Internet advertisers will soon pay less and more effectively target their audiences, while web site publishers and bloggers will at last have a way to truly monetize their content.
That is the message that reporters and bloggers heard during a one-hour live conversation last week with Kent Ertugrul, Chairman and CEO of Phorm, Inc., (AIM: PHRM) (AIM: PHRX). Phorm, a digital technology company, is poised to deploy a proprietary, patent-pending technology in the United Kingdom that revolutionizes both audience segmenting techniques and online user data privacy.
“Think of this as a way to change the current model, where ads are shown based on the page on which they are located, to a way of changing to ads being shown based on who is looking at the page,” Ertugrul told the reporters and bloggers who participated in the briefing.
Because the ads running on a Phorm-affiliated ISP are more relevant, they become more valuable, Ertugrul noted. But they also become less expensive, he explained, because Phorm enables advertisers to tap into the keywords being browsed across the entire spectrum of Internet sites and not just those keywords being searched. With the Phorm system, which targets users and not pages, advertisers can reach desirable users even if the page they are browsing doesn’t happen to contain the right keywords.
For web site publishers and bloggers, the opportunity finally exists to monetize their content not based on the quality of key words appearing on any one page or the pure volume of readers, but on the quality of those readers and their appeal to advertisers.
“If you [are] interested in the survival and thriving of the press, then you want a model where the press can truly monetize its audience, rather than monetize a few key words that happen to be part of news pages that trigger ads,” Ertugrul said. Because of the Phorm technology, bloggers, too, will be able to evolve from poorly compensated hobbyists to well-compensated publishers.
Ertugrul said that the first stage of Phorm’s rollout in the UK is “happening very shortly.” Phorm revealed in February that it has already signed up three large British ISPs – BT, Talk Talk and Virgin Media, covering roughly 70% of broadband users in the UK.
Ertugrul acknowledged that Phorm is in conversations with a number of American ISPs about integrating the Phorm technology into their networks. “Obviously our interest is in entering the U.S. market,” he told the journalists.
The reporters and bloggers asked Ertugrul and Marc Burgess, senior vice president of technology, a wide range of questions, including those surrounding the protection of consumer privacy under the Phorm technology.
Ertugrul and Burgess elaborated on the fact that Phorm’s unique technology – unlike major search engines – doesn’t see, capture or store any personally identifiable user information whatsoever and does not store any browsing history or user search terms.
Moreover, users are given a clear vote on whether or not to participate.
“The net result of this is, that for the first time you have a system that can allow advertisers to reach individual profiles with no data storage, there is no data mine in any of this, of where they have browsed, no use of IP address, and no way of understanding who is actually there.”
Phorm said it will continue to hold live, unrestricted conversations with reporters, bloggers and other constituents in the coming weeks to answer all questions about the Phorm technology and its impact on the Internet.
Ertugrul told the journalists that the Phorm system is so innovative and counter-intuitive, it requires patient explanation.
Journalists and bloggers interested in participating in upcoming Phorm briefings are invited to email David Sawday, director of Global corporate communications, at david.sawday @ phorm.com or Dean Rotbart, director of U.S. corporate communications, at dean.rotbart @ phorm.com.
An animated slide show that explains the Phorm system can be found at http://www.phorm.com/user_privacy/slideshow.php
About Phorm:
Phorm is an innovative technology company specialising in delivering behaviourally and contextually targeted advertising while preserving users' personal privacy and security.
Phorm's partners include leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Publishers (http://www.phorm.com/partners/publishers.php) , Ad Networks (http://www.phorm.com/partners/ad_networks.php) and Advertisers (http://www.phorm.com/partners/advertisers.php). Phorm is a Delaware, US incorporated company, with offices in New York and London and Moscow. The Company was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and has over 100 employees.
For more information, please visit: www.phorm.com
Contacts:
David Sawday (London), 44 207 297 2521