I think it's safe to say that we have all had some kind of interaction with website cookies, whether they were used to direct certain advertising our way, or to keep some of our profile information while we visited a site. Have you considered how you feel about these cookies? Some feel it's an invasion of privacy and they continuously delete them from their computer. Others barely acknowledge their presence and go on with their usually online activities. One question comes to mind, and continues to be strongly debated: Are cookies an invasion of privacy?
Being a marketing student, I can see both sides of the argument.
At times I feel like Big Brother is watching me, and I'd rather cookies did NOT track my every move. In addition, many other people do not even know how cookies work, or that they exist for that matter. They don't even have a fighting change against cookies - they couldn't delete them even if they wanted to; they are being tracked whether they like it or not.
On the other hand, looking through a marketer's eyes at the uses for cookies, I can see how theycan provide many advertising benefits. They allow advertisements to be directed toward more appropriate audiences and can help companies use their dollars more efficiently. Or do they?
An article published in Advertising Age brought up some thoughts about the limitations of cookies. I agree with the perspective that advertisers don't necessarily need the user's entire profile that cookies provide. Rather, data taken from a company's own ad media and web site data might be more useful. Analyzing this kind of data can help a company better find prospective customers. According to the article's author, studies show that advertising based on creativity can much more effective than advertising aimed at certain demographics. I tend to agree; a more creative ad will catch my attention, whether I am interested in the product or not. Will the use of cookies eventually crumble?
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