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.