Marketing 13th Edition by Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler

Exercise 7

By now, you know about behavioral targeting marketers tracking consumers' online behavior in cyberspace to send them targeted advertising. Krux Digital reports that the average visit to a Web page generated 56 instances of data collection, a fivefold increase in just one year. An investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that the 50 most popular U.S. Web sites installed more than 3,000 tracking files on the computer used in the study. The total was even higher-4,123 tracking files-for the top 50 sites that are popular with children and teens. Many sites installed more than 100 tracking tools each during the tests. Tracking tools include files placed on users' computers and on Web sites. Marketers use this information to target online advertisements. But now, wearable and mobile devices allow marketers to track consumer movements in the physical world. The term meat space refers to the physical world in which our bodies move and do things, and market-ers are using information obtained from wearable and mobile devices to personalize offers while consumers move around their space. With the growing trend in smartphone tracking and wearable technology such as smartwatches, fitness bands, and smart garments that are part of the "Internet of Things;' track-ing consumers in meat space is only going to grow.
Debate whether it is ethical to track consumers' physical movements, especially children's movements. (AACSB: Communication; Ethical Reasoning)