Sally's Web Browser Helps Analyze Display Ad Views

World Web Network

World Web Network (WWN) plans to introduce a technology that measures the precise length of time each banner or display ad on a Web page gets viewed. This technology aims to help advertisers optimize campaigns based on efficient ad placement, and assist Web publishers in selling ad space based on metrics and numbers to back up claims.

The online advertising industry focuses on clicks and conversions, especially in the United States, but international companies want to know that consumers get the correct amount of exposure to their brands during the perfect length of time, according to Pierre de Grandmaison, World Web Network founder.

Companies might know their own local market when it comes to branding products, but buying advertising in 10 countries takes measurement tools to determine placement on a Web page and effectiveness of specific sites. In these campaigns it's more about selling the brand, rather than the products, de Grandmaison says. "Only 16% of people click on ads; what about the remaining 84%?" he says, pointing to the effectiveness of creating branding campaigns that run across content networks and in social networks.

WWN's new analytics technology counts fractions of seconds to measure effectiveness. Even if the ad is half visible on the page, it will count half a second, rather than a full second. Three advertisers have been testing the technology since December, de Grandmaison says.

Advertisers that typically allocate the majority of their ad budget in traditional media -- such as TV, print and radio -- want a metric to justify taking some of that budget online. It took Paris-based Alenty, the brains behind the technology, about two years to build. The analytics and measurement tool -- exclusive to WWN -- sits in the browser, supported by scripts and Ajax technology, says Laurent Nicolas, founder and chief executive officer at Alenty, Paris.

Although Alenty has developed a few technologies, the main advertising application measures ad exposure. It provides a view into the measurement and length of time someone spends on a site viewing the Web page, which often contains an ad. "We know when you minimize the window or hide the browser," Nicolas says. "We also know when you open a new tab."

For publishers, the technology can determine the best display ad space geared toward branding versus direct performance, which can help to lift CPM rates and drive more effective campaigns.

Nicolas says the technology also can determine when someone might have stopped filling out an online form and what question may have stumped them before closing the browser window.

WWN, headquartered in France, will also make a play for the U.S. market. The company opened an office in New York last year to support its global customers. Creating an online network enables companies with international sales to buy ad space from anywhere in the world, but de Grandmaison says the company wanted to move closer to its U.S. clients.

Eight-year-old WWN supports 350 Web publishers in 50 countries, providing clients with solutions to build out global branding campaigns for companies, such as Societe Generale, Air France, Cap Gemini, Skyteam and BNP Paribas.

Next story loading loading..