teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

Have you ever been felt stalked on the web?  We have found it downright creepy when ads start following us all around the web.  Recently Joe went to the iRobot website to get the latest on the Roomba which we have as a chapter opening case in our books.  For the next month, he kept seeing ads for the Roomba as he surfed the web.  It can get very creepy.

A previous T4Ps post “How Advertisers Use Internet Cookies to Track You” includes a video with some background on hot it works.  A recent article at PCWorld, “Help!  A Web Ad Is Stalking Me” (June 20, 2011) offers a lot of detail and insight on how it works.

We find that our students notice the “creepy ads” and sometimes ask about them.  Now after reading this article, we have a much better idea about how to answer the question.  I am not sure I will give my students this level of detail, but it will help me understand how things work.

The whole topic of behavioral targeting raises a lot of interesting questions.  Technology offers marketers many new targeting capabilities.  But just because they can do this, does it mean they should do this?  The article might help you lead a thoughtful discussion about the ethical implications of behavioral targeting.  The article could also provide you with useful background and examples to use when you cover segmentation and targeting as well as online advertising.

combination

Sometimes marketing managers are afraid to rule out segments of the market.  But that is what targeting and positioning is all about — making decisions about which target market our offering will serve and which it will not.  By designing a marketing mix that appeals more to one market segments, you will probably make it less appealing to others.  That is almost always a good trade-off.  Dr Pepper Ten makes it clear that this soft drink is for men — and a great example of targeting for our students.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Intel created this great video to demonstrate why one of its prime target markets — gamers and social media users — need the 2nd Generation Intel Core i5 Processor.  I think the video is likely to resonate with this target market.

I have embedded the video below, but you may enjoy it best by clicking through to YouTube and playing it full screen.  File under segmentation, target market, advertising and viral video.