Targeting and relevance

That is my view as well – unfortunately amongst an older crowd the idea of giving away personal information in exchange for that is abhorrent to them.

It would be interesting to find out if that was the case amongst the younger crowd who don’t working within the internet world!

interesting, I think young people want the ability to turn targeting on and off, and like the opt in stuff and sometimes don’t realise that a potential employer/advertiser/etc can see things like their facebook profile.

Ugh! Is this seriously an ad for yahoo or was Lorne Michaels behind this production?

The clip comes across as a PARODY of ‘behavioural targeting’, picked up off the editing room floor of your typical Saturday night comic variety program. As a consumer do you really see yourself at the mercy of an old white guy controlling the world’s population like a herd of sheep? (hmmm, there could be some truth there actually.)

Sadly though I can hear Marketing Execs salivating at the thought that yahoo! can help them target an audience.

Here are my typical behaviours around advertising:

Virtual World – I don’t actively look at advertising on every webpage I browse, even if it’s within a website which I would be more likely to make a purchase from like http://www.mlb.com or http://www.nme.com

Real world – I “return to sender” all unsolicited junk/bulk mail that comes through the postal system.

Real World II – Any insurance or investment advertising that comes with my bank statements or bills (ie behavioural targeting) get recycled without me even looking at it.

Radio World – I try to listen to commercial free radio as much as possible. When I can’t, it is actually quite a treat to hear radio commercials from local Toronto stations.

… if there is a company that can ‘nail’ the above behaviors while I’m browsing online, then more power to them.

Along with most other savvy internet users, if I’m in the market for a purchase I’ll do some online research on a few competing products, check user reviews etc. No matter how targeted an ad campaign is, it can’t compete with that.

The holy grail to online advertising is simple, and all it takes is for a site like facebook to ask just one simple question to it’s users…

Aneez

Thanks for the comment Aneez, two points though – the ad is primarily a trade ad aimed at marketeers, so of course Yahoo’s trade marketing wants to get them excited.

and it’s not talking about “savvy” internet users, unfortunately the majority of internet users aren’t that savvy.

We had the bee’s mom over, she uses craigslist and a bunch of other sites, but watching her use the web was pretty painful for someone like me who wants to take over even when the bee is using the web. Most people aren’t as savvy as you, me, Shamir, and others who are probably reading this blog. That’s what we forget.

Wow – is this all it takes to get a group of marketeers excited?

If you’re looking for a company that has ‘nailed’ behavioural marketing, check out Tesco and the amazing things they’re able to do with the information gathered by people using their points card.

http://www.scoringpoints.com/

Personal purchases can usually be done with very little influence from a marketing campaign as people are creatures of habit. We like what we like.

I suspect that unsavvy web users are probably not going to make a great deal of online purchases for themselves due to the fact they are unsavvy. I would even say that the majority of purchases that savvy web users make online are not for themselves but for others (ie birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, wedding presents etc).

With gifts being a bigger potential online market, targeting of individual behaviours isn’t so much a holy grail.

As soon as yahoo!, facebook, microsoft or others can anticipate gift purchase requirements, ie behavioural targeting of friends and family, only then will the real potential of the online consumer start to get tapped.

PS – the online retailers are not aware of this yet, but I have developed an interest in belt buckles. My birthday is at the end of November.

A lot of people still browse online and buy online. Their targeting demographics to display brand ads to, not necessary for purchase.

My point is that THEY’RE targeting the wrong demographic by targeting the individual who is browsing online. I don’t need to see ads or brands tailored specifically to my liking online because I already visit sites related to those brands anyway.

It would make more CENTS for me to see ads/brands that my wife likes when it’s close to her birthday; perhaps the farmer can show me something for my parents around THEIR anniversary; or a suitable housewarming gift for a friend who has just moved.

aneez – some interesting points!

it’s amazing how many people claim never to be swayed by advertising, only to have very deep rooted opinions when you ask them about certain brands.

Their opinion is down to their experience of said brand (if they have bought that brand) what their friends say, what they have read and in a large % – the key messages that they have subconsciously taken out from advertising!

And your point related to advertising brands that you know already – there are huge numbers of brands out there that are considered impulse purchases. Much FMCG advertising is based on this fact!