By Eileen McCooey A promotions network that launches tomorrow hopes to revolutionize the way businesses get customers. GetRelevant, San Francisco, claims it will combine broad reach, predictable costs and measurable results to boost the effectiveness and slash the cost of customer acquisition efforts, which it says can account for as much as half of a company's marketing budget. GetRelevant targets consumers with free offers geared to their interests, on sites with related content. For instance, a visitor to a sports site might see an offer for a gift certificate to a ski shop or a free trial subscription to a bicycling magazine. When the visitor clicks on the offer, he or she goes to a GetRelevant page that has the same look and feel as the original site.
Advertisers get the individual's name and profile, along with aggregated demographic information.
Users receive an e-mail confirming the offer and can opt out at that time if they wish. Leads are prequalified and high quality, Harad claimed, since users have already expressed interest in a subject by visiting a related site. Partner sites receive a 40 to 60 percent cut of ad revenue, Harad said. Marketing, a San Francisco-based integrated marketing communications firm, has been chosen as agency of record for GetRelevant.