Joe Raffetto, I’M's affiliate marketing manager, said that, “This program is designed to provide our affiliate partners with as much commission as possible, providing a ‘win-win’ scenario for I’M and our affiliate partners.” Raffetto feels that the new program will drive sales to both I’M and partner sites, as previous models have proven.

Since there is no cost to join the affiliate program, I’M hopes it will create low-risk with a high-reward return. It includes Instant Media content data feeds, a wide range of creatives, targeted text links, and extra information that is vital to affiliates to make revenue via I’M promotions. The program also includes real-time tracking for its partners.

I’M Interactive aims to distinguish itself from traditional TV and online advertising by using a two-way viewer engaging model for lead-generation, ecommerce and promotions. The tool’s tracking technology allows advertisers to track ad impressions and click-through rates through to point-of-purchase, and now also enables interactive HTML-programmed, time-synchronized sidebar displays to accompany any advertisement, as specified by the content producer — allowing the sidebar to be turned on or off during the course of the show.

As a bonus, I’M Interactive’s anti-skipping feature hopes to ensure ads are being watched by viewers and not dismissed or deleted as is the case with the majority of the forms of online advertising today.

“Advertisers have been searching for a way to create non-intrusive dialogue with their customers via the Internet,” said Andy Leak, CEO of Instant Media. “We have developed the ultimate ‘permission marketing’ advertising tool that provides advertisers opportunities to create compelling ads, track their efficacy, and directly connect with consumers while allowing the consumer an interruption-free viewing experience with the content of their choice. This creates a win-win situation, for both advertisers and their customers.”

According to market research firm Forrester, online retail sales, which is defined as B2C sales of goods including auctions and travel, will grow from $172 billion in 2005 to $329 billion in 2010. As online shopping increases and sellers compete to innovate and keep consumers engaged, online sales will enjoy a solid 14 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years.