We all know there's no such thing as mass broadcast media anymore, well certainly not like there was when there were two TV channels and everyone watched at 7:30pm every night. In a world where people are engaged in niche interests, advertisers have to find and engage with them. A tall order?

In encouraging signs for behavioural targeting, a recent Synovate global media survey indicated that a significant number of people are willing to accept it in order to improve their experience with advertising. Let's look at some findings...

• More than two thirds of respondents think there are too many ads on TV and 39% feel there are too many ads on the internet.
• Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed have actively tried to avoid TV and radio advertising by turning off, changing channel or using personal video recorders to fast forward through recorded ads.
• Two thirds have avoided websites that they feel have intrusive advertising. This figure rose to over 80% in Australia, Canada, Spain and the United States.

All this may explain why 42% of those interviewed said they would like it if "websites and TV channels developed technology that monitored the sites you use and the TV channels you watch so they could make the ads you see more relevant to your interests".

A further 27% rejected the idea as they were uncomfortable about the data collection.

Whether people think of targeted ads as too 'big brother' or their 'best friend' will come down to how the industry manages privacy, data collection and education.

Click here to read more about people's attitudes to media and advertising.

Artwork by Amber Dixon. Amber is one of the many art students affiliated with UGallery.com. Please click here to see or purchase more of this artist's work.