mediaFORGE Socializes Ads in the New Widget Economy
Released on: April 10, 2008, 11:54 am
Press Release Author: Megan Saulsbury
Industry: Internet & Online
Press Release Summary: mediaFORGE Socializes Ads in the New Widget Economy
Press Release Body: SALT LAKE CITY -- April, 10, 2008 - mediaFORGE is putting the conversation in conversational media with the official debut of its new interactive ad platform for running engaging widget campaigns as display media.
mediaFORGE widgets are fully customizable based on specific marketing goals and objectives, and most importantly, they can socialize existing advertising assets. By supplementing banner-ad campaigns with the mediaFORGE widget distribution platform, marketers can now leverage current budgets to create innovative conversational marketing tools.
mediaFORGE adds an entirely new social dimension to banner ads by incorporating a widget as an engagement engine. As visitors roll over the ad, a flash-based widget appears that allows users to interact with content - whether it's shopping, browsing personalized specials, buying last-minute deals, viewing videos or pictures, or listening to music. With this new model for incremental brand interaction, mediaFORGE fosters an enjoyable user experience.
Not only are mediaFORGE widgets-ads immersive, they are also downloadable to the desktop or embeddable within social networks.
Overstock.com, a client of mediaFORGE, features a "live" widget as part of its online banner campaigns. When a viewer mouses over the banner, a visually rich window emerges to showcase up-to-the minute deals. Each section of the widget is clickable and browsable so that visitors can see and buy the Top Sellers, Daily Steals and Clearance specials for the day. Overstock also offers a mediaFORGE created desktop app, available as a free download for customers to receive exclusive deals without having a browser open. mediaFORGE's banner technology produced a 12% increase in ROI for Overstock.com during the test campaign.
Consumer audio manufacturer Skullcandy, another early adopter of mediaFORGE technology, has added a MySpace media player into its online banner advertisements. When users hover over the banner, they can immediately engage with the visually rich widget to watch snowboarding videos, listen or download music, download wallpapers, view artwork and watch slideshows--without ever leaving the widget. Fans can also embed the widget into their profiles across all major social networks and blogs.
Online dating website SinglesNet uses mediaFORGE technology to display a MySpace game within their banners. Users can embed the game on their profile across various social networks - from the banner.
"We're not only offering a more effective platform for online branding and visibility within conversational media, but also providing a way to actually prove real world ROI," said Tony Zito, CEO and Founder of mediaFORGE. "And, the mediaFORGE ad platform lowers the effective cost (eCPM) of existing rich-media ad campaigns while also increasing interactions, distribution, and the viral nature of branded widgets. Now marketers and advertisers can reach, engage, and monetize interactions with specific target audiences."
According to TWI Surveys and Forrester Research, spending on conversational media will surpass traditional marketing spend by the end of 2012. While 98% of marketers have Web 2.0 on their 2008 to-do list, many don't know where to start. mediaForge provides an easy path into social media and web 2.0 marketing.
About mediaFORGE
Founded in 2005, mediaFORGE is socializing and monetizing branded, immersive and portable widgets that leverage existing online advertising inventory. The company received a $1.5 million Series A in July 2006 led by Prospector Equity Partners and private equity firm Gazelle Investments. www.mediaforge.com
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