Starbucks Ad Throw Up

Looks like Starbucks threw up on my weather network page….

 

I’m unsure if the weather network website allows for customizable ad banners so I’m uncertain if this is targeted advertising or not. Either way, I do notice Starbucks getting more and more comfortable with using mass advertising when it use to rely mainly on experiential marketing and word-of-mouth. Nowadays we see Starbucks advertising on television, transit ads, and even coupons in newspapers. Whether it’s the company’s new strategy or act of desperation, it’s hard to ignore this recent online tactic… a Starbucks explosion while I check up the weather.

Digital Nirvana Still Long Way to Go

I read an article a few days ago that caught my attention. Among the e-marketing, digital-strategy craze, there are also cynics. The writer was questioning the effectiveness of hyper-targeting.

Online hyper-targeting is said to be the nirvana that digital marketers are striving towards. Anyone that believes in conventional marketing understands that knowing your customers wants, behaviours and attitudes make advertising more effective. So why isn’t it working that well?

According to him, some company attempts of targeting aren’t as profound as creating a well thought-out message directed to the mass. He describes that the marketing industry have fell in love with the potential of digital marketing yet have forgotten the importance of message quality and execution. He then goes on to discuss about his belief of “an inverse relationship between the granularity of [marketers’] targeting and its productivity.” Read the original article HERE.

I do believe that hyper-targeting will become a very effective way of advertising. I think it is a matter of time before companies unlock the efficiency of digital strategy. However, I also think that traditional, mass marketing channels should not be abandoned. It seems like hyper-marketing is a very personal, quiet method to advertise (so far). I believe that the way mass advertising influences people’s preferences unconsciously is still different from a customized ad appearing only on your Facebook page. The fact that an OOH advertisement is out in the open, loud and proud, clear for everyone to see, speaks something about the current society. Having shoe ads stalk me on my Facebook page (just because I searched up boots online more than three times last month) does not necessary make me like a brand more – in fact, I feel a bit intruded now that I have found my pair of boots from strolling through a physical store.