AccuWeather is expected to debut today AccuWeather.com Desktop, a downloadable PC application that delivers continual weather updates by ZIP code.
The service will offer advertisers co-branding and banner sponsorships, according to AccuWeather, State College, PA.
Users will be able to download the service on AccuWeather.com, which will feature the AccuWeather logo and any advertisements AccuWeather.com sells, or they can download it from co-branded Web sites. The co-branded service is available on a revenue-share basis and will feature the co-brander's logo and any ads that it sells.
Co-branded companies will have their logos and links to their sites displayed on the top of the AccuWeather.com Desktop service.
AccuWeather requires users to provide registration information to get the service, allowing marketers to target by geographic location, gender, interests, birth date, occupation, income, level of schooling and by whether they own or rent their homes.
The announcement comes on the heels of rival Weather Channel's unveiling of a similar desktop service, The Weather Channel on Your Desktop, in October. The Weather Channel also owns Weather.com.
The Weather Channel on Your Desktop has five categories — health, travel, home and garden, golf and driving– offering advertisers sponsorships within each one.
Both desktop weather services differ from defunct “push” marketing services provider PointCast in that they are not screensaver-type applications that take over a screen whenever the registrant's computer is idle for a certain period of time. These weather services are minimized icons on the user's screen offering the current temperature in a chosen geographical area until the user clicks for more information.
“It's user activated as opposed to in the background,” said Paul Iaffaldano, chief revenue officer at Weather.com, Atlanta.
