Killi Featured in Leading Advertising Trade: AdWeek

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change - Darwin

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - October 27, 2020) -  Killi Ltd. (TSXV: MYID) (OTC Pink: MYIDF), a global leader in consumer privacy, was featured in AdWeek discussing transparency in the data market and what the company is doing to improve the privacy landscape.

Many of us are familiar with the concept of fair trade coffee, where farmers are compensated for their hard work, and transparency is created throughout the entire value chain - starting with the farmer and ending with the consumer. This trend of fairness and equality has also found itself at the heart of the strategy of many of the leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands who are adding charity, aspiration, and socially conscious initiatives to their brands as a way to differentiate in the space and pull market share from established brands. Where does this fairness, transparency, and aspiration live in today's data market? It doesn't. The data industry today is still, remarkably, dominated by opaque black boxes that persistently collect increasingly private data on consumers for the benefit of a perpetual arbitrage that excludes them. It's an accepted data Silk Road.

Disruption is inevitable.

Would you as a consumer allow yourself to be persistently tracked by your mobile device? If you answered yes, what would you expect to receive in exchange for this data? Most would be shocked that, in exchange for persistent location tracking via their device, they would generate less than $0.01 per month. Yes. One penny. Why so cheap? Simple - because the consumer is not involved in that negotiation. Location data doesn't hold a monopoly on consumer exclusion, as this is the same for every data variable that is sold today - credit card data, browser data, charitable data, app data, etc. None include the consumer. The end result is that the marketing and advertising ecosystem have been lulled to sleep with the belief that data is endless and cheap. In the past, this was true, but nothing could be further from the truth moving forward. Privacy changes are circling the globe and having a downstream impact on platforms such as Google, Apple, and many others. To suggest that the data market will remain the same in the midst of this is foolish.

Consumer inclusion is the future of data.

A commitment to fair trade data is a commitment to inclusion, transparency, and fairness, which are traits that do not always exist in the data market today. Internet users are becoming more aware of the fact that their data is being shared, and that it has tremendous value. If data is the digital manifestation of human identity, then why aren't consumers being included in the transaction of their data the same way fair trade farmers are? Does anyone think that they should not? CMOs pound the table demanding better 'viewability' and 'fraud' metrics but skip the fact that every ad, even the ones that aren't real, depends on data harvested from the consumer. Shouldn't the narrative be about using an input that includes the consent and compensation of the person who provided it instead of how effective the ad built around that data is? Further, would not consumer inclusion solve that pesky fraud issue, not to mention fidelity, privacy, and also consent? If Starbucks and the entire QSR industry are going to embrace the paper straw as ethical/sustainable innovation, shouldn't these same brands and others consider embracing the consumer as part of the data decision? It's inevitable that some smart, progressive CMO is going to grab this strategy as a way to differentiate their brand and back-foot her competitors. Don't believe me? Look no further than Apple who is using privacy as a way to separate themselves from Google, Facebook, Amazon and others.

Including consumers in transactions will put the opportunity for data fairness and equity back in the hands of those trading data. With the world becoming increasingly connected digitally, the value of user data continues to grow, and industry spending on data is increasing in proportion to these rates. Since 2016, the data market size has been expanding at a double-digit rate. In 2018 alone, advertisers increased spending by 26.6%, and the entire global data market nearly doubled in accordance to reach $26B in 2019. As a commodity that's being traded, consumers should demand that they are given the ability to directly benefit from the growth of the data market.

Finding a way to utilize the increasing value of data to address some of the economic hardships resulting from the skyrocketing jobless rates should be the priority from an industry that often preaches compliance and fairness. Through a Fair Trade model, the industry can start to migrate towards a more equitable system, providing access to audience segments that can be used to inform advertising buys on preferred platforms, while also ensuring that consumers have fully opted in.

The math is simple. A redistribution of just $1 to every person in the USA monthly puts over $350m back in consumers hands (and the economy) on day 1. That's $4.2b over the course of a year. The skeptic will say "I don't need the dollar" - but they are missing the point. Consumer data aggregated across platforms is worth approximately $500 per month and growing more private by the day. Unless an ecosystem of redistribution is built and the people that control it embrace it, the ability to grow that $1 to $5, $20, or $100 for consumers is impossible. This industry has way too many smart people not to change this paradigm. As President Obama said - "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

This article was initially published in AdWeek.

For more information, go to Killi.io.

About Killi

Killi is a consumer privacy ecosystem that aims to put people back in control of their data. Killi allows consumers to take back control of their consumer data from those who have been collecting it and selling it unbeknownst to them. Available on iOS, Android as well as the web, Killi is available internationally. With Killi, consumers can opt-in and link specific personal information from various financial and social accounts that they would like to put under their control and share with companies and be compensated directly in the form of cash for its use.

Download Killi here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Andrew Elinesky, CFO

+1-416-904-2725

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the TSXV Manual) accept responsibility for this news release's adequacy or accuracy.

Forward-Looking and Other Cautionary Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's strategic plans for the rest of 2020. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "target," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management. They are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the Company's operations and economic activity in general; the market value of consumer data; the continued growth of the value of data; the redistribution of wealth back to consumers and the economy; and the risks and uncertainties discussed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, which risks and uncertainties are incorporated herein by reference. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/66863