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I don't see how it's beneficial to the advertiser when the person has already bought the product before they've seen the ad? It sounds like someone is trying t

by qbrass 9y ago

I don't see how it's beneficial to the advertiser when the person has already bought the product before they've seen the ad? It sounds like someone is trying to game the advertiser by correlating ad views with sales.

tenpies 9y ago
> It sounds like someone is trying to game the advertiser by correlating ad views with sales. Shhh. If advertisers realize how utterly wasted most of their advertising spending is you'll destroy about 80% of "tech" companies and plunge the world into a global recession.
- edanm 9y ago
  Or maybe you're wrong about how useful advertising is? (Is it really easier to believe that we, the "smart techies" of HN, just know so much more and can see so much more clearly than everyone else?)
- brad0 9y ago
  To be fair, coke can't get many new customers buying their product. Yet they spend quite a bit of money advertising their product so that their existing users keep purchasing.
- artificial 9y ago
  For example in the Automotive industry a mail piece with a tracked phone number is used and that is cross referenced with Dealer sales data. The pieces are mailed to targeted lists of people qualified by credit score, postal code and recent purchase of vehicle make. Should the site be accessed via a personalized URL the user now appears through a variety of methods, same if they come from FB they’re claimed through offline conversions where sales data is compared to audiences. Using this readily sold and available data it’s easy to calculate spend and determine response. Even with single digit response (not uncommon for email) industries thrive.
mrchicity 9y ago
reinforce the quality of the product to make the buyer feel good purchasing again? odds are if someone's of a certain age/relationship status and buying a pregnancy test, they're trying to conceive and will possibly buy more.
sumedh 9y ago
These ads also help in talking to you unconsciously, the next time a person is looking for a burn cream, its the company's product whose ad you saw will be the first thing that comes to your mind.
- imron 9y ago
  Alternatively they might be so freaked out by the surveillance aspect that they decide never to buy that brand again.
reaperducer 9y ago
Not all ads have to be relevant to be valuable. Especially when you're still training the AI.

by qbrass 9y ago

tenpies 9y ago

> It sounds like someone is trying to game the advertiser by correlating ad views with sales. Shhh. If advertisers realize how utterly wasted most of their advertising spending is you'll destroy about 80% of "tech" companies and plunge the world into a global recession.

edanm 9y ago
Or maybe you're wrong about how useful advertising is? (Is it really easier to believe that we, the "smart techies" of HN, just know so much more and can see so much more clearly than everyone else?)
brad0 9y ago
To be fair, coke can't get many new customers buying their product. Yet they spend quite a bit of money advertising their product so that their existing users keep purchasing.
artificial 9y ago
For example in the Automotive industry a mail piece with a tracked phone number is used and that is cross referenced with Dealer sales data. The pieces are mailed to targeted lists of people qualified by credit score, postal code and recent purchase of vehicle make. Should the site be accessed via a personalized URL the user now appears through a variety of methods, same if they come from FB they’re claimed through offline conversions where sales data is compared to audiences. Using this readily sold and available data it’s easy to calculate spend and determine response. Even with single digit response (not uncommon for email) industries thrive.

mrchicity 9y ago

reinforce the quality of the product to make the buyer feel good purchasing again? odds are if someone's of a certain age/relationship status and buying a pregnancy test, they're trying to conceive and will possibly buy more.

sumedh 9y ago

These ads also help in talking to you unconsciously, the next time a person is looking for a burn cream, its the company's product whose ad you saw will be the first thing that comes to your mind.

imron 9y ago
Alternatively they might be so freaked out by the surveillance aspect that they decide never to buy that brand again.

reaperducer 9y ago

Not all ads have to be relevant to be valuable. Especially when you're still training the AI.