Direct Marketing News

READERRESPONSE Will “Do Not Track” destroy online ads? Readers respond to the August Gloves Off question

➜John Montgomery, North America COO for GroupM Interaction, views the potential enactment of DNT as a major detriment to the online advertising industry, even if it won’t entirely end it. The online industry is far too robust to be destroyed by DNT legislation, but should it be enacted it would be bad for the industry on a number of levels. It would be bad for consumers, because their largely unfettered access to free content is likely to be limited and they are likely to get more advertising, as well as less relevant advertising…DNT will make online ads less effective—and will reduce the level of investment in ad tech. It would also be a detriment for publishers, as this will commoditize inventory and drive prices down for premium display.

➜ Michael Radigan, SVP of
digital and technology at
Javelin, believes the online
advertising industry is far too
hardy and adaptable for DNT
to have a significant, nega-
tive effect. No. Our industry
has proven to be extremely
resilient in adapting to cha-
nge over the years and the
DNT legislation will prove to
be no different. I envision two
potential scenarios occur-
ring should the legislation
pass. One, brands and agen-
cies will implement a stronger
value proposition in exchange
for tracking permission.
Two, significant M&A activ-
ity will move away from ad
exchanges and into existing
user bases.

➜ Steve Minichini, president
of interactive marketing
at TargetCast tcm, thinks
tracking regulations will be
developed from within the
industry; but even should
DNT pass, online advertising
will still remain relevant to
consumers. The interactive
industry has been working
hard to establish self-regu-
lating policies that will help
protect consumer privacy,
with the Digital Advertising
Alliance and their About Ads
effort ( aboutads.info) leading
the charge. I have every confi-
dence that our industry will
be allowed to self-regulate as
long as our programs evolve
with technology advances
pertaining to how we mar-
ket to consumers. Should a
DNT legislation ever pass,
interactive marketing would
continue to be very powerful.
The power of search engine
marketing—reaching consum-
ers in a true need state—is
one of the most effective
dollars a marketer can spend.
Reaching consumers as they
hunt for a specific brand or
service is quite pure and very
powerful. Content targeting
also connects the consumer
need with a perfect messag-
ing opportunity. In its simplest
form, interactive market-
ing connects a consumer
need with relevant informa-
tion. Even without tracking
technology, that pure form of
message relevance will exist
and remain very effective. ■

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