14 replies to this topic

[xanderl]

I was highly amused by the banner advert I just got on the main page and the forum:

"Good at sport? You could be cut out for a career in construction!"

At the risk of stereotyping, have they ever met anyone who posts on a theatre messageboard??  

[Laughingmonsta]

The new banner ads - all work from the cache on your computer and pull the best advert suited to you from your computers browser history...so I think it says more about you ;-)

[The Glenbuck Laird]

xanderl, on 10 January 2013 - 05:11 PM, said:

I was highly amused by the banner advert I just got on the main page and the forum:

"Good at sport? You could be cut out for a career in construction!"

At the risk of stereotyping, have they ever met anyone who posts on a theatre messageboard??  

    Your first post since I have joined the board that I don't like. How patronising. Yeah, that say's something about me. Shame that.

[theatreliker]

Talking of adverts, I'm getting a bit fed up with those pop up ones on the home page.

[Honoured Guest]

Laughingmonsta, on 10 January 2013 - 09:38 PM, said:

The new banner ads - all work from the cache on your computer and pull the best advert suited to you from your computers browser history...so I think it says more about you ;-)

That's set me speculating what banner ads regular posters get.,,

[Honoured Guest]

I've just had flights to Mexico, flights to New York and purchasing a new car. There is zero chance of my doing any of these options, so I wonder what the alternatives could have been that were deemed unsuited to me.

[itsuckstobeme]

theatreliker, on 10 January 2013 - 09:54 PM, said:

Talking of adverts, I'm getting a bit fed up with those pop up ones on the home page.

Agreed, very irritating

[Angram]

Honoured Guest, on 11 January 2013 - 09:05 AM, said:

That's set me speculating what banner ads regular posters get.,,

Mine's for Wiltshire Farm Foods....which is slightly worrying

[Honoured Guest]

Please could a moderator or some other knowledgeable person clarify exactly which ads are the personailsed banner ads. I've only just noticed that there are two different ads - one at the very top of the page, which I assumed was a "banner ad" but which seems to have no relevance to me or my browser history, and one at the bottom of the first post on the page, which I wouldn't think is a "banner ad" but which does seem a little closer to my browsing trail. I'm intrigued now!

Two or three years ago I was involved in persuading someone to become a regular client of Wiltshire Farm Foods and only yesterday they cropped up in phone conversation but I've been spared their ads on my WoS pc.

[Matthew Winn]

Honoured Guest, on 11 January 2013 - 11:48 PM, said:

Please could a moderator or some other knowledgeable person clarify exactly which ads are the personailsed banner ads. I've only just noticed that there are two different ads - one at the very top of the page, which I assumed was a "banner ad" but which seems to have no relevance to me or my browser history, and one at the bottom of the first post on the page, which I wouldn't think is a "banner ad" but which does seem a little closer to my browsing trail. I'm intrigued now!

Inspection of the page source reveals that both advertisements come from the same server, so I'd imagine that both are based on your previous visits to other sites that use the same advertising supplier.

I generally find that personalised advertising misses the mark completely in my case. Sometimes it's because my browsing history doesn't match up with a product terribly well: there's not much you can sell based on half a day's research into the courtship rituals of the scimitar-horned oryx. But most of the time it's because they're sending advertising for things I've already dealt with and no longer have an interest in, such as the washing machine I've already bought or the Blu-ray I already own. I can't remember the last time I saw a personalised ad that made me think "actually, that's worth a look", whereas that happened fairly regularly before advertisers decided to start data mining.