SECTION 2

The cost of getting personalization wrong

We've covered how people feel about good personalization—but what happens when it misses the mark?

It likely won't come at a surprise when we say the cost of inaccurate or irrelevant ads is high—even as high as losing a purchase. As competition increases, people have to actively pick and choose which brand they give their attention, and will swiftly pass by ones that misunderstand who they are and what they're looking for.

BRAND PERCEPTION

Brand affinity is on the line when personalization falters.

Personalization can completely change how people feel about your brand. 39% said when a brand gets something wrong about them, it makes them think badly of that brand—which will likely filter down to purchase behavior. It shows up in how people judge brands, too: 81% view a brand positively simply for advertising a product they need, and 79% think highly of brands with smart, relevant marketing. However, 74% will view a brand negatively if they include inaccurate information about them in their marketing.

When a brand gets something wrong about you, how does it impact your view of that brand?

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Relevance isn’t just nice, it’s persuasive. Personalization done well is one of the shortest paths to conversion, but it’s imperative that marketers ensure their communications are accurate and relevant.

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

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IRRELEVANT ADS

Getting it wrong is expensive—and consumers see "wrong" every single day.

Irrelevant marketing isn’t an occasional annoyance; it’s a daily one.

69%

of consumers say they see an irrelevant ad at lease once a day, while more then half say they see them multiple times a day.

88%

said they have taken action (ignored messages, unsubscribed, stopped buying) after a brand repeatedly got them wrong.

What have you done because a brand got its marketing wrong about you?

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Being wrong costs more than being generic.

39%

Think negatively of a brand that gets something wrong about them

VS

8%

Think negatively of a brand that sends them a generic message

INSIDE THE AD

Ad creative plays a key role at how people perceive personalization.

The creative itself often misses, too—86% encounter ad creative that feels “off” at least weekly, most often because it assumes the wrong life stage (52%), strikes a tone that feels out of touch (49%), or shows people who look nothing like them (43%).

How often are you shown creative that feels "off" to you?

The takeaway

When personalization misses, brands pay for it.

Consumers see "wrong" every day—irrelevant ads and off-target creative that assumes the wrong life stage, strikes the wrong tone, or shows people who look nothing like them. This quietly chips away at how people feel about a brand and pushes them to act, whether that's tuning out, unsubscribing or walking away for a competitor. The takeaway is that inaccuracy actively costs brands attention, affinity and sales.

Next: MOVING BEYOND THE AD

Consumers are paying attention to frequency and channel mix

Yes, really. In the next section, we take a step beyond the ad itself to examine how people feel about personalized marketing across channels. Can they tell when a brand has a cohesive personalization strategy from their email to CTV to display? The answer is yes—and it matters more than you might think.

Next section