Targeted ads were supposed to be the new wave of the future. Knowing what the consumer was looking for and sending information to his or her screen during browsing time was supposed to get rid of the unwanted information that buried anyone that shopped on line. Sadly, the system has corrupted and consumed itself, and now, targeted ads are killing online advertising.
Re-targeting Too Often
Consumers are getting re-targeted for items they consider purchasing and those they have already purchased. The algorithm doesn’t know the difference, but it does know you visited a certain website so you must be interested in that product. As a result, you and millions of others are becoming desensitized to ads. Eyal Gutentag suggests the responsibility for consumer resistant advertising is due to the big networks and businesses that fill your phone, television viewing time, and even spatter unwanted ads into your email box. Removing your cookies helps, but irrelevant ads keep coming.
Desensitizing Too Often
As the number of ads grows, and as the ads become less strategic and more redundant, consumers are learning to ignore even the flashiest and most colorful. Marketers have developed an idea that frequency can make up for presentation, but brands are losing customers that were once considered loyal because of the over saturation of targeted ads and the frustration that comes with being battered by a product you don’t want or are not ready to purchase.
Missing Too Often
Through the excitement of re-targeting and all the possibilities once thought to become a reality, marketers have lost sight of what advertising is all about and who it is supposed to reach. Agencies and marketing companies have lost the battle when it comes to their intended target because studies show that more than 50 percent of all ads are sent to the wrong demographic. What a waste in time, money, and opportunity.
Unless targeted ad algorithms are redesigned, the consumer will become even more desensitized to the re-targeted ads. That will effectively kill online advertising.