• by Ross Fadner , May 7, 2004

Since the format's inception, consumers worldwide have been up in arms over the proliferation of pop-ups on the Web, in many instances not knowing where to place blame. Similarly, many advertisers, including certain big-name brand advertisers, have been instructed to steer clear of the channel because of the negative stigma surrounding it.

New York-based desktop applications evangelist WhenU, a bona fide server of pop-ups, pop-unders, and sliding ads, in an attempt to woo such advertisers weary of pop-up shame, is expected to announce today a new platform that still pops--but without the "up," "under," or "over" aspect.

Called the WhenU Desktop Product Placement Platform, the new unit will run under the same circumstances as other ads in the WhenU network, but without window frames. For example, if a user's Web surfing activity shows an interest in mobile phones, an interactive image of a phone may suddenly appear on the screen, prompting users to click on or close a floating image, instead of a separate window.

WhenU CEO Avi Naider, in a statement, acknowledges that the new platform will stay true to the WhenU theme of showing users comparative ads at point of purchase, or after users display an interest in buying a certain type of product. "Brand marketers want potential and existing customers to see their product, or--better yet--interact with their product at a moment when they are most likely to be interested," he says. "This goes way beyond pop-ups, pop-unders, and other existing methods," Naider adds.

GartnerG2 Principal Analyst Denise Garcia says that the Desktop Product Placement Platform is "basically a pop-up that's not in a browser window you can see." She concedes that the new format is "a more user-friendly version of a pop-up," but notes that recent Gartner research shows that users are becoming increasingly annoyed with floating ads relative to pop-ups--which she says users still find annoying, but no more so than before.

WhenU's Desktop Advertising Network consists of users who opt-in to receive ads in exchange for downloading free software. The WhenU ad-server resides on user's desktops, and serves ads, promotions, and money-saving coupons based on user's Web surfing habits. WhenU's advertiser retention rate is 80 percent, and the number of users in its network has been steadily growing since the new year.

According to the company, tests show that the new ad format clicks through between 3 and 7 percent of the time. Ten advertisers from the consumer packaged goods, electronics, and entertainment sectors have tested the new format.

"I think that for advertisers trying to get away from pop-ups, they'll find this (new format) interesting and perhaps more effective," adds Gartner's Garcia, who points out that the new format has proven to be effective for the advertisers who have tested it.