The title of this article, “Salesforce.Com Rolls Out Contact-Data Service” was an immediate stand out to me. No, not because “sales” is in the title or even because it was the first article listed… This contact data service sounds a lot like something I’ve heard about in undergraduate classes.
Technology combined with the tactics used in political campaigns… it gives me the urge to yell “SNEAK ATTACK.”
One NPR article, “New Hampshire Campaign Goes Door to Door,” touches on it. “Every campaign has compiled a list of the people who are likely to support their candidate. The names are culled from events and internet lists and secret marketing databases.”
ClickZ has an article “The Political Ad Practice Insiders Want to Keep Secret” that discusses the invasiveness in greater detail (plus Bobby Jindal is mentioned, cool!).
Unfortunately, the big kahuna of a story on this topic is currently evading me. Although there’s no authority in my mentioning this, I’ll go ahead and try to describe the video that impressed me so much in previous classes. One door-to-door campaign somewhere, for some candidate relied on some database full of all the information that could possibly be gathered on potential voters. This information was used to decide WHO would knock on the potential voter’s door, WHAT promotional video they would be shown via handheld device, WHICH issues would be most important to mention to sway said potential voter, etc.
Anyway, Salesforce.Com’s new service sounds like a similar concept… that, or I grossly misinterpreted what this article has to say. Either way I’ve gotten to mention this marketing strategy that frankly scares me a little bit.
So advertisements are customized to me, so I don’t have to search through every campaign issue to find the one most important to me, so I can have items I will like suggested to me (that last one is especially frustrating, I don’t need to be encouraged to buy more things I don’t NEED but now WANT)… All these things happen because someone (something) has collected a great deal of data on me. First, I really don’t want employees of these companies to have access to the “Merrill File.” But mostly:
Do they know more about me than I do myself!?
Merrill I completely agree with your concern on there being a "Lexi File" out there somewhere. Not only are social media sites targeting their advertisements, they are being offensive! I had a friend who changed her relationship status on Facebook and they started targeting her advertisements towards online dating sites... not the best timing for someone just getting out of a relationship. One of my clients told me that their Facebook began advertising for hearing aides on his 65th birthday, how rude!
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, it is absolutely scary to think of how easily manipulated we are becoming to advertisers. THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT US! How can I refuse their product when they design a campaign just for me?
Both of you make very interesting points about personal advertising. I am inclined to agree with each of you to a certain extent. It is scary that advertisers are capable of advertising to each person as an individual...It definitely makes you wonder where they get there information, and how vulnerable our personal data really is.
ReplyDeleteBut, if you look at it from a business point of view the idea of personal advertising is ingenious! As a future entrepreneur, I would love to have the capability to reach out to an individual and relate to them based on their personal preferences. In addition, it would help a business to understand those people that are not interested in the product/service that you are selling. Ultimately, it would save you from wasting money on people that are never going to be interested in your business, while at the same time help you to understand how to reach customers who you might have overlooked before...
I agree with your points Zach. The issue really is how ethically will the business operate, or at least how will they present themselves. I think giving potential/existing customers the option to alter (since turning off advertisements is impossible) advertisements shows respect for the target audience. I like how Pandora generates its recommendations because at any time, the user has the ability to remove music that helped shape the recommendations. One place I'd like to see this implemented is Amazon's "You may like..." feature. If I go to Amazon and buy a Lady Gaga cd for my girlfriend, I don't want to see the complement of female pop singers every time I try to buy a book. I still want to see the recommendations, I just don't want them shaped by every purchase.
ReplyDeleteThe Facebook example is ridiculous. Of course, they know it will take a lot more than that to offend users to the point of closing their accounts. Just wait until eHarmony introduces the "People you should date..." add-on for facebook!