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My first brush with this, was near my 16th birthday, in 1994. Gillette sent me a free razor. I had never bought anything from Gillette, and neither had anyone
by binarymax 14y ago
My first brush with this, was near my 16th birthday, in 1994. Gillette sent me a free razor. I had never bought anything from Gillette, and neither had anyone in my family. Yet somehow they knew I was in prime shaving time, and they were smart enough to send me this birthday gift.
Their reward? I've been shaving with Gillette for almost 20 years. A back of the napkin estimation is that initial free razor got them about $500 worth of business in blades (and I don't even shave very often).
I have no idea from where they got this data - but this sort of thing has been going on for a lot longer than people think.
- ams6110 14y agoEven back in those days, many products came with "warranty registration cards" which would ask for your name, address, DOB, and other demographic data. It had nothing to do with warranties, it was to collect information about who bought the products for use in further marketing campaigns. And that information was bought and sold (probably on 1/2" magnetic tape reels) even then.
- RougeFemme 14y agoIn 1978, you were a newborn male baby. A data broker identified you through your birth record, parents' buying habits before and after you were born, etc. And the tracking began. . .