Press

mr.web




New WPP Firm to Help Keep Lid on Cookies

Aug 1, 2007

Newly formed WPP company Safecount has launched two free services in the US - the first to ensure cookie transparency for consumers and the second, called Veranda, to manage live survey participation.

The company provides a digital platform that enables advertisers, researchers and media companies to understand the effectiveness of online advertising and marketing programmes. It believes that consumers have a right to control and choose what information they share while online and is committed to advancing the ideals of consumer privacy while enabling the business goals of online researchers, advertisers and publishers.

On the firm's new web site, consumers can find out how many times they have seen a Safecount tracked ad, what information the cookies contain, and opt-out of Safecount sponsored survey participation and data collection.

Veranda is a new tool to streamline the process of collecting survey-based web site data and ensure a quality user experience. 'Sometimes publishers can have four or five different companies running live web recruitment efforts at the same time,' said COO Tom Kelly. 'Veranda channels all visitors through one platform, giving publishers a clear view of how many surveys each user is invited to participate in and how it's impacting the experience overall.'

Most of Safecount's income will be generated by web campaign effectiveness research projects, including user participation surveys. It also plans to develop new methods for live data collection for emerging media such as online video, podcasts and streaming radio.

In the longer term, the company is seeking to provide a forum for debate, advocate safe and accurate measurement, and educate the public and government on the benefits of online measurement, including the use of cookies. Safecount is online at www.safecount.net.



� See the original article at http://www.nytimes.com