• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 10, 2008

NetShelter Technology Media has built a holiday shopping guide wrapped in an advertising and marketing platform. The site allows brands to interact with consumers daily through a dedicated blog. The themed/sponsored Web site, "Top Tech Gifts: An Expert Guide to Holiday Shopping 2008," launches Nov. 3.

Aside from a dedicated sponsor blog that lets brands communicate directly with consumers, Top Tech Gifts aggregates five bloggers: phonescoop.com's Eric Zeman; Slashgear.com's Vincent Nguyen; TechEBlog's Steve Sun; i4u's Luigi Lugmayr; and photographyblog.com's Mark Goldstein. These knowledgeable "insiders" have collectively recommended dozens of laptops, cameras, mobile phones, HDTVs, music players and robots for consumers to check out and try.

Consumers can get reports and reviews by the bloggers from the main site at www.toptechgifts.com. Each will run Web banners to promote the sponsor.

The business model calls on NetShelter's visitors to chime in by posting reviews, too. It aims to encourage users, along with the site's sponsor, to offer holiday shopping recommendations. Peyman Nilforoush, NetShelter co-founder and CEO, says it's the first opportunity that enables brands to open a dialog directly with consumers, rather than simply place ads on the site. "Sponsors get a page to list products and demonstrate their personality," he says. "We want to help marketers build a two-way conversation with consumers and be part of providing and highlighting information."

NetShelter, which aims to take on Cnet.com as the go-to place for information on the latest tech gadgets, reached 10.5 million unique visitors in August, ranking No. 2 for tech news sites in the United States, according to comScore. Nilforoush expects that NetShelter will surpass Cnet's 14.6 million unique visitors for the same month when fourth-quarter numbers are released.

One challenge that NetShelter faced while pulling the concept together focused on "introducing a foreign concept to publishers who have long thought of us as only an ad network," says Patrick Houston, SVP, media/chief publisher at NetShelter Technology Media. "We had to convince them it was worth their effort. That it provides financial incentive with incremental revenue, and that took many individual meetings."

NetShelter also expects to create a similar site for the Consumer Electronics Show that takes place in January in Las Vegas. A competition, Last Gadget Standing, will spotlight the 10 hottest products to emerge from CES. Eight participating sites will judge the event and crown one winner. Video highlighting the products will drive the sponsorship.

While NetShelter chose to launch the platform in time for the 2008 holiday season, consumers can expect the site to become a template for themed Web sites focused around the Super Bowl, March Madness, and Dads and Grads. The sites will allow sponsors to interact with consumers, rather than just packaging video and banner ads.