Internet entrepreneur Steve Weston has launched an online ad service that will allow users to show their ads on a trillion websites within minutes of placing them.
Steve began working on annot8.net in January 2010 with the aim of providing a simple yet effective way for companies of any size to advertise online using rich and interactive content that was created in one place and shown consistently across all websites.
Based in Nottingham, annot8’s patent-pending technology has been developed to provide an alternative to the existing advertising options on the market to complement and add to the marketing mix currently available.
The site has just gone live, with users being urged to send feedback on the site so that the customer experience can be further enhanced.
Steve, a 34-year-old dad-of-two, has previously been Enterprise Solutions Architect at Barclays, Siemens, Capital One and Norwich Union, responsible for defining technology strategy in line with business objectives.
He said: “By providing an alternative to Search Engine Optimisation, our User Centred Optimisation approach will allow us to provide the right content to the right people at the right time.
“Within five minutes of registering at annot8.net, people can build an advertising campaign that can be seen on a trillion relevant websites. And, with a minimum spend of £10 and a low rate of 3.5p per click, maximising brand awareness and product sales has never been so easy.
“For small businesses, the pay-as-you-go model allows them to budget and control advertising spend, whilst larger companies can build rich and interactive advertisements targeting potential customers currently outside of their traditional reach.”
The site is aimed at consumers, businesses and charities. The basic idea is that a consumer registers on annot8 and sets some specific preferences before downloading a plugin to their favourite browser.
As they browse the web, annot8 shows adverts and relevant content they have chosen to see based on the preferences they have chosen and the adverts that are relevant to the page they are viewing.
When they click on the advert, annot8 shares the revenue it earns from the advert with those who participate in the annot8 marketplace including the site owner, the person who clicked on the advert. Each click earns 1p.
Charities can register on annot8, sets annot8 preferences and information about their charity. As people browse the web with the annot8 plugin installed, they earn money from clicking on adverts and they can then select their favourite charities to donate their earnings to. Thus, charities are able to increase the money they earn from fundraising just from their members browsing the web.
Companies register on annot8 and create an advertising campaign by adding their keywords and building an advert. Once they are happy, they pay for their advertising campaign and their advert is live on any website.
As people browse the web with the annot8 plugin installed, they will view the relevant adverts from the companies who are using annot8 and have active campaigns. Every time a user clicks on an advert, annot8 decrements the company’s current balance using a flat rate fee (no auction) based on advertising spend.
Steve commented: “This unique pay-as-you-go model allows small businesses to effectively budget, generates huge brand awareness and contextually relevant advertisements. This is all for a low minimum spend of £10 and cost per click of 3.5p.
“We believe that our CTR and VTR will be at least double current industry standards at one fifth of the average cost. annot8 is passionate about changing the marketplace for the benefit of all members of annot8 and as a result, everyone including the person who clicked on the advert, company or consumer partners and the owner of the website the advert was clicked from will benefit from participating in the annot8 marketplace.”
In addition, annot8 is currently working with the Charities Commission and the UK Fundraising Standards Board to maximise the fundraising potential of its services.
www.annot8.net