• by Masha Geller , October 17, 2001

Here's an online advertising success story you may be interested in. The Keebler Company, marketer of Cheez-It brand crackers, today announced the results of a promotion they're running with ActiveBuddy, which delivers content via instant messengers.

With close to 100 million people now using instant messaging software, according to industry estimates, many companies are itching to take advantage of what they consider an untapped market.

And, it seems, with good reason. According to Keebler, results are impressive. For the month of September, test results showed that out of 120,000 total impressions, there was an impressive 6.5% click through rate from the imbedded link in ActiveBuddy to the online entry form on the Cheez-It website. The promotion gives away $3000 worth of football season tickets.

The above click-thru rate exceeded Cheez-It's historical average for email marketing by a rate of over three times, company officials said. Industry click-through rate for brokered email lists is about 2.5%.

"The Cheez-It program demonstrated that instant messaging can be a more powerful marketing tool than the use of email direct marketing," said Peter Levitan, CEO of ActiveBuddy, Inc.

The client is also pleased. Keebler's Anndee Soderberg said, "Instant messaging is the ideal advertising venue. Just as consumers are tiring of traditional online advertising, ActiveBuddy shows up with a fresh, welcome way of interacting with customers. And the stellar results from our test suggest the integration of brand with IM to the way to go."