Marketing and all things related

There is a bill in New York state to place some laws and fines around online advertising that uses personal information for targeting.  The law could force online advertisers to provide clear ways for people to opt out of any advertising that is based on their online behaviors and actions.  For the simple fact that it would be impossible to apply the rules of the law to only people in New York, it would in effect, become a national law.

While marketers' first reactions might be to gasp and say, "Oh no," I have to agree with David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer, who thinks this type of law would actually be a good thing.  In essence, the law would force people to agree (or disagree) to being served ads based on their online behaviors and actions.  Those people who say yes are far more likely to be receptive to those ads and act on them.  As Hallerman points out, the same thing happened with email marketing.  People who opt-in to email marketing are more receptive than those who receive unsolicited email marketing messages.

Here's the best part of what David Hallerman says:

"When it comes to data about Internet users," Mr. Hallerman said, "the path most likely to succeed over time includes transparency of intent, clarity of usage, freedom of choice and mutual understanding of the implicit bargain among consumers, content providers and advertisers."

I love that quote.  He summed up so much in one sentence.  With that in mind, take a look at this chart from eMarketer that shows online targeted ad spending from 2005 through 2011 (projected).

How much of that money could be better invested if there was an opt-in process for online targeted advertising?  Of course, the logistics of creating opt-in measures on the advertiser's side is another nightmare entirely, but in the long term, it just might boost ROI.

What do you think?