Sean T.

Omg, this would be so frustrating! I would be calling Sling and complaining if I was your friend.

This kind of reminds me of how I feel about Hulu’s commercials. To my understanding, they don’t cut anything out. But, for some ungodly reason, the volume of the commercials is entirely on a different level than the shows you are watching. It almost startles you with how LOUD they are. I get why Hulu does this – they are trying to get you to pay more attention to their advertisers. However, the change disrupts my whole mood while watching the show and makes me DESPISE the commercials and brands with these spots. Even as a marketer, ads are annoying enough without being extremely loud.

How do we think brands should go about choosing where their ads are? I think as a baseline, they should ensure that customers aren’t having a negative experience when they see them.

Before your post, I didn’t know what Sling was. I’d heard of it, but I didn’t care to look into it. I was under the impression it was just another cable streaming service, and that’s irrelevant to me as someone who cut the cable cord years ago. Now, after reading your post, I’m feeling (mildly) validated and glad that I did cut that cable cord years ago. I’m perfectly happy with my Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ subscriptions, because even if they all have their own problems, they’re still not cutting off the programming I’m paying to watch. I’m angry on behalf of your friend, who’s paying so much for this service. I agree with Kathy, I’d be on the phone with Sling complaining. That’s just ridiculous.

You do bring up an interesting point, how this bad perception of sling has now brought about a negative association with the ads – even though it’s not their fault. If your friend does complain to Sling, that would be a really good point to bring up to them!

Thanks for bringing up story, Sean. It really highlights the importance of deliverance when it comes to advertisements. As marketers we understand that this is a key step in the marketing process, but I think a lot of stakeholders may not recognize this, as they simply push for more and more platforms for their brand. On a local scale there is a realtor in my area who aggressively advertises on billboards. Portraying a large photo of himself with his name. This advertisement is so prevalent that it is regularly mocked by all locals. As a realtor, he is not only representing himself but also the company he works for. This drives home a concept I have been told for years, and whether we like it or not our actions and portrayal of ourselves definitely have an impact much larger based on association with organizations, companies, and other individuals.

This happens to me too. It’s like Google has a high-level idea of what interests me, but it’s not specific enough to actually get me to take action or express interest. My question for you is, is it more frustrating to you that Google doesn’t have it quite right, or would you be more frustrated if they got it too right? Or didn’t personalize/target at all?

@SeanT: I’m super intrigued and curious to learn more (AKA I have questions)! I really like @Erin’s question to you too.

1. What suggested newsfeed are you referring to?
2. Were you on mobile or desktop?
3. And… does the brand matter? For example, do you have different expectations for Google vs Apple?

As I’m writing this, I think what’s becoming clear to me is how MASSIVE these companies are, and they’re just not going to get it right 100% or even 50% of the time with every aspect or facet of their company’s offerings. I’m going to take what I love about Google or Apple (be it hardware or software), but… so far, I do not need nor want them as a media source or amalgamator of media for me…

K bye!
Jb

Great post Sean. I do find it crazy how companies can use recent data to make recommendation of products or articles to view. It’s very creepy. I do understand it’s how they make money but they also need to understand privacy. One time I was driving with a friend and let her use my phone to Google something about dog food. Next thing you know, my phone was being blown up with dog food ads and I did not know how to stop it.
I really wonder though, if companies do stop data tracking, how can they make the same amount of money as before? Because with the innovation of tracking data, these companies’ revenue must of skyrocketed. Once data tracking gets banned, how do they get back to that level of revenue?

I’ve noticed the same kind of things happening to me Sean! I do not want to read articles about the industry I work in outside of work hours!! Getting rid of the privacy discussion for a minute, it would be nice if Google/Apple/other search engines made that connection and stopped suggesting those kinds of searches during my personal time. However, work is unfortunately so ingrained in so many people’s personalities that I don’t know if they would ever invest in that idea fully. I am sure there are a ton of people who work long hours and appreciate search engines making it easier for them.

Great post Sean! It’s funny you say this because I has a similar experience. I try hard to keep my work and hobbies on separate devices. A few days ago I was off from work and relaxing on TikTok. I came across an advertisement that would be great for work (something relating to auto insurance). I took a screenshot to make a note of it for the next time I was in office. Just because I spent a few seconds extra looking at that ad for work my TikTok is now filled with work ads as oppose to fun ads I enjoy (makeup/clothes/etc.). There goes separating work and hobbies.

Sean,

This is a great post and shows just how much your phone reads you and can be wrong or right. Something closely related to this that I experimented on was my Twitter feed compared to my roommates. My feed had all workout related items and different things but hers was all about clothing and different government related items. It amazes me that our phones are able to read us to the point that it shows us what we want to see. Some people need to realize that this is not always a good thing though. Because the internet is showing us what we want to see that makes us think we are correct and our opinions are strong. In certain cases I believe this can be dangerous.

Sean –

I think you and I are aligned in concerns about data privacy vs. being in marketing so I empathize on that front.

Sammi, your comment about Twitter is very intriguing to me. Twitter is my preferred social media, and I have treated it like building a perfectly curated station on pandora. My twitter feed is basically your average news, and then sports. I am one of the opt out people for ATT, but targeted ads still sometimes get in there. I think I feel a little bit better about targeted ads in twitter, because I don’t feel that they are as prevalent.

-Dan