Well, nothing like the Direct Revenue documents just exposed on Ben Edelman’s site. We have obtained, from an anonymous source in the advertising industry, an email that Bill Day, CEO of WhenU, sent out today to advertisers who have a relationship with WhenU.
From: Bill Day
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 11:24 AM
To: Bill Day
Subject: WhenU, “adware” and youHi,
Many of you know me from my days as CEO and founder of About.com, and you may also know what I’ve done at WhenU – not just talked about doing, but actually done – to demonstrate that “adware” can show respect for a consumers’ right to control the desktop and be a valued part of the behavioral targeting mix.
You also probably know that NY’s Attorney General just sued Direct Revenue, that the Center for Democracy and Technology recently “outed” advertisers who work with 180solutions, and that Claria is trying to unload its desktop advertising assets.
Looks like the other players are mortally wounded or limping away – all except WhenU.
WhenU is growing. Why? And what does it mean to you and the rest of the online advertising industry?
When I took over as CEO in late 2004, WhenU was already better than the other guys, and ready to take innovative new steps to provide even greater transparency in getting and keeping permisson from consumers to deliver targeted advertising. We eliminated affiliate distribution, put our toll-free number on every ad served, capped frequency to an average of 1-3 ads per day, and made it even easier for people to opt-out than to opt-in. As a result, we have a better business than the other players . Our click-through and conversion rates are rising; our revenue and reach are growing. Last week, we even got a nice nod in the New York Times and a great write up in this month’s Inc. Magazine.
The moral of the story is: good business practices equal good business.
Leaders lead. Count on us to continue to be a leader here. WhenU’s goal isn’t to be the last man standing in the “adware” space. Our goal is to change the space – so that truly permission-based desktop advertising earns its place in the behavioral targeting mix and the Internet becomes a safer place for users and marketers alike.
All of us at WhenU look forward to continuing to treat our twin masters – consumers and advertisers – with the utmost respect and transparency. I encourage you to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments.
Best,
Bill
Alex Eckelberry