As online marketers, we have the luxury of reaching our targets based on what they search, browse or click on. That tells us a lot about expressed interests. By contrast, physical addresses provide information about the probability of interests.
Recently, Acxiom announced new services (WSJ article, paid access) which actively connect addresses to online ads. When their customers collect addresses online, Acxiom maps them to lifestyle codes and enables ad targeting using these codes.
Where you live speaks volumes, especially to off-line marketers without other insights. You and your neighbors share demographics, media interests and consumption patterns. For example, affluent Texan neighbors may buy parkas for their ski vacations while most citizens never think about them. (Check out your own zip code at Claritas.)
Admittedly these lifestyle code refinements can help *a little* online, but privacy risks may quickly erase the benefits. Any kind of secondary use of addresses is likely to raise concerns from end-users and privacy advocates. I believe this is a case of "we can connect the dots" but at what cost? 数据挖掘实验室
