Behaviorally Targeted Ads as Implied Social Labels Article Analysis

The objective of this study is to review an article titled “An Audience of One: Behaviorally Targeted Ads as Implied Social Labels”  (Summers, et al. 2016 p 156). The authors argue that firms have relied on targeting to communicate effectively with a group of consumers. Targeting is the segmentation that involves selection from a smaller group of people based on defined variables.  A common type of segmentation variables that firms use includes demographic variables using the gender and ethnicity as well as psychographic variables that include lifestyle, personality and values.  However, an advanced in technology, and widespread of the internet has made a new form of targeting emerging. A behavioral targeting is referred as an internet-based marketing strategy using different elements that include browsing history and consumer purchase to assist in determining the type of adverts design and display. Typically, consumers are presented the digital adverts to reflect the marketing preferences based on their previous behaviors. For example, the algorithms may be developed to identify consumer who likes to make an online purchasing of energy-saving bulbs. Since this practice is common in the online marketing environment,  the authors investigate the difference between method consumer response to traditional types of targeting, and behaviorally targeted advertisements.

Tucker,  (2014) argues that the internet has revolutionized the way advertisers employ in designing their campaign. With the strategy used in collecting consumer data using the website platform, the advertisers are able to design the adverts that will be tailored to consumers’ preferences.  For example, the online clicks can be used to collect the information about the particular products that consumers prefer. Unlike the traditional method of advert that does not have the same advantages, in  this scenario,  firms are able to have  “ huge amounts of data at their disposal to improve advertising outcomes, but who also seek to minimize the potential of consumer resistance.” (Tucker,  2014 p 1). The data collected from consumers will assist advertiser to design the online adverts more appealing. Despite the benefits that can be derived from online adverts, the advertisers still face the risks of intruding in the privacy of consumers. At presents, increasing number of sophisticated consumers are wary of submitting their private information on the internet. The author suggests that advertisers are required to make consumers understand that their information is safe and will not be misused.

Yan, et al. (2009) contribute to the argument by pointing out that advertisers take advantages of behavioral targeting to collect large volume of consumer information. Using the strategy, the advertisers are able to top design the adverts that will match consumers’ preferences. Yan, et al. (2009)  identify the  CTR(Click-Through Rate) as a technique  that advertisers employ to collect consumer information, which assists them to “properly segmenting users for behaviorally targeted advertising in a sponsored search.” (Yan, et al. 2009 p 261). Thus, the authors establish that behavioral targeting assists advertisers in designing effective online advertising. Moreover, the authors reveal behavioral targeting help advertisers to use evaluation metrics to analyze the effectiveness of their adverts.  More importantly, the behavioral targeting works better than others form of online or traditional ads delivery.

The authors develop different theoretical frameworks related to behavioral advertising by arguing that behavioral segmented adverts are different from the traditional advertisement based on the psychographic and demographic variables. The behavioral ads use the Web page to customize an appeal for each user who visits the site. However, the advert method is different from the traditional mode of adverts presented to everyone no matter their demographic variables. Moreover, the behaviorally targeted ads are designed differently from another type of adverts because firms are able to collect information about consumers since customer data are stored in the hard drives (cookies). For example, firms are able to collect information about customers’ clicking patterns, purchase histories, and web searches. Increasing number of firms are also using the software to identify people’s psychographic traits such as personality, values, and social identities.

Additionally, firms use the social labels to develop consumer explicit characterizations based on their personality, beliefs and behavior. Based on self-perception theory that reveals how people demonstrate certain behaviors based on their traits, the authors argue that implied social label can be used to develop the consumer identity to design behavioral consumer adverts.  However, Summers, et al. (2016) point out there is still short of research that clarifies the distinctions and commonalities between social labeling and identity priming.  

²Despite the method the author employ developing the theory, the theory is not well presented in the article. Instead of revealing how the theories are linked to the research objectives, the authors discuss the concepts of online adverts. The concepts that are discussed elaborately include behaviorally targeted advertising, self-perceptions,  social labels, behavior and identity. Instead of developing the theory, and using the theory to develop the hypothesis, the authors develops the hypothesis from different concepts to enhance a greater understanding of the behaviorally targeted advertisement. While the authors cited important literature, however, the authors do not link the literature to the theory. All the literature reviewed are linked to the concepts.
Despite the shortcomings identified in the articles, the hypotheses are still well generated. The hypothesis developed are from different behavioral marketing concepts, and  the hypotheses developed are as  follows:

 “Behaviorally targeted advertisements can act as implied social labels, resulting in adjustments to self-perceptions and behavior consistent with the label”. (Summers, et al. 2016 p 159).

