Objectives & methodology overview OBJECTIVES: • The key areas for inclusion in this study were as follows: • Attitudes and behaviours towards online behavioural advertising • Trust of the internet generally and online behavioural advertising specifically • Perceptions of online privacy • Perceptions of personal information sharing, and attitudes towards it METHODOLOGY • Online quantitative study • Questionnaire was 10 minutes in length • Fieldwork was conducted from the 3rd – 11th September 2009 • Overall sample = 1004 respondents • Quotas were set on gender, age, region and social class to ensure a nationally representative sample • Quotas also set on hours spent using the internet for personal use to achieve a good spread of light, medium and heavy users

Key Headlines

Key Headlines • There is currently a moderate level of appeal of OBA, with strong potential for greater acceptance given wider public education • Appeal is stronger among those more engaged in the online world – the younger, heavier users of the internet • So what are the factors at play here? • Fairly low levels of online advertising likeability generally – few actively admit to liking online ads • We know from previous research that this is largely a hangover from early online advertising in the forms of unregulated pop ups, etc • A lack of relevance is also strongly correlated to this ambivalence • Despite trust in the internet growing – there remains some apprehension with sharing personal data online • The feeling of invasiveness is a key barrier for OBA – along with concerns over how their personal information is stored • Both of these can be managed through education to avoid misconceptions over how OBA actually works • A sense of control and knowledge will be key for improving the appeal of OBA going forward - there is a real appetite to find out more about OBA before being required to take action

Sharing of personal data

Trust in the internet Half of respondents feel they can trust the internet more now than five years ago, and this is stronger among the younger age groups and medium / heavy internet users – the groups that we see are more savvy and engaged with the internet throughout Trust more 50% PERSONAL INTERNET USE Q8: Compared to 5 years ago, are you more or less likely to trust the internet nowadays i.e. are you more or less likely to think it’s safe and secure? Base: All respondents (n=1,004): 16-24 (n=163), 25-44 (n=155), 45+ (n=486), light (n=193), medium (n=205) & heavy (n=606)

Sharing personal data with other sites Most people have shared personal information via. these sites so are familiar with doing this online – although lighter internet users were less likely across to board to have provided information Have you ever provided or shared any personal data with any of the following types of websites...? 90% have shared personal data with at least one... ...significantly lower for light interest users Significantly higher for 16-24’sand men Significantly higher for 16-24’s Q7a: Have you ever provided or shared any personal data with any of the following types of websites? Please tick all that apply… Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Security of stored personal data Interestingly, low comfort levels are not necessarily derived from a poor sense of security – other factors at play! Less than one in 10 see either method as unsecure BUT there is the sense that personal information shared with suppliers is more secure than personal information stored on a personal computer 37%see data on their computer as secure 48%believe data shared with other providers is secure 9%see data on their computer as unsecure 6%believe data shared with other providers is unsecure Q6a: Thinking about your personal data that you store on your computer, how secure do you think it is? Q6b: And thinking about your personal data that you share with other providers e.g. your bank, retail sites like Amazon, etc, how secure do you think it is? Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Types of personal data comfortable to share There is a stronger degree of comfort with providing the less sensitive types of personal data – such as gender address or birth date. This drops off a little for the more delicate areas – although around half are comfortable providing financial information online NET COMFORT: 95% 83% 79% 77% 60% 59% 48% Q7b: And how comfortable do you feel providing the following specific types of personal data online, for example, when you are buying something from a website? Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Attitudes towards online ads

Likability of online advertising While less than 1 in 10 definitively admit to liking online advertising, there is some degree of positivity for just under half of respondents. However, there is a pocket of respondents that actively dislike online ads 46% Feel some positivity towards online ads... ...significantly lower for those age 45+ Significantly higher for those age 45+ Q10: ..please tick which of the following statements is closest to your opinion of online advertising… Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Relevance of current online ads Strong correlation between likeability and relevance, with those who dislike advertising being the least likely to see any relevance in what they see. Just over a third of respondents believe they are currently being exposed to relevant advertising SEE RELEVANT ADS: 36% 89% 52% 24% 11% LIKING OF ONLINE ADS Q12: Thinking now about the advertising you see when you are online, how relevant are the ads you tend to see? By relevant we mean of interest to you; pertaining to things that you enjoy, like or might be looking to buy Base: All respondents (n=1,004), like ads (n=87), like some / don’t mind (n=373), Indifferent (n=238) & dislike (n=306)

