https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/that-ad-sprang-up-on-your-screen-for-a-reason-you-were-being-targeted
2023-12-12
You are in the mood to give yourself a treat and you open a shopping app or visit an e-commerce website. A showcase of products gets displayed on your screen. Did you notice – or did you even know – that what you see on your screen is very different from what your friends will see on theirs, even if they open the same app or visit the same e-commerce platform?
Welcome to the world of targeted advertising, which is fast becoming the norm but dividing opinions at the same time.
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all advertising where a single billboard or TV commercial was broadcast indiscriminately to all. Today’s digital advertisements offer a bespoke marketing message tailored specifically for you. They are crafted meticulously from your online behaviour and preferences expressed through your views and clicks. As such, they are engineered not just to catch your eye but to hold your gaze and, ultimately, guide your hand towards a purchase.
This evolution in advertising strategy marries technology with psychology, ensuring that the ads you see online are not presented by chance but by choice – a choice made by algorithms tuned to predict and influence your buying decisions.
This trend raises two particular issues. One is that of privacy. Some find such monitoring of their behaviour intrusive while others are less touchy about this. The other issue is whether revealing so much of yourself to marketers makes you more vulnerable to their enticements, or whether it enables a more convenient shopping experience – because the products being pushed your way are likely to be the ones you are interested in.
This phenomenon has been accentuated by the spread of social media. The PayPal 2022 Borderless Commerce Report highlights that 40 per cent of Singaporean shoppers now encounter new products through social media ads – a figure that has doubled in just a year.
The marketing is getting more sophisticated as insights into the consumer are discovered, ads are created and their impact evaluated.
The crux of the issue lies in the data trail we leave online; without it, the bespoke digital experiences we encounter would not exist. It’s a digital double-edged sword – personalisation hinges on the delicate balance of leveraging consumer data while safeguarding personal privacy. Is there a way to push relevant products to consumers, without targeting their vulnerabilities?
Where do you stand on privacy?
A 2023 Meta report suggests a generational divide in perspectives on privacy and data use in advertising.
Gen Zs see the use of data for targeted advertising as a normal part of life. They value the bespoke experience and like the personalised recommendations offered by targeted advertising. In contrast, baby boomers, who experienced the dawn of the Internet, are more cautious and sceptical about online data collection.
In fact, concerns about the exploitative collection and monetisation of personal data have been growing. This has led to governmental intervention and stricter regulatory controls, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which requires businesses to be more transparent in their data collection practices and obtain clear consent from individuals before they can collect and use their personal data.
In fact, the European Data Protection Board recently underscored this point by ruling that Meta cannot continue targeting ads based on a user’s online activity without a clear, opt-in consent.
Singapore, too, has taken the stance that where the targeting of ads involves using personal data collected through cookies, the individual’s consent is required. Guidelines issued by the Personal Data Protection Commission also recommend that organisations provide individuals with the ability to set their cookie preferences within the website to enable or disable the use of such cookies for personalised advertisement targeting.
These developments put targeted advertising in a difficult spot.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Meta and X subscriptions offer users little play for pay
Amazon's playbook for happy holidays: Discounts, same-day delivery - and AI
Vulnerability versus convenience
Concerns have also been raised about how targeted advertising can exploit the more vulnerable groups of individuals in our society. For instance, targeted ads for high-interest loans are frequently shown to financially struggling individuals who may not realise how these can squeeze them further. Similarly, teenagers with body insecurities may find themselves bombarded with body enhancement ads and the elderly targeted with ads on overpriced health products.
Certain browser-based initiatives have sought to explain to consumers why they are being shown certain ads, and what they can do about it. But these may not be enough to help vulnerable individuals who may be too weighed down by other concerns to try and control the ads they are being shown.
On the flip side, targeted advertising can yield societal benefits. For example, it has the potential to help job seekers find tailored, and hence more suitable, employment opportunities.
Also, as highlighted by mental health researcher Sandersan Onie in a TED talk, targeted advertising can serve as a crucial touchpoint, directing individuals who search for suicide-related terms to critical support services. In other words, when harnessed properly, the algorithms that drive our online experiences can also make a difference for the better.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Tighter control of ads on younger teens’ social media accounts: IMDA
Meta bans ads targeted at teens based on gender
What lies ahead?
As Singapore navigates this complex and evolving digital advertising landscape, it is essential for advertisers, consumers and policymakers to engage in an informed dialogue about the role and impact of such targeted advertising technologies. The challenge lies in balancing the benefits of these advanced technologies with the need to protect privacy and uphold consumer autonomy.
To expect the authorities to regulate so-called “harmful content” can lead one down a slippery slope. The concept of what is harmful is difficult to pin down. There is also the inherent risk of over-regulation. Heavy-handed policies may rob us of the potential benefits that a more nuanced approach to targeted advertising may yet bring.
Some advertisers are pivoting to new approaches. They avoid using cookies and other identifiers and have stopped collecting personal data altogether.
One striking evolution is the rise of “personified advertising”. This involves delivering relevant digital experiences to individuals based on their inferred membership in a customer segment, rather than their personal identity. This approach uses aggregated audience interest data rather than personal data about any individual.
This new approach to advertising holds a lot of promise because it is less about intrusion and more about the intelligent inference of consumer needs and interests. In fact, personified advertising may well sustain the advertising industry’s vitality in an age where personalisation must walk hand in hand with privacy.
Joicey Wei is a senior lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences with research interests in influencer marketing and marketing strategy. Cheng Kwang Hwee is a senior lecturer at the university with research interests in contract law and business management.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Meta rolls out long-sought tools to separate ads from offensive content
True beauty has no place for body-shaming ads
No comments:
Post a Comment