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Hi, Kevin Coupe here, and this is FaceTime with the Content Guy.
I've gone on record here as being a big proponent of targeted marketing, and being a little tired of efforts by retailers and manufacturers that seem totally irrelevant to who I am and what I want and need.
I crystalize it this way. I don't like cats. I love dogs. Don't send me cat food coupons. If you send me cat food coupons, you immediately prove that you are just throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. You are wasting my time and your money. I often cite FSIs as a prime example of this approach - almost never open them, never read them, because they simply are irrelevant.
Now, to be clear ... I understand that there are some folks who still like and use such promotions and ads. But I also think that the tide is turning because of the advantages of technology, and these mass, poorly defined approaches to marketing are going to wither away and die.
Except ... and there's always an except ... there are times when targeting can cross the line.
Recently, we've been getting robocalls at the house that begin this way: "Hello, seniors!"
To which my response would be: "Goodbye." Or would be, if I didn't hang up the phone so quickly.
I may be 60 years old, but calling me a "senior" is not exactly the fastest way to my heart.
Now, to be clear ... I'm not one of those guys who is desperately hanging onto youth, dressing in inappropriate clothing, dying my hair, driving a convertible and chasing women half my age as a way of proving I've still got it.
(Okay. I have a convertible. A 2014 Mustang convertible. But at least I'm not dying my hair, wearing inappropriate clothing and chasing young women.)
But I still resist the "senior" definition, if only because I think that I, and a lot of people my age, feel way too young to accept that classification. "Senior" suggests something that I'm just not comfortable with ... and companies marketing to me better be careful about using that term.
In this case, using the word "senior" is only slightly more targeted than sending me cat food coupons.
And while I'm ranting ... I got this thing in the mail from a local senior living community the other day, and using things like "free computer lessons" as a way of getting me in the door to check out the facilities.
Well, for the record...I've been using a computer for something like 30 years. I placed my first order on Amazon in 1997. I don't need computer lessons, much less an apartment in a place filled with old people.
To me ... and I don't think this is just me ... the best way to remain active and interesting is to remain engaged and interested. I want to be around lots of different people, not just lots of people my own age and older.
I'm a big fan of the Jimmy Buffett song: "Growing Older, But Not Up," especially the chorus:
I'm growing older but not up
My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck
So let the winds of change blow over my head
I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead.
That's what's on my mind this Thursday morning. As always, I want to hear what is on your mind.
- KC's View:
