Interactive ads more appealing to teens, study shows

Teens are more likely to enjoy interactive ads than older web users, but they are also more discerning and less patient when it comes to some digital advertising methods.

This is the conclusion of research conducted by Kantar Millward Brown that has been analysed by eMarketer, which showed 17 per cent of 16 to 19-year-olds feel positively about adverts that have interactive features, a figure that falls to 12 per cent among the 35 to 49 demographic. The option to close an ad was also positively received among 48 per cent of the younger age group, compared to 34 per cent of older users.

However, in general teens are less willing to be patient with digital advertising than their older counterparts. 56 per cent of 16 to 19-year-olds prefer to skip ads on desktops and 47 per cent on mobile - something that marketers need to be wary of.

Shorter ads are also something marketers may want to consider if they are targeting younger consumers. Video running for less than ten seconds was marginally more popular with teens than older web users.