Web of Lies

LONDON, September 9, 2010 - Suspicious information being held about them online, users are refusing
to give out personal details or building false profiles. Are consumers right
to be concerned? And how can the industry regain their trust without having
to resort to underhand tactics?

Advertising online is at a tipping point. With the sheer quantity of
information spewed out onto the world wide web, online users are becoming
more and more frustrated with the irrelevancy and intrusion of
advertisements, while resistant to guarding their privacy.

Just as people in day-to-day life expect public services to be top notch
with low taxes, online users expect high-quality, relevant material without
the price tag. Of more than 1,200 people surveyed for digital marketing show
ad:tech London by Zussi Research, 32 per cent say they view the internet as
an essentially free media.

However, the majority (56 per cent) say they would like internet to
remain subsidised by advertisers but they are unwilling to swap personal
information for this subsidisation, even if this means more irrelevant,
non-personalised white noise. 'The industry needs to provide consumers with
greater motivation to give away their [correct] personal details,' says
Christophe Asselin, ad:tech conference and marketing director. Just 1.6 per
cent of those surveyed wanted to increase advert relevancy by exchanging
their details.

Customers may be spooked by the well-publicised and controversial new
technologies, such as Google Street View or Facebook location-based tools.
Recently consumers have started to realise the extent of their personal
information that is available online. With 26 million people on Facebook and
geolocation services already being rolled out, users have started to panic
over their 'Facebook footprint'.

Facebook spokeswoman Sophy Silver argues that privacy had become blown
out of proportion: 'We understand the concern around privacy, so we now offer
options that are as granular as possible. We want people to be able to share
information in the way that they want. The problem we faced before was that
we made it too complicated,' says Silver. She likens the uproar around
privacy to the annoyance surrounding caller ID back in the '80s. 'I remember
when BT brought in caller ID, my parents were up in arms about their number
being visible when they made calls. They saw this as an invasion of their
privacy. [The internet community] is going through massive changes at the
moment with how we access and share information and there are some people who
panic at these changes. We'll look back at this in the same way we did with
caller ID.'

The online consumer expects the best of all worlds: free content, no ads,
or as few as possible, and no tiresome demands for the kind of additional
personal information that advertisers love. Are they right or wrong?

Asselin says the industry can't complain about such consumer attitudes
after years of gathering data on the quiet and using confusion about online
rules of engagement to push privacy boundaries. "In that context why not
demand everything for free or fake your profile to get it for free?
Ultimately, who would think that irrelevant ads aren't annoying? Consumer
behaviour and expectation have been set up by the industry itself," he says.

ad:tech London speaker and BBC head of technology for marketing,
communications and audiences, Mark Kelleher, says that it's the industry that
needs to give users the motivation to share their personal information and
preferences. 'Given the changing behaviour of the public with the advent of
multimedia, online promotions could hold huge potential value but the reason
some organisations may not be seeing this growth is that the user experience
is not tailored enough.' Kelleher says that one way we can bridge this gap is
through giving users the opportunity to tailor the content to their needs,
just as the BBC has aimed to do with its homepage and iPlayer.

'Personalisation and tailoring content is the key to online strategies,'
he says.

Asselin agrees: 'There are many opportunities for digital advertising to
be far more engaging than traditional media. But this research shows that it
isn't hitting the mark with users,' he says. 'Customers expect online content
that is relevant and pertinent to them as individuals. The catch-all solution
isn't working and online advertising isn't yet delivering on what consumers
need or want.' Rather than creating a positive image of a brand, users find
online advertising annoying.

Despite online growing rapidly in company expenditure, digital marketers
are still falling short of communicating their messages. 'The industry cannot
carry on with an unworkable model,' argues Asselin. 'Digital marketers need
to change their mindset. It should be up to the industry to look after their
customers, before they lose trust. We need to find out what really works and
understand what customers really want from their online offering. Just
because we can find out personal information without permission, doesn't mean
that we should.'

Managing a crisis: What matters in digital (
www.ad-techlondon.co.uk/conference/session/managing-a-crisis-what-matters-in-digital/863)
will delve into this topic further at the ad:tech London
Conference on 21 September. The debate will take place between LBi MD, Anil
Pillai; Bell-Pottinger Sans Frontieres director of strategy, Paul Baverstock
and Bell Pottinger Sans Frontieres director of sector reputation, Mark
Linder.

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Book your tickets to the conference (
www.ad-techlondon.co.uk/adtech2010/conference/pricing.html)

For more information visit www.ad-techlondon.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

ad:tech London 2010 is taking place at Olympia National, London, 21-22
September 2010.

About ad:tech

The BBC's Mark Kelleher will be speaking at ad:tech London, 21-22
September 2010, along with King of Shaves founder Will King and Lonely Planet
global online director Kelly Brough, on Three examples demonstrating the
power of conversation in brand building.(
www.ad-techlondon.co.uk/adtech2010/conference/session.html?id=865)

Facebook's Colm Long, director of Online Operations, EMEA will be
discussing "Making it social with Facebook" at the conference on 21 September
2010

ad:tech London, part of the Daily Mail Group and, in its sixth year, is
firmly established as the premier UK Exhibition and Conference exclusively
dedicated to the online advertising and marketing industry.

ad:tech provides a meeting point for 8,000 marketers and advertisers . It
comprises of a paid-for conference, free exhibition and free educational
seminars.

ad:tech aims to address the dynamic digital marketplace and the issues
facing advertising and marketing functions as they look to stand out from the
crowd and discover the next generation of opportunities.

This year, brands, agencies, publishers and solution providers include:
Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Coca Cola, LVMH, DELL, BT, Moshi
Monsters, WPP, Microsoft, AKQA, Lush, BBC, 20th Century Fox, King of Shaves,
Phone Valley, Mail Online, the Mirror, Neo@Ogilvy and MindShare.

The show originates from the USA, where for 15 years it has been
showcasing. Underpinned by the support of industry leaders, key associations,
governmental organisations and academic experts, ad:tech London's reach
extends to every marketing decision maker throughout Europe.

ad:tech conferences currently take place in New York, San Francisco,
London, Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Beijing. ad:tech will continue
to expand globally in order to provide online marketing communities with
great opportunities to network, share best practices and ideas everywhere in
the world.

www.ad-tech.com

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    Press passes:
    Laura Paterson, ad:tech, t +44(020)3180-6591
    PR
    Laurapaterson@dmgevents.com

    Further information:
    Catherine Thurtle , ad:tech, t. +44(020)3180-6594
    Editor
    catherinethurtle@dmgevents.com

    General information:
    Christophe Asselin, ad:tech, t. +44(0)20-3180-6678
    Event director
    christopheasselin@dmgevents.com

Press passes: Laura Paterson, ad:tech, t +44(020)3180-6591, PR, Laurapaterson at dmgevents.com; Further information: Catherine Thurtle , ad:tech, t. +44(020)3180-6594, Editor, catherinethurtle at dmgevents.com; General information: Christophe Asselin, ad:tech, t. +44(0)20-3180-6678, Event director, christopheasselin at dmgevents.com