• by Masha Geller , November 30, 2001

A recent study from a relatively unknown research firm Cyveillance seems to have made huge waves in the online advertising media in the last two days.

Yesterday, the company announced the results of a study that put pop-ups on the defensive... again.

Brian Murray, senior director of client services at Cyveillance said that more than 25% of top destination sites are now using tactics in an apparent attempt to divert and capture shoppers. And, he said, "there is undoubtedly a growing level of consumer frustration online that poses a threat to global brands."

Cyveillance found that 30% of top sites in the U.S. and 20% of top sites in European domains employ "spawning techniques" or, as they are more commonly known, "pop-ups" that automatically launch new browser windows upon entering a site, exit, on delay, or other triggers. Cyveillance said 12% of the sites on the Internet overall employ spawning, but leading sites are heavier users of this tactic.

Also, researchers found that mousetrapping tactics - disabling the user's ability to go back, exit or close while viewing the page - were found on 5.2% of the sites.

Both tactics, Cyveillance says, are "highly disruptive to the customer" and expose them to content they would otherwise not have elected to view.

"As the economic downturn drives companies to seek revenue by all available means, it is no surprise to see these innovative tactics emerge into the consumer mainstream," said Panos Anastassiadis, president and CEO of Cyveillance. "These activities serve to reemphasize the uncontrolled nature of the Internet environment and the critical need for continued Internet intelligence."