Starbucks is Stalking Me

I'm used to being targeted by advertisers on Facebook based on the likes and interest I list on my profile.

I am not, however, used to a) being targeted with personal information on Pandora or b) seen my name appear in the advertising.

Being the studious person I am, I was listening to Pandora yesterday while doing homework. It's pretty annoying when they stop every 20 minutes-- yes, I'm still listening. But it is a smart way to pull the consumers to the advertisements on the page.

Anyways, this is when I noticed a Starbucks cup with my name written on it and an order that was creepily similar to what I sometimes order there.


I'm sure the double tall, extra foam, caramel macchiato order was just a coincidence. But it does make me wonder, because I had to create a YouTube account to upload a video for a marketing project last year and the username includes caramel macchiato (the client was a coffee shop). Pretty big coincidence, huh? But as far as I can tall, there is no direct link between Pandora and YouTube.

Another thing to think about in dealing with consumer-targeted marketing is how far is too far? My Pandora username does not include my name, so Pandora had to have released my personal account information for Starbucks to target me in such a manor. And while giving away my first name is not a big deal, to what lengths are companies going to go to get this information-- or how much information are social media services willing to give away to make money?

The new FTC rules on social media focus on disclosure information, but should they extend regulations to consumer-targeted marketing issues?