There’s a part of me that thinks the recent Facebook mea culpa was admirable. You could give Mark Zuckerberg kudos for acting quickly to reverse some of his bad decisions on the “Like” program and the virtual takeover of shared data. But for me the initial act outweighs any possible reaction. Facebook trampled the boundary between its users and their personal information. They may get away with it. But it points out the dangers of too much personally identifiable information given to one network.
From a marketing perspective, I continue to stress to clients that Internet targeting, as we know it in all its forms, can be very effectively executed without the amount of personal data that Facebook and other sites collect and use. I don’t think a major fashion retailer, for example, is limited by targeting “moms who use coupons and shop for groceries three times a week.” That kind of non-personal profiling gives any company access to a campaign that will achieve superior ROI. Can that fashion retailer company do better with names, addresses, birthdays, and names of friends? Maybe. That fashion retailer would certainly be limited by targeting only “moms.” That’s a big universe that has been defined in a far more scientific fashion.
Targeting customers has reached a tipping point with consumers because of the Facebook overreach and the Google wifi data grab. It’s unfortunate, because I do believe that responsible use of personally identifiable information will help consumers become smarter and more economically efficient when it comes to couponing , clienteling, customer service, and loyalty programs. But the events of the past month will understandably put consumers on guard.
For brand advertisers, its time to keep then momentum when it comes to targeting. I’ve always said that if consumers saw one day of the Internet experience without any targeting technology, they would be so disappointed with the irrelevant content and advertising that they would want the targeting back in a hurry. That momentum for right now needs to be with behavioral targeting rather than a blind run to gather as much personal information as possible.
It’s also important right now to restore customer confidence. Data breaches will be magnified now. Data responsibility, while using it for good business purposes, is still job one.
From a marketing perspective, I continue to stress to clients that Internet targeting, as we know it in all its forms, can be very effectively executed without the amount of personal data that Facebook and other sites collect and use. I don’t think a major fashion retailer, for example, is limited by targeting “moms who use coupons and shop for groceries three times a week.” That kind of non-personal profiling gives any company access to a campaign that will achieve superior ROI. Can that fashion retailer company do better with names, addresses, birthdays, and names of friends? Maybe. That fashion retailer would certainly be limited by targeting only “moms.” That’s a big universe that has been defined in a far more scientific fashion.
Targeting customers has reached a tipping point with consumers because of the Facebook overreach and the Google wifi data grab. It’s unfortunate, because I do believe that responsible use of personally identifiable information will help consumers become smarter and more economically efficient when it comes to couponing , clienteling, customer service, and loyalty programs. But the events of the past month will understandably put consumers on guard.
For brand advertisers, its time to keep then momentum when it comes to targeting. I’ve always said that if consumers saw one day of the Internet experience without any targeting technology, they would be so disappointed with the irrelevant content and advertising that they would want the targeting back in a hurry. That momentum for right now needs to be with behavioral targeting rather than a blind run to gather as much personal information as possible.
It’s also important right now to restore customer confidence. Data breaches will be magnified now. Data responsibility, while using it for good business purposes, is still job one.
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