Tick, Tick, Tick…: “60 Minutes” focuses on privacy during DMA conference visit

It probably wasn’t the reaction “60 Minutes” is used to: The show’s camera crew, accompanied by Direct Marketing Association spokesman Stephen Altobelli, roamed through the exhibition hall last month at the DMA’s annual convention in Toronto, and was welcomed by vendors with open arms and information.

The vendors had been coached on the latter: Before the start of the conference the DMA sent a letter to exhibitors reminding them of the sensitivity of privacy issues and offered talking points ranging from responsible use of data, benefits to consumers of information exchange and the viability of self-regulation by online marketers.

Exhibitors differed in what they would allow the film crew to shoot: While several, such as 24/7 Media and Net Perceptions, allowed close-ups of their consumer data-capture screens, data-use policies and privacy organization seals, the larger information marketing service bureaus, such as Acxiom and Experian, limited “60 Minutes” to long shots that didn’t fix on specific screens. Experian, though, did allow filming of its mini-lectures conducted in the exhibition hall.

The day’s shooting on Oct. 26 largely consisted of second-unit footage, such as crowds, overhead views and long shots of booths, but the crew did linger over a few product demonstrations. And every once in a while they baited the vendors. After Net Perceptions’ senior vice president for marketing and business development Steve Larsen compared product-recommendation technology (such as for catalog sites) to having the active intelligence of an electric eye at an automatic urinal, “60 Minutes” producer Rome Hartman commented, “It does something else. It reads your mind.”

The often abrasive style associated with “60 Minutes” surfaced on a few occasions: The producers didn’t conceal their displeasure at being accompanied by an outside reporter, and associate producer Elizabeth S. Weinreb told a DIRECT photographer not to take pictures.

The defensive stance was odd, given that the footage and interviews were largely benign. In-depth discussions with high-ranking officials had been completed earlier.

At times the crew was somewhat ungracious: “Do not tell the people at IBM I did this,” said Hartman to a co-worker as he dumped a custom-generated poster given to him by IBM in a garbage can less than 30 feet from IBM’s booth.

But the taste of “60 Minutes'” own medicine apparently wore thin. At one point, Hartman turned to a DIRECT reporter trailing the crew and said, “Sir, would you mind if we ate lunch without you? We’ve been followed for a while and we’re sick of it.” And Weinreb said they would not grant an interview.

Hartman seemed to have a slightly better grasp of the nuances of the industry than Weinreb, who had to have ROI explained to her. Pressed by several exhibitors for a sense of the segment’s focus, Hartman said he planned to cover the direction information technology is taking, and the difference between anonymous and linked Web activity.

He also wanted to explore the upside of information technology (customization and relevancy of offers), and the downside (loss of data control). And yes, the crew had already either completed or arranged interviews with privacy activists.

Most of those interviewed said the producers asked reasonable questions.

“I had a high degree of skepticism as to their desire to do a balanced report, but their questions [demonstrated] a desire to understand and reflect all sides of the story,” said Net Perceptions’ Larsen.

The producers approached Larsen after his company was featured in a New Yorker magazine article Oct. 4. The firm enables clients to make purchase recommendations based on customer input.

“We spent two hours with them at Internet World,” Larsen said. “Our key message was: Nothing has empowered the consumer as much as the Internet has.”

MyPoints also cooperated. “They had us walk them through the sign-up process on our site,” said Kitt Collier Williams, the firm’s vice president for online media. “We pushed very hard on how we protect consumers.”

Some companies refused interviews either on or off camera. However, KnowledgeBase Marketing executives gave an off-camera interview and allowed the crew to film the booth. But the booth visit rattled a client who was visiting at the same time, according to company president Mike Hail.

Despite claims that there would be no hidden methodology, “They had a boom mike trying to pick up conversations,” said Hail. “We kept the client conversation at a certain level until they left.”

Was Hail certain it was a microphone?

“Sure,” he said. “It was a live mike.”

Hail also was skeptical of the line of questioning by producers prior to the booth visit.

“The focus seemed to be what we know about consumers, and how we use the Internet,” said Hail. “They asked us about Acxiom and Experian. They were trying to find a story. They were very vague, and very polite.”

Acxiom officials didn’t offer an interview, but sent the producers a letter containing background on the company, said spokesman Dale Ingram.

According to Ingram, the producers said they’re prepared to acknowledge that CBS also benefits from DM services.

The program is not expected to air before the middle of this month.