Sure, I've definitely bought stuff before from targeted ads.
I have as well. I usually get pretty good ad recommendations on Instagram surprisingly enough.
Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
21–30 of 158 posts
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#22To me, it's completely pointless. I don't buy from ads. Never ever. Not on Tv, not on the web. If something is advertised on me, I tend to hate it. I start my shopping on Amazon, then look for alternatives in shops I know, then compare the prices. Quit the phone, zap the TV, install an adblocker. Beware, I'm not saying I'm a robot, I just distaste the ad language, and prefer comparisons. Remember the Bill Hicks sketc…
That’s the thing, you probably have. There are ads that want you to buy something, and there are ads that, when you are making a choice between products, you’ll go with the brand you’re most familiar with. Ads build that familiarity.
Or maybe I won't and go for the competitor... it often works this way. So many times I see something expensive being advertised and I go for a cheaper one I never heard of. So again, I might be a rare case, but ...
I'm not saying that I never bought snacks that are also advertised, because everything is advertised. But I come from a "hard discount" family, and I'm a very hard target, I don't even like being given presents for Christmas.
I'm just saying that if everyone was "castrating" like me, we would see much less spending on advertising.
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#23My uneducated opinion: those ads may appear stupid and are useless 95% of the time, but 95% is more profitable than whatever else they would've shown you (as in they're still right 5% of the time), so failing a better option, the practice continues.
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#24I use an ad blocker so don't generally see ads. However, I own a Kindle Voyage which I use to read sci-fi and fantasy novels. I have not paid the extra $20 or whatever it is to disable the ads. The ads are definitely targeted, as I only see ads for books related to what I've already purchased and read. In fact, all I see is ads for books in the series I happen to be reading at the time. For example, I'm finally getti…
FYI, you can just ask them in a support chat to remove the ads and they'll do it for free.
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#25For the most part my experience is the same as yours, but Instagram is legitimately great at targeting me with stuff I might actually be interested in. I've bought 2 or 3 things as a result of ads on their site, probably the only times ads have led to purchases for me.
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s the thing, you probably have. There are ads that want you to buy something, and there are ads that, when you are making a choice between products, you’ll go with the brand you’re most familiar with. Ads build that familiarity.
Or maybe I won't and go for the competitor... it often works this way. So many times I see something expensive being advertised and I go for a cheaper one I never heard of. So again, I might be a rare case, but ... I'm not saying that I never bought snacks that are also advertised, because everything is advertised. But I come from a "hard discount" family, and I'm a very hard target, I don't even like being given pre…
Exactly this for me, too. I make lattes and cappuccinos pretty often at home. I don't drink dairy milk, so I'm constantly on the lookout for decent alternative milk brands. I've tried pretty much every brand I can find at local stores, and some that I have to order online...
Except Oatly.
Because when I lived in NYC, their subway advertising was so aggressive, in your face, and annoying, I swore I'd never buy the product. Because no brand that spends that much on advertising can possibly be price-efficient for their actual product.
I've actually tried it at a friend's house recently, and really enjoyed it. But I still refuse to support a brand that advertises so heavily.
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#27Yes! I have hardly any friends on Facebook and I never post, but I only use it for the ads. I learn about tons of clothes companies and sales on stuff I like.
This is the most bizarre use of Facebook I've ever heard of
Actually it sounds brilliant. Certainly Facebook is a lousy way to actually have social connections. But using it as a coupon book is something it would be good at.
Reminds me of the now-periodic posts on HN grousing about how bad Google has become. The complainers expect too much. Google is the modern Yellow Pages, or Computer Shopper. You use it for the ads (and SEO stuff). It’s good to look for the highest bidder - that indicates a powerful bidder who can afford it. In the old days this was picking the plumber with the big Yellow Pages ad. At least they’re more likely to be in business with someone answering the phone. You’ll have much worse average luck calling the business with no ad that just has a one-line phone number listing.
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or maybe I won't and go for the competitor... it often works this way. So many times I see something expensive being advertised and I go for a cheaper one I never heard of. So again, I might be a rare case, but ... I'm not saying that I never bought snacks that are also advertised, because everything is advertised. But I come from a "hard discount" family, and I'm a very hard target, I don't even like being given pre…
Exactly this for me, too. I make lattes and cappuccinos pretty often at home. I don't drink dairy milk, so I'm constantly on the lookout for decent alternative milk brands. I've tried pretty much every brand I can find at local stores, and some that I have to order online... Except Oatly. Because when I lived in NYC, their subway advertising was so aggressive, in your face, and annoying, I swore I'd never buy the pro…
Besides the fact that it's a fake ESG Blackstone play...
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#29Yes. Brands, third parties, google, etc have all ran incremental sales lift tests, brand lift studies, customer lifetime value tests, etc and determined how successful tactics are and moved budget accordingly. There is a reason google/etc are worth billions. I’ve posted this comment before, but: 1. It’s hard to tell when someone has bought a product. You buy it at a reseller and the brand will never know. Or you buy…
It is entirely possible that large corporations measure the effectiveness of their advertising by comparing it to sales, and are confusing correlation with causation on a massive scale . They spend more on advertising, and point to sales in the same time frame, as a cause, even if reality disagrees. There are zero incentives for anyone to figure this out and fix it within corporate structures. I'd be thankful it make…
Agreed. Online advertising measurement remains opaque and there is no incentive to fix it.
The book Subprime Attention Crisis by Tim Hwang does a good job covering this! (It is a solid bear case for fb,g,etc as well :p)
Re: Ask HN: Does targeted advertising work at all?
#30I scoffed at advertising all my life, assuming it works it’s magic subconsciously, if at all.
Last year I began using THC to sleep better. And last week I experienced developing a deep craving for a specific snack food I saw an ad for. And everything clicked for me: advertising is probably very very effective on more easily manipulable people. People who are thrall to their lower brain impulses. I felt like I was six again. I just had to have a Skor bar so badly.