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Retargeting: Helpful or Annoying to Consumers?

Posted on by Natalie Hurley

Ever wonder why after visiting a site just once, ads for the site suddenly seem to be showing up on every other site you visit?

The answer to your question lies in a marketing strategy called retargeting, which focuses on bringing potential customers back to a site after they have already visited it. A javascript tag embedded in the website generates a list of people by placing anonymous retargeting “cookies” in their browser.

Then retargeting companies are further able to segment visitors by tracking what they viewed while on the site. For example, if you looked at shoes, then it would be in best practice to show ads for shoes.

One retargeting company, Adroll, states that retargeting works by “converting window-shoppers into buyers.” While I am all for finding more shoes similar to the ones I have been coveting while online-shopping, I also think there are potential problems with retargeting.

For one, retargeting calls into question the never-ending discussion of privacy limits on the web. While retargeting offers a great way to keep track of potential consumers, it also may be seen as an invasion of privacy by visitors. It is possible that the average shopper will get annoyed that every time they visit a site, they will start seeing numerous ads.

According to retargeter.com, “for most websites, only two percent of web traffic converts on the first visit. Retargeting is a tool designed to help companies reach the 98 percent of users who don’t convert right away.”

While the goal to increase effectiveness of advertising by targeting only those who have already shown some interest in the products or company makes sense, I think the new strategy should be used with some caution. For example, companies should take ad placement and frequency into consideration and avoid annoying potential customers too much.

A restaurant’s last words

Posted on by Brian Lee

What a restaurant owner says “the food will speak for itself” or “we rely on word-of-mouth,” it’s their death sentence. On top of having good operations (pricing, staffing, quality, etc.), you have to do marketing. I know from my experience in restaurant consulting that a very, very small percentage of restaurants can survive on word-of-mouth alone.

Have you ever noticed that the most trendy or successful restaurants in any city still do a ton of marketing and advertising? And that the least successful restaurants continue to do nothing?

Six new apps worth trying

Posted on by Alexandra Offerdahl

As I was sitting on a bus last week surrounded by students on spring break, I couldn’t help but notice how many of us were on our phones. Not to exaggerate, but nine out of 10 students were on their phone. Then I noticed that we weren’t just using our phones for texting or calling, we were using phones for almost everything else.

Old news? Maybe for some but this got me thinking, what is everyone doing on their phone? Most people were using Twitter or Facebook while some introduced me to other apps. Here is a list of six apps, in no particular order, that I have recently fallen in love with (click on their logo to download app):

1. Sound Cloud: It’s like Twitter, but instead of statuses, they’re songs. I get all my new music here.

2. Relax Melodies: I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep or relaxing. This app makes relaxing easy. There are so many sounds and features to choose from!

3. Hill Climb: This game is addicting! The more levels you complete the more points you have to earn features for your car. Check this game out for yourself!

4. Cultiwords: It’s a cognitive training program developed and tested by the learning club. Expand your vocabulary with this app.

5. Ruzzle: A fast pace word game where you can challenge your friends. You must give it a try!

6. Reddit: User-generated news, pictures, videos, etc. I’ts not new, but it’s one of my favorites.