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richqiu-e1396968811659Every day, consumers are inundated with random ads on their mobile devices and desktops that may have little on no relevance to them. In today’s ecosystem, advertisers have limited methods of identifying what consumers actually want to see in their digital advertising. Here Richard Qiu, Vice President of Business Development for Mobile at  TRUSTe, shares details of their recently released privacy-friendly solution,  TRUSTed Interests. MEFTV also caught up with Chris Babel, TRUSTe CEO, at MWC14 to find out more.

Consumers spend more time on mobile than ever with 55% accessing the Internet by mobile devices (comScore, January 2014). This increase has led to a frenzied interest in mobile advertising which has grown at an exponential rate as marketers and advertisers try to crack the code to unlocking mobile ad spend with consumers.

The challenge exists today because of the explosion in the technology market – with different platforms, devices and methods to identify and track a consumer within the advertising ecosystem. The industry as a whole uses different sources for gathering consumer data, including acquiring third-party information or using the information publishers are willing to give to advertisers. And in reality, the information is not exceptionally specific and can include: channel; geo-location, publisher name, site name, frequency depth, language; platform.  The information at best could be described as a “guess” pieced together using data gathered using various methods of “discovery” to reveal a consumer’s interests.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K1l8Rf7Fyc&w=480&align=right]Agencies and brands spend billions on third-party data which has led to the explosive growth of Data Management Platforms (DMPs) to help unlock the ad spend tied up in the mobile ad ecosystem.  As marketers try to follow their customers from desktop and other media to mobile, there arises the need to improve audience targeting and create a true dialogue and alignment with consumers to allow them to actively share their information directly with advertisers and, in return, receive a customized (tailored) digital experience.

When it comes to looking at the similar experience on mobile, there is even less information available. This makes it even more difficult to for advertisers to ensure their advertising campaigns are reaching the most relevant target audience.

At Mobile World Congress, TRUSTe first revealed a revolutionary way to create this true dialogue between the ad ecosystem and consumers. Launched at the end of March, TRUSTed Interests is a privacy-friendly interests management solution, which enables consumers to actively share and manage their interests for online behavioral advertising (OBA).

Consumers are willing to share their interests if it means that they will receive ads tailored to their interests. The TRUSTe Privacy Index, Advertising Edition Consumer Interests highlights findings from research conducted by Ipsos MORI which show that while 82% of consumers are concerned about the type of personal information collected through their web-browsing history, 39% of 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. In field tests of TRUSTed Interests, 9 out of 10 consumers chose to share details of their interests instead of opting-out of online behavioral advertising.

Consumer insights are invaluable to the ad ecosystem, especially when they are actively expressed by the consumers themselves. Only through a true dialogue can both parties mutually benefit – consumers can receive advertising that they actually want to see in a tailored, digital experience and, in return, the advertising ecosystem can unlock the mobile ad spend. By honoring the insights expressed by consumers and continually adapting to the needs of their audience, the ad ecosystem can positively impact their digital experience.

logo-truste-newRichard Qiu isVice President of Business Development for Mobile at TRUSTe. Follow them on Twitter. You can find out more about TRUSTed Interests on their website.

MEF