2013 Resolution for Advertising & Digital Marketing: Less Creepy, More Relevant

Every electronic action, from the click of a button to opening an email, leaves a trail of data that can be scrutinised and analysed. Welcome to the digital age, where the ads are watching you.

Suppose you’re thinking of buying a family car. The sort that comes with plenty of boot space and a sensible price tag. So you start your search online.

Later that same evening, as you’re browsing for dinner recipes, you’re served with an ad for a different brand of car to the one you had in mind. Worse still, it’s a luxury car that’s twice the price and half the size of the car you’re looking for.

Chances are you would not only be acutely aware that you’ve been targeted, you’d also be annoyed with the luxury car brand.

Now imagine how differently you would feel if you were served with an ad for the same family car you were researching earlier. The car you can actually afford and want to buy. This is effective retargeting or remarketing at work.

The advertising industry is facing a backlash from a public sensitive to invasions of privacy and ‘creepy’ communication. The challenge for brands and agencies in 2013 is to use the exciting new wealth of digital information in a way that is less ‘creepy’ and more relevant for consumers.

Serve up highly relevant and engaging ads to the right consumers and they’re likely to receive them with a smile. Push ads at consumers simply because of a tenuous link in product category or an inaccurate market profile and they will switch off.

It’s important that consumers are given the ability to choose their preferences for the sort of advertising content that is presented to them. In the near future, as laws change to better protect consumers, and the public become more educated about their rights to choose what they want to see, advertising agencies, digital marketing companies and the brands they work for will have to work harder to create content that is highly relevant, engaging and valuable for people.

So while it may be true that ads are ‘watching’ consumers, consumers are watching us too. It’s up to agencies and brands to make sure it’s for the right reasons.