New York City-based DoubleClick Inc. launched a program to
buy computer
equipment and offer credits to new DART users that are currently using other
ad serving solutions.
The company said the initiative is intended to alleviate the financial
implications that
customers face when abandoning computer equipment and software during an
upgrade.
Unlike shrink-wrapped ad serving solutions, which customers must manage in-
house, DoubleClick said its DART (Dynamic Ad Reporting and Targeting) service
does not require customers to make any investment in computer hardware,
software license fees, software implementation costs or personnel.
“We are seeing a trend towards outsourced ad serving,” said Chris Saridakis, general manager of DART. “By removing the sunk costs issue, we feel we
can accelerate this trend and continue to move toward making DART the
standard.”
The incentives are available to qualified clients who are currently using
a software-based or in-house ad serving solution. DART is used by all the
sites in the DoubleClick Network as well as sites that handle their own ad
sales, totaling more than 6,400 sites worldwide.
DoubleClick said its technical staff will work with prospective clients to
inventory and value their existing computer equipment used in ad serving
operations. DoubleClick will then pay cash for the equipment, which is no
longer necessary for the client once they have switched to DART.
In addition, DoubleClick will review with clients the amount paid for software
licenses, prepaid customer support and maintenance, implementation and
consulting charges and then issue a credit for a percentage of these costs.
The credit will reduce the service fees paid for DART over a period of one to
three years.