XMarkstheSpot, San Francisco, last week launched an online cost-per-acquisition marketing network that links advertisers to opt-in consumers and connects Web site publishers with appropriate advertisers.
Consumers who visit a publisher’s site within the XMarkstheSpot network can click on a highlighted link, banner or co-branded ad box to access a registration form for the network. In some cases, consumers receive a voluntary form while registering on a publisher’s site. The registration form has a customized questionnaire, which may include questions regarding e-mail address, gender, age and interests.
Once consumers complete the questionnaire, they receive a list of advertisers relevant to specific interests. Consumers are asked to select the advertisers from whom they wish to receive promotions. By selecting specific advertisers, the consumer is granting XMarkstheSpot permission to transfer personal data to the advertisers.
The centralized registration technology, which allows for timely specific permission-based information to be transferred to XMarkstheSpot’s advertiser partners, differentiates XMarkstheSpot from competing marketing networks.
Consumers who register to receive advertisers’ promotions are paid 50 percent of the cost-per-acquisition fee that those advertisers pay XMarkstheSpot. These consumers may also receive various credit incentives or discounts from the advertisers. XMarkstheSpot’s publishing partners also receive an undisclosed commission each time a consumer visiting their site registers with XMarkstheSpot.
The XMarkstheSpot network has registered 100,000 consumers and accrued $1 million in revenue during its three-month beta testing period. The company has not established marketing and sales goals for the new launch. The firm’s key advertising partners include FogDog.com, Food.com, Webmiles.com and uBid.com.
XMarkstheSpot, which was founded last summer, was privately financed by ABS Ventures, Thorner Ventures, David Peterschmidt, CEO of Inktomi and Suhas Patil, founder of Cirrus Logic.
