Rich media advertising company Bluestreak on Monday said it had added
a new feature to its banner ads, which connects the interactive ads directly
into an advertiser’s Web site or database.
The company calls the feature “transactional tunneling,” and it allows user
information — such as credit card numbers — to be transmitted securely to
the client. The technology achieves this by linking various elements of the
campaign directly to the databases that manage the process on the Web site.
Bluestreak recently deployed the technology for a campaign for ESPN The
Magazine, created by LoungeLizard.com.
The rich media ad, designed to attract ESPN sports fans, shows a pitcher
hurling a baseball into home plate. Visitors view the ad from the batter’s
perspective, and can expand the banner by clicking on the released baseball.
Once the banner expands, users can enter mailing address information in the
expanded space to receive sample issues of ESPN The Magazine. That
information is then “tunneled” back into the ESPN The Magazine Web site and
registered as an on-site interaction.
“Online merchants have invested huge amounts of time and money on their Web
sites in order to attract more page views,” said Annette Tonti, president
and chief executive officer at Bluestreak.
“Now, transactions in campaigns that include ‘tunneling’ technology register
as if a visitor interacted directly with the merchant’s site. In other
words, our tunneling solution enables merchants to make the most of
investment by extending their site’s capabilities across the Internet —
they get eyeballs and interaction from people who never visited their site.
This is really a significant development for online advertisers.”
The technology is somewhat reminiscent of Mediaplex‘ MOJO technology, which taps
into advertiser databases to dynamically change advertisements in response
to things like inventory levels.
