1st July 2001 - e-business

The Numbers Are Up

TheDailyDraw.com Exchanges Personal Data For The Chance Of Becoming A Millionaire

Data has become a valuable commodity in the business world, and permissions marketing company, PDV, has found a way of getting consumers to volunteer personal information over the internet.

On 17th January this year, the company launched UK lottery site, TheDailyDraw.com, where registered users pick six numbers out of 64 and stand a chance of winning £1 million everyday - but rather than paying a pound to play, they provide personal data.

"The venture positions itself between two trends", explains Derick Hill, managing director of The Daily Draw. "Firstly, advertisers are increasingly demanding for their marketing spend. Secondly, consumers are worried about spam and being inundated with irrelevant information, and they are beginning to realise that their personal information is worth something."

Playing By The Rules

The site promises players it will never pass the data on to a third party. Once registered, users are presented with banner ads tailored to their interests. They will also be sent no more that two or three highly targeted email messages per month, provided they give the site permission to do so. "We send the advertisers' emails ourselves, we never pass on the data, " explains Hill. He adds that 70% of users have given their permission to receive the emails. "Consumers are in control of the advertising messages they receive - we guarantee that our emails and banners will be about things they are interested in."

Hill says that not only is the level of targeting a long way ahead of anything else available in Europe, but the data is also dynamic - profiles are constantly being updated and the information is always topical. "The web allows you to do that," he says. "And the reaction we are getting from advertisers is that this is what the internet was meant to do for them."

The lottery is underwritten by Lloyds of London, and Hill says that in order to satisfy the insurers it must abide by strict rules. Every afternoon, staff from Ernst & Young enter the building to witness the draw. "If we drop a ball, it is sent away to be recalibrated," explains Hill. "The entire database is also checked and shut down at four. The draw master then puts the gloves on and draws the ball form the machine. The entire process is videoed - it is all very formal."

So if you are prepared to part with your data, it could be you!