Are You Being Watched?

Have you ever had the feeling that you are being watched?  If you have, it's probably because you are.  Most people are aware that their activity online is being monitored by companies looking to advertise their products to interested parties, but what about at sporting events?  Advancements in technology is making it more probable that companies can monitor the facial expressions and behaviors of fans while they're watching their favorite teams play. According to Sean Gregory, arenas are already armed with cameras that allow teams to know the strengths and weaknesses of their players, prospects and opponents, but what happens when you turn the camera towards the fans?

Imagine having the capability to read the behaviors of each and every fan and then cater your marketing  strategies to those behaviors. The possibilities would be endless. In other words, different sports organizations will have the ability to increase every level of fan engagement.  Die hard fans will have the ability to interact with their favorite teams while opportunistic fans can be entertained through social media and picture sharing of their sporting event. In essence this is exactly how marketing executives use information gathered online to market certain products to different individuals.

According to Marlene Cimons, advertising agencies have already adopted the concept of studying human behavior in order to market their products directly to their target audience. They may not be monitoring behavior through hidden cameras but they are definitely "watching" the different websites visited to monitor the interests of future consumers.  I have definitely noticed the similarities in ads that seem to "pop up" whenever I'm browsing the Internet.  It's almost as if they know the items I've bought and the sites I frequent, regardless of whether I buy anything or not.

It is not unreasonable to think that sports organizations are doing the same things online with the addition of using cameras to monitor fan behavior in the actual arenas.  Now, if I decide to go to a football game, it would be pretty obvious that I have no idea what is happening during the game.  Usually, I'm on Facebook or posting pictures on Instagram showing I'm at the game but not necessarily into the game.  Those behaviors would not be hard to read, whereas if I was at a Miami Heat game, my behavior is completely different and I am fully engaged in the entire game.  Having the ability to read fan behavior gives the sports organization vital information on what and who to market to.

Aaron Kahlow suggests in his blog that organizations should be more adept to ask consumers what they want rather than telling them what they want.  Kahlow also suggests tailoring emails to target a specific fan base. I agree with this statement because most people don't want or need news letters and will usually delete the email before it's opened.  You definitely want to avoid sending so much junk to the fans that they also begin to skip over deals and promotions because they're deleting emails before opening them.

As consumers, we are definitely being watched.  I just hope corporations, organizations and even the government understand that there is a fine line between monitoring behavior for marketing purposes and infringing on consumer privacy.