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Retargeting Bulls Eye

When you've already bought it
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Ad retargeting (the phenomenon of instantly seeing ads for a product you searched on other websites as you search the web) has gotten so effective that it generated conspiracy theories abound that Google/Facebook is listening to your phone. Hey, It's only paranoia if you're wrong.

Seems to me, however, that the advertisers are wasting an enormous amount of money, in addition to customer and potential customer good will, by not knowing how to quit when they're ahead.

2 months after selling and buying a house, Zillow is still aggressively marketing to me. I'm inundated with ads for mattresses having bought a mattress online.

Whatever you may think about retargeting and privacy, it seems everyone would benefit if the ad standards included a way to update the info saying a transaction has been concluded.

theircompetitor, Feb 13 2018


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       Their target market is the princess of the pea, who will keep buying mattresses until her nose brushes the ceiling. They don't know you're not she. I mean, how could they know? Tragic, really.
pertinax, Feb 13 2018
  

       That's interesting, and a little depressing. Can you link to the source?
pertinax, Feb 13 2018
  

       I would like to turn off all ads but it's the price you pay I guess. I don't know if a popup or banner ad has ever sold me anything.   

       Contrats on your house by the way TC.
doctorremulac3, Feb 13 2018
  

       Create a dummy userID on your machine and set your browser to purge all cookies and temp files on exit.   

       Don't use your normal ID for doing research like that. Treat it like you were looking for porn or something. Run searches in private browser windows. Save your results as offline text files. Importantly, stealth your MAC address and run through a decent dynamic firewall.   

       Advertisers hate all that stuff.   

       You're just lazy and careless online. You deserver to suffer. It's the Web's way of telling you to get a grip and smarten up your act.
8th of 7, Feb 13 2018
  

       thx, doctor.
theircompetitor, Feb 13 2018
  

       Facebook allows incredibly granular ad targeting. You can, for example, target your ads at people who've moved recently, or who have changed job recently, or who are considering buying a car soon. Presumably, you could set your ad's audience to avoid retargeting people who've recently bought your product, if your product is a car, a job, or a move, as long as you're advertising on Facebook.
notexactly, Feb 13 2018
  

       presumably, but notexactly
theircompetitor, Feb 13 2018
  

       I wonder if anyone has ever considered a post-transaction ad that says "Thank you"   

       (I don't mean, "thankyou and please spend the next 42 minutes giving us all of your opinions and personal data")
lurch, Feb 13 2018
  

       I think you should add an idea to your commentary.   

       As far as I know the pickup trade-in is very rare. Say you get a refrigerator. Then you see ads for cheaper better refrigerators. These ads could say things like "out fridge is better guaranteed. Let us pick up your old fridge and get a 30 day refund when you get a new Frigidaire"   

       This might make retargeting more useful.
beanangel, Feb 13 2018
  

       The advertisers need to get a bit smarter. For example, you bought a mattress. You don't need to see more ads for mattresses, but a smart ad system would show you ads for sheets, pillows, duvets, bedside tables, that sort of thing.
And if you Facebook is showing you too many targetted ads, it means you are telling them too much about your life. (Disclaimer: I'm not on Facebook.)
neutrinos_shadow, Feb 14 2018
  

       " You're just lazy and careless online. You deserve to suffer. It's the Web's way of telling you to get a grip and smarten up your act."   

       Wintermute doesn't care if you learn. There should be a word for online Darwinism. Sad to watch the effects on the populace though.
normzone, Feb 15 2018
  

       // There should be a word for online Darwinism. //   

       "Unnatural selection" ?   

       It's a phrase, not a word, but surely it's not too much of a stretch, is it ?
8th of 7, Feb 15 2018
  

       This should be easy with the database of 'this was bought with this'. Though the more intriguing the items link to each other, more the hook. Well in my mind anyway.   

       Measuring spoons was bought with ferrofluid.
wjt, Feb 15 2018
  

       // I wonder if anyone has ever considered a post- transaction ad that says "Thank you" //   

       IME, that's usually in the user manual or otherwise inside the package.
notexactly, Feb 16 2018
  


 

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