Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Marketing of the Future!



I was talking to my husband yesterday about this class, and remembered this scene, which doesn't seem unrealistic at all.  (Well, except for the whole eye-transplant-on-demand thing...)

Did you think this post was going to be on Dippin' Dots when you read the headline?

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Oh yeah...

The list of possible exam questions is posted in D2L under the "Exam materials" content tab.

How much do corporations know about you? How much do you want them to?

 
Hi all,

Here's a link to the article we touched on in class the other day, re marketing research & consumer privacy concerns.  It's long, but really fascinating stuff, and easy to read.  Even as a marketing researcher, there was info here that I didn't know -- the world moves pretty fast...


This is one blogger's response to the article, which seems to mirror how the majority of you said you felt about this issue the other day. (Granted, most of you hadn't read it, so you might change your mind given more data & more time to think about the issue).

Mr. Salmon writes, "I’ve never received a good answer to the 'why should I care?' question." Clearly, Salmon doesn't read the NY Times very often, for if he did, he would have seen this article by author and law professor Lori Andrews, which appeared around the same time as the longer piece that focuses on Target's data-mining & strategic practices.

Andrews's piece provides a very good answer to Salmon's very good question. To me, the most chilling part of her article reads:
Stereotyping is alive and well in data aggregation. Your application for credit could be declined not on the basis of your own finances or credit history, but on the basis of aggregate data — what other people whose likes and dislikes are similar to yours have done. If guitar players or divorcing couples are more likely to renege on their credit-card bills, then the fact that you’ve looked at guitar ads or sent an e-mail to a divorce lawyer might cause a data aggregator to classify you as less credit-worthy. When an Atlanta man returned from his honeymoon, he found that his credit limit had been lowered to $3,800 from $10,800. The switch was not based on anything he had done but on aggregate data. A letter from the company told him, “Other customers who have used their card at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with American Express.”
Even though laws allow people to challenge false information in credit reports, there are no laws that require data aggregators to reveal what they know about you.

There's a thought-provoking analysis (including a nice historical perspective on the scope of consumer privacy) of Andrews's article here.

 
And finally, if you want to keep score, The Onion* began writing about these practices years ago, in an excellent piece entitled "Amazon.com Recommendations Understand Area Woman Better Than Husband."
Meyers, who has spent the past 15 years with a man who still believes she enjoys attending car shows, said she has kept her Amazon recommendation e-mails a secret from her husband so as not to corrupt the "deep and unstated understanding" between her and the popular website.

 *If you're not already familiar with The Onion, click here...


Image sources:
http://www.sileo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Facebook-Privacy-300x287.gif
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/02/19/magazine/19cover2/19cover2-articleInline-v2.jpg
http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/2121/Amazon-Recommendations_jpg_600x1000_q85.jpg

Friday, September 7, 2012

Anyone want to do some CB research?


Hi everyone,

This just popped into my inbox...  Please take a look if you're starting to get warmed up to consumer behavior research!
***
GfK "Next Generation" Undergraduate Research Competition

GfK sponsors an annual  paper competition geared to the next generation of consumer researchers.  Winners will receive a $1,000 award, plus an expense paid trip to NYC for the ARF Re:Think Convention in March 2013 to receive the award.  Undergraduates (individuals or teams from US institutions) are invited to submit a paper using primary research to address one of three topics (mobile marketing, impact of social media or other emerging issues).

Key Dates:

:: 10/29/12    Entry form due including a 2,000 word project brief. 

:: 11/5/12      Finalists notified

:: 1/28/13      Finalists’ completed papers due

:: 2/25/13      Winners notified

:: 3/20/13      Presentation and award ceremony at ARF Re:Think 2013 in NYC
***
Complete information can be found here, and here's a press release about the team that won this year's contest.

Please contact me asap if you think you might want to try for this.  It would be fun, and we could probably swing Independent Study credits into the mix, for those who would like this to go on their official transcripts. 

Image source: http://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/nyc.jpg 

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Thoughts on the extended self...



Thanks for participating in such interesting conversations today, everyone!  I had a good time getting to hear at least a little bit from each group (while trying to learn people's names...).

There were topics addressed in every group that elicited associations about relevant CB research that I've read once upon a time, so I thought I post that info here, for those of you who are interested in reading more about it.  If you're stuck and something here helps jump-start your own blogging, I'll be delighted!


Here's an article on people who feel that certain parts of their bodies don't belong to them, and therefore need to be removed.



If you want to arouse your other senses by letting go of one of them, a fun way is to eat in complete darkness...


Sometimes, there's a lot emotion tied up in a particular object, and not enough opportunity to release it, so people go to extremes when the get the opportunity to do so.  Hence, the "trash the dress" phenomenon...


Here's a sample of the conversation runners are having about whether or not people remember their marathon times for ever and ever.  Certain events = extended self.

And finally, a little enlightenment -- the quickest lesson in Buddhism/graphic design you'll ever get:



Buddhist philosophy related to the material world is really interesting.

Happy weekend!

Image sources: http://www.businessesgrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/conversation.jpg
http://www.tensionnot.com/images/images/slideshow/Weird_Pics431.jpg
http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/camaje-575x412.jpg
http://media.divinecaroline.com/ext/article_images2/TTD/15.jpg
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/bozemandailychronicle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/61/7619b440-dc9e-11e0-9af3-001cc4c002e0/4e6cf4c487cb0.image.jpg