Help! My husband is being stalked by gas ranges.

It all started when my GE range broke.  (Note to GE:  I’m not sure why you would ruin your hard won reputation by putting your name on a piece of junk.  But I do know that I will never buy another GE product again.)

While I did most of my research on my own computer, one night I must have used his and as a result he started receiving those ads that follow you around the internet (called retargeting).   I can see why advertisers have embraced this technology.  Conceptually the idea makes sense, since apparently only 2% of shoppers actually buy on a first visit.  (2013)  But it has occurred to me that while I have had many ads following me lately the advertisers have wasted their money.  Let me recap why.

1. I am done with my new range research.  My next step is to go to a store to check out the possibilities in person.  Continuing to send me ads now is a waste of money. 

2. I am also being stalked by swim goggles.  In this case since the first supplier I checked did not have the exact item I wanted, I bought them from someone else.  Again sending me ads now is a waste of money.

3. Someone I know told me that they were buying a piece of artwork.  I visited the artist’s website to check out his work.  I never had any intention of buying any.  So, that’s more money wasted.

4. I am being stalked by lamps because I bought one a few months ago.  In this case the company is sending me ads for models that I checked out and rejected in favor of the one I bought.

5. Recently I searched for sneakers that are out-of-stock.  For some odd reason Zappos thought this would be a good time to send me ads for the sandals I looked at last summer.  Hmm.  I already bought those as well.

To date, I have never bought anything due to this type of advertising.  My husband points out that if they told him as they stalked him that they had lowered the price of the item he had checked out then he might be interested – assuming that he hadn’t already bought it.  I think that’s a good idea.

What about you?  Have you bought anything based on retargeted ads?  If they told you the item was on sale, would you?

(2013) How Retargeting Works.  Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://www.adroll.com/retargeting

What do you use the internet for? How old are you?

First we discovered that device preferences vary by age.  (See “What’s Your Favorite Gadget?” posted 8/4/11.)

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html

Now we are discovering that internet behavior varies by age as well.  According to a recent study about women by Scarborough Research here’s how the different groups behave…

Gen Y (18-32) listens to music, watches movies, and plays games

Gen X (33-47) visits auction and coupon sites, gets financial information, pays bills and reads news

Baby Boomers (48-66) get medical information, make travel reservations, and play casino games
(Adweek, 2012)

That’s particularly interesting in view of the research that has been done lately about how much we are driven by habit and how difficult it is for marketers to change those habits. (Duhigg, 2012)

But what do you think?  Are your habits consistent with your demographic?  And what about the guys?  Are your patterns entirely different?

(2012, February 29) Data points: Women by the Ages.  adweek.com.  Retrieved February 29, 2012, from

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/data-points-women-ages-138372

Duhigg, C. (2012, February 16)  How Companies Learn Your Secrets.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved February 29, 2012, from

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all

The internet has no undo button. Act accordingly.

1/13/11

Several years ago I attended an NYU class designed to teach professors how to blog. For reasons I can’t explain, they decided to make our class exercise live. As a result, the silly comment I posted comes up every time I google myself. It drives me nuts.

As bad as I feel, Sarah Palin feels even worse as she and her people scramble to try to remove the infamous crosshair map that no doubt contributed to the horrifying shooting in Arizona last weekend. Her efforts to remove the offensive visual have only made it more prominent, in what is a classic case of the Striesand effect -- in which an attempt to remove things from the web only makes the situation worse.(Bernoff, 2011)

There was an amusing story in the New York Times last November about an ethically challenged vendor who discovered that complaints posted about him on the web only served to increase his standing in Google searches. So, he says “Bring ‘em on!” (Segal, 2010)

Cyberspace is a whole new world, and we all need to adjust to its unique challenges. Perhaps from now on, before we post something, we need to ask ourselves “What would mom say?”


Segal, D. (2010, November 26). A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web. nytimes.com. Retrieved January 13, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html

Bernoff, J. (2011, January 12). Sarah Palin Learns the Web Has No Undo Feature. adage.com. Retrieved January 13, 2011 from http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=148162

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.