AMN New Media Inc. said it will license its "Intellimmercial" system for personalizing television-style spots on the Internet, to third-party Web developers and Internet marketers.
Users have included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and Chicago's Brookfield Zoo.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra served as a beta site for the system late last year. The orchestra sent letters to 35,000 previous ticket buyers, inviting them to visit a special Web address (www.visitbso.org). They also received a registration code.
That mailing pulled an 8% response rate, as defined by the number of people visiting the site (DIRECT, January 2002).
Visitors were greeted by name and heard a real human voice rather than one generated by a computer. They also heard customized messages based on variables in the orchestra's database.
Stephen Belth, president of AMN New Media, said the response was "fast—within days."
The messages were customized for first-time and long-term concert goers. They offered tickets for concerts, and visitors received a gift—a screen saver they could download.
As the database identifies the person's first name, it locates an audio sound bite using that name, said Belth. The AMN database has 90% of all the first names in the United States.
Belth said in a statement that the system takes "the most powerful elements of direct mail personalization and applies it to TV-like commercials."
The animation and audio technology was developed by Belth.
A second test was conducted by the symphony in March.
The Brookfield Zoo began testing the Intellimmercial to market family memberships during the spring.
