Thursday, December 3, 2009

Can internet research provide the insights that marketers seek?

12/3/09

Thanks to new technologies, a new form of internet research has emerged. It involves aggregating all available web chatter to gather information. That’s right. Your search activities, YouTube posts and tweets are being carefully monitored by companies looking to glean insights about consumer trends.

Based on this type of info Harrah’s determined that what traveler’s tend to chat about is the iconic view of the Las Vegas Strip from its Paris Las Vegas hotel. As a result of this data, they changed the photo on their home page. They also noticed that customers cared about room size, so they started including data about square footage in their marketing messages. The result? Online bookings increased by a double-digit percentage. That’s impressive given the current state of the economy. (Steel, 2009)

But, how do you feel about big brother looking over your shoulder? And what about the large percentage of the population that doesn’t engage online? How will their needs be addressed in an all digital future?


Steel, E. (2009, November 23). Marketers Find Web Chat Can Be Inspiring. Wall Street Journal, pB8.

1 comment:

Sara Hantman said...

Well I think it is about time that the companies have caught on! I think it shows by that Harrah's data that consumer trends are very accurate and expansive over the internet. I am not very bothered by them looking at our blogs and searches because, what can they do? If they are looking for the true insight into our feelings and wishes than this is a great way of doing so. They aren't so much the police as much as the observer. Also, how large is the percentage of the pop that doesn't engage online? It may be hasty to say, but I feel that that percentage will be very minute in the near totally-wired future.