MediaPost Publications - The Value Of Privacy? Make = An Offer

TOOLS
EMAIL = PRINT = REPLY =	= SUBSCRIBE=20 RSS=20 SHARE =E2=96=BC=20 delicious=20 Digg=20 LinkedIn=20 Facebook=20 =

TAGS: Behavioral=20 Targeting =

RELATED = ARTICLES

1. = Phorm=20 Replaces Four Board Members=20
2. = Delete=20 Cookies, Says New Privacy Forum
3. = The=20 Future Of The Future of Privacy Forum =
4. = Targeting=20 B-to-B Behavior
5. = Trading=20 Privacy For Value =

MOST = READ

1. Pest=20 Control Firm's Marketing Goes Social =
2. MediaVest,=20 Fox One Cut Multi-Platform 'Youth' = Upfront=20 Deal=20
3. Sears=20 Posts Hefty Loss, Eyes Closing More = Stores
4. BIA:=20 Radio Revs To Drop 10% In '09, Online To = Rescue=20
5. Kimberly-Clark=20 Invites Box Designers For Kleenex=20 =

How much is = my browsing=20 history worth to me, anyway? Funny you should = ask,=20 because no one else ever has. One of the few = interesting=20 pieces of research on the privacy issue I have = seen=20 lately asks this question in the context of the = mobile=20 media industry. Cellular infrastructure provider = Transverse and research firm iGR, Inc. were = fishing=20 around 810 wireless customers to see how = receptive they=20 might be to trading free mobile services for = exposure to=20 advertising and sharing their data with = marketers. The=20 remarkably detailed questions about privacy in = this=20 sample suggest that increasingly Americans see = their own=20 digital history as a commodity in the = marketplace they=20 can barter for services, but at a high price. =

From a top-line view, = mobile=20 consumers worry about the ways that ad-driven = mobile=20 media models may compromise their personal = information.=20 About 34% had reservations about ad-driven = mobile=20 incentive programs because they were unsure how = the=20 advertisers would use any information the = consumers=20 shared, while 49% worried about not knowing who = else=20 might have access to their data. But neither = privacy=20 issue was as daunting to customers as was the = time they=20 would have to spend watching ads (54%).

On the critical question = of whether=20 customers are willing to have their "mobile = usage=20 information documented and dispersed by your = mobile=20 operator in exchange for discounted services," a = little=20 less than 50% said "No" outright. More = intriguing are=20 the 13% who said yes flatly and the 33% who said = it=20 would depend on the incentives. In other words,=20 something like 46% of mobile users were willing = to=20 barter their usage data for discounts on = marketer=20 products or mobile service generally. "We were = surprised=20 that they weren't only willing to participate = but=20 willing to hand over a degree of personal = information as=20 the discounts increased," says Chris Couch, = Transverse=20 COO. Which is not to say users are careless with = their=20 personal information, In fact, respondents = distinguished=20 between observing usage and monitoring content. = "The=20 line it seems they want to draw is on personal = content=20 of communications," says Couch.

The most interesting part = of this=20 survey involves specifics about the types of = information=20 willing consumers will and won't share.

Chart: Which Types of = Information=20 Would You be Willing to Disclose?

None of these: 8.27%=20
Content of Download: 22.13%
Frequency of = Downloads: 39.47%
Web Pages Viewed: 40%=20
Frequency of Other Data usage: 46.93% =
Number of=20 Text Messages Sent and/or Received: 74.13% =
Voice=20 Usage: 61.60%

Many users seem to = distinguish=20 among data trails that do and don't reveal much = about=20 them. The remarkable willingness to share the = number of=20 SMS messages one exchanges suggests most people = see=20 little harm in letting themselves be = characterized as=20 heavy or light users of a medium but start to = balk when=20 the nature of the content is involved. = Abstraction and=20 anonymity seem to be the principle surrounding = privacy=20 attitudes. On the matter of actual Web use, = however, the=20 glass is half empty or full.

Many (but clearly not = all)=20 consumers don't seem overly protective of their=20 anonymous data if publishers and advertisers = show them=20 real value. For instance, 31% of customers said = they=20 would release usage information for marketing = use if=20 they could get 50% off their bill. About 15% = said they=20 would do so for a 75% discount -- and 25.5% = seemed to=20 consider 100% free service a fair exchange.

To be sure, research = involving=20 mobile plans is a bit different from standard = Web=20 audience research. We complain about the high = price of=20 carrier plans, and so more of us may be = motivated to=20 barter data for discounts. But on the other = hand, most=20 people regard their phone as a highly personal = device=20 and may be more sensitive to data gathering on = these=20 devices. Nevertheless, many consumers are = putting a=20 fairly high price on their data and they don't = want=20 penny ante payback. Less than 10% of users were=20 impressed by trading usage information for a 25% = phone=20 bill discount. Users were even less interested = in=20 product discounts and freebies other than phone = bill=20 discounts. The meaning is clear. If you come to = the=20 consumer's bargaining table looking for their=20 information, you'd better come with more than = coupons=20 and two-fers.

8 Responses to "The Value = Of=20 Privacy? Make An Offer"

Leave a = Reply


	= ADVANCED=20 SEARCH =20
Home<= /A>=20 > Behavioral=20 Insider Wed,=20 Dec 3, 2008