There are several noteworthy examples of successful desktop and browser widgets created and distributed by loyalty marketers to increase customer retention.

My wife and I have been using Upromise’s TurboSaver browser widget for about a year now and have generated $276.67 and counting towards our daughter’s future college education. Through this desktop widget, Upromise’s merchants have become our first stop for all of our online purchases. And it’s not just us. According to Upromise, who is owned by Sallie Mae, Inc., “Members who install TurboSaver (formerly the Upromise Toolbar) save an average of five times more than members who don’t. Five Times!” This kind of online loyalty program is called a “coalition loyalty program.” Other coalition loyalty programs, like MyPoints, have had similar success with browser toolbars. The Upromise TurboSaver widget has been significantly more successful than the typical online mall concept used by most loyalty marketers in the finance, travel, and retail e-commerce categories today.  

One travel company who has taken advantage of the power of a having a widely distributed desktop widget is Southwest Airlines. Southwest introduced their DING desktop widget in 2005. Now, whenever discount fares are offered, their program emits the familiar ringing sound of the in-flight seatbelt. These discounts are only accessible via this application. Within the first two years, about 2 million consumers had downloaded DING, and it generated more than $150 million in ticket sales. Industry sources estimate that 45% of DING users come back to book again compared to a 27% repeat rate.

There are also several examples of desktop and browser widgets used not to just earn more for the customers, but to also donate more. Examples include browser toolbars from FreeCause, GoodSearch, and others.

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over eight, profitable years evolving W3i (owner of Freeze.com) in the Integrated Interactive Media industry.  

That free wallpaper you just downloaded could be helping a Minnesota firm bring in millions

For over eight years W3i has built its business by creating solutions that increase revenue and traffic for downloadable Internet content. By joining the W3i Download Network W3i enables partners to join forces in their marketing efforts for their Internet content.

Synopsis of Lead Story in Business Section, StarTribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, written by Steve Alexander, November 10, 2008.

Top Five Clips from Article with Key Points:

1. Indirect advertising is the way of the future.  Net-savvy consumers ignore traditional advertising. “Some analysts say that tapping into this indirect online advertising revenue will be the next great Internet advertising model.”
2. Unique methods of distribution are valuable as the battle goes on for market share.  By showing a potential customer how you add value and increase their penetration, you have your foot in the door.“One analyst who likes this approach is Gerry Kaufhold, with research firm In-Stat in Scottsdale, Ariz. “The problem Web advertisers have is that the branded portal sites like Yahoo or Google never reach 100 percent of the Web audience,” he said. ‘If W3i can bring Yahoo another 3 percent of the Web audience by downloading Yahoo tool bars, Yahoo likes that. It’s actually the next online business model. The W3i guys are ahead of their time.’”
3. W3i has developed a network of partners with downloadable content.  Networks cut down on marketing expense and allow you to share in technology and distribution costs.  Long- term, win-win partnerships are important to sustain business.  “Yahoo confirmed that it has a five-year-old agreement for W3i to download Yahoo tool bars in exchange for a share of Yahoo search advertising revenue. Such arrangements with smaller websites help Yahoo reach more consumers with its Internet search service, said spokeswoman Emily Fox.”
4. Improving the user experience and understanding and implementing compliance standards never stop. “’We try to get the security firms to know that we are aboveboard and transparent,’ said Robert Weber, vice president of business development. The firm seeks user permission before downloading anything, and it was recently certified by security firm Truste as meeting best practices for a downloading website, he said.”
5. Some distribution techniques may seem new, but they are spins on tried and true marketing tactics.“One of the company’s outside board members says its approach to advertising isn’t really new at all.  ‘This is direct marketing, which has been around for 80 years or longer,’ said Tim Dibble, managing general partner of Boston-based investment firm Alta Communications, a minority stakeholder in W3i. ‘But these guys are using a new delivery mechanism called the Internet.’”

About W3i:

W3i, owner of Freeze.com, delivers proven, integrated desktop and browser marketing solutions.  With solutions tested and optimized on over 200 million installs–currently 4.5 million installs monthly, W3i can increase revenue and traffic for downloadable software, applications and digital content or provide a receptive consumer base for customized, targeted distribution programs.  W3i’s solutions utilize Install IQ, a proprietary download manager and installation system developed by W3i. Install IQ is the first installation system to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program.  To learn more about W3i, visit www.W3i.com.

