Brands must tread carefully

As someone who's spent a large part of their career in direct and digital I understand and appreciate the value of personal data to brands.

What troubles me about it is the way it is bandied about as the be-all and end-all for marketers.

On Friday I read an article by Bob Greenberg from R/GA that talked a lot about brands getting to know people etc etc.

It bugged me. Yet excited me at the same time because I love all the possibilities the digital age presents.

However just because an opportunity knocks doesn't mean a brand has to take it. As this comment on Greenberg's article clearly shows:

I don't want the purchase of something to be the "just the beginning". 

Sometimes I just want to buy a cold drink. Or a pair of shoes. That's it. End of relationship. 

Stop trying to be my friend. Stop trying to weasel your way into my life, because we all know the only reason you want to be my friend is to get something from me. 

I sure as fuck don't want you to be my "personalised partner in everything from my finances, to my health and fitness and what I'm having for dinner". 

Fuck off. We are not friends. We are not even acquaintances. You're just some kind of creepy stalker. 

I don't care that you think the data you have means your intrusions into my life are "relevant". They're still just intrusions. 

Stop trying to be more than what you are, a supplier of goods and services.