Ian Philpot

Memorial Day weekend means a lot more to me now that it’s also my anniversary weekend. I woke up that Monday relaxed and ready to spend time with my family.

As I got of bed and checked my phone, I had four notifications from marketers trying to get me to buy something.

As someone who has sent marketing emails, I have always been conscious of sending an email at the right time. But I also made decisions not to send people on holidays or other special occasions because I knew it was ethically questionable.

So on Memorial Day weekend, I felt conflicted—understanding the plight of the marketers but also wanting to be left alone on a holiday—so I just deleted the emails and went about my day.

On the Fourth of July, I woke up with five marketing emails in my notifications, and I was upset. I decided to take action and unsubscribe from those email lists completely. By the end of the day, I had unsubscribed from two more lists.

Here’s a list of the offenders so they can feel a public shaming: Groupon Travel, Groupon Local, LivingSocial, Yerdle, Etsy, Hipstamatic, and Pandora.

My issue isn’t that I’m being marketed to. We live in a world where companies advertise on any surface where there’s space.

My issue is that I have some trust in the companies that I give my email address to, and some of them don’t mind violating my holiday with an advertisement.

Clearly there is a misunderstanding in the relationship that email marketers have with consumers. While they may feel that they are adding value to my holiday, they are forgetting their intrusion.

I believe that marketers need to steward my email address better. They need to understand that the value of my email address is worth more than the coupon they try to push on me during a known day off.

Until that happens, I’ll keep unsubscribing from marketing emails sent on holidays.