While it's surprising that Adobe took so long to take action to use ads in relationship to content produced by its PDF software, it does in my mind create a couple problems that to my knowledge haven't been addressed.
The first one would be the temptation by online marketers who create reports in a PDF format, to get away from the purpose of their report in order to get some nickels and dimes coming in. Those that know how to make reports for a variety of purpose related to online marketing, know the noise and distraction adding advertising could do to their strategies.
I know, I've used these reports offered in PDF files to market in a variety of ways.
Another typical problem is when you look at some of the dynamic ads placed by companies that really aren't very relevant to content, it is a concern that things you don't want to be associated with as a business or marketer could be put into your document and promoted by the ad, making your readers or viewers think you're agreeing with it or giving your approval to it.
The worst thing that could happen ... and probably will? Like everything else online, this will draw the opportunists out of the woodwork, and you'll see a proliferation of PDF content no different than the landing pages that serve no other purpose than to offer an ad.
In other words, we may see PDF files cheapened in the eyes of recipients, who start opening them for value, but end up with low quality content obviously built to be surrounded by ads. There will probably be a dilution in the marketplace as a result.
From the positive side of it, we'll probably see a whole new industry spawned from this intitiative. It's no different than writing or creating any other content for the purpose of monetizing through an ad model.
The one thing PDF's do have going for them, is they have a built-in portability that makes it easy to share with others, one of the key reasons for using it in online marketing in the first place.
Like everything else, it won't take long for saturation to come, and those that understand differentiation in any business, will need to build their strategies from the beginning to combat the sameness that will come with this. Do that and you may be able to make some decent money with it.
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