For websites to succeed, it is recommended that they advertise at a personalized level. Whether it’s a clothing brand or a platform like xon bet, they must show their ads to the right people based on location, activity, history, and interests.
That data can only come from you, the user, or the viewer. The problem is this: are you giving away too much of your data to these brands?
What Is Hyper-Personalization?
Hyper-personalization is a kind of ad that is seemingly reflective of your wants and needs. In the past, it was all too common to see ads that had no relevance to your likes and dislikes.
Today, try searching for “red rubber shoes” on Google, and you should not be surprised to see an ad for red rubber shoes on YouTube or Facebook the following day. It seems like the internet knows what you did, or what you looked for.
It does if you think about it: that search you made is logged in Google’s database. It is tied up to your identity as a user. From here, advertisers selling red rubber shoes can now specifically target you. They know that you searched for red rubber shoes, so it is only apt that they sell you their red rubber shoe product.
How Do These Ads Work?
The key to hyper-personalized advertisement is data. Without it, the advertising platform will not have a basis for its decisions. Below are some types of data that advertising companies use.
- Web browsing – whenever you visit a website, the website drops a cookie. This cookie is a small code that is logged into your browser. Later, the website can retrieve this data for marketing use. A cookie can also log the content of your shopping cart, the clicks you made, your user preferences, etc.
- Search and purchase history – Chrome and other browsers know which sites you visited. The search engine also knows what keywords you typed. Browsers can also detect what products you purchase in the past. Because of this, Google can march advertisers to you based on your search and purchase history.
- Social Media Apps – whenever you install an app, you need to permit it. Many of us do not read what these permissions are, but they all gather data about the user.
The sad reality is that many app creators sell the data to third-party data brokers, and we all agree to it. Rarely do we read the terms and conditions, and it is why unknowingly provide data to these app developers. The worst scenario is that if we do not agree to these terms and conditions, we cannot use the app.
Is Hyper-Personalization Bad?
Like many things, there are good and bad things about hyper-personalization. For one, these ads are relevant. It means that these types of ads only show you products that you are now interested in, or maybe interested in. There is little chance for you to see an ad that has nothing to do with your life.
The thing is that these ads can be annoying. For example, once you have purchased the product already, expect to see that ad again and again. The machines do not know that you already purchased it, so they will target you again.
Hyper-personalized ads are good, but they can also be abused. Yes, we get to see advertisements that fit our needs and wants but sometimes they encroach on your personal space. Particularly, hyper-personalized ads seem to be invading your privacy. It is an ethical problem, but the good news is that companies like Google are taking action. They allow users to block an ad, making user experience the priority, not the ads.
