Dotomi, the leader of online customer retention for permission-based messaging between marketers and consumers, today launched a branding campaign starring Rachel Cook, an animated character representing the experiences of today's average consumer.

Rachel's goal is to communicate to online advertisers that there is more to understanding consumers than just their Web activity or conversion rate. It's also important to consider their plans for the evening, favorite lunch spots, and vacation destinations next summer. Rachel demonstrates that consumers live offline, too - but see the Web as a valuable, if imperfect, source of information on the latest news, trends and deals.

But for every worthwhile message Rachel receives online, she also gets twenty jumping monkey banners and ten pop-ups advertising aftershave lotion. In addition, her e-mail inbox has been hijacked by scam artists and contact lens reorder forms from a set she bought three years ago. Rachel has to wade through a lot of clutter to find valuable information from the marketers she cares about.

To help reduce the clutter and make the Web more valuable to consumers like Rachel, Dotomi has introduced its Direct Messaging service. Dotomi Direct MessagingTM delivers personal, relevant and timely messages to marketers' opt-in customers within the ad banner space as they surf the Web. For consumers, it simply replaces irrelevant banners with personalized messages from their favorite marketers, rather than adding to the clutter. For marketers, it is a cost-effective way to communicate with consumers that have already raised their hand and asked to stay informed. This offers loyalty marketing opportunities for retention, up-selling and cross-selling.

"Rachel is our way of communicating that Dotomi understands the frustrations consumers face online: they feel invaded and concerned about privacy issues, and they feel barraged and inconvenienced by irrelevant pop-ups and e-mails," said Joanna Watson, Director of Marketing with Dotomi. "Online marketers have a lot of great options for acquiring new customers, but e-mail has been the only way to communicate with customers they already have. With e-mail open rates decreasing because of the growth in e-mail spending, Dotomi Direct Messaging is the only other option to continue relevant customer communications in a timely way based on the customer's self-expressed interests."

Dotomi Direct Messaging campaigns receive 1,000 to 3,000 percent higher click-through rates than traditional banners, showing that consumers will respond positively to online ads that speak to their interests and play by their rules. Because Dotomi Direct Messaging is opt-in only, consumers will only receive Direct Messages from their chosen marketers. Direct Messaging is certified by the TRUSTe Privacy Seal Program, insuring that a customer's personal data stays with the marketer and is never shared with the publisher or even Dotomi. Consumers can opt out at any time, and will eventually be able to create their own personal, "Marketer buddy list" - giving their choice marketers the privilege to communicate with them when their information is most relevant.

In short, Dotomi Direct Messaging delivers personal, relevant and timely messages to Rachel that not only improves her online experience, but her offline experience as well. To meet Rachel and learn more about Direct Messaging, visit www.consumersrule.net.