The rise – and potential fall – of ad re-targeting in the digital space

Being in the advertising biz, it’s no surprise that I spend a lot of time on the Internet; researching, watching, reading, sharing, blogging, and often shaking my head. One of the reasons for my frustration is the overuse of “retargeting” in the digital space. I’m a big boy, so there’s no reason to chase me down after I’ve visited a site, simply because I didn’t do what you wanted me to do while I was there. I can make my own decisions.

Quit stalking me.

If I want to visit your site again, let me make that decision. Re-targeting is annoying and affects brand perception. Bear with me a moment: What if we applied the concept of retargeting to the real world? Let’s say you stroll into a shoe store at the local mall but don’t buy anything. In the real world, you simply move on with your life. But if the store adopted the same kind of “retargeting” found on line, a person would be waiting by your car in the parking lot trying to sell you shoes. When you pull into your driveway, the same person be sitting on your porch stoop blathering on about how “shoe X” will make you a sports demigod. He’d be in your closet, behind the shower curtain, and crammed in the refrigerator crisper; all the while hell bent on hawking shoes. In the real world, a restraining order would be, uh, in order.

How would you feel about that store? Would they be on your short list for your next pair of shoes?

“Digital restraining orders” are available if you choose to delete your cookies on a regular basis which I do. But invariably days pass when I don’t, and the stalkers emerge in the form of 300 x 250s, 728 x 90s, takeovers, etc. Advertisers insist that they are doing you a service because they are serving ads for things in things that interest you. Serving is one thing. Chasing me down in the digital world is another.
I know, marketers tend to use whatever means necessary to move the “move the proverbial needle” for a client’s business. Over targeting/ over stalking just might move the needle in the wrong direction.

Dial it back. And, I just might do whatever is you want me to do.

Vacation Planning ain’t what it used to be. Is that good or bad?

I struggle with how the vacation experience has evolved in the digital age. There is an upside and a downside to knowing practically everything about a hotel, destination, attraction, or restaurant prior to visiting.

First, the downside: Knowledge can have an inverse affect on adventure.

Back in the early 70s, my parents owned a 21-foot long Winnebago that our family of five crammed into for our annual summer vacation. Leading up to the trip, my mom used to write (pen, paper, stamps, the whole shebang) to tourism offices, campgrounds, parks requesting information for our upcoming trip. Each manila envelope that arrived in our mailbox as a result of her request gave us a sneak peak at what might lie ahead. I use the phrase “sneak peak” because color brochures and park maps back in the day only showed so much. Your imagination filled in the blanks. Or, you just approached the trip with a very open mind; with little or no preconceptions of what was over the river or through the woods. For the most part, each place we rolled into was a true surprise. We didn’t have the “luxury” of viewing multiple videos, reading traveler reviews or looking at a thousand pictures of every nook and cranny of the place. It was all new. And, many of my fondest memories were the result of my mom’s inaccurate map reading which lead us to places that I still hold dear to my heart. GPS wasn’t there to save the day, and we were better for it.


Now the upside: The digital age allows us to find places we never knew existed, and that fuels wanderlust.

“The world at your finger tips.” I know the phrase is greatly overused, but it’s true. A computer brings out the explorer in all of us. It’s no surprise that the most popular browser goes by the same name. Like most folks, it’s how I plan my vacation these days. I’ve soared over Google Earth, perused a gazillion photo galleries, and read countless traveler blogs all of which have vastly increased my “to do” / “to visit” list. In planning recent trips, I’ve found on line- - and visited in person -- WWII bunkers in Germany, a mind-blowing floating opera stage in Austria, waterfalls in Zion, a country store south of Charlottesville, Virginia, and an Arsenal Football Club friendly pub in Philly, just to name a few. On line, “a thousand places to see before you die” can quickly turn into “a hundred thousand places to see before you die.” All you need is time and money, which brings up another benefit to digital vacation planning. These days, most of us are time strapped and budget conscious. Doing your due-diligence for an upcoming trip is just plain smart.


So how do you preserve the adventure that “old school” trip planning offered, but still gather enough digital intel to make wise decisions?

Don’t over plan. The joy of travel is discovery. In person. Learn just enough online, but save room for mystery, adventure and yes, getting lost. The parts of a vacation you’ll remember will be the experiences and the places that are truly unexpected. There are few surprises in life. Travel -- by it’s very nature -- uniquely affords the opportunity for these moments to happen. Try not to spoil it.