Advertising technology company Dapper is releasing a new tool, MashupAds, for creating banner ads that combine context from the site they are running on with specific content from the site of the advertiser. For example, a travel site advertisement running on a travel review site (like PlanetEye) about Berlin could list either current airfares to the city or hotel deals.
Context-aware advertising is nothing new. It's what Google AdWords is all about. Dapper executives told me that what they do is different, though, especially in ad creation: The advertiser points the system to their site, and then at runtime, the Dapper ad gets the relevant information from the site and puts it into the ad. It's all dynamic.
A site's content drives dynamic ad messaging.
(Credit: Dapper)These ads could be useful for products or services that have changing availability (like travel services) or prices (interest rates). Or for any company that sells a large number of products. Previously contextual ads running against a large catalog would be time-consuming to code. The Dapper pitch is that once you set up your ad-to-service mapping, you're done.
The service can also incorporate other data into the equation, like geographic region or any demographic data the site on which the ad is running can pass back to the Dapper engine.
MashupAds is not an advertising network, so advertisers still need to buy and place their ads the old-fashioned way. But now instead of submitting your own hand-coded ad files, generally in SWF format, you build the file with Dapper and send that instead.
A lightweight version of the service will be available for free. The full paid version will have more features and control.
Coming later, the service will track users' interaction with ads so it can fine-tune the items offered (if there are multiple possible selections). Also, if and when Dapper ads start running on social networks, the company will start working on ways to get data from the social graph into the recommendation engine.
Advertising is a tough business to be in right now; as spending slows, ad revenues will as well. But Dapper makes advertising more effective, and for either a zero or low cost. It's a smart pitch for the times.
Here's Dapper's own MashupAds pitch video:
How Dapper MashupAds Can Save Display Advertising from Paul Knegten on Vimeo.
See also: Yahoo Smart Ads, Google Gadget Ads, Tumri.
The first Web 2.0 Expo is behind us, and it was a good show. In addition to dozens of interesting panels (including, if I do say so, mine), there were about 115 companies presenting on a crowded expo show floor, and six interesting company presentations during the "Launchpad" sessions that ran on Monday and Tuesday.
With Webware.com's Josh Lowensohn and News.com's Erica Ogg, we picked our Top 5 Web 2.0 services from the conference. They are:
- Tellme, which has a new downloadable app for getting useful 411-like info on your mobile phone. (news)
- Octopz, a very slick collaboration service we covered a few days ago. (hands-on)
- Dapper, which can make any Web site into an RSS feed or widget. (field report)
- Coghead, a Web-based database that just came out of beta. (hands-on)
- Spock, the upcoming people search engine. (preview)
Play the video for the full rundown.
Need a Web application, but don't have a bevy of developers on your payroll? No problem, you have options.
Dapper.net is a place to build Web apps or mashups using content from any site. Before building, first check to see if there are any search for "Dapps" out there already doing what you want (for example, converting Webware content into a Netvibes module). There are 10,000 Dapps in existence so far, according to Dapper CEO Eran Shir. But, if a search comes back negative, you can create your own Dapp. Just tell Dapper which Web site you want content from, and in which format you want it (XML, RSS, Google map, iCal, etc.).
But Dapper also works for content owners, and wants to be "the eBay for Web content." Owners can set the license for their site's content before it is shared, such as how, at what time and for how much. Dapper is free for consumers, but larger businesses will be charged a premium.
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