Future of Adware Industry - Statement from 180solutions

Adware company, 180solutions, has been under fire lately, singled out by the Center for Democracy, which filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against the company for “unfair and deceptive practices.” The CDT then issued a report outing 180solutions top advertisers to attempt to shame those advertisers into withdrawing their ad campaigns.When asked about the future of the adware industry, co-founder and CEO of 180solutions, Keith Smith responded to the following Q&A with Web Ad.vantage company president, Hollis Thomases:

[HT] Where do you think the adware industry is going?

[KS] Consumers by the millions are already telling us where it’s going. They want access to free content online and are willing to “pay” for this content by viewing a few targeted ads per day. Advertisers are seeking ways to reach targeted consumers who want to buy from them. At the same time, Content Providers are looking for more ways to distribute their content and generate revenue from that content and Web Publishers need more content as well as revenue. Our Content Economy satisfies the needs and desires of each of these constituencies, providing exactly what Advertisers, Content Providers, Web Publishers and, most importantly, Consumers are looking for.

[HT] What role does your company in particular play in the adware industry?

[KS] We are building a Content Economy where our primary role is to identify what content Consumers want and then work with the Content Providers, Publishers and Advertisers to make that content available to Consumers at no cost. Our business model is very different from that of other online advertising providers. We focus on a long-tail approach to our Consumer value proposition. Instead of relying on a single application or piece of content to acquire users, we syndicate content from thousands of Web Publishers. This online Content Economy model enables Web Publishers and Content Providers to make money from their consumer offerings, gives Consumers access to free content in exchange for viewing advertising, and provides Advertisers a way to reach their audience in a contextually-relevant setting through time-shifted advertising.

In terms of best practices, we helped create, continue to support, and are fully committed to best practice standards outlined by major industry groups and consumer advocates. We require all our partners to adhere to a stringent Code of Conduct that prohibits the installation of our software without full disclosure to and informed consent from the user – and then we use technology and strict procedures to enforce our Code of Conduct. We wholeheartedly support industry efforts to better define our space and provide Consumers and Advertisers alike a reliable and independent way to distinguish between legitimate software and malware. Our model and our practices are fully compliant with all pending federal legislation pertaining to our industry.

[HT] Why should online advertising agencies continue to consider adware as part of their strategy?

[KS] Our Advertisers focus on results and Consumers. We deliver both and do so incredibly efficiently. Since our Consumers are happy and continue to buy from our Advertisers, our Advertisers remain happy with us.

[HT] What else would you like online ad agencies to know?

[KS] A vast number of Consumers love the trade-off of seeing a limited number of targeted ads in exchange for free and highly valuable content. As a result, our Consumers view our Advertisers extremely favorably, since the Advertisers are ultimately responsible for making this content free for Consumers.

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