The breaking news that Google acquired online advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1 billion from two private equity firms (Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity) was reported by The New York Times on April 14, after weeks of public negotiations played out in the media.
While DoubleClick may not be a familiar name to most people, the company is considered to be one of the leading ad serving companies on the Internet; delivering display ads from advertising agencies to the sites where they are run.
The New York City-based DoubleClick specializes in software for display advertising and has close ties with Web publishers (including MySpace and AOL), advertisers, and advertising agencies. Their software collects data on Web surfers  interaction with ads to establish how to place the most effective display ads.
For the average Web surfer, the Google-DoubleClick merger could mean more advertising tailored to online habits, especially if both companies combine their information database on Internet use to direct specific ads to different Web surfers tastes.
While Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick may have specific, measurable merits, unsolicited display advertisements may not be fully appreciated by the largely permission-based era consumers live in today.
The permission-based era puts stress on advertisers to come up with programs where they are invited into the homes and lives of consumers. For advertising to be effective, it needs to consider an approach that respects consumers privacy.
Over the last decade, consumers have been flooded with unwanted spam, telemarketing, guerrilla marketing, and intrusive ads covering every blank space in our world. Today, consumers have had enough, and they are embracing technologies that put them in control.
Yellow Pages is the ultimate permission-based advertising medium. It puts the consumer in complete control: they provide information when the consumer wants it, and at a time when the consumer is ready to buy.
Consumers actively seek out advertising information in the Yellow Pages, which is the only medium that can claim that 100% of its ads are seen by consumers and have the full attention of the consumer.
As the Yellow Pages Publishers continue to enhance their print copies and online directories, consumers will have a wide array of choices as to the media they want to view an ad. They could click on a listing, a video, connect via phone to the merchant, or download an offer. The options are endless and exciting to contemplate on.