By
Elinor Mills
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: December 19, 2007, 4:00 AM PST
Forget
static banners. Online ads are evolving into
mini-applications with video, games, and dynamic content
that people like enough to embed in their own Web pages
and share with others.
These widget ads aren't
commonplace yet, but they are cropping up more and more,
further blurring the line between advertising and
content. For some it will come as an improvement over
flashing emoticons, dancing silhouettes, and expandable
text boxes that cover up the item you want to read on a
page.
Many people are already using
desktop widgets, which are small applications that
update dynamically and offer a limited function for
things like calendar, clock, weather, and news or RSS
feeds. Yahoo offers them, as do Microsoft and Google,
who call them "gadgets."
Then there are the thousands of
widgets on Facebook, things like Slide for photo slide
shows and iLike for music recommendations, which have
boosted the popularity of the social-networking site.
The interactivity and viral
nature of widgets make them attractive to marketers
looking for new ways to expand their audience. Brand
advertisers are jumping on the widget ad bandwagon at a
rapid clip.
"This is an effective way for
marketers to share their brand with influencers out
there...It has to be compelling enough for someone
to want to grab it and place it onto their page."
--Peter Kim, president of
Interpolls
This week, Ford will be launching
a new online ad campaign using widgets that will run on
AOL sites. The widgets advertise Sync, an in-car system
that lets you speak commands to use a mobile phone and
digital music device. Sync is powered by Microsoft.
The Sync widget ad lets you
download a free song or view a number of short humorous
videos, and offers more information about the product.
You can also grab the widget and embed it into other
sites.
"This is an effective way for
marketers to share their brand with influencers out
there," said Peter Kim, president of Interpolls, which
is hosting the Sync widget ads, as well as tracking
their performance even as they get passed on to blogs,
RSS readers, social networks, and home pages across the
Web. "It has to be compelling enough for someone to want
to grab it and place it onto their page," he said.
If the Sync widget ad doesn't
grab you, maybe the widget ad for the Warner Brothers
film August Rush will. It's got photos, a trailer
of the movie, and lets you find show times for theaters
near you based on your zip code.
Then there's the Interpolls
widget ad for dating site eHarmony that has rotating
questions about dating. If your curiosity is piqued,
you'll answer the question and a pop-up window will tell
you the correct answer (45 marriages each day are
"fostered" through eHarmony, according to the widget
ad), while offering you a sign-up form for a free
personality profile.
Other widget ads let you buy
tickets and make other transactions and e-mail the ads
around. "These widget ads can help qualify users for
clients," Kim said.
Last week, PointRoll launched
what it calls SnaggableAds, which are distributed over
Clearspring Technologies' Widget Ad Network. These ads
can be animated cartoons, videos, and games, such as one
similar to Space Invaders.
Real-time feedback
Beyond the viral distribution aspect, marketers are
attracted to the tracking and reporting that Interpolls
and PointRoll can offer. Interpolls, for example, offers
real-time data on how many times and in what way people
have interacted with a particular widget ad. It also
tracks how many times the ad has been grabbed and where
it's been embedded--whether it was in a specific blog,
Facebook or iGoogle. The ad companies also track all
interactions within the widget ads that have been
grabbed.
"We're tracking all the
impressions of the ads that were served," said Kim.
"Then we track every single response to the question or
click to any of the features, as well as any
interactions on subsequent panels."
Even Google has gotten in on the
act, launching a beta of Google Gadget Ads three months
ago. The ads are served on Google's content network,
which reaches 800 million people, said Christian
Oestlien, product manager of Google Gadget Ads.
Do you have a
topical website you wouldn't mind making some money by showing
trusted Google ads?
Do you have a
Corporate, Business, or eCommerce website that needs more
customers looking for just your product?
