Ad Retargeting and Psychological Reactance
Help! This is a real cry for help! I am being followed. Incessantly.
Everywhere I go.
I was checking my mail, and there it was, looking down at me.
I was (gloating over a political argument) reading important news on Twitter and it barged in.
I was (checking out Jennifer Aniston's first post) looking for a recipe on Instagram and it popped in.
Was this my fault? All I did was search for a laptop backpack and now I am being hounded by bags. All across the internet. Everywhere I go.
“Check this one out!”
“Get 50% off”
“Bags you might like”
“Others like you bought this bag.”
Whoever needs to hear this, here’s the deal. I don’t want a bag. I am not looking for one. It was a mistake. I am sorry. I love my bag. Please, just let me be.
But, it doesn’t matter. Because if it’s a bag today, it will be a flight search tomorrow. Or a dress I looked at. Or a search for golf classes I did for my friend.
Unless you have been on a digital detox, you will have been through this. This constant hounding by companies because of a single, perhaps haphazard search you did. Also called retargeting in the world of digital marketing, this refers to the practice of serving personalized advertisements to customers on the basis of their browsing history. Dynamic retargeting goes one step forward. Not only does it serve personalized ads on the seller’s website, but it can, quite literally, hound you down on any website or mobile app you visit and serve you these ads, based on your past browsing experience.
From a business perspective, this makes sense. If you visualize a marketing funnel, here’s a customer who has shown both awareness and interest, and is seriously considering a purchase. The intent is not firmed up yet, so what better time than now to bombard him with ads and coax out that latent intent?
There’s only one tiny, almost missable problem with this. We forgot to consider human nature!
Maybe this will help clear the matter.
Many years ago, the King of Prussia, Fredrick the Great (also known as Fritz) decided his subjects needed to start eating potatoes because they are a cheap source of carbs. He introduced the vegetable through town criers, gave out free samples, distributed recipes — in other words, everything that could be counted as marketing in today’s world. Nothing worked! People refused to buy potatoes. Finally, he tried something clever (which would not count in today’s marketing): he planted potatoes in the royal garden and built walls all around it, with security guards walking around all the time. The only catch was, the guards were told to be lenient and the walls had holes for people to look in. And look they did!
“What is it that the royal family is having, that we cannot?” And just like that, someone snuck into the garden, stole potatoes and the rest, as they say, is history! Even today, Fritz’s grave gets potatoes as offerings instead of flowers!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great
Miron, A. M., & Brehm, J. W. (2006). Reactance theory – 40 years later. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 37(1), 9-18.
Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. Academic Press.
Edwards, S. M., Li, H., & Lee, J. H. (2002). Forced exposure and psychological reactance: Antecedents and consequences of the perceived intrusiveness of pop-up ads. Journal of Advertising, 31(3), 83-95.
https://www.inskinmedia.com/blog/infographic-environment-matters-improving-online-brand-experiences/
About the Author
Preeti Kotamarthi
Preeti Kotamarthi has built and led Behavioral Science teams at two of the largest tech companies in Southeast Asia and India. She established the Behavioral Science practice at Grab, helping product and design teams understand customer behavior to create better user experiences. Currently, she heads Behavioral Science and User Research at Swiggy, where she continues to blend data, design, and human insights—drawing inspiration from spending a lot of time with Indian consumers. With a Masters in Behavioral Science from the London School of Economics and an MBA in Marketing from FMS Delhi, Preeti brings over 12 years of experience in consumer products, from co-founding a rural startup in India to shaping behavioral design in tech. Her passion lies in making behavioral science a core part of the product development process. When she’s not uncovering human insights at work, she’s likely busy applying behavioral lessons on her two-year-old.
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