So Called Marketing In Today's World.

[padi56]

Myself want to go back to a time when the only type of direct marketing you had to deal with was the hapless door to door salesman. It was easy to get rid of the purveyors of windows, house wares and catalogues, "Not my house mate, sorry" and they would move on. Yes, the infringement on my time was an irritant, but it was only minor compared to the all out attack of marketing we suffer today.

Even the door to door brigade, have become so obstinate and persistent in their efforts to change your energy suppliers. Or to install bloody decking all over your garden that they are a major nuisance. Inspired by the aggressive cold callers they have become like bull terriers, when they have a bite they won't let go. It's not so much a problem for me, or I dare say for most of you. But the way these people harangue those less assertive than ourselves is truly shocking.

Every day people are coerced and even bullied into products and services that they do not want, and have no need of in their own homes. We can't pick up the phone, answer the bleeding door, read our mail, open our email in-boxes. Or read a texting message without being propositioned by some company or other. It's a real invasion of our privacy and liberty, yet it's seen as acceptable practise. These direct marketing firms operate in a moral and legal netherworld, unscrupulously hawking junk direct into our homes, cellular phones and computers. It's about time we stood up and drew a line between ourselves and the salesmen.Junk mail bypasses the system by being included in newspapers and magazines. And even the bloody postman is delivering junk with the normal mail nowadays.But most Jehovah's Witnesses callers can easily be deterred,from calling, with a blood donor sticker on the front door or window.

[enjoythemusic]

Being aware is the first step.

Hmm.... if i may ask, why are you're still on the Internet? Do you use a 'smart' phone?

How passionate are you PADI in your efforts? Would like to hear the viability of your plans.

[Blansky]

Watching a hockey playoff game last night, and after being inundated with gambling ads everywhere and after every play, and a constant barrage of moving and changing ads on the boards of the hockey rink, now even the play by play guy was talking about odds and betting while he was calling the play.

The NHL is making money off it. The sport has been bought.


From SPAM to nuisance calls to texts, it's merely laws written by lobbyists so they can bribe the politicians, to pass them allowing the public to be hammered with ads every waking moment of our lives.

There is no escaping it and there never will be. There are video with voice ads on the gas pumps as I fill my car.

I feel your pain Peter but we are the dinosaurs, I'm sure kids are just used to it.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Being aware is the first step.

Hmm.... if i may ask, why are you're still on the Internet? Do you use a 'smart' phone?

How passionate are you PADI in your efforts? Would like to hear the viability of your plans.

Yes I am on the net and have a smart phone and very very very aware I might be in poor health,but thank god still got a very good and active brain.But many are not today especially people of my age and many of a younger age which they seem to prey on today.

[Tri-Tip]

What gets me is the people who walk door to door leaving flyers at my front door. I caught one of them and told him that I don't leave my trash on his porch, why is he leaving his on mine. He just kept walking.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by padi56

...especially people of my age and many of a younger age which they seem to prey on today.

PADI, have you smartly considered eliminating the Internet and going back to a very basic cell phone (or just landline)? You really don't need the web.

PS: Scammers tried getting my dad via social engineering, thankfully dad called me... getting away from the Internet is a great first step.

[chro.nic]

-I use mozilla as my browser with ad blocks. I haven't seen an ad on youtube in years.
-I don't use google search. I use Duckduckgo. I don't have ANY ads in my email inbox.
-Paper flyers, meh, I don't mind them. My blue bin is right beside the mailbox, plus, it looks like someone's home.
-Irritating phone calls, I just sit there saying nothing until they hang up. Then I put the phone # in spam.

.nic

[77T]

I like all the ads.

I like infomercials.

I buy what I'm told.

In my Secret Life...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Rock]

Most annoying to me are:
Gambling ads on TV (posing as "wagering")
Constant spam calls/texts on my phone.

[GB-man]

Everyone is selling something.

[Krash]

I feel like it’s not as bad as it was. Commercials were always prevalent on traditional TV and radio. I see a lot less with streaming. I don’t listen to radio anymore. I listen to playlists I downloaded to my smartphone or satellite radio that has very little commercials.

With my smartphone, I know who’s calling, so it’s easy to ignore any number I don’t recognize. Door to door sales people are not allowed in our development. We have gated security.

I’m not on Facebook, Tik-Tok, Instagram, etc. I have premium YouTube, so I never see any ads.

In terms of direct mail, we throw away anything we’re not interested in.

In 2024, it’s much more difficult for marketing executives to target me.

Just my humble opinion…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[77T]

I think the total marketing offensive is to capture some spending from the unwary shopper.

For example...

About 45 million Americans hold federal student loan debt. Average monthly repayment was $500.

So a part of the free cash flow of $22 billion is up for grabs. Not everyone will have debt forgiven.

But a large enough percentage of those folks will be spending their previously collected payments.

