2008 Woodie Awards
Advertisers use personal information to target users
Rachel Zarrell
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: News
On average, a person sees 3,000 to 5,000 ads on a single day, said Jay Mulki, assistant professor in marketing.
Referred to as "advertising clutter," the number of ads is so great that most people have become "immune" to them, he said.
"The challenge advertisers have is to get you to notice them," Mulki said. "Once the interest is aroused and the person looks for more information, that can transform [into] desire for that product."
Media, like television and newspaper advertising, are rapidly losing money from companies, said assistant professor in marketing Gloria Barczak. A shift is occurring, she said, and advertisers have turned to a broader, more profitable medium, which is prime for getting at students: the Internet.
Advertising in the virtual world is boundless. Advertisers have had to find a way to hone in on certain consumer demographics. This is where Facebook, Gmail and other high-traffic websites come into play.
"Social networking is a very big thing today in terms of marketing. One of the great advantages of the Internet is you can get information about who the users are. You can really target your messages to particular kinds of people," Barczak said.
Many advertisers "target market" on sites by using personal information collected from a user's e-mail inbox or profile to display advertisements that pinpoint personal interests.
Gmail and Facebook, both free websites, use target marketing to increase the likelihood of their ads being clicked by patrons.
"Marketing is effective when you know or you identify what the needs and wants [of your market] are and then come up with an offering that matches the needs," Mulki said.
The goal for advertisers is to spark the interest of consumers and attempt to cater to their interests. If the ad doesn't interest users, there's little likelihood they will click it.
"It's like opening a box. Once you open a box there are two more boxes inside. And you keep on opening them because they take you deeper and deeper into this zone," Mulki said. "Ultimately they hope you buy some products or services from that particular website."
Referred to as "advertising clutter," the number of ads is so great that most people have become "immune" to them, he said.
"The challenge advertisers have is to get you to notice them," Mulki said. "Once the interest is aroused and the person looks for more information, that can transform [into] desire for that product."
Media, like television and newspaper advertising, are rapidly losing money from companies, said assistant professor in marketing Gloria Barczak. A shift is occurring, she said, and advertisers have turned to a broader, more profitable medium, which is prime for getting at students: the Internet.
Advertising in the virtual world is boundless. Advertisers have had to find a way to hone in on certain consumer demographics. This is where Facebook, Gmail and other high-traffic websites come into play.
"Social networking is a very big thing today in terms of marketing. One of the great advantages of the Internet is you can get information about who the users are. You can really target your messages to particular kinds of people," Barczak said.
Many advertisers "target market" on sites by using personal information collected from a user's e-mail inbox or profile to display advertisements that pinpoint personal interests.
Gmail and Facebook, both free websites, use target marketing to increase the likelihood of their ads being clicked by patrons.
"Marketing is effective when you know or you identify what the needs and wants [of your market] are and then come up with an offering that matches the needs," Mulki said.
The goal for advertisers is to spark the interest of consumers and attempt to cater to their interests. If the ad doesn't interest users, there's little likelihood they will click it.
"It's like opening a box. Once you open a box there are two more boxes inside. And you keep on opening them because they take you deeper and deeper into this zone," Mulki said. "Ultimately they hope you buy some products or services from that particular website."
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