Relationship between advertising and UX

Every User-Experience designer faces a definite problem of creating a typical design for different users. While keeping the needs, expectations, and preferences of the various types of users in mind, the UX designers struggle to design their platforms. They are constantly in the hunt for the common trait among their audiences for creating better design interfaces.

One of the most common dislikes of any user with any background is “They hate advertisements”, especially when they are intensified on a page. The different types include text, video and interactive ads, which come in a pop-up, auto-playing and banners formats. The ads are the revenue generator for mostly non-e-commerce websites and blogs, and hence they use them exhaustively.

It can be clearly seen the advertisements are detrimental for User experience and a challenge for UX designers. There is apparently ‘No way’ that UX designers could abscond to the Advertisement Conundrum. But they believe that if Advertisement count is commensurate with User experience, then it’ll be a successful Interface design.

Symbiotic relationship between Ads and UX design

In 2000 there were about 361 million people online, and in 2016, 3 billion with the growth rate of 761% and about 0.8 of every mobile user has Internet Subscription. People spend around 3 hours per day online in average making Internet the obvious market, today.

Marketers exploit Display ads, Social media, E-mails and Search engines to market their products and services. Today, one can’t expect returns from Television, Newspapers and yellow page ads because they are outdated. People don’t have time to listen to one-way communications and more often get offended.

Today, Television is replaced by websites like Netflix; Radio is amended by replacing satellite radio commercials, Newspapers with news websites or mobile apps. Even Online marketing faces a threat by many elements like browser plugins (for example, ‘Adblocker’) which thrashes out all the pop-ups and banner ads, thereby enhancing the User experience.

The crux of both the worlds rests on answering the same questions: for whom it is? And what do they value? This implies there should be an understanding between UX designers and advertisers which is the only way to lend some positive results for them and the users; this is the “Symbiotic relationship”.

Leading Hands in hand

The seemingly possible solution is “Targeted Marketing” which sounds ineffable but is simple that is ‘showing what they want’. Whenever someone searches something on the Internet, it means either they’re looking for it or just collecting information, and if here the marketers impose their ads the users are likely to buy the product or services. It is “intelligent marketing” and wonderful User Experience. ‘Neither all Ads nor website is perfect for everybody’ so it all depends on developing in response to suggestions and feedback.

Today, they are; UX designers and marketers, who they will be tomorrow?

The future of online marketing and UX designing doesn’t seem to be distinct and exhaustive; rather it seems to be a unified one which might be called, say, “creative technologist” or “UX marketers”. It might sound anything but is surely going to demand the professional, the knowledge of online marketing and UX design. Today, the UX and Online marketers could seem incompatible with each other, but if they want success, they have to create the ‘Symbiotic Relationship’ among them and lead together.