Have you ever heard that ads on your television are supposed to be targeted towards your personal demographic? Then, quickly realized it’s not accurate in the least... I am in no need of a Topsy Turvy to grow tomatoes, Bosley hair plugs, or even ExtenZe male enhancement pills. Quite frankly, I am incredibly offended that marketing companies think of that being relevant to my demographic. While surfing the web I came across a personal webpage discussing just this! According to this post, the television provider DirecTV is giving the consumer the option to choose this new type of commercial-watching. Boris states that if the consumer opts-in, the television provider will use your shows you watch, etc to better match commercials rather than paying a company millions of dollars as they are currently doing (and not so well) (Boris par., 1). As crazy as it sounds, it would be like picking your own commercials. If all goes well this might just become a smash hit and very helpful to companies getting their products shown to viable people. However, how much information is too much? It is scary that they use your personal information and how much will they be able to get a hold of just for these targeted commercials. After reading I find I ask you readers the same question…
“Would you object to targeted ads if it meant giving personal data to your TV signal provider?” (Boris).Boris, Cynthia. "DirecTV Close to Rolling Out Targeted TV Commercials." Internet Marketing News | Marketing Pilgrim. 20 Dec. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2010/12/directv-close-to-rolling-out-targeted-tv-commercials.html>.
This photo courtesy of Napalm filled tires
Dear Writer,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this interesting blog. I had never heard anything about this topic, and I am equally as frustrated by commercials that haven't nothing to do with me. Corporations are all about getting their name out there and making sure we are drawn to their ads, so this sounds like a major plus for the corporate world.
"As crazy as it sounds, it would be like picking your own commercials," is a statement that really stood out to me. Who would have ever imagined a viewer would be able to pick their own commercials? At first I thought "but the commercials are still going to be annoying." But maybe not. Companies would have to compete for our interest so that we pick their commercials (in essence), and we'd get to see things we're actually interested it.
Like you mentioned, "it is scary that they use your personal information and how much will they be able to get a hold of just for these targeted commercials." I agree with that statement because it's just another way that we as consumers would be giving up our privacy to even more extent. However, if some people are ok with that, then they just are.
Thanks for posting this very informative blog. I enjoyed reading, as I have your posts in the past. Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Baltimore Oriole
Sara,
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat as you. I don't care about ordering a topsy turvy, I just want my show to come back on.
I would LOVE the ability to pick commercials. I have been spoiled with DVR, and I find myself rarely watching commercials in the first place because I just skip through them. So, if I had to pick, I just wouldn't have any. Sadly, we can't have everything we want.
I have always wondered how they figure out what commercials to show. I loved the perspective that you gave on that issue. It makes me feel like someone is watching me through the windows, or hacking into my computer webcam...not something I want to imagine happening.
Great post, I enjoyed reading it.
Zebra