Awareness and appeal of OBA

Awareness of concept of OBA Just over a quarter are familiar with the term ‘online behavioural advertising’ – this then increases to just under half of respondents once a more detailed explanation of the practice is given SPONTANEOUS AWARENESS PROMPTED AWARENESS 46% aware 28% aware ...given prompted explanation and example... 72% unaware 54% aware Awareness is significantly lower among women, those age 45+and lightinternet users Q13a: Have you heard of the concept of ‘online behavioural advertising’ or ‘interest based advertising’? Q13c: Are you aware of this type of practice online? Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Awareness of OBA when online Just over 1/3rd have noticed OBA in action whilst online - again, this is more common among those who feel more positive towards online ads (and are therefore engaging with them more) Have you ever noticed this happening to you when you are on the internet? All respondents Like online ads Like some / don't mind online ads Indifferent to online ads Dislike online ads 4% 11% 6% 2% 2% Yes– all the time 34% 51% 40% 26% 27% Yes– sometimes 27% 24% 28% 28% 27% Not really – very seldom 35% 14% 26% 44% 44% No– I have never noticed this Base: All respondents (n=1,004), like ads (n=87), like some / don’t mind (n=373), Indifferent (n=238) & dislike (n=306) Q13d: Have you ever noticed this happening to you when you are on the internet?

Spontaneous reaction to OBA Among those who have heard of OBA at an unprompted level there is a good level of comprehension, with the majority able to accurately describe the concept. Encouragingly only a small amount of negativity comes through - on the whole the responses were very unemotional LACK OF KNOWLEDGE – 13% STRONG COMPREHENSION – 71% NEGATIVE RESPONSE – 7% Despite claiming awareness of the concept, these respondents had little idea what the practice actually involved The majority were able to mention the two key elements; i) that their activity would be collected so that ii) they receive more targeted advertising... Some negative mentions – mostly relating to privacy concerns or negative misconceptions (some mentions of Phorm here) ‘I do not agree with it’ ‘Tracks your online behaviour and targets adverts specifically to you’ SOME COMPREHENSION – 16% ‘An invasion of privacy and should be banned’ Understood some elements, such as tracking or targeting – but did not fully understand how these interlink... ‘It follows what you look at and then advertise something similar to what you have been looking at’ However, the vast majority of responses at this stage were unemotional ‘Monitoring which sites I visit & ads I click on’ ‘Presenting adverts that are relevant to what I do and the type of person I am’ ‘Advertising aimed at a particular group’ ‘Adverts are tailored to your individual likes and dislikes, based on how you surf the internet’ ‘People watching the different sites you use’ Q13b: What does the concept ‘online behavioural advertising’ mean to you? And what do you think it involves? Have you heard anything about it in the press? Please include as much detail as possible… Base: All aware of OBA (n=282)

Appeal of OBA Stand alone appeal of the concept is moderate, with over half of respondents not rejecting the idea outright. Appeal improves among the more engaged online advertising advocates Appeal stronger for those 16-44 or medium / heavy internet users... 23% appeal All respondents Like online ads Like some / don’t mind online ads Indifferent to online ads Don’t like online ads Q14a: How appealing is the idea of online behavioural advertising generally - receiving ads that are relevant to you and your interests? Base: All respondents (n=1,004), like ads (n=87), like some / don’t mind (n=373), Indifferent (n=238) & dislike (n=306)

Rationale for lack of appeal of OBA The key barrier to OBA is the feeling of invasion – a knee jerk, emotional response. There are also concerns as to how the data would be stored, used and shared Significantly higher for 16-24’s It just feels really invasive I am concerned my personal data will be storedpermanently, without my knowledge Only 35% of these have actually noticed OBA when online I am worried about companies getting hold of my personal data I don't like any form of online advertising I don't want my personal data falling into the hands of institutions like the state or the police Some of my web activity is private and I'm worried about the sorts of ads it could generate Significantly lower for those age 45+ Significantly lower for those age 25-44 I am not sure how it all works Other Q14b: You’ve said that you find the idea of online behavioural advertising unappealing – please tick the relevant reasons below... Base: All respondents who find OBA unappealing (n=394)

Awareness of protection for personal data While just under three quarters of respondents are aware that their personal data is protected online by laws and regulations, only 1 in 5 understand that OBA does not collect or store personal data – suggesting further education on how OBA works is required PERSONAL INTERNET USE All respondents Males Females Light Medium Heavy Aware there are laws and regulations to protect personal data online 72% 75% 69% 65% 71% 74% 22% 28% 17% 18% 18% 25% Aware personal data is not collected or stored for OBA Q17a: Were you aware that in the majority of cases, your personal data is not collected or stored in order to provide online behavioural advertising? Base: All respondents (n=1,004): males (n=481), females (n=523), light (n=193), medium (n=205) & heavy (n=606)

