Have you noticed seeing advertisements of products or services which you might have visited or viewed recently online, suddenly appear when browsing other websites.That is due to the common digital marketing technique called remarketing or retargeting.

Let’s dive into how remarketing works and why is it so effective.It isused to show advertisements to people who have visited any website or used any app. These techniques provide you with extra settings and reports specifically for reaching previous visitors and users. It helps build the brands visibility.

When a person visits any website, it indicates their interest inproduct or service of the website, Butthat person might leave without making a purchase. Remarketing reminds them of what they already want or need. It allows the vendor to personalise the advertisements about the incentives or shown interest.

Let’s take an example: If a visitor leaves before actually clicking or reading anything on the website or App you can recapture their curiosity with an advertisement that highlights a service you provide.

If a potential customer adds an item in their cart but does not go ahead with the purchase, the website could send them a promo code or free shipping offer to make the item more desirable.

    ‣ Cell phone Theory:

The cell phone theory is based on behavioural psychology. This theory states that even though people might be distracted or busy with other interests or works. They sub-consciously take-in surroundings and images around them. This results into people remembering your website or brand simply by remarketing to them.

Dr. Alan Brown of Duke University developed the Cell phone theory based on an experiment on the concept of déjà vu. He tested the idea of subliminal (subconscious) suggestion or cues. He showed series of photographs of various location to some students, which they have not been to ,with the plan to ask them which locations were familiar. Before showing them the photographs, they flashed some of the photos onto the screen for around 10 to 20 milliseconds, which is long enough for the brain to register the photo but not long enough for the student to be consciously aware of it. The images that were flashed for milliseconds before, appeared more familiar to the students, than those that weren’t.

Based on this experiment it was suggested that when we are distracted with something else, we subconsciously take in what's around us but may not truly register it consciously. Then, when we are able to focus those surroundings appear to already be familiar to us even when they shouldn't be. This is what happens in remarketing.

    ‣ Brand recall:

Recognition and brand recall are major benefits of remarketing. when potential customers see the website’s advertisements they get reminded of the product or service they wanted to buy or were interested in.

    ‣ Variegated ways of remarketing

Search remarketing:

Advertisement appear at the top of the search engine resultwhen previous visitor of the same website searches for specific terms or services.

Video remarketing:

The advertisement is shown as pre-roll video on you tube or other display platforms to people who have previously visited the website.

Display remarketing:

Advertisements are shown as display advertisements on other websites coming within the google advertisement network.

Dynamic remarketing:

This takes marketing to next level with its feature of being personalised. This serves people with advertisements that include products or services which people viewed on the website or app. Personalisation results into deep and impactful user engagement.

Distribution list remarketing:

Advertisements are displayed tospecific list of collected email addresses by various means like subscribing etc.

Mobile apps remarketing:

Here the advertisements are only displayed in apps and on mobile websites.

    ‣ Does remarketing convert potential buyers into buyers?

‣ Let’s focus on some facts before drawing any conclusions

79% of people abandon their shopping carts. The objective of remarketing in these situations is to motivate the person to finish the purchase. 97% of e-commerce purchases come from re-visitors. The major factor responsible for bringing these potential buyers to re-visit the website is remarketing. 90% of people are re-targeted at some point or the other.

Let’s get a little clarity with the facts below to understand the reach of remarketing. Google Display network reaches 90% of Internet users worldwide, 65% of whom they reach every single day. More than a trillion impressions are served to over 1 billion users every month.

On average, only 2% of people who visit the website turn into buyers. Remarketing targets other 98%. In fact data suggests that customers who see retargeted advertisements are 70% more likely to convert into buyers.

So we can safely say that remarketing is gentle reminder that motivates people to go ahead and finish the purchase. It does covert potential buyers into buyers by involving various techniques of remarketing.

    ‣ Can remarketing get annoying?

Though remarketing has its own benefits and does effectively convert potential buyers into buyers, and a popular technique of digital marketing but it can get annoying for end customers. Based on the data collected from InSkin Media’s consumer survey the more frequently an advertisement is shown the more annoying or aggravating it can become. When showed 5 times the advertisement becomes annoying and intrusive but when it exceeds 10 times it triggers anger.

More and repeated impressions do not compel the buyers to make the purchase, rather they give an impression of a creepy stalker. The data suggests:

•     ‣ 55% of customers put off buying\ or evade buying


•     ‣ 53% get irritated


•     ‣ Only 10% end up buying

Thus remarketing is an effective when done in controlled frequency, where the objective of brand recall and conversion from potential buyer to a buyer is fulfilled without annoying the end user.

Remarketing is not a crowning glory as professed by some advertisers and marketers .But it is definitely a popular and effective means to target the potential buyers resulting in increase of successful purchases. As the saying goes “out of sight, out of mind”, remarketing is the perfect way to be in vision and deliver high rate of brand recall value to the products or services. Retargeting delivers maximum effectiveness when done the right way!