• by June 6, 2004

Acquiring customers online may be old hat for some marketers, but getting them to return on a regular basis and anticipating their needs is more challenging. Dotomi, an Israel-based company now launching its Direct Messaging ad network in the United States, aims to make the job easier by delivering personalized, permission-based messages within banner ads.

"There are lots of companies focusing on acquiring new customers, either through search or behavioral targeting. What I didn't see was what do you do after you acquire the customer," says Dotomi CEO John Federman, explaining: "What Dotomi does is deliver the power of data-driven email marketing, but adds timeliness and the opportunity to find a marketer's consumer, wherever they are on the Web."

Dotomi, according to Federman, has five signed marketer clients and has a few more in the pipeline as it prepares to launch later this month; Orbitz, the online travel provider, is one of the confirmed clients. Dotomi's network of partners includes About.com, Advertising.com, and Lycos, and covers nearly 70 percent of the Web. Ads are sold on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis.

Dotomi Direct Messaging can help a marketer cross-sell, upsell, retain customers, and create an ongoing dialogue with them, according to Federman.

He offers a hypothetical example of HBO wanting to promote a tune-in campaign for "Sex and the City" on TNT. Using an email list of show devotees, the network sends a teaser message to remind those on the list to tune in. Essentially, the message is targeted to self-selected people. Federman notes: "The difference between email marketing and direct messaging is that email depends on when you get to your in-box." Direct Messaging targets a relevant message in a timely fashion.

Dotomi's system, most importantly, is a permission-based system that offers people the chance to opt-out. Dotomi's Direct Messaging product is not adware. Consumers sign up for direct messaging in one of two ways--they can respond to messages on a marketer's site, or Dotomi can take existing email opt-in lists and deliver messages.

"Every message we send has a menu with a drop-down [screen] that gives the consumer an opportunity to opt-out at any point," Federman explains. By choosing to receive Dotomi Direct Messaging, consumers are essentially agreeing to swap out banner ads for the targeted messages. Publishers in the Dotomi network identify whether the consumer is a Dotomi user. If they are, publishers do a redirect from their ad servers to the Dotomi ad network. Consumers receive an alert that they have a message in a preview within the banner ad.

Dotomi client Zer4U, Israel's leading online flower chain, used Direct Messaging for branding and to alert consumers to holiday promotions. Dotomi shared examples of a Zer4U banner ad personalized with a message that read: "Sarah, exclusive direct messaging offer for a limited time. We'll give you a bouquet with 20% more flowers." The ad invites Sarah to "click for details." For Dotomi client Burger King, an online ad offered Sarah a coupon for $1 off a Whopper Meal if she visited her local store by 2 p.m.

Each ad includes a Dotomi menu button on the left. Within the menu, consumers can choose to opt-out, but they can also tell a friend about the ad.

Interestingly, Yair Goldfinger, a Dotomi co-founder and its chief technology officer, formerly served the head of technology at Mirabilis/ICQ, the company credited with creating instant messaging. America Online acquired Mirabilis.

Dotomi clients in Israel include American Express, Blockbuster, and Tower Records.