How much do people want to know their conversations are being monitored?

Here’s an interesting promotional video from Gatorade, which extols their ability to monitor social conversations, apparently using Radian6 and IBM technologies.

There are a number of basic messages in here, most obviously that anything you say about Gatorade will be heard and acted on, though also that your response to their promotions and campaigns will be monitored.

Anyone in marketing is keen on monitoring conversations. How keen are people to be aware that they are being monitored in everything that they say about brands?

Personally I expect brand references I make to be tracked so I reference brands accordingly, sometimes hoping for a response, though only occasionally getting one.

While people are generally aware that anything they do in an open space (and sometimes in closed spaces) is visible and being monitored, it is a different thing to shove it in their face, tell them that ‘we are listening’.

What do you think? Do people want to know that their conversations are being monitored?

Here is the text in the video:

How do you actively engage millions of athletes and influencers?

How do you monitor the pulse of the Gatorade brand?

Introducing Mission Control

Wherever people are Talking, Clicking, Typing about our brand

Mission Control is there to listen

To create a dialogue

Track analytics of campaigns

Track analytics of websites

and Social Media

Through these conversations we gather the insights

That influence

Our communications

Our product

Our brand

Setting the stage for digital leadership