Being Targeted... (Week 3 Summary)

This week felt like we were finally diving into the fray of "Understanding the Consumer".  I spent the week reading and re-reading different parts of the chapters prescribed in the book.  I also found myself a big Hans Rosling fan.

Data Intake this week

• Chapter 3 and 4 in The Marketing Plan Handbook
• Videos watched:
• Prof T's STDP and Consumer Behavior Lecture
• Hans Rosling's TED talks on world growth and world health
• Malcolm Gladwell's TED talk on personalized food
• Baba Shiv's video on tips for drinking cheap wine and feeling good about it

What I started to notice through out the readings so far was that, for marketing to be effective you must find your target segment on the population, set your product/service apart in a meaningful fashion, and then continually deliver on those promises to the consumer.

One of the areas that has really started to intrigue me over the last few years is really personalized marketing.  I'm intrigued because I'm wondering how far marketers and society will allow it to go.  To take a quick benchmark of where personalized marketing currently is in my life and how I am currently acting on the results of some of it,  I decided to think consciously for a day about these things.

I typically start my day with motor oil a large pot of strong coffee.  This past week I've been brewing up some Tom's branded coffee.  The only reason I knew Tom's had coffee was because it popped up on my Facebook ads a couple weeks back.  After clinking on the link-through, I came to the Tom's site where they were letting folks know that when you buy one bag of coffee, you will also be providing one week of clean water to a village.  This was appealing to me, so a few clicks and a week of shipping resulted in two bags on my doorstep.

I then turned my attention to my iPad and the news.  I typically use Google News or the AP app to start the day.  Of course, even sources of the news allow you to personalize what pops up first for you.     For me, it's a fresh dose of world, US, business, and technology news.  Justin Bieber and his other compadres in the entertainment section can stay off my news feed.

I typically do a quick check in of my social media in the morning and this is where the personalized marketing algorithms from different companies hit me from all angels.  Facebook has now seamlessly added advertisements to your news feed.  In addition, they have allow ads all along the side of the screen that are all targeted at me.  I tend to see a lot of on-line education, fitness sites, and travel ads on mine.  Of course, the on-line education links started the week that I added IU on my page.  LinkedIn does its fair share of advertisements in the news feed.  They have their own marketing tools as they are pushing different jobs, groups, or followers that  I may be interested in.  These offerings are a way for them to strengthen my bond and reliance on the site for new items.

Although the digital mediums are full of personalized marketing, I also found a few cases in my analogue world.  The joys of being a homeowner involves mass amounts of "junk mail" in the mailbox. Just a few months back though, I had never received one piece of mail about mortgages.  Now, I receive about three letters per week.  Apparently some companies found out I owe someone else a lot of money each month and they would like to step in as that someone.

The final marketing or "genie" feature of my digital life is my Direct TV.  They of course have their own algorithms to track what shows I'm watching and suggest shows each night.  For the past few weeks, it is of course pushing me towards the March Madness stations.  With basketball on these stations, the marketers at the various companies are sure to bank on the particular market segment that will be watching the games.  It has been awhile since I've seen so many male cosmetic products and beer commercials.  I've decipher that if I put on Axe and drink a Miller Lite at the same time, I'd be very dangerous with the ladies.  My wife tends to think otherwise.

All of the examples listed above are not to show that I have a boring life, rather, it shows that we already live in an age where mass marketing to the entire population is a technique of the past.  In both the digital and analogue world, marketers have penetrated our daily lives and ensured that their company's products will be in our face.  As we move into a more connected world, where digital technology is part of our eyewear and wrist wear, where will advertising go?  Will your Google watch let you know that you haven't had coffee today and that your favorite coffee shop is 200 feet from here?  Will your Google glasses let you know that it's about to rain, but you shouldn't be alarmed because the men's clothing store of your choice just opened up a shop around the corner?  I'm not sure where we will be, but I can be certain that the techniques described above will just get better with time at reaching your target market.


**I am not a paid a paid endorser of Google products, but I would be...**