60% of Indians find mobile ads annoying; pop-ups the worst: survey

As much as 60 per cent of Indians find mobile advertising annoying and obtrusive, according to a survey.

It also found that more than 55 per cent of respondents think pop-ups and video adverts are the most annoying form of mobile advertising.

The survey, conducted by the mobile call app 'nanu', targeted a group of Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials from India using smartphones, with diverse work profiles and a total sample size of 3,735.

The banner ads fared better with those surveyed, as 52 per cent of respondents rated them as least annoying due to their unforced nature.

The survey found that 46 per cent of respondents may click intentionally on banner adverts, but 80 per cent avoid clicking on pop-ups and video adverts.

Almost 75 per cent of those surveyed indicated their doubts about making any purchase decision from mobile advertising.

"The findings of the survey clearly highlight the ineffectiveness of the existing modes of advertising that brands are adopting, due to their intrusive nature.

''Increasingly, this invasive side of mobile advertising is adding to its own plight by pushing mobile phone users to resort to using ad blocking software," nanu founder and chief executive officer Martin Nygate said.

"We believe that mobile advertising needs to be completely non-intrusive and infused with the right set of analytics to ensure enough value for both users and brands," he added.

According to a Deloitte report, the share of mobile advertising spends is 2 to 4 per cent of the total media expenditure at present. It is expected to account for 15 to 20 per cent of the overall media expenditure by 2020.