TRUSTe Launches TRUSTed Interests - Putting Consumers in Control of Their Digital Experience

-- In Field Tests, 9 out of 10 People Provide Advertisers With Their Interests To Customise Ads

LONDON, March 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, TRUSTe, the leading global data privacy management company, introduced TRUSTed Interests, the first privacy-friendly interests management solution putting consumers in direct control of their digital experience. TRUSTed Interests is an extension to the TRUSTe Data Privacy Management Platform which enables consumers to share and manage details of their interests across mobile and desktop devices.

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Independent research by Ipsos MORI reveals while 82% of consumers are concerned about the type of personal information collected through their web-browsing history, some consumers are willing to share details of specific products and services they are interested in with advertisers in exchange for a more relevant ad experience. The initial implementations of TRUSTed Interests are focused on creating a better consumer advertising experience to benefit the entire ad ecosystem through the delivery of privacy-friendly, relevant ads. In field tests of TRUSTed Interests, 9 out of 10 consumers chose to share details of their interests instead of opting-out of online behavioural advertising.

Speaking at the launch of TRUSTed Interests during ad:tech San Francisco this week, Chris Babel CEO at TRUSTe said:

"Enabling consumers to share their interests directly with advertisers has the potential to revolutionise the ad industry, addressing consumer and regulatory privacy concerns while putting consumers in control over their advertising experience and enabling advertisers to deliver more relevant ads.

"Consumers are increasingly concerned about being tracked online but currently their only choice is to opt-out of interest-based advertising. TRUSTed Interests enables consumers to take control of their digital experience without expecting them to become experts in cookies or tracking technologies in order to protect their privacy. As the number one global privacy brand, TRUSTe is uniquely positioned to deliver this new privacy-friendly interests management solution for the ad ecosystem."

Consumers Willing to Share Their Interests

Independent research conducted by Ipsos MORI from 14-17 February among 2,000 US consumers found that 39% would share their interests directly with advertisers if it meant receiving ads tailored to those interests. Nearly half of consumers (48%) would be willing to do this if the advertiser's privacy policy was certified by a third party privacy organisation. Having shared their interests with advertisers – 38% agreed they would be less likely to opt out of targeted ads and 1 in 3 (32%) agreed they would be more likely to click on ads.

In three months of field tests with both Ad Exchanges and DSPs, 90% of consumers chose to share their interests; of those consumers, 50% selected multiple interests, with 80% of them selecting both categories of interests they 'liked' and 'disliked'. The top five categories consumers chose to receive ads about were technology, games, news, travel and health. The five most common categories they chose not to receive ads about were dating, auto, career, finance and education.

Bob Walczak, General Manager of Mobile and Video at PubMatic commented: "With TRUSTed Interests, we have witnessed high consumer engagement with setting interests, especially on mobile devices. Most important, the fact that half of these consumers selected multiple interests provides even more valuable information that will help our clients deliver more relevant ads to their audiences."

Eric Rosenblum, COO, Drawbridge commented: "The promise of delivering custom-tailored advertising messages across devices is why advertisers work with us, and this innovative solution will bring added value to our clients' campaigns. By delivering ads targeted towards known consumer interests, our whole industry will benefit."

About TRUSTed Interests

TRUSTed Interests is a global interests management solution that puts consumers in control of their ad experiences by allowing them to choose which ads they want to see. This is the first solution designed to enable consumers to share and control their advertising interests with the ad ecosystem in a privacy-friendly way on both desktop and mobile devices. TRUSTed Interests creates a better ad experience and benefits the entire ad ecosystem through sharing the information directly with a network of certified advertising partners, including ad network/platforms, brands and publishers.

For more information about TRUSTed Interests visit www.truste.com/interests or e-mail bizdev@truste.com.

About TRUSTe

TRUSTe is the leading global Data Privacy Management (DPM) company and powers trust in the data economy by enabling businesses to safely collect and use customer data across web, mobile, cloud and advertising channels. Our cloud-based Data Privacy Management Platform delivers innovative technology products, including website monitoring and advertising compliance controls – along with privacy assessments and certifications. More than 5,000 companies worldwide, including Apple, Disney, eBay, Forbes, LinkedIn and Oracle rely on our DPM platform and globally recognised Certified Privacy Seal to protect/enhance their brand, drive user engagement and minimise compliance risk. For more information, please visit www.truste.com.

About Ipsos MORI

The research was conducted on i:omnibus, Ipsos MORI's online omnibus, between 14-17 February 2014 involving 2,000 adults aged 18-75 across the U.S. The survey data was weighted to the known population profile to be nationally representative of adults aged 18-75 in the U.S.