This is a pie chart from a recent Ad Age article regarding how much consumers would pay to visit their favorite website advertising free.
Before I get critical of this research (err, propaganda), I do think most people find viewing a few ads in order to see their favorite content online a nominal price to pay as:
- Ads are completely passive
- Since ads are passive they can easily be ignored
- Ads can also be ignored because they are off to the side of the content
Now, on to the critique. I think they would have received a completely different response had they made the choices 10 cents a day or 15 cents a day. Psychologically a few cents a day (even though it adds up to the same amount per year) feels more approachable.
Also, I would love to see an alternate model tested: what if people were allowed to give a tip in whatever amount they deemed appropriate at whatever frequency they so desired? How would that have tested in their research?
Regardless, doesn’t this research just seem a bit too self-serving (given the source)?
