I'm either confused or stupid. I mean, aren't we all a part of the greatest "targeted marketing" scheme in the world, ie, frequency programs?

I've seen plenty of marketing programs where a certain group of people are targeted with a special promotion. In my own work, we offer all kinds of incentives for those who do not take advantage of our services to do so. Why not offer such incentives to current customers? Simple: they already know how wonderful we are, and we already treat them like gold, so we don't have to bribe them to try us out.

I'm never terribly disappointed when an offer is discussed on these pages that I have not been invited to participate in, and am always grateful that sometimes marketers reward me for something that I have to do anyway.

While some "discriminatory" practices DO irk me (like the free rcc for non n.a. elites), I understand the marketing involved and try not to get too upset.

We have seen some targeted promos go awry as a specific result of FT, and as Rudi always says, "If I get the benefit that I was not offered, great. If not, I cannot complain."

And guess what? No matter how many offers NW sends me (and they send me a lot: double miles for 2 months, free upgrades, etc.), I still ain't gonna fly that airline...

I say bring on the targeted marketing! The more specifically tailored to me it is, the better! If someone else doesn't get the same offer, tough. And if someone gets a better offer than me, well then good for them...If I truly feel "discriminated against", I'll walk

BTW, I have to agree that all the internet does is shed sunlight on marketing strategies, which, IMHO, will allow marketers to continue the practice for reasonable and legitimate business purposes (luring good customers from other services, encouraging someone to try a service for the first time, etc), but will cause the cockroaches (targeting based on gender, race, etc) to scurry...

[This message has been edited by kokonutz (edited 12-08-1999).]