WeatherBug Wraps Ads Around Content

by Ken Liebeskind, Dec 21, 2001, 12:00 AM

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Online advertising traditionally stands apart from online content - at the top or side of a page or perhaps in the middle, next to an article. But the WeatherBug BrandWraps are all over the place.

Introduced earlier this year by AWS Convergence Technologies, which provides weather data for 100 broadcast TV partners and broadcast affiliates, BrandWrap ads run at the top and bottom of a weather page and are integrated into the content by running right next to it, without any dividing elements. The ads feature a call to action at the top and bottom. The entire page is considered an ad unit, with the company calling it the largest interactive unit, at 625 x 433 pixels.

Weatherbug is a live weather portal that sits on the desktop in the tool bar, enabling users to click a temperature icon to get complete weather data. "Just one click on the icon and the advertiser's message is instantly displayed," says Andy Jedynak, AWS VP for business development.

The company sells the wraps on a CPM basis and serves them to seven million registered users, which Jedynak calls the largest registration-only site on the Net. It was the top Internet traffic gainer for Q4, according to Forbes.com.

Among the BrandWrap advertisers are The New York Times, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel and American Express.

The wraps are served on a rotating basis, like traditional banners. There are 15 wrap advertisers now and there have been 150 this year, Jedynak says.

They can also be served to targeted groups of registered users. The company surveys registered users to learn their age, sex, income and occupation and sells this data to advertisers who can target ads to specific groups. Campaigns have been targeted to everything from zip codes to people with weather related allergies, Jedynak says. In addition, the company surveys the users later to determine whether they remember the ads, which gives advertisers important brand recall data. As many as 70 percent remembered the ads, Jedynak says, a result of the way Brand Wraps integrate the advertising with the content, he asserts.

Clients pay more for targeted ads. "The more targeted you get, the more we charge," Jedynak says, indicating a campaign targeting women would be less expensive than one targeting women in a specific area earning a certain income.

The company also sells banners and sponsorships, but BrandWraps are its most popular offering, with targeted wraps the big winner. "Most campaigns are targeted, it's the strength of what we offer. Advertisers are leaning to us because we do pure targeting," Jedynak says.

Jedynak says the company has filed a patent on Brand Wraps and expects to get it shortly. He compares the format to surround sessions, which have received a lot of recognition lately. "Surround sessions put advertising in every avail possible. We surround the content. The content is inside the ad and more than surround it, we integrate within it."

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