So full-on barrages of marcomm is unleashed and, for the most part, we are by-catch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[superdog]

Last night I got a text message at about 9:00. Just as I am falling asleep.

Them: Hi. I have you as a contact in my phone. Do you remember me?

Me: No.

Them: I am Emily. Aren't you my friend Katrina?

Me: No.

Them: Here is a picture of me. Are you sure you don't remember me?

Me: No. I am not interested. Good luck.

Them: Are you racist. I have no friends. I am simply looking for friends, but everyone is racist. Are you one of them too. Won't you be my friend?

At this point I was asleep. I woke up this am, saw that last message and blocked the number.

I will be honest. If I were older, and super annoyed at all the marketing, I would simply log off of the internet and smart devices. As it is now, I need it less and less. I also enjoy it less and less. If it were not for business purposes and to keep in touch with friends, I would debate it even at the not so young age of 50.

This was more fishing than marketing. But I think the message here is still the same.

[TheHulk]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

PADI, have you smartly considered eliminating the Internet and going back to a very basic cell phone (or just landline)? You really don't need the web.

PS: Scammers tried getting my dad via social engineering, thankfully dad called me... getting away from the Internet is a great first step.

You need to stop Steve. If he gets off the internet, we wouldn’t get our daily reminder of how much he dislikes the modern Daytona, its over hyped, etc etc AND how foolish we all are to be over paying for watches.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by superdog

Last night I got a text message at about 9:00. Just as I am falling asleep.

Them: Hi. I have you as a contact in my phone. Do you remember me?

Me: No.

Them: I am Emily. Aren't you my friend Katrina?

Me: No.

Them: Here is a picture of me. Are you sure you don't remember me?

Me: No. I am not interested. Good luck.

Them: Are you racist. I have no friends. I am simply looking for friends, but everyone is racist. Are you one of them too. Won't you be my friend?

At this point I was asleep. I woke up this am, saw that last message and blocked the number.

I will be honest. If I were older, and super annoyed at all the marketing, I would simply log off of the internet and smart devices. As it is now, I need it less and less. I also enjoy it less and less. If it were not for business purposes and to keep in touch with friends, I would debate it even at the not so young age of 50.

This was more fishing than marketing. But I think the message here is still the same.

Well had two phone calls on my landline this morning both trying to sell something blocked both phone numbers via BT its beyond a joke some days and they can be a bloody nuisance. And a few years back now when I was just 74 years old wasting a bit of time I decided to try this Facebook stuff as interested in the art of Bonsai. I came across a post which I know will make any regular people with a brain, which is sadly lacking today, as many have lost the power of using it. Someone had bought a little bottle of Bonsai Focus fertiliser, they then took the trouble to add many photographs of it and post it on Facebook with a caption along the lines can anyone advise me what to do with this and how to use it?’ After I got past the obvious answer I had to go outside and take a breath say to myself god give me strength, I could not decide whether to go blind, in the end I walked away from the likes of so called social media for good. I thought to myself the most polite answer I could give was read the label. Did I miss something?. And its the last time I will use any sort of so called social media sites like this,

[padi56]

Originally Posted by TheHulk

You need to stop Steve. If he gets off the internet, we wouldn’t get our daily reminder of how much he dislikes the modern Daytona, its over hyped, etc etc AND how foolish we all are to be over paying for watches.

Like you I am entitled to post as much as like about the subjects I like or dislike, if you do not like it simple answer don't read my posts now you have a nice day.

[enjoythemusic]

i love you PADI and glad to have you're here. Give 'em heck :)

Also agree about the increase in scams, yet governments don't seem to care nor enforce any laws much nowadays unless it benefits.... If you really and truly want to get off the 'Carosel-O-Fun', you gotta get off the grid.

Honestly PADI, have you considered living on a ~50' Cat and sailing the world? It's very easy to live a 'nomad' lifestyle globally. Since you're retired, you have the freedom to enjoy your life as you desire and to the fullest.

[Blansky]

Just as a heads up...blocking number is usually meaningless. The numbers are generated randomly by the millions and sent out daily. Usually from as close to your area as possible so you'll answer it. Blocking a specific number means nothing.

Most of my spam calls are coming from area codes where I got my cell phone 25 years ago. I no longer live in that area code but all the spams call numbers are coming from there, because they think I'm still there and have that area code still.

My phone only rings from my contact list of numbers.

[TC94]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Just as a heads up...blocking number is usually meaningless. The numbers are generated randomly by the millions and sent out daily.

My phone only rings from my contact list of numbers.

This is the best solution. I feel lucky to be able to do same. But some people in business can’t do this.

Still, I can’t believe how many “debt recovery” voicemails I’ve gotten in just the last week. Plus a few IRS scammers, student loan debt relief and misc others.

It also takes some effort to convince older people to ignore things. It’s not the same world they grew up in, where every call got answered. Mom went deep into double-checking a fake Publisher’s Clearinghouse scammer. She called around for 2 days to make sure she didn’t miss out on a real win.

