In Response to Doug Kendall

Doug asked: Do you think this profiling is helpful or hurtful to consumers? Do companies take advantage of unknowing consumers or is it the consumers responsibility to know what they are making known to the public?

I think that tracking people's tendencies online for marketing purposes is unethical. I think of it almost as spying. I don't want companies tracking my footsteps just so they can try to sell me something.

I believe that yes, companies do take advantage of unknowing consumers when they track them without permission. Now, I think it is ok for companies to use information about people if those people gave it to them with permission. I also think that people are responsible for what information they give out, but if they are being tracked without their knowledge then what are they supposed to do? Never go on the internet? I don't think its right for companies to secretly track people.

Color in Marketing

Its a fact that certain colors are more prone to grab people's attention than others. Bright greens, reds, yellows, and oranges are all very vivid. In fact, the human eye is most sensitive to light wavelengths of 555 nanometers which is a bright lime green.

Knowing this information, do marketers use this to their advantage? I would say they most definitely do. I will use a grocery store as an example. You will find that the labels of products are specifically designed to be noticeable. At the store I work at, they even apply this principle to the price signs. They are all in either a bright green (in the produce section) or in day-glow orange (for everything else).

Another thing I have noticed in grocery stores is that the location of the product matters. They usually put the products they are trying to sell quickly at eye-level, where they are easily seen and reached. Also, products that are very popular (like ketchup, mayo, or mustard), are placed on the bottom shelf so that you need to look past many more products before you see these popular ones, increasing the chance that you might see another product you may want to buy. I think that visuals in marketing are an important tool to the marketer and can make the difference when trying to sell a product.

Have you noticed any other marketing techniques that are used to make people more likely to buy things? What industries are these techniques found in?