AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc., ) owns and operates the largest network of weather stations in the world and whose online brands includes the popular Weatherbug service, is debuting today a new interactive advertising form that allows consumers to select the ads they want to see. Under the program, known as Sponsor Select, consumers who download WeatherBug are asked to select their sponsor from a list of choices during the required registration process.

WeatherBug users can then preview and accept their chosen sponsor company and its advertisement, or go back and select another. Once the WeatherBug application is up and running, the selected sponsor's ads will be displayed during the first 24 hours of usage via a format called the BrandWrap, which integrates the sponsor's advertising message and the weather content together.

This format aids brand recall to as high as seventy percent, according to AWS user surveys.

"With Sponsor Select we are reinventing the relationship between the advertiser and the consumer. This is quite literally a silver bullet for advertisers," said Andy Jedynak, vice president of Business Development for the Gaithersburg, Md.-based AWS. "When people have the power to choose the advertising they see, sponsors benefit because they pay only when users select to view their ad and they get more qualified leads. In addition, our research shows that users prefer to have control over what ads they see," he added.

New users receive a welcome e-mail message from WeatherBug in which the sponsor's ad is embedded. In total, advertisers in the Sponsor Select program reach consumers a minimum of four times: at the time they confirm their choice of sponsor, as the WeatherBug application downloads, once the WeatherBug software runs and in the confirmation email.

WeatherBug streams live local weather data and forecasts to more than seven million registered users. It is one of the Internet's most popular news/information sites, according to Jupiter Media Metrix (November 2001). At launch, nearly 50 advertisers have signed on to participate in the program.

"Our Sponsor Select campaign generated extremely qualified leads -- the results were tremendous," said Craig Smith, director of business development for Service Magic, an online marketplace that connects homeowners and property managers with pre-screened and customer-rated contractors, handymen and maids. "We have benefited from numerous WeatherBug advertising platforms. With our BrandWrap, we were able to target a specific user base -- this has been very successful. And the Sponsor Select campaign not only generated a higher number of leads, but generated leads that were highly qualified."

AWS gathers up-to-the-second weather information from more than 5,000 communities and powers the company's various products and services, including, in addition to WeatherBug, WeatherNet for Broadcast, which delivers real-time weather information to more than 80 million U.S. households through partnerships with 105 local television stations; WeatherNet for Education, which provides weather information and educational tools to schools and colleges, including a set of online lesson plans and software called WeatherNet Classroom; and AWS Data Services which uses AWS' weather network and software to provide solutions for vertical industries such as energy, retail, and transportation.

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