Ad Fatigue - How to Identify & Avoid It

Advertisements are everywhere, and almost every platform bombards audiences with a ton of advertising communication. Think of how many ads you remember easily due to viewing them repeatedly.

Now recall the times when you've changed a channel because you were annoyed with a particular ad or when you grunted at the absence of a skip button on the ad.

These are a few examples of Ad fatigue.

It is a condition where the audience becomes ignorant towards advertising communication and tends to avoid the message. This makes the marketers’ efforts redundant.

As marketers, we must create fresh, relevant, and interesting content for the audience.

(Source: New Media and Marketing)

What is Ad Fatigue?

The audience experiences ad fatigue after being exposed to any advertising or marketing communication to the point where it leads to boredom, thereby convincing them to avoid the message altogether.

This will make your campaigns ineffective. Essentially, your audience has become unresponsive towards your messages, followed by low sales, ultimately affecting all parts of the business.

If you observe fatigue in your audience, the correct analysis and strategy will help you. You need to ensure to run your ads during a spot where maximum ROI is possible.

(Source: ACR Publications)

How Will You Identify if Your Audience has Ad Fatigue?

You might have noticed your ad campaigns are not working like before, and you might not be sure about the cause.

We've listed a few telltale signs of ad fatigue:

Decrease in the Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR is a crucial metric for measuring and tracking advertising fatigue. You can understand how attractive and convincing your ad is with CTR.

If the click-through rate is decreasing considerably, consider that your audience is not interested in your content.

Low Engagement

Low engagement is another sign of Ad Fatigue. When the audience doesn't want to interact with your content, it leads to low engagement. The audience ends up overlooking brand communications, both organic and paid.

Fewer Impressions

Social media algorithms work systematically to put the most relevant content on top. Similarly, it showcases content that is relevant to a large set of audience. Due to ad fatigue, when both click-through rate and engagement go down, lesser impressions are generated.

To combat advertising fatigue, one needs to identify the issues mentioned above. Small yet strategic improvements made with a clear objective in mind will lead to improved marketing campaigns.

How to Resolve Ad Fatigue?

Once you identify the problem, focus on finding its solution and improving your advertising communication. Here are a few things you can follow:

Change Background Colours

Colour psychology plays a crucial role in building a brand. Particular combinations become a staple for a brand; however, it can make the communication design predictable. Try a few different combinations to create a new look for and instil freshness in your ads.

Use Ad Customisers

If you focus on Pay-Per-Click ads, try using Google's Ad Customiser tool. Personalised and customised messages hold value and help you create content that is tailor-made for your audience.

(Source: Mango Animation University)

Rotate your Ads Frequently

Don't rely on one type of advertisement. Create a few ads specifically for engagement and keep some to push offers. Maintain a schedule and rotate these ads to avoid over-exposure.

Monitor the Campaigns

A marketer's job isn't done when a campaign goes on the floor. One needs to monitor the progress and upgrade themselves. If you notice a few things are not working or are unsuccessful in generating the response that you desired, discontinue it. Make notes of what works and what doesn't, it will help you run a successful campaign.

Connect with top digital marketing agencies and take expert opinions on resolving Ad-Fatigue. If you notice ad fatigue amongst your audience, do not consider your brand to be a failure. Look for areas to improve and get desired results.

Read our blog on Hierarchy of Needs to understand customer expectations and how brands can use it to engage them effectively with their advertising.

To work with a digital marketing agency that can help you with your marketing strategy, click here to connect with our talented team of experts.