This article about eBay opening its data for ad targeting is an excellent launch point to discuss the issues of behavioral targeting, geotargeting, and privacy. Amazon, Google, and Facebook already do this. Additional articles that you can use include:
- 4 Ways Behavioral Targeting is Changing the Web – covers the basics of behavioral targeting and provides students with a good understanding of the topic.
- Geotargeting – although this is an agency that sells the service, this page of their website provides a basic understanding of how it works.
- Facebook allows targeting with offline third-party data
- Three brands that use data targeting – article discusses how McCormick, Sprint and UPS use data for media strategies.
Discussion Questions:
- Why is ad targeting beneficial for companies? What are the advantages?
- What privacy issues are raised by targeting? Are students concerned about privacy?
- With the rise of smart phones, geotargeting has become more prominent. How do students feel about geotargeting of ads via their smart phone?
Clow/Baack 