Appeal of OBA: Knowing that personal data is not collected or stored Knowledge that OBA does not store or collect personal information has a positive impact on appeal – 4 in 10 state this makes the concept more appealing. For those previously closed off to the idea, there is also a positive effect (although to a lesser extent than those that were previously open or neutral to the idea) Does knowing that your personal data is protected change how appealing you find the idea of OBA? Those who already find OBA appealing 70% more appealing Those who are indifferent to OBA 39% more appealing Those who find OBA unappealing 18% more appealing All respondents Q17c: And does knowing that your personal data is protected change how appealing you find the idea of online behavioural advertising? Base: All respondents (n=1,004): appealing (n=233), indifferent (n=377), unappealing (n=394)

Preferred type of online ads When asked to choose between OBA or traditional non-targeted ads, there is a fairly polarised response, but we think a positive one for OBA...particularly given that only 38% of those who prefer non targeted advertising have actually noticed OBA when online – pointing towards a knee-jerk reaction Only 38% of these have actually noticed OBA when online Q14c: And thinking again about the idea of online behavioural advertising generally versus ordinary non-targeted advertising, which would you prefer to receive? Base: All respondents (n=1,004), 16-24 (n=163), 25-44 (n=155) & 45+ (n=486)

Interest in targeted ads by product type There is most interest in receiving targeted advertising on the more leisure centric areas – holidays, entertainment and clothes, although frequent & functional items such as groceries & personal care products are also popular Q16: Please tick how interested you would be in receiving targeted ads for each of the following types of products or services, so you would be able to see offers / deals that would be of direct interest and relevance to you… Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Appeal of a brand if it were to use OBA Knowing that brand is using OBA has a positive or neutral impact for three quarters of respondents – only a quarter state this would make the brand less appealing to them If you became aware that a brand was using OBA... how would it affect your perception of the brand? 5% 21% more appealing 17% 53% APPEAL OF OBA Q17d: If you became aware that a brand was using online behavioural advertising and some of the online ads you were seeing for it were being specifically targeted at you, how would it affect your perception of the brand? Base: All respondents (n=1,004): appealing (n=233), indifferent (n=377), unappealing (n=394)

Control of OBA

Recall & importance of OBA communication 1 in 5 recall giving their consent for their web browsing activity to be collected, while 8 in 10 say they can’t remember ever giving consent. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of respondents feel it is important that they are notified or asked to give consent if their browsing activity is going to be collected RECALL IMPORTANCE YES NET: IMPORTANT NET: 22% 17% 92% 95% Q18a/e: Do you remember [being notified / giving consent] for OBA? Q18b/f : How important is it that [you’re notified / you give consent]... Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Awareness of ability to stop or decline OBA A fifth of respondents were aware that there is an option to opt out of OBA – however, the majority were not previously aware of this Are you aware that you are able to stop or decline OBA? Higher awareness for men, and those who were aware of OBA Q19a: Are you aware that you are able to stop or decline online behavioural advertising in a similar way to stopping unwanted telephone marketing calls (i.e. Telephone Preference Service)? Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Summary of appeal of OBA Initial appeal for OBA may be moderate, however, it is clear that informing respondents that the data is not collected or stored, and that there is the option to opt out, can have an positive impact on overall appeal and the level of comfort respondent have with the idea 74% are more comfortable with OBA 38% find OBA more appealing 23% find OBA appealing initially After finding out personal data is not collected or stored After finding out OBA can be stopped or declined Q14a / Q17d / Q19b Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Appetite for information on OBA There is a real appetite for receiving more information on OBA before the respondent is notified or required to give consent – a great opportunity here to educate and reassure 72% Would like to receive more information about OBA before being notified or given the option to opt out or consent to it Q19d: Would you like to receive more information about online behavioural advertising before you are notified or given the option to opt out or consent to it? Base: All respondents (n=1,004)

Moving forward

Moving forward • A need to increase likeability of online advertising generally • Enhance relevance • Increased sense of control • SOLUTION: OBA • Has strong popularity amongst heavier users of the web • Plus has at least a low level interest even amongst those who actively dislike online advertising • And this despite low levels of understanding • We know that through enhanced education, appeal increases significantly • Moving forward, action needs to be taken: • To increase levels of informed awareness (which will impact on likeability) • Particularly regarding misconception of data collection and storage of data • And to give them a sense of control and choice

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