Abstract

This case is about Rovion Inc. (Rovion), a technology firm based in the US and its proprietary InPerson technology. InPerson technology enabled streaming videos of spokespeople who could pop up seamlessly on top of the contents of a web page and directly interact with the customer. Unlike other streaming videos, the characters in the InPerson ad format were not inside a box. In the process, this technology had the potential to cut through the growing clutter of online advertising, attract the interest of the target audience, and generate higher-than-average click through rates (CTR). This technology had also been used by over 100 companies. The case discusses the experiences of some companies such as Microsoft Corporation’s use of this technology for the launch of its Office Live platform. While most of Rovion’s customers were satisfied with the effectiveness of this new online ad format, some analysts were concerned that the technology could be considered intrusive once the novelty had worn off. But, by and large, analysts felt that Rovion had literally changed the face of online advertising with its InPerson technology.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the issues and challenges faced by companies and advertisers with regard to online advertising
• Understand how online advertisers can attract the attention, generate interest, create desire, and prompt the target audience to take action by using new technologies and advertisement formats
• and Analyze the pros and cons of using new online ad formats such as Rovion’s InPerson ads.

Keywords

Rovion Inc., Microsoft Corporation, InPerson Technology, e-commerce, Online Advertising, Information Technology, Office Live, Discovery Channel Communications, Click through rate, Rich media, Cost per thousand (CPM), Oddcast, Pontiac, Maxim , Branding, Behavioral targeting, Contextual targeting, Email marketing, Search marketing, Advergames, RSS/ podcasts, Mobile marketing, Social networks, Hilary Duff, e-Learning