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If you advertise on the Internet, this article could save you millions of dollars. If enough people from companies that leverage Big Data read this article, it could potentially save billions of dollars. This article explains how money is being wasted, and how it could be put to effective use in marketing strategies that actually work.
The Problem
I’m going to give you a specific, real-world example, using vacuum cleaners. But, don’t be fooled. The problem isn’t about vacuum cleaners. There’s a general principle here that affects all modern advertising based on the science of Big Data.
Today I went to the website of a manufacturer of vacuum cleaners. I recently purchased a new vacuum cleaner, and I wanted to download the owner’s manual as a PDF file. A couple of hours later, an advertisement from the manufacturer appeared in my Facebook feed. The manufacturer actually paid money to Facebook to show me that advertisement. And that money was completely wasted. Here are the two reasons the advertiser’s efforts were of no value.
Reason #1
I’ve already bought the vacuum cleaner. Even the most casual analysis of my browsing activity on their website would have revealed to them that I was looking for an owner’s manual, not a new appliance. Now, I know that the Facebook ad…