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Brave’s use of direct mailers

brave.com

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Re: Brave’s use of direct mailers

#31

Post by KingOfCoders »

Vorh wrote: post #19
mmastrac wrote: post #8

Quoted post unavailable.

As far as I know, the database is owned by the USPS, and they can't do their job _without_ that information. You can dislike Brave for buying access to the information, or dislike USPS for selling said information. But the information is already collected by USPS so they can do their job.

Why can't they do their job without that information?

You can send a letter to an address without the USPS

a.) Having the address in their database

b.) Knowing who is living there

So Brave, the privacy company, is using a service that collects data about people.

Re: Brave’s use of direct mailers

#34

Post by sha256sum »

I feel like the criticism towards Brave ITT is unjustified. This is a USPS service which is available to businesses. If you're a privacy conscious person in the US, you've likely opted out of this list.

Brave is reaching the people who may not have done this, to the end of getting regular folks to know their alternatives against big tech companies.

I guess don't get the ire, or what the expectation is for them to grow. Would you rather them take out Google or Facebook ads? /s

Re: Brave’s use of direct mailers

#35

Post by seized »

pyuser583 wrote: post #9
bzxcvbn wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creating paper waste is making the world a better place?

Direct mail is a very effective means of marketing. The recipient has to actively deal with it, and is almost always the “head of household.” If you want to send ads that are interacted with by someone capable of making a purchase - mailing works. I don’t know if “waste” is quote right.

Maybe you closely analyse mailers/junk mail/etc but most people ignore it. If it's not an envelope it goes into my recycling bin directly as a stack.

It is waste, especially for people who don't recycle.

Re: Brave’s use of direct mailers

#37

Post by robin_reala »

Vorh wrote: post #19
mmastrac wrote: post #8

Quoted post unavailable.

As far as I know, the database is owned by the USPS, and they can't do their job _without_ that information. You can dislike Brave for buying access to the information, or dislike USPS for selling said information. But the information is already collected by USPS so they can do their job.

That’s not nuanced enough. Information isn’t just information to a user, it’s information combined with purpose. A user would expect the USPS to use address data to deliver them mail. They would expect the USPS to sell their address data for the purpose of (gratuitous hyperbole) targeting a drone strike. In this case, I would doubt the user would expect their address data to be sold by the USPS for direct mail shots.

This is the essence of GDPR really. The legal basis of “legitimate interest” means you don’t have to seek consent because of course a user would expect you to process that data in the course of the provided service. To go outside of that service you need to get explicit and informed opt-in consent.

Re: Brave’s use of direct mailers

#39

Post by ntoskrnl »

pyuser583 wrote: post #9
bzxcvbn wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creating paper waste is making the world a better place?

Direct mail is a very effective means of marketing. The recipient has to actively deal with it, and is almost always the “head of household.” If you want to send ads that are interacted with by someone capable of making a purchase - mailing works. I don’t know if “waste” is quote right.

Waste is exactly right. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/the-cost-of-junk-mai...

Re: Brave’s use of direct mailers

#40

Post by js212 »

concinds wrote: post #29
toma_caliente wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having worked in marketing, they absolutely worked with a data broker. You don't blindly send out mailers. You use data brokers to zone in on a target market. "This zip code is more like to buy X while this zip code is more like to buy Y."

All direct mail marketers do this, because it allows better targeting (& re-targeting old prospects & previous customers) but Brave explicitly said they didn't, and only went through the USPS's service.

The USPS didn’t mess up. They are clearly using some sort of vendor to send out the mail.
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