• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, September 3, 2013

Imagine what the world would be like if you couldn’t remember anything.

When you’re walking down the street and you bump into someone you know, your interaction is informed by what you know about that person.  You make small talk about her family or her job, and you ask questions about friends you have in common. You do this because your brain has stored information about her and made it easy to tap into that store when you see her again.  It’s a matter of recognition informing action, based on memory -- and it makes relationships effective.

Now imagine what it would be like if you had no memory of past people and interactions.  Every time you walked down the street, your view would be filled with people who basically all look the same because you can’t separate the ones you know from the ones you don’t. It would be a horrible cross between “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “50 First Dates,” with you playing the role of Dory from “Finding Nemo” (but no Marlin to help you through it). 

This Big-Data era of marketing has created the concept of addressability, which makes data-driven marketing a reality.  The Internet has been the most effective addressable medium to date, but it won’t stop there.  Addressability is the end goal for all media because of two key factors: performance and money.

That previous example of walking down the street and recognizing someone you know, and addressing them in a singular fashion is my real-world example of addressability. When you login in to a site, it recognizes you and can deliver a customized experience.  This is addressability and the concept is spreading – soon to TV, cars and even refrigerators.

The “internet of things” refers to this concept of all devices becoming internet-enabled and thus creating an environment that is addressable.  Addressability means that experiences can be segmented, and segmented experiences mean better performance and premium opportunities for marketers.

Try not to be cynical about it.  Addressabiity is just as good for you, the consumer, as it is for you, the businessperson.  As a consumer, you want experiences that are tailored to you. I wouldn’t like to come to the homepage of Yahoo and see articles about shopping and equestrian sports – neither of those interest me.  I want to see articles about music and popular culture.  I want to see ads that align with the things I buy and I want to be remembered by the sites and apps I engage with, because I don’t like having to retype a login for every site that I visit.

Some would have you believe that addressability is new.  Some think it’s scary and that it’s something to be avoided or stopped, especially in digital media.  To those people I ask, how much direct mail do you get -- and how much time do you set aside to stop it from coming to your house?  How many times have you written a letter to your bank and told them to stop selling your information to other companies?

For the rest of us, and I say “us” because I’m a consumer above all, I say be careful and be safe, but be realistic and be honest with yourselves.  You want a customized experience for the world around you because it saves you time, it removes frustration and it makes things a little easier.

So the next time you walk down the street and you see someone you know, stop and talk to them and realize how much more interesting and satisfying that relationship is because you have memory.  And realize that businesses needs to have memory as well, or those relationships with your favorite brands and products will be less than satisfying, too.  If they remember you, it makes you feel like a valued customer -- so don’t remove their ability to remember you.