Commentary

Optimum Opt-ins

E-mail, online's original "killer app," has lost some of its luster in recent years, tarnished by the sleazy practices of spammers, "phishers," and other scam artists looking to make a quick buck. However, Opt-Intelligence is betting that e-mail's finest days lie ahead.

"We're trying to do for opt-in e-mail what Google and Overture did for search," says Dan Felter, the company's CEO. "We want to make it a high-quality experience for both consumers and advertisers." The firm recently debuted a new opt-in co-registration network targeted at Web sites that use registration forms. After users complete forms on a participating site, they are directed to a page with offers from selected advertisers in Opt-Intelligence's network, and can then check any offer they wish to opt-in to. Web sites choose which information they want to collect, and Opt-Intelligence uses proprietary technology to analyze customer information and match it with the most relevant offers. The tool's statistical interface offers a daily report on the number of times offer pages were served, the number of opt-ins, and sales.

Opt-Intelligence clients include The Street.com, Hollywood.com, and Star magazine. Advertisers include Circuit City, eBay, Home Depot, NASCAR, Nokia, and Procter & Gamble.

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