“We have the capacity to send every customer an ad booklet, specifically designed for them [...].
“With the pregnancy products, though, we learned that some women react badly,” the executive said. “Then we started mixing in all these ads for things we knew pregnant women would never buy, so the baby ads looked random. We’d put an ad for a lawn mower next to diapers. We’d put a coupon for wineglasses next to infant clothes. That way, it looked like all the products were chosen by chance.
“And we found out that as long as a pregnant woman thinks she hasn’t been spied on, she’ll use the coupons. She just assumes that everyone else on her block got the same mailer for diapers and cribs. As long as we don’t spook her, it works.”In other words: Target got explicit feedback that their customers hate being spied on. They think it's creepy. They get very angry. How did Target respond? Rather than respecting their customers by not doing the thing those customers told them not to do, they acted to deliberately obscure their creepy behavior.
A class act, guys, really. Did you feel proud of yourselves when you came up with that stunt?
It's official then - they think I'm pregnant. Almost every ad I get from them is for baby stuff (cribs, toddler swimwear, etc.). I was hoping that it was random (since other stuff is mixed in) but it's at least 90% baby ads, and now I know that they do indeed do that on purpose when they think they have reason. So in case having to deal with EVERYONE I know being pregnant wasn't frustrating enough, I also get to have it thrown in my face by the weekly Target ads I receive. Awesome. Do they also time it, so that in 9 months they'll assume I'm not pregnant anymore?
ReplyDeleteThey do time it, actually. They try to guess when your due date is based on stuff like how much unscented lotion you buy.
DeleteI'm thinking 3 things:
ReplyDelete1. "What the CRAP Target?! I thought we had something special."
2. If a change in my habits is supposed to signal the birth of my alleged baby (or the movement from one trimester to the next), I'll never give birth, since it's apparently my normal habits that made them think I was pregnant in the first place. But...
3. I noticed last week I got a toddler ad instead of a baby ad and I'm enormously curious to find out if this continues. If I get a dorm furnishings ad in 18 years, I'll let you know.