The Numbers Game

If you talk to a marketer they will talk about 'target audiences' and 'defining our consumers'.

However, when this is translated into online advertising it all goes out of the window.

Like traditional TV, online TV advertising is a numbers game.

Sure, there are some FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies that need mass market exposure, but most advertising truly needs to be targeted.

An ad campaign for disposable razors has huge wastage, even if scheduled around football a quarter of the audience will be women with no interest in the product.

If you were a Marketing Director, which would you prefer to report to the Board ?

a) our TV advert was seen by 30,000 identified potential buyers of our product last month
b) our TV advert was seen by 17 million people last month

Yes, of course, it's b). For all the wise words of the advertising and marketing people it remains a numbers game for now, frustrating customers with irrelevant advertising and wasting large fortunes for the companies paying for the advertising.

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