Some Are Wrong About Behavioral Targeting

There’s been a couple posts recently about behaviorally targeted advertising and how it impacts people’s right to privacy. Most posts have to do with a study eMarketer published that says only 23% of web users are OK with an advertising service using their behavior to target better ads.

eMarketer posted an accompanying article called What’s Not to Like About Behavioral Targeting?. They say that consumers are confused because another study shows most people don’t like irrelevant advertisements. They’re wrong. Just because people dislike irrelevant ads doesn’t imply they want their personal information used to deliver better ads. From the article:

Consumers are confused.

The second annual “State of the Media Democracy” study from Deloitte and the Harrison Group found that 66% of US Internet users said they would click on additional Internet ads if they were better targeted …  Making a strong argument for behavioral targeting, a TNS Global survey commissioned by TRUSTe found that 72.4% of Internet users “agree” or “strongly agree” that irrelevant Internet advertising was intrusive and annoying.

The ultimate goal should be to continue improving advertising methods and technology as much as possible without violating anyones fundamental rights. There is a line that should not be crossed – the industry should keep innovating to get closer and closer to that line, but it should never cross it.

Part of the problem is that people can’t agree on what counts as private information, what exactly is behavioral targeting, how to keep data anonymous, and what should be opt-in vs opt-out. For example, if I know everything about you except your name and social security number… do I still know your identity?

We believe there’s a lot of room left to accomplish that goal. isocket is supporting new, better alternatives that help buyers reach their target audience in the right manner with the right message. With the right platform and tools, advertising can become much more relevant without crossing the line. The industry just needs the right tools.

We care about consumer’s right to privacy – it’s even in our company mission statement. That’s why we approached the Federal Trade Commission and the Center for Democracy & Technology to be a part of the privacy discussion. Nothing will ever be perfect, but it’s our goal to do the right thing and provide opt-in (rather than opt-out) options whenever possible.

Tagged as: behavioral targeting, privacy