EyeWonder Rollout Adds Rich Media Ads To IM

Eyeing instant messaging as an untapped ad platform, rich media shop EyeWonder has launched a new service for advertisers to run video and rich media campaigns across major IM clients.

"Instant messaging is the dominant and fastest-growing communication tool among both highly coveted young adult audiences and business people," said Mike Griffin, executive vice president of corporate development at EyeWonder.

Named InstantWonder, the service synchronizes with AOL's Instant Messenger, MSN's Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ Instant Messenger and MySpace's recently launched MySpaceIM Messenger.

Through a single media provider, advertisers can reach "Super Bowl-sized audiences online, creating tremendous synergies in media planning, buying and production," said Griffin.

In early testing, EyeWonder saw an increase of more than 15-20% in the interaction rate while using InstantWonder.

Consumers' growing preference for instant messaging over email, coupled with the explosion in online content, has recently led to a significant shift in the consumer activity online.

As a result of these trends, since 2003, the percentage of computer time that consumers spend viewing content has risen from 34% to 47%, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. By contrast, the time they spend communicating has dropped from 46% to 33%--a decline of 26%.

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