Friday, October 2, 2015, marked the end of the twelfth annual Advertising Week symposium. Agencies and digital marketing companies from as far away as Utah gathered in New York to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the industry. One key topic of discussion was targeted advertisements.
Reaching the Right People
An effective but controversial technique, targeted ads became popular as Google’s search analytics allowed marketers to have detailed insights to the preferences of consumers. Digital marketing companies could send targeted ads to people who were likely to be interested in them.
For instance, if a consumer searched for outdoor equipment, marketing companies could ensure that they would see outdoor ads in the future. Advertising became much more efficient because there were fewer wasted or irrelevant impressions. It’s a significantly better use of agencies’ media dollars than billboards or even TV ads, which broadcast indiscriminately to everyone.
How Far is Too Far?
Targeted ads are wonderful for marketing companies and ad agencies, but they can make consumers uncomfortable. In the Ad Week panel discussion, marketer Alex Amado shared his thoughts on targeted ads and the fear that they may violate consumers’ privacy.
"The time when you've crossed the line is when the person experiencing that personalization steps back and goes, 'I'm being targeted,'" Amado said. "If it's seamless and helpful and in aid of either something they want to do or are doing or trying to accomplish, nobody thinks twice about it."
Consumers have been fighting some digital forms of advertising for years. With agencies concerned about the widespread use of ad-blockers, relevant and unobtrusive ads are more important than ever.
Alex Amado concluded, "We need to figure out how to make our mobile marketing helpful and a service to those users instead of intrusive and annoying so they won't pay money to get rid of it."
For most companies, targeted ads provide an efficient way to gather business. Provided they’re used in a respectful way.
Tanner Wadsworth writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. He writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter
Reaching the Right People
An effective but controversial technique, targeted ads became popular as Google’s search analytics allowed marketers to have detailed insights to the preferences of consumers. Digital marketing companies could send targeted ads to people who were likely to be interested in them.
For instance, if a consumer searched for outdoor equipment, marketing companies could ensure that they would see outdoor ads in the future. Advertising became much more efficient because there were fewer wasted or irrelevant impressions. It’s a significantly better use of agencies’ media dollars than billboards or even TV ads, which broadcast indiscriminately to everyone.
How Far is Too Far?
Targeted ads are wonderful for marketing companies and ad agencies, but they can make consumers uncomfortable. In the Ad Week panel discussion, marketer Alex Amado shared his thoughts on targeted ads and the fear that they may violate consumers’ privacy.
"The time when you've crossed the line is when the person experiencing that personalization steps back and goes, 'I'm being targeted,'" Amado said. "If it's seamless and helpful and in aid of either something they want to do or are doing or trying to accomplish, nobody thinks twice about it."
Consumers have been fighting some digital forms of advertising for years. With agencies concerned about the widespread use of ad-blockers, relevant and unobtrusive ads are more important than ever.
Alex Amado concluded, "We need to figure out how to make our mobile marketing helpful and a service to those users instead of intrusive and annoying so they won't pay money to get rid of it."
For most companies, targeted ads provide an efficient way to gather business. Provided they’re used in a respectful way.
Tanner Wadsworth writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. He writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter