Technology enables companies to track consumers and target them with advertising. Companies use web cookies, user accounts, and loyalty programs to gather demographic information about users and their interests. This allows companies to create targeted viral marketing campaigns, place branded content, and display relevant internet ads. While these tools provide free services, they also turn users into marketing tools, demographics, and targets for companies.

1. Technology Makes us a
Marketing Tool,
Demographic, and
Target
Conor Fallon

2. Intro
The constant advance of technology has brought many desirable new
products to the market place. Likewise, companies have more tools and
insight into our lives, interests, and shopping habits than ever. The rise of the
internet and other technological advances has enabled companies to
understand demographics of their customers, target specific audiences, and
use people as marketing tools for their products.

3. Marketing Tools
Since the beginning of trade, one of the most powerful influences of a
merchant’s success has been word of mouth spread of their product or
service. Today, mass media distribution technologies have created a massive
industry dedicated to getting people aware and interested in products and
services.

4. Viral Marketing
● Relies on word of mouth to spread and gain views
● Companies pay marketing to create outlandish, amazing, moving videos
to draw people’s attention
● The idea is to get people talking about the video which draws attention
to a particular brand or product
● Often made as visual media (Youtube, Super Bowl commercials, etc)
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
● People often like to talk about and share this media which generates more attention for the
brand.

5. Branding
● Simply placing a logo or name in a picture where it’s clearly visible
● Found often in television and other visual media
● The idea is the same as Viral marketing (to make people aware of a
product)
● Most televised sports generate major revenue from branding
● Many companies try to get deals to have their products placed in movies
● One of the more famous examples of successful branding is Aston Martin
and James Bond

6. Social Marketing
● Social marketing relies on introducing people to brands through social
media.
● One of the more common examples is the Facebook like system which
encourages people to like their favourite brands and then lets their
friends know about it.
● Works similar to the word of mouth concept as people are more likely to
buy something if they see other people are enthusiastic about it.
● Many companies have social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc) for
advertising and communication

7. Demographics
The dawn of the internet presented both an new opportunity and a large
challenge to marketing. The internet offers huge amounts of data collection
and marketing possibilities.
But how do companies keep track of seemingly anonymous users?

8. Web Cookies
● Cookies began as a way for websites to keep track of user’s interaction
with a site.
● With the rise of internet marketing, many cookies are now used to track
a user’s web use.
● Cookies are files downloaded to the pc to keep track of user’s internet
use
● They can track people’s access to various sites and collect data about a
certain person’s interests

9. User Accounts
● Many websites use accounts to create databases of user information
● Facebook, the most famous, collects your information to both sell to
companies and for targeting adverts.
● Information entered in the about “about me” tab in combination with a
user’s “likes” is valuable to companies trying to determine their target
demographics.

10. Loyalty Programs
● Similar to internet user accounts, companies entice people to sign up for
programs with discount cards.
● Customer data and shopping trends are recorded with the card.
● The card account creates an identity which the store can use to track
people’s particular purchasing habits.

11. Targetting
Equipped with demographics information, and modern marketing techniques,
companies can more directly target potential customers than ever before.

12. Internet Advertising
● Many internet search engines offer companies to target advertising to
people looking for particular subjects
● Companies like Google and Youtube look at what a user is searching for
and try to display advertising for relevant products
● Like various other internet services, advertising revenue allows the
service to be free for its users

13. Conclusion
● Modern technology allows companies to track us
through our virtual identities.
● Many services and industries like search engines and
sports are paid for by ad revenue.

14. References
Berkebile, D. (2009, June 19). What are marketing demographics? Retrieved April 11, 2015.
Ferguson, R. (2007, October 7). LOOKING AT LOYALTY THROUGH THE DEMOGRAPHICS PRISM.
Retrieved April 10, 2015.
Ozanian, M. (2012, October 17). The World's Most Valuable Sports Brands. Retrieved April 11, 2015,
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/10/17/the-forbes-fab-40-the-worlds-most-
valuable-sports-brands-4/
Watkins, D. (2013, December 1). How does Google earn money. Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
http://www.quora.com/How-does-Google-earn-money