NBC's "Today" show, Viacom Inc.'s video-rental chain Blockbuster and independent Artemis Records are among the advertisers asking consumers to place an icon onto their computers that keeps them continuously in touch with the advertisers. Ford Motor Co. also may use it to promote the Excursion sports-utility vehicle online.

VFlash works like this. Consumers download the icon from a compact disk, the company's Website or vFlash's site. The icon blinks periodically when there is a new offer, say a video game being made available at Blockbuster. The online consumer can then click on the icon, bringing up a small screen that spells out the offer. The screen also could contain a small ad for a company other than Blockbuster.

To access further information, consumers then click on a pop-up box that takes them directly to the company's Website. The technology was developed by ValueFlash.com, a unit of New York-based CDKnet.com Inc.

Tom Cotton, who heads up new ventures at Omnicom Group Inc.'s ad agency, DDB Worldwide, says the marketing gadget works because consumers choose to load the icons on their screens. "It's my choice. This is permission-based," says Cotton, who forged a partnership between vFlash and his previous employer, ad agency J Walter Thompson Co. "If I get sick of the thing, I get rid of it. That, to me, is everything," he adds.

Todd Eckert, relationship-marketing manager at the Ford division of Ford Motor Co., says, vFlash is "fairly cutting edge," and would likely reach only a small group of tech-savvy customers early on. Still, he may use it as part of a broader marketing approach to reach individual consumers on the Internet. "Our philosophy is: Let's try it with a limited set of consumers and see the reaction," he says.

Michael Adubato, president of Arcadia Market Inc., Cranford, N.J., which is marketing vFlash, says vFlash makes money three ways. It splits advertising revenue with individual clients on a negotiated basis; it takes a percentage of revenue from goods and services sold through its icon; and it receives hosting fees based on the number of active users per month.

As part of a pilot programme in the fall, Blockbuster is planning to send out a small number of CDs, loaded with video promotions and the downloadable icon. Greg Smogard, president of Blockbuster Marketing Solutions, says Blockbuster will distribute additional CDs if customers like them.

NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., is making a bigger bet. The network is selling a music compact disk for as much as $17.99, with a downloadable icon resembling its morning "Today" show's sunrise logo. In addition to the vFlash icon, the CD features 12 tracks from the programme's.

Friday-morning-concert series by such performers as Sheryl Crow, the Pretenders and Earth, Wind & Fire. There is also a music video of Hootie & The Blowfish performing in Rockefeller Center.

Kim Niemi, vice-president of business development at NBC Enterprises, says NBC is testing vFlash with "Today." If it proves a hit, the network may expand its use. "Clearly, there are a million other technologies out there.

NBC, like everybody else, is trying to figure out what is the easiest one that consumers are going to turn to," she says.

Stephen Dessau, chief executive of Track Entertainment, which brought NBC and vFlash together, says NBC needs to find ways to capture consumers who spend all of their time online. The vFlash technology is "one way to reach into consumers' world" on the Internet and pull them back to the network, he says. The upside is that consumers can remain anonymous or opt to give NBC information about themselves to receive specific offers.

Russell Kern, vFlash's vice-president of marketing, says it is too early to provide specific results on how many consumers are downloading and using the icons. He says vFlash has been a hit with fans of Kittie, a Canadian all-girl band. Kittie's record company, Artemis, lets consumers download an icon from its site that then keeps them informed of Kittie's tour dates.

"It's good for a band like Kittie to be active on the Web," says Danny Goldberg, Artemis's CEO, adding, "In terms of maintaining a connection with fans, it's a wonderful tool."

The Wall Street Journal