Ad Serving System Targets By Location
WindWire Inc. today is expected to announce First-To-Wireless, a wireless ad serving system that delivers ads based on the location of the recipient.Designed for advertisers, content providers and wireless service providers, the system detects the location of people using the Internet over cell phones, hand-held computers and two-way pagers.
Viewers reading the online sports section of a Chicago newspaper, for example, could receive an ad for tickets to a sporting event that night. Search engine entries can also be used to predict the locations of users.
In addition, the system can also place ads based on the topic of a search. If a wireless user searches for a best-selling fiction writer, for example, First-To-Wire can place an ad from a local, regional or national book vendor.
The system lets marketers use an array of Internet ads, including banners, interstitials and coupon-based promotions.
Banner and coupon ads are text-based, with an appearance similar to ads commonly seen in e-mail newsletters. Interstitials, on the other hand, can contain some graphics.
Upper-income professionals lead the demographic of wireless users, said David Wilson, executive vice president of WindWire, Morrisville, NC. However, other groups such as college students and "soccer moms" are adding to the expanding wireless audience, he said.
WindWire will charge primarily on a varying cost-per-thousand-ads-served basis. The firm also is open to cost-per-click and revenue sharing arrangements.
"We will not pay consumers per click like some other traditional online networks," said David Spitz, vice president and chief technology officer at WindWire. "In a pay-per-click arrangement, you never know if the consumer is really interested or just wants the 25-cent compensation."
WindWire launched last summer with Windcaster , the proprietary technology supporting First-To-Wire. The company also plans to provide an opt-in service, labeled Fast Track, to local retailers, enabling them to target ads to consumers within a 10-mile radius of their place of business.
Visit www.windwire.com for more information.
