Freeserve Creates Rich-Media Ad Campaign

Freeserve has created credit card partner marbles’ first rich-media advertising campaign.

The campaign, which is intended to raise brand awareness and increase online credit card applications, features two kinds of expandable banner and flash banner ads. The first, running on Freeserve’s property, news and weather channels, features a marble that rolls into a 125 button ad, whilst the second features a runaway marble that follows the user’s mouse. Both ads direct users to the marble website where they are automatically entered in to a prize draw to win a Mini Cooper.

Senior business development manager for marbles, Fran Bos, said: “There is currently much debate about whether the internet is a direct marketing or a brand building medium. It makes complete sense to me that the internet fulfils both of these rolls.”

Yahoo! UK and Ireland recently unveiled four new formats designed to give online ads greater visual appeal than conventional banners (see Yahoo! Unveils New Online Ad Formats), while Ad 2-One, the digital sales and marketing arm of Vivendi Universal, launched a rich-media format containing sound (see Ad 2-One Unveils Online Ads With Sound).

Last October the IAB introduced a set of voluntary guidelines to encourage creative agencies, advertisers and media owners to use rich-media ads (see IAB Launches Interactive Web Ad Guidelines). Faced with the increasing sophistication of online advertising, the internet body also plans to unveil a new set of internet standards each month during 2002 (see IAB Launches “The Daddy” In Internet Standards) to help regulate the industry.

Freeserve: 0845 070 0066 www.freeserve.co.uk

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