There used to be a time in the world of advertising when we all shared in a similar media experience. Media was bought and sold based off of the radio stations one listened to, the types of TV shows one would w

There used to be a time in the world of advertising when we all shared in a similar media experience. Media was bought and sold based off of the radio stations one listened to, the types of TV shows one would watch and the type of device one was using. But because of the ultra competitive landscape and because of major advances in big data usage and technology, the game has drastically changed.

For advanced marketers, the use of big data and a variety of technologies allow messages to be personalized. So much so that some have complained that this 1 to 1 shift in messaging is down right creepy. Have we gotten to a point where ads seem too personal for comfort? If so how do we bridge the gap between getting too personal and relevancy?

There are emerging signs that the technology meant to create relevancy on an individual level could be too much.

For example, according to MarTech Today, a recent hyped up article came out about a father who berated a Target store manager because Target ads related to baby products were showing up on his teenage daughter’s devices. Turns out the daughter was pregnant and hadn’t let her father know yet. Oops. Right message wrong time?

Combine this with the surge of internet of things devices and the Amazon Echo listening to your every word. It is easy to see how consumers can be just as irritated and creeped out with over personalization vs. generic non relevant advertising. So how do Advertisers win?

One solution is to allow customers to control the level of personalization of ads through direct feedback to Advertisers and Marketers. By utilizing a combination of survey’s, opt in/opt out advertising settings etc. Advertisers can better gauge overall “creepiness” sentiments and adjust messaging and targeting accordingly; however, with anything there are challenges.

So is the point of this article meant to say that Advertising is becoming invasive and too personal. No. No it is not. But it is meant to get the wheels turning in our industry and start thinking about where the lines of over personalization start and end. As a company specializing in designing behaviorally based campaigns, over personalization is something of extreme interest. We challenge all advanced marketers to continue to discuss this important topic and help design solutions to preempt a further negative sentiment of this industry.

Here’s to your Thanksgiving thought starter. Happy Thanksgiving from the Awlogy team. We out.