The industry has responded with new methods, scoring a runaway success with search engine marketing that uses query terms to serve up targeted ads to Web surfers. But other formats, such as pop-up ads and adware, have faced a considerable backlash.
Vibrant and 180solutions signal the emergence of a new wave of online advertising at a time when Web surfers are finally accustomed to -- and armed with the tools to block -- the old ones.
Internet operators are eager to get a slice of the estimated $4bn paid-search market this year by adopting new contextual ad technology from the likes of Vibrant. Desktop applications are also taking off with new vigour, offering Web surfers the bargain of free software in exchange for their attention.
"Venture capital is back, and they are very much interested in ad technology, because it's a field that's heating up," said Denise Garcia, an advertising analyst at research firm GartnerG2. Online advertising "is growing faster than radio, print or TV."
What's old is new
Founded in June 1999, 180solutions develops advertising software. Its product, Zango, is a downloadable application that sits on the PC desktop and offers customers selected free content. In the background, it monitors Web surfing behaviour and uses that data to deliver ads when customers are shopping or using a search engine.
For example, type "hotels" into the search box at Yahoo or Google, and Zango's search assistant will automatically serve up the home page of Expedia in another browser window, a recent test of the software showed. The term "casinos" called up the home page of 888.com, which prompts the visitor to download gambling software. Visiting the jewellery site Ice.com delivers a window for another shopping site.
The formula is well worn by companies like Claria, formerly known as Gator, and WhenU. Claria offers SearchScout, which delivers pop-up ads with paid search results when its customers use Google, for example.
Yet 180solutions is different in several ways. First, it delivers ads that are simply the home page of the advertiser, instead of an advertisement with a link to the company home page. Taking a page from search advertising, it auctions keywords to marketers, typically charging between a penny and $1 for the "visit."
