Well, it's finally happened. A blocker to block the pop-up blocker.
Falk e-Solutions has announced a product that detects pop-up/under blockers and converts the ads - on the fly - into floating rich media ads.
And so it goes....
Intenet audio has been around - and technically feasible - for many years now. So, why is the Internet marketing community just "noticing" it? You'd think they rediscovered sliced bread.
If you DO decide to add audio to your web site, and you're going to use one of those "instantly generate a message" services, be conscious about quality. Many of these services produce audio that has lots of static, background noise, etc. You've worked long and hard to get visitors to your site - don't annoy them with a low quality listening experience.
And, of course, never EVER put audio on your page that isn't controlled by your visitor. That's a real "no no."
Great news! The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has undertaken the job of trying to "break" questionable Internet patents.
In a press release, dated 4/19/04, they announced their intention to re-examine patents which threaten "Internet innovation and free speech."
Among those they're targeting is the patent owned by Acacia Research for the digital transmission (streaming) of files. I wish them the best of luck!
DM News had an interesting article today about the effectiveness of marketing with CD's and DVD's. (Since WBC Imaging creates this type of marketing tool, it caught my interest immediately.)
The article, by Barry Johnson of Linking Solutions, said:
"A comprehensive study just completed for the International Recording Media Association analyzed the use of CDs and DVDs for marketing, providing instruction/information, communications and premiums.
The 44-page study, completed by Cambridge Associates Inc., is available for free at www.irmareport.com and reveals what type of applications and companies are using CDs and DVDs as a premium, marketing or communication tool. It also reveals the benefits these companies experienced when using these two mediums. "
It then went on to summarize the results of the study. Great reading for all offline AND online marketers!
Sportsline.com did extremely well with their on-demand video service of the tournament games reports Pete Lerma in ClickZ today.
Why not? People were able to see the games they couldn't get locally for a reasonable price, and they could do it on their own schedule! TV nirvana for some folks. Advertisers have to be pleased as well. They delivered their messages when users were actually available to watch them, and they were interactive to boot.
"On demand" streaming makes a lot of sense. The experience is more controlled than live video, and, for an event like the N.C.A.A. tournament, having the archived games is convenient and timely. Advertisers only have to do it once, too - good for the production budget.