Privada Inc. These packages allow users to surf the Net anonymously and can make it difficult for marketers to understand who is visiting their sites, and thus effectively target messages to them. But aside from the fact that they cost money, these packages can be a headache to install and many internet sites will not allow visitors using privacy software. It is thus likely that the immediate impact of such software will be limited. On the other hand if Microsoft incorporates substantial privacy protection features into upcoming versions of its Windows operating system, that that would be another story altogether. Ironically, industry observers believe that the new privacy legislation will ultimately benefit direct marketers.
More people using the internet, makes it a more attractive marketing medium.
For this reason, the Association of Canadian Advertisers was one of the biggest boosters of the new federal privacy legislation. They don't need to know the identity of people they are advertising to, they just need some basic information, and from that they can infer what kinds of products that person will be interested in. The same phenomenon applies to privacy software. The existence of this software, even to non-users, gives consumers the choice as to whether they want information about themselves disclosed to marketers. The Diekmeyer Report is a syndicated column by marketing and advertising pundit Peter Diekmeyer.