Personalised advertising continues to flourish

New Zealanders may claim to care more about personal privacy and critical of personal advertising, but remarketing continues to be an effective mode of marketing, according to Kim Voon, CEO of Auckland digital marketing agency Insight Online.

In fact, Voon says retargeting and personalised advertising campaigns can yield between five and ten times the success rates of regular online advertising campaigns.

He says, "That says to me that most Kiwis are less protective of their online privacy, than some may like to believe, mainly if it makes our lives easier. We could argue that Kiwis put convenience ahead of privacy.

"The reality is that you are far more likely to sell something to somebody who has heard of your brand than you are to somebody who has not. It's the reason why retargeting isn't going away anytime soon," he says.

The New Zealand experience is reflective of the global perspective. One survey of more than a thousand people found that 67.9% of those surveyed believed it is acceptable to receive product recommendations based on purchase history, while 52.4% were fine with seeing an advertisement from a recently visited website.

Furthermore, 59.6% of respondents believe that their phone or laptop actively listens to their conversations to show them personalised promotions, but only 21% thought that this was acceptable.

On this Voon says, "The thing is that advertisers aren't tracking you personally. Their campaigns are automatic responses to your browser identity. If you log-on using another computer or browser, the programming will not know it's you we give the technology more credit than it deserves.

Voon says there are ways for companies to capture consumer information to generate personalised information while also respecting consumers doubts or worries about privacy.

He says, "Obvious ones are identifying the browser identity of the visitor to your website many sites will inform the visitor that the website uses cookies (a piece of code used for this purpose), or by capturing the email addresses with, for example, a free book offer.

"The important thing is not to resort to sleazy tactics, like using a person's information without their consent. Beyond that it certainly appears that most Kiwis are happy to receive offers personalised to their shopping preferences," he says.

When it comes to retargeting in marketing, there are certain rules businesses should follow. This includes: be direct, avoid repetition and have an obvious next step in mind to ensure you and your customers are getting the best value.=An example of being direct is using a potential customer's first name in a digital advert.

Voon says, "Enjoy the benefits that remarketing offers you, in terms of being able to sell to somebody who recognises your brand, but also be respectful.

When it comes to avoiding repetition, Voon says when it comes to remarketing it's important to understand there is value in getting your brand in front of people who have already visited your website, but there is such a thing as too much.

He says, "If somebody sees your advert on every single website for the next week or two, it's too much. Don't annoy your potential customers because that kind of repetition is precisely what's likely to make them feel that maybe their privacy is threatened.

As for next steps, Voon says once somebody is on your list because they have visited your website, it is time to think about the next step - ask yourself what they would need to hear or do next.

He says, "Segment your audience and develop a conversion sequence for each of those niches. If they have visited your website to view a product, then perhaps offering them a discount coupon is a logical next step.

According to Voon, the international research on how people feel about remarketing and advert personalisation is no surprise.

"I don't think we're any different in New Zealand. I don't think we are as 'hung-up' about our privacy, when it comes to our online shopping and browsing habits, as some people would have you believe- indeed our results suggest people appreciate the convenience and attentiveness," he says.