Targeted advertising is everywhere on the web, your browsing habits help ad engines decide what content you are most likely to click on. This alone bothers some people, but how would you feel if advertisers were hooked into your bank account using your financial information to show you targeted ads?
A company by the name of Cardlytics, based out of Atlanta, hope you won't mind them peaking into your financial history a bit. Cardlytics is a "Transaction Marketing System integrates into a financial institution to deliver relevant offers to consumers based on their everyday purchases. "According to NetworkWorld, McDonald's, Macys and Staples are hoping you won't mind either as they have all signed up to participate in Cardlytics program.
In a white paper by Cardlytics targeted at potential advertiser they said,
Targeted offers are not just based on past consumer purchasing data. Cardlytics goes a step further, with even greater precision, by allowing advertisers to target based on a consumer's purchases at a competitor's store. Behavioral targeting can be accomplished, by zip code, store name, store category, frequency or purchase amount through a trusted channel - the consumer's bank.
Industry folks think Cardlytics is a great service, the business and innovation magazine Red Herring named Cardlytics among its 2010 Global Awards Winners. Google, Skype, Netscape, Salesforce.com, YouTube and eBay have all been given the same awards in the past.
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