Digital Marketing: The Esurance ‘Sorta You Isn’t You’ message

The 'Sorta You Isn't You” campaign from Esurance promotes the idea that consumers are much more than what their demographic would indicate and that they expect their products to be personalized, even customized, to exactly who they are.

Of course, this message also implies that the average consumer is OK with, even expects, Big Corporate to have access to all that 'personalized” information to make their transactions easier. Sorta Big Brother meets Big Mother scenario.

On the flip side, Samsung currently is being pummeled by the privacy police over voice-recognition technology for the home. This smart technology responds to voice commands to change channels and conducts Internet searches, among other functions.

However, it turns out it also records conversations, converts voice to text and saves that data.

Smart TV, Dumb Marketers

Of course, Samsung invited much of the current beating with this ham-fisted privacy policy: 'Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition,” the company said in the SmartTV supplement of its privacy policy.

Yikes. Way to break the 'Don't Be Creepy” commandment. Samsung, what were you thinking?

Finding the Privacy Sweet Spot

So how do you balance satisfying the consumers' desire for efficiency and convenience with legitimate privacy concerns? Bridging the gap between finding the ideal customer and trampling the privacy rights of Internet users is a delicate dance, particularly when your strategy relies heavily on outbound, interruptive marketing tactics.

Many companies now incorporate inbound marketing tactics into their overall marketing strategy to create a sense of 'opting-in” to marketing messages. These methods focus on creating relevant, compelling content that pull people toward your message as a natural extension of their online research.

Inbound marketers create content that aligns with their customers' needs and interests in exchange for the opportunity to continue to market to them. Consumers have the opportunity to opt out of the contact at any time, furthering their sense of having given this business 'permission” to contact them.

With the 'rules of engagement” firmly established, businesses have the opportunity to build relationships that can be nurtured and personalized over time.

Less Stalking, More Talking

Consumers who initiate the search that brings them to your website are much more likely to be receptive to marketing messages than those who don't. For example, traditional email marketing on its own still is an outbound methodology, casting a wide net hoping to snare just a few leads.

But an email or a follow-up sent to a customer who initiated a visit to your website by Googling a question or responding to a targeted display ad and who then downloaded a special offer, coupon or eBook is different. This consumer has made the choice to enter your funnel.

In this situation, rather than wondering which of a thousand points of contact delivered their personal information to the marketer, consumers retain a sense of control over his or her own information.

Exchanging valuable content or offers for contact information is a permission-based way of building personalized relationships that don't feel creepy. While it's not clear exactly how Samsung could parlay the data purloined from private conversations into marketing gold, just the thought of it makes Sorta Not Me Sorta OK for now.

l Regina Gilloon-Meyer, (319) 368-8530, regina@fusionfarm.com, is a content marketing specialist for Fusionfarm, a part of The Gazette. Twitter handle: @Regiimary