers are increasingly feeling “creeped out” by marketers’ reliance on hyper-targeting, data and AI -- with 67 percent saying they hate being “targeted” by ads. Moreover, the study reveals that this level of ad targeting may not be working as intended: 7 out of 10 consumers claim digital ads are irrelevant despite targeting -- even as, according to Statista, marketers plan to spend 9.5 billion on personalization and hypertargeting campaigns in 2024.

“Today’s consumers are acutely aware of their social and economic environment and hold higher expectations for the brands that target them, sometimes relentlessly, based on the very traits that define their individuality,” said Gladwell. “This study is crucial in revealing the underlying biases that often inadvertently shape marketing strategies.”

Key findings from the report include:

• 44 Percent of Americans Feel Ignored by Media and Most Advertisers; Consumers will Pay More for Brands that Support Their Values: It’s not one demographic of consumers who feel this way: they span geographies (urban, suburban and rural), races and ethnicities. Additionally, 72 percent of consumers state that they don’t want to buy products from advertisers that are ignoring them, and 75 percent are willing to pay more for brands that share their values.

• American Vs. Marketers Purchasing Thresholds are Starkly Different, with Americans Consulting Family and Friends and Saving Up for Purchases of $100. The path to purchase is much longer for consumers vs. marketers. Consumers make purchase decisions after seeking approval, researching and saving, over weeks or even months, for purchases of $100. Marketers can make purchases - even those exceeding $1,000 - without permission from others, in a matter of hours or days.

• Marketers Love Personalization, but Consumers are Creeped Out: 67 percent of consumers hate being trailed by targeted ads. Moreover, this hyper-targeting may not be working as intended: 7 out of 10 of these consumers say that these digital ads are irrelevant to them despite marketers’ targeting efforts. Instead, 82 percent of consumers say they are influenced by their communities, friends, family and religious leaders – notably not by professional influencers – potentially revealing a new way to target audiences by messaging those around them who play important roles in their lives.

• Cool for One, Cringe for Another: The Polarizing Preferences: While consumers love to try their luck at lotto, purchasing lottery tickets is something marketers find cringe-worthy. Conversely, while marketers enjoy many health and diet trends, consumers find cold plunges and vegan/vegetarian diets cringeworthy.

• Consumers Double Down on Religion and Law and Order, Marketers Focus Elsewhere: Consumers place twice the emphasis marketers do on religion and law and order, despite both groups agreeing on the primary values of family, health and safety.

• Marketers' Luxuries vs. Consumers' Realities: The Great Divide: While marketers define luxury items as designer labels and accessories, consumers are more focused on luxury as practical indulgences like buying brand name paper towels and premium-grade meat.

“The key here is for us as marketers to check our own biases at the door. We see this all the time - for example, when marketers who live in big cities and don’t commute as often as the average American don’t necessarily understand the huge role that broadcast radio and podcasts play in people’s lives, particularly in the car,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of the iHeart Digital Audio Group. “Consumers spend about one-third of their media time with audio, but marketers lag in matching that time with media spend -- and often underestimate the real usage of broadcast radio, which makes up over two-thirds of all audio listening.”

The findings were presented by Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Digital Audio Group, and Malcom Gladwell at iHeartMedia’s AudioCon 2024 today, September 10 at 4 p.m. ET in New York City at iHeartMedia’s HQ.

Consumer Methodology:

This poll was conducted between May 3 and May 5, 2024 among a national sample of 2,202 U.S. adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Marketer Methodology:

This poll was conducted between May 7 to May 13, 2024 among a national sample of 237 Marketer and Agency contacts from The Advertiser Perceptions Ad Pros Community and trusted third-party partners as needed. Our Ad Pros Community represents the brands and agencies that are spending the most on advertising and marketing in the U.S. We continuously update, supplement, and refine the community based on movement in the market. With qualifications of, employed in the U.S., involved in media brand selection decisions, $1 million minimum ad spend next 12 months.

Ignored Consumer Methodology:

This poll was conducted May 30 to June 2, 2024, among a national sample of 1,651 U.S. adults between the ages of 18-64. The interviews were conducted online and data was weighted to a target sample reflective of the gender, age, race and regional make-up of the U.S. according to the last Census.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, reaching over 90% of Americans every month. iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have more consumer reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet; twice the reach of the next largest broadcast radio company; and over four times the ad-enabled reach of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to Podtrac, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined and has the number one social footprint among audio players, with seven times more followers than the next audio media brand, and the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.

About Pushkin Industries

Pushkin Industries is dedicated to producing audio in any format that challenges listeners, encourages their curiosity, and inspires joy. Or, in other words: Good, Smart, Fun. Founded in 2018, Pushkin is home to chart-topping podcasts such: Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History; Against the Rules, hosted by bestselling author and journalist Michael Lewis; Cautionary Tales from Financial Times columnist Tim Harford; The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, and McCartney: A Life in Lyrics hosted by Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon, which is a co-production with iHeartMedia and MPL. Pushkin publishes and sells audiobooks including So Many Steves by Steve Martin and Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon. Learn more at pushkin.fm or follow us on X @pushkinpods.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240910355223/en/

For iHeartMedia

Angel Aristone

angelaristone@iheartmedia.com



For Pushkin Industries

Eric Sandler

eric.sandler@pushkin.fm

Source: iHeartMedia, Inc.

FAQ

What percentage of Americans feel ignored by advertisers according to iHeartMedia's study?

According to the study conducted by iHeartMedia and Pushkin Industries, 44% of Americans feel ignored by advertisers.

How many consumers don't want to buy products from brands that ignore them?

The study found that 72% of consumers don't want to buy products from brands that are ignoring them.

What percentage of consumers are willing to pay more for brands that share their values?

75% of consumers are willing to pay a little more to support brands that share their values.

How do consumers feel about targeted advertising according to the iHeartMedia study?

The study revealed that 67% of consumers hate being 'targeted' by ads and feel 'creeped out' by marketers' reliance on hyper-targeting, data, and AI.

What influences consumers' purchasing decisions according to iHeartMedia's research?

The study found that 82% of consumers are influenced by their communities, friends, family, and religious leaders, rather than professional influencers.