I was under the impression that Google already did this. A Googler already described this to me years ago as "closing the loop", where Google's ad network already exposed a customer to a brand/product, but Google only gets credit for the conversion if it happens in the same browser session online. By tying together stats between impression and conversion (purchase, even in-store), the ad network becomes more valuable…
This sounds like some bullshit to me. Not that Google claims to be able to close the loop, but that a Google ad actually influenced me in any way, let alone a physical purchase in a brick-and-mortar. PPC Ad-words perhaps influences me if I'm researching a product or service, but that's mostly a function of search results placement rather than . Usually I scan down below the first few search results because those are…
The world is rife with people who believe they are immune to marketing. Nearly no one believes the ad impressions subliminally control your mind and force you to buy their advertised product. By simply seeing a product image, logo, brand name, etc (even in your periphery), you are being (re)exposed to a product in hopes that over time, you will remember the impression that ad made on you. Advertisers know, from studying consumers, that advertising doesn't work equally on all people or at all times.
You should read or watch Tristan Harris describe how some of the best companies in the world (especially tech companies) are great at "persuading" their customers/users/visitors to go through a well defined loop, often taking advantage of quirks in human behavior.
As a developer who worked at a game company, I've seen the development process first-hand.
As an enthusiast of behavioral economics, I've seen proof that humans aren't as rational or and don't have as much "free will" as most Americans believe they have.
As an amateur dog trainer who has trained a blind and deaf dog, I've seen amazing progression of learning and intent that happens when using operant conditioning to train an animal.