The latest trend in on-line marketing is putting more control into the hands of Internet users.
Permission-based advertising, in which users opt in to receive ads from their preferred companies, is based on the concept that consumers should decide which ads, promotions and offers they receive on-line. It could provide an alternative to much maligned e-mail marketing, experts say.
"There's too much information coming at consumers today," says Christian Frerecks, vice-president of permission-based advertising company Directory Xpress Inc. "It's unmanageable, and it's information you don't necessarily want."
Mr. Frerecks' solution is to "give people some control over their sources of information." That's what Directory Xpress did when it launched its beta test a few months ago, offering consumers in parts of Colorado the chance to try its customized on-line directory service, MyInfoPage.com. The site allows users to create personalized "Yellow Pages" on the Web, comprised not only of local and national contact information, but also of businesses they often deal with.
As consumers add businesses to their personal pages, Directory Xpress notifies those companies about the promotional opportunity. When someone is planning a shopping trip or dinner out, they can refer to their MyInfoPage for the latest offers or coupons from the businesses they frequent.
"[This system]gives enterprises the ability to communicate with consumers for whatever it is they want to promote," Mr. Frerecks says, noting there are plans to expand the service to New York, San Francisco and Canada in the coming months. "We're on the relationship marketing side. We ask people what they want and offer it to them."
Boston-based Dotomi Inc. has the same mission with the Direct Messaging system it introduced recently in the United States.
"When consumers spend time on the Web, their time is in effect sponsored by whoever is paying to place advertising on the pages they surf," says John Federman, CEO of Dotomi. "We allow consumers to choose their own sponsors, to hear from, relate to, and converse with marketers they care about."
When consumers visit a site that uses Dotomi's Direct Messaging system, they're asked to sign up to receive offers and information from that company. If they agree, their information is entered into a database and they are assigned a Web-cookie ID that allows Dotomi to recognize their preferences, but not specifically who they are, as they surf the Web, Mr. Federman says. If they visit a site that serves Dotomi ads, they receive ads from one of the companies they have previously signed up with.
Dotomi even offers a futuristic feature that allows marketers to insert database information directly into its ads. A consumer might receive a banner that addresses him by name or wishes him a happy birthday, right on cue.
"Our goal was to create a platform by which marketers can demonstrate a respectful, ongoing communication with consumers," Mr. Federman says. "We give them the opportunity to not always be shouting."
So far, Direct Messaging is being used by companies such as handheld computer maker PalmOne, Burger King and Holiday Inn. On-line travel service Priceline.com has been testing the service on its site and in e-mail newsletters.
"It's been great," says Jennifer Sissons, who signed up for Direct Messaging through Priceline while searching for information about a cruise. "When I go [on-line]I know I'm going to have to see advertising anyway. Now the ads are actually geared to what I want to see."
Both Dotomi and Directory Xpress see their products as substitutes for e-mail marketing, which for years has been the primary method of permission-based customer communication.
Their timing couldn't be better, according to market watchers. Researchers at the Pew Internet & American Life Project report that 73 per cent of U.S. Internet users now avoid giving out their e-mail addresses due to spam. Ipsos-Reid and Forge Marketing earlier this year revealed Canadian consumers are also being "more selective" about volunteering their addresses.