Several online advertisers have been putting together options for tucking ads into feedreaders.
Big and small names in the Internet advertising space, from Google and Yahoo Search Marketing, to Amazon and Kanoodle, to Pheedo and Feedster, have opened options for RSS advertising.
One future draw for advertisers will be Microsoft’s inclusion of RSS support into its long-awaited Longhorn operating system. Microsoft’s history of integrating its applications well with its Windows operating system, couple with Microsoft’s nigh-ubiquitous presence in enterprises, means a lot of people will have RSS readers available to them.
“Anytime a medium attracts a large audience, people begin to think through and figure out ways to deliver ads to that audience,” said Tim Ruder, vice president of marketing for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive. “RSS won’t be any different in that regard than any other medium.”
It’s a similar scenario to broader acceptance of the Internet within corporate America. Microsoft placed its Internet Explorer browser on Windows machines everywhere. Now, it is nearly unthinkable for an enterprise not to have Internet access.
One advertising executive cautions advertisers on the potentials of RSS advertising.
Sean Carton at Carton Donofrio Partners said on Clickz.com: “(W)e can’t forget if we abuse the channel into consumers’ browsers, they can do what they’ve always done with TV: switch the channel. When considering new ways to reach consumers, we can’t ignore the fact that while we weren’t looking, they seized control.”
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
