All I Wanted Was A Snowboard..

Now that snow has finally decided that it wants to stay on ground or longer than a few days, I thought it was time to start my search for this years "perfect" snowboard. So, I grabbed my computer and went to my two favorite online board shops, ProBoard Shop and The House. After clicking around on 2017's Women's Snowboard selections for awhile, I decided that I would have to save up way more money than I had assumed I would. Feeling a sense of sadness and defeat, I logged into my Facebook account and began scrolling through the news stream looking for any small distraction to get my mind off of my money problems.

Then, as I was scrolling around I began to notice advertisements on the lower right corner of the webpage. These ads were for the The House; one of the two online business websites I had just been clicking around on a mere fifteen minutes ago! Confused, I clicked on the first ad and saw that it literally led me directly to the 2017 Women's Snowboard section of The House website. I mean, I had heard of direct marketing tactics that could track where you were online and then display ads pertaining to that on other websites, but I had never actually witnessed it happening to me. 

Once I fully realized that this was actually a clever marketing tactic, I started to question how well it actually worked on me. For instance, I did actively re-click on an ad for a website that I had just been on, and seen all that it had to offer. On the other hand, my second visit to the website still didn't result in any purchases. So, what may The House have gained from this ad placement? 

Well, I believe that it is utilizing this form of direct marketing to increase its brand awareness and customer loyalty among consumers. The reason that I think this relates to the fact that, though I didn't end up making any purchases, I still clearly remember the ad and what company it was for. This in turn, reveals that by having a second interaction with The House I now can recognize its brand as well as its products. Also, showing me an ad that illustrated its current promotions, has given me greater incentive to return to its website when I have the finances to afford a new snowboard. Overall, The House's use of direct marketing has provided me with a greater incite towards the ways that businesses can utilize ad placements to influence consumer behaviors.