“Changes in consumer behavior in response to behaviorally targeted ads are mediated by the recognition that the ad implies information about the consumer based on his or her past behavior and the subsequent self-perception adjustments that result as a function of recognizing this implied label”.(Summers, et al. 2016 p 159).

Summer et at  (2016) also investigates the impact of accuracy the of the behavioral targeting. The authors believe consumers adjust their behaviors and self-perception to target behavioral ads.  Meanwhile, the acceptance of labeling depends on targeting accuracy.  Thus, the authors predict that  the behaviorally targeted adverts can be connected to consumer behaviors. When consumers realize that marketers label them correctly, they alter their behaviors and display their identities to the ads.  Thus, the authors predict that a label -implied behaviorally targeted advert makes consumers respond correctly. Contrarily, a label that is unconnected to customer behavior will make the customer not adjust their behaviors. Hypothesis developed from the concepts of  behavioral targeting is as follows:

“The effects proposed in hypotheses 1 and 2 only hold when the implied label is plausibly connected to consumers’ prior behavior (i.e., when behavioral targeting is at least moderately accurate).” (Summers, et al. 2016 p 159).

While one of the literature is contradictory to the hypothesis, another previous literature is not contradictory.  Yan. et al. (2009) point out that the behavioral targeting is an online advertising technique that advertisers use to enhance the effectiveness of their online advertising campaign. By using the click-through rate technique, advertisers are able to improve their advertising techniques by  670%. The results of the research carried out by  Yan. et al. (2009) reveal that their research does not contradict Summers, et al. (2016) because of Yan. et al. (2009) has been able to demonstrate through statistical significant that behavioral targeting is able to assist online advertisers improving their adverts using the evaluation metrics.  Moreover, Yan et al (2009) confirm that behavioral targeting is a method of an advert better than another method of advertisements.

However, Tucker, (2014) argument is  contradictory with the hypothesis by  “investigating how internet users' perceptions of control over their personal information affect how likely they are to click on online advertising on a social networking website.” (p 1). Tucker (2014) believes that the websites do not change the method the advertisers use data to target their personal ads. Contrarily, Summers, et al. (2016) believe that website can assist the method the advertisers design the advert because the websites allow the advertisers to collect information from of consumers from the cookies that store consumer data.  Although, Tucker (2014) also agrees that internet and communication technology have revolutionized firms ability to accurately predict consumers’ preference, nevertheless, firms face the risks of being exposed if consumers found out that they are intruding on the privacy. 

The inconsistency in the literature is based on the argument of  Tucker (2014)  who focus on the ethical side of the online adverts. It is essential to realize that the goal of business organizations is to make profits. If firms intend to be 100% ethical in the present business environment,  their ability to generate profits will be challenging. Thus, most online advertisers forgo the ethical business decision by collecting consumer information to design the adverts that match consumer’s preferences. Despite the inconsistency, the hypotheses are still meaningful because Summers, et al. (2016) are able to test the hypotheses to enhance readers understanding on how behavioral targeting can serve as implied social labels that result to adjustments to behavior consistent and self-perceptions. The hypothesis has also enhanced a greater understanding of how advertisers can change consumer behaviors using the behaviorally targeted adverts.

Summer et at  (2016)  test the hypotheses across four studies, using the quantitative techniques to collect and analyze data.  The data are collected from 188 undergraduate students. The data are collected to test whether an advert can be behaviorally targeted and the implied labels provide likely greater purchase for the products compared to an advert demographically targeted or non-targeted. The independent variables are well selected and the study selected the independent variables for the Study 1 as follows:
* Behaviorally targeted acts
* implied social label.
The independent variables for the Study  2  are as follows:
* Serial mediation
* Consumer, and 
* Activating an identity

The independent variables for the Study  3  are as follows:
* Behaviorally targeted ad 
* Environmentally green friendly product 
The independent variables for the Study  4  are as follows:
* Implied social label.

Dependent variables.
Moreover, the authors adequately select the dependent variables, and the dependent variables selected for the Study 1 are as follows:
* Greater purchase
* advertised product 
* demographically targeted 
The selected dependent variables for the Study  2  are as follows:
* Implied social label 
* behaviorally targeted
* identity-consistent behavior
The selected dependent variables for the Study  3  are as follows:
* Consumer
*  self-perceptions
* Environmental values
* Environmentally green product 
The dependent variables for the Study  4  are as follows:
* behavioral targeting
* Consumers’ past behavior.;