Contact:
Deborah Manthei
Director of Marketing Communications
320-257-7571
deborah.manthei@W3i.com

I attended a new marketing conference in Orlando earlier this week called “Loyalty Expo”  (www.loyaltyexpo.com). Did you know there is a whole segment of the marketing world just focused on loyalty marketing?  I bet your average interactive marketer doesn’t spend much time thinking about loyalty marketing. Although this particular conference was generally geared at marketers in the banking, travel, and retail industry that typically have utilized loyalty marketing as a core part of their strategy, there were a few key broad takeaways internet marketers should take note of:

1. It is far easier and less risky for a marketer to do a ‘milk run’ than to build a new book of customers.  Jack Welch commented on CNBC on November 5th that Obama’s Presidential campaign was astonishing, given he had to beat the Clintons’ “milk run” (i.e. raising money from the Clintons’ pre-existing sources) by building up his own book of business. This is really the exception to the rule as Welch points out, and most marketers know this too. If you are facing a cash crunch in your own marketing budget, better to do your own “milk run” than to scramble to add new customers. Given the focus on measuring campaign effectiveness, like interactive media, loyalty marketing should be a bright spot in an otherwise difficult environment for marketers.��

2. Marketers who aren’t necessarily “internet marketers” are generally open-minded about emerging interactive channels and utilizing new technology platforms to access these new channels efficiently and effectively.  Nearly all of the loyalty marketers I either spoke with or listened to were trying to figure out how they could leverage mobile and social media, as well as trying to figure out the next “big thing” coming out of interactive industry. Nearly all seemed open to using outside technology platforms to gain access to these same channels. This is good news for the interactive companies providing the technical tools to various other businesses around the world. The bad news is that these same marketers are going to be even more skeptical over the short term on trying new, unproven tools given the squeeze on their budgets due to economic pressures.��

3. Other marketers are very ROI focused too. In my experience, internet marketers tend to operate in a vacuum and think they are the only ones who crave instant performance feedback on their marketing campaigns based on measurements that they are focused on. This flat out isn’t true.  Loyalty marketers have some pretty sophisticated databases as well. This is probably why some of the loyalty marketers see adopting internet marketing as a pretty straight forward concept.

From my point of view, desktop and browser plug-ins may be the next big thing for loyalty marketers and internet marketers alike. Next week I will blog more on the current use of desktop and browser plug-ins used by loyalty marketers. 

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over eight, profitable years evolving W3i (owner of Freeze.com) in the Integrated Interactive Media industry.  

Publishers require the ability to extend their reach to existing users in an engaging and timely way that keeps their content top of mind.  VibeFire, through its dual offering of immediate alerts and stored messages via a browser, allows the user to view publisher content in a way that is effective for both.   Through the Feed List, publishers can also grow their audience by tapping into the VibeFire community. 

With VibeFire, content is delivered directly to the user’s desktop through a messaging service via the system tray.  VibeFire is used for interesting content, new releases, blog updates, urgent messages, new product announcements, seasonal reminders, time-sensitive promotions, event marketing, cross-sell and up-sell information-whatever your audience is looking for.

When the reader wants additional information and clicks through the posted headline, they are returned to your web site.  VibeFire also provides new traffic when your content becomes part of the VibeFire Feed List. 

VibeFire is customizable with your logo and RSS feed, and is available at no cost to qualified publishers.  Revenue to support the technology is generated through W3i’s proprietary Windows installer system, Install IQ, as relevant software is offered during the installation of VibeFire, as well as discrete advertising opportunities post install.  Install IQ provides a positive user experience and is the first installation system to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program.

“VibeFire really breaks through the clutter, and we are finding the acceptance rate and retention rate to be higher than our toolbar offers at the outset,” comments Eric Montag, Product Manager at W3i.

For more information on using VibeFire in your media plan, click here.

VibeFire Desktop Delivery Network                  VibeFire Feed List

About W3i:
W3i, owner of Freeze.com, delivers proven, integrated desktop and browser marketing solutions.  With solutions tested and optimized on over 200 million installs–currently 4.5 million installs monthly, W3i can increase revenue and traffic for downloadable software, applications and digital content or provide a receptive consumer base for customized, targeted distribution programs.  W3i’s solutions utilize Install IQ, a proprietary download manager and installation system developed by W3i.  Install IQ is the first installation system to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program.  To learn more about W3i, visit www.W3i.com.