I really don’t want to lose my satellite tv. But, this is just creepy.
Targeted ads based on info DirecTV has gathered on us. WTF? :eek:
I’ve never told these jerks anything. :mad: They start calling and demanding marketing info then I’ll tell them where to stick their questions. Last resort, I cancel and go to Dish Network.
Who’s going to be calling you? (Phone-based marketing is soooo 20th century.) What exactly would you complain to the FCC about? You got a dog, you see ads for dog food and not kitty litter. I’m not seeing the outrage here.
I don’t have cable or satellite, but I’ve been waiting for something like this to come along. Personally, I think it’s a great idea. If we’re going to have to sit through commercials why not sit through commercials for stuff that we would actually want to buy?
If I could see dog treat, computer and cleaning product ads during football games instead of Viagra, big truck and shitty TV series ads I would be one happy 30-something single white female!
Where is DirecTV getting all this market information? I don’t recall giving this data when I signed up in 1999.
I find it disturbing that a database exists that knows I have a wife, dog, 2 kids under ten, I drive a van, I have bad breath, and I like to screw my wife 4 nights a week. I’m not thrilled getting ads for tampons, dog food, kids toys, mouthwash, and condoms based on DirecTV’s files.
After thinking about it, I think the actual market data is coming from the company that DirecTV is partnering with (Starcom MediaVest).
Somehow, Starcom MediaVest has harvested all that data. Maybe from Amazon, or the Grocery store savers cards. Any store that tracks what we buy. Put that all together and there’s a frighteningly accurate profile of each and every one of us.
Based on that Data, DirectTV will somehow change programing to include ads targeted at us.
Still gives me the creeps. I hate big brother. But what the heck can we do? Move to a tiny island and live by ourselves?
Putting aside the worry about people you don’t know aggregating public information about you - do you think you are benefiting from getting ads that are more relevant to you?
I have no issues with commercials. They are part of the deal we make to get free programming from the Networks. I can see the advantage in targeting the commercials for a particular person.
My concern is what that marketing data represents. It’s a major invasion of privacy. Seeing a person buy a can of beans at a store may be public. By itself it means nothing. But, tracking thousands of purchases, organizing it into a database is entirely different. I make my living working with databases, writing SQL reports etc. I know exactly what the capabilities are.
Me, I prefer to see ads for products I would never in a million years buy. My sales resistance muscles get enough of a workout just getting through the day. TV time is when I look forward to switching them off.
The only part of this that I find particularly objectionable is if they get their advertising information from demographic data only. For example, I’m female, mid-40s, but decidedly non-mainstream in my tastes. If this plan meant I ended up getting ads for makeup, cooking stuff, and “mom”-oriented stuff instead of things like electronics, vehicles, and games, I’d be annoyed.
I’m assuming you have an antena and get over the air t.v. b/c most homes have either cable or sat. and that’s pay t.v.
if you remeber when cable first came out it was a radical concept to pay for t.v., something that had always been free, but there was no commercials and that was the justification for paying for something that had always been free. Times have changed and many thing nothing of paying $70/month for it.
Nope, the data is pulled from whatever you’ve volunteered to companies associated with Starcom, most commonly through rewards programs, etc.
Typical scenario: Starcom ponies up the capital to offer incentives such as Air Miles, and you agree to provide information about your purchases when you sign up. ABC Finance company pays Starcom for a list of people who’ve bought building supplies in the last month within a certain geographic area - you’ve bought a new plumbing fixtures and a vanity cabinet and so receive a pitch for home renovation loans.
Personally, when I was twenty I found this sort of thing invasive and scary. (I would never sign up for incentive cards at any store, and when shopping avoided any product which was reduced for “members.” Don’t want to encourage Big Brother!) Now that I am older, I don’t really see any rational reason to be concerned about this sort of thing. I used to imagine the worst kind of scenarios. (eg: OMG! Anyone who is willing to pony up the cash can find out who bought [whicchever title is at the top of the Monolithic Homosexual Reading List and then use that information for blackmail, or even [f**ont=dripping blood]murder![/font]) Now I am reasonably assured that the self-interest of data-collection companies make the chances of this sort of scenario actually playing out fairly remote.
I am still persnickety enough to avoid ads wherever possible (and this is fairly easy to do) but the idea that promotional material that actually makes it through the shields might be more closely targeted according to my purchase history bothers me not at all.