Dad and I finally convinced her due to the AI voice recording potential. Just answering sets you up for future risks Luckily they’ve never lost a penny, but vigilance is key here.

They’re 83, I’m 62 and kids are late 20’s. All of us have been targets of more sophisticated attempts in the last year.In particular the random fake teen nude text scam had my son panicked last fall at a new job.He thought a customer was calling and couldn’t ignore it.

I talked him down, assuring him none of us were at risk.

It’s out of control.

[kieselguhr]

Just the other day an overly aggressive sales woman asked me if I was stupid for not wanting “free money” from saving on electric bills by installing a solar panel from her company.

Her sales pitch started off familiar enough, similar to every other solar pitch I’ve heard. Where it differed was how abruptly she escalated her aggression when I declined her “specialist team” come by and assess my meter and electricity usage.

[Andad]

Happens a lot these days Peter, even in remote Australia, but I think you are taking it a bit too far?

[Rock]

The predominate 'spam' I'm getting at the moment is texts from all sorts of fake 'entities' telling me I owe relatively small amounts of money. Just some are:
Local government parking fines, Road Toll debts, Electricity provider debts, Bank fees.
My 'phone recognises them as 'spam' and deals with them accordingly but still annoying as I see the 'alert light' and check to see the text.

[Jackie Daytona]

I hate to admit it but it’s more or less turned me into a much ruder person.

Everyone loves jumping in front of you in stores to talk to you about something, or just generally really imposing upon your time. The older I get the less time I see to have each day and the more I value it. I’m not old, but I’ve gotten to a point where I feel efficiency and quality of time is one of the most important things. With all that being said I really don’t engage at all anymore at any cost. I just don’t look at them, don’t speak to them, and carry on whatever I’m doing.

I hate having to be that way because I believe I’m actually a pretty nice person, but I won’t waste my time on it and don’t feel that I should be obligated to do so.

As for the callers funnily enough I got my phone in Yuma AZ while working there briefly. Scammers seem to try and mimic area codes fortunately, for me, because I know very well that no one is calling me from Yuma, or Walton or Quartzite AZ. So I can just block right away.

One thing I do hate as well though is the mail. As much emphasis as everyone puts on reducing usage of things like paper and being green, I’m not sure how nothing has ever been done about the phone book sized stack of crap shoved in everyone’s mailbox each day that goes straight to the landfill.

[RTG]

Originally Posted by Tri-Tip

What gets me is the people who walk door to door leaving flyers at my front door. I caught one of them and told him that I don't leave my trash on his porch, why is he leaving his on mine. He just kept walking.

Just tell him you buy that stuff by the roll.

[Rock]

One of my pet hates is 'marketers' who inhabit (with the permission of the store) the entrance or passageways of stores/Malls and literally accost and try to intimidate you to donate/subscribe to some charity. Could be 'World Vision', 'Surf Lifesavers', Animal Rescue, etc. I don't really mind them being there, just don't aggressively engage me when I just want to do my shopping. They don't want a donation - they want you to subscribe for the rest of your life.

[m j b]

Aren't we all just a bunch of angry old curmudgeons? LOL

My phone is set to "do not disturb" (Android) which means if you are not in my contacts list, it doesn't ring. Fortunately, I'm not in sales or anything where I need to answer it for people I don't know. If I don't know your number, leave me a message or send me a text and I'll respond if I want to.

My mom was almost duped by scammers via email, but fortunately she called me first and I educated her. Scary though.

Whenever I'm confronted by a pushy salesperson, I just shrug and tell them that the wife won't let me buy anything. She does the same.

I don't think the level of salespeople and scammers has really changed much over the years, it's just the methods that they use have become more sophisticated.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by m j b

Aren't we all just a bunch of angry old curmudgeons? LOL

My phone is set to "do not disturb" (Android) which means if you are not in my contacts list, it doesn't ring. Fortunately, I'm not in sales or anything where I need to answer it for people I don't know. If I don't know your number, leave me a message or send me a text and I'll respond if I want to.

My mom was almost duped by scammers via email, but fortunately she called me first and I educated her. Scary though.

Whenever I'm confronted by a pushy salesperson, I just shrug and tell them that the wife won't let me buy anything. She does the same.

I don't think the level of salespeople and scammers has really changed much over the years, it's just the methods that they use have become more sophisticated.

I think technology has made it easy to cast a very broad net. Fifty years ago someone usually had to be physically present to scam you (though mail order scams were common). Now, bots try millions of people a week.

Remember when used car lots were the one place you knew to watchout? Now it’s any website asking for PII.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Maleg

I think technology has made it easy to cast a very broad net.

Exactly, so while some might feel there are not more people doing scams, they are indeed doing MORE scams in general due to the ease of technology (scam fishing emails, robo calls, etc). Dad ALMOST got suckered by the Best Buy Geek Squad scam... until he smartly hung up on them and called me.