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Editor-in-Chief

The View From Here

By Melissa Campanelli

About Melissa

Melissa Campanelli is the editor-in-chief of Target Marketing's eM+C brand and Retail Online Integration, a monthly print magazine, website and e-letter (The ROI Report) that's all about the integration of sales channels, including print/catalog, transactional websites and retail stores, as well as email, mobile, social media and more.

Prior to becoming editor-in-chief of eM+C, Melissa spent ten years at DM News, where she was first a senior editor and then deputy editor. She's also a leading expert in small business e-commerce and author of the books "Entrepreneur Magazine's Open an Online Business in 10 Days" and "Start Your Own e-Business."

 

15 Minutes Ahead

Margie Chiu
Tearing Down the CRM Barriers
Aug 5, 2010

In networked CRM, there's no tightly defined “conversion path.” Instead, every social media touchpoint serves as a point of entry,...



Engagement Matters

Stephanie Miller
A 'Back-to-Business' Email Optimization Checklist
Sep 2, 2010

Back to school is also back-to-business time. Set aside a few hours this final week of summer to freshen up...



Ways of Thinking

Thorin McGee
A Facebook Fan is $136 in Lifetime Value, $3.60 in Media Impressions
Jun 29, 2010

The lifetime value of a Facebook fan is about $136 to top brands, according to this study on Facebook fan...



Redefining Performance Marketing

Craig Greenfield
Affiliates: Redefining the Original Performance Marketing Channel
Aug 26, 2010

As the original performance marketing channel, affiliate marketing has been effectively driving performance-based sales since the mid-90s. But the characteristics...



Inside Mobile Marketing

Michael Becker
Researching the Mobile Marketing Opportunity
Aug 12, 2010

Mobile marketing is a case in point: A forthcoming Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) survey of U.S. advertisers and...



Baby Boomers, Gen Y Embrace Personalized Online Ads

By Melissa Campanelli | Posted on May 14, 2009
 
This past week, I came across a new study by Q Interactive, an advertising network specializing in predictive behavioral targeting. It found Generation Y Americans (individuals born between 1982 and 1995) and baby boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964) are the two most active generations, with the greatest willingness to provide information online in exchange for more personalized advertising. The study’s core finding showed that when given the choice, 63 percent of Gen Yers would provide personal data in exchange for targeted advertising. In addition, 53 percent of baby boomers would do the same. The study surveyed more than 1,500 consumers on their feelings about targeted online advertising, and these groups had the highest percentages. “The findings were surprising to us, because they go against a lot of perceptions advertisers have about what consumers will provide in order to receive personalized advertising,” Q Interactive’s President/CEO Matt Wise told me this week. It’s little surprise that Gen Yers are used to providing personal information on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, Wise said. But baby boomers' comfort with providing this type of information online was more surprising, Wise said. "Baby boomers finally really understand the value proposition of offering personal information online in exchange for something now," he said. "If we surveyed them in 1999, I’m sure we would have gotten a different response.” The study also found consumers, as a whole, value online advertising targeted to their individual needs and interests. Additional findings from the survey included the following:
  • 56 percent view advertisers “favorably” when ads are tailored to a personal interest; and
  • approximately one in three Gen Yers and baby boomers feel more relevant ads tailored to personal interests improve their online experiences.
So, if you’re targeting either Gen Y or baby boomers, try testing a program that offers more personalized advertising in exchange for their information. But make sure you do it the right way by following behavioral targeting best practices.

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COMMENTS

Most Recent Comments:
Sara Kmiecik - Posted on June 18, 2009
Very interesting post - No one can say that the two generations have nothing in common anymore!