It Follows: Why Re-targeting is So Scary

It_Follows_(poster)You know, there is a curse that follows you around and tries to …..REALLY sell you. asics gel lyte And you picked up this truly unwelcome visitor just for visiting a web page to browse or maybe even buy something. nike pas cher And now…It follows you…forever…or until you kill it by changing browsers, blocking cookies or even the offending sites. adidas pas cher Yep, it’s a horror story alright and cooked up by the same devious masterminds who brought you pop-up ads, and “sponsored content.” It’s called “Re-targeting.” In case you haven’t actually experienced it, or did and just weren’t able to give this thing of hatred a name, it’s when you visit a site to browse or buy something, don’t and then ads about that thing seem to show up on every other site you visit. nike roshe run It’s not just bad, it’s the absolute worst marketing tactic I can name. asics nimbus air jordan 31 And we’re all familiar with telemarketing, right? In the “stuff that’s wrong with marketing strata,” the people who invented re-targeting should be ranked just below infomercials for the friggin’ Shamwow. Yes, that’s right, the Shamwow annoys me less. Five Reasons Re-targeting is Horrific:

  1. Annoying — It’s right there on every single site you visit, that thing you didn’t want enough to buy the first time.
  2. Creepy — Huge reminder in your face that you’re being tracked by marketing idiots and it’s creepy
  3. Needy — Back off, hot shot, I’ll let YOU know when I’M ready, k?
  4. It’s actually Anti-Marketing — Marketing is supposed to be about giving the consumer what he/she wants/needs and if we want it, we’ll friggin’ find it.
  5. Potentially Relationship Ending — If you bug me enough, I will be gone and make sure there will be zero chance of us ever doing business together. adidas nmd Dear marketer, I know you want all the golden eggs, but wait until the damn goose squirts em out, k?

My company’s mission is to save communications from bad marketing and that starts with all of us agreeing that relentlessly hitting a possible customer with an endless flurry of “targeted” ads is a very bad idea. I’m sure some will counter with, “hey, but they work.” And if you’re after short term sales and don’t care which potential customer relationships get ruined in that process, then yes,, Virginia, they work. nike air max nike air max bw But if you believe that marketing should be more subtle and relationship-driven, then this tactic has NO place in your quiver.