ProQuo aims to benefit from stopping junk mail
Surprisingly enough, in this day of blast emails and spammers, snail mail marketers are still a thriving breed. ProQuo is a startup, launching tomorrow, that hopes to help consumers curb their physical junk mail.
Interest in stopping marketers has been high for several years. From the National Do Not Call Registry to Firefox’s Adblock extension and email filters, consumers are fighting back against the marketing messages that seem to fill every corner of our lives. However, there are few obvious options to stop physical junk mail.
GreenDimes and 41 Pounds both offer to cut off unsolicited mail, but charge for their services. ProQuo is free; CEO Steve Gal told us he hopes consumers will use it selectively, choosing to let mail they might be interested in — anything from mortgage offers to coupons for the local grocery store — make it through the company’s “firewall”.
After initially blocking junk mail from the large, cobbled-together mailing lists that marketing companies like Axciom sell, ProQuo will allow its users to selectively pick and choose offers they want, as well as choose whether or not to remain anonymous. “We’ll give people meaningful control, for the first time in their lives, over who has their information and who uses it,” says Gal.
From those customers who do decide to let some mail reach their boxes, the company will receive some revenue from the marketers. It will not solicit customers, but instead passively offer the service on their web page, where it hopes users will return each month to block more junk mail companies from reaching them.
As part of its initial service, ProQuo blocks 16 different companies, including some of the largest senders of junk mail. However, when we tried out the beta version of the service, we found the process still isn’t entirely painless.
Each of the 16 companies requires a separate click-through. For about a dozen, the process requires only two oddly satisfying clicks. However, a handful demand that forms be printed, filled with personal information and mailed back to the companies. One marketing firm allows an online opt-out, but requires a $1 “anti-fraud” payment to “confirm” that you’re not faking someone’s identity. (Of course, the first thing most identity thieves do is opt off of the lists of junk mail companies.)
When we asked Gal whether his company would have any problem convincing the companies to allow all of ProQuo’s customers to opt out, he said the larger junk mail companies may not go down without a fight — after all, they’ve got a cushy $41 billion industry to enjoy.
The company, which has already taken a $5 million round of funding led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, is looking for more funding to expand its own marketing team, continue adding to its list of blocked companies, and prepare for any legal battles.
Source: VentureBeat