Retargeting Needs To Get Smarter

I feel like I’m being stalked by a single-minded salesperson who is desperately trying to close out the fiscal quarter. 

Let me explain.

I was on a site a couple of months ago looking at a cool new thermostat called Nest.  I liked the idea of it so much that I bought the product.

The problem is that the retargeting platforms don’t understand that I have other interests.  So now when I visit sites I am seeing the Nest ad.

Everywhere.

Mind you I am very happy with the Nest product but the effectiveness of the retargeting solution for many of the sites I’ve visited is just too basic.  It appears to be some kind of FIFO queue that has no perceivable analytics or machine learning behind it.

I want retargeting to get smarter.  

Better yet, I want to be able to influence how it works and what it thinks of me.  It would be great if I had a universal profile, used by ad engines, and an interface that would allow me to edit and maintain my persona. 

I could then tell the ad world that I already own the Nest and don’t need to be reminded how cool it is.  I could also edit the kinds of products that the ad world thought I had an interest in so that they could actually target me better.

I know that sounds a little masochistic but I wouldn’t mind the intrusiveness if a) I had some control over it and b) I could have some small impact on what was being sent my way.

This kind of solution would go a long way with consumers.  Maybe it could even aid Facebook with its mobile ad woes. 

I suppose that today’s fresh $100B USD will certainly give Facebook the firepower to solve this issue if they decide to take up the charge. 

Or, maybe there is a little start-up waiting to happen…