Online DM to offer clients e-catalogue option

Manchester-based e-marketing company Online DM has signed an exclusive reseller agreement with US e-catalogue software developer Mobular.

UK clients wanting to sell online will now be offered the Mobular software, which was developed by former NASA scientists and effectively creates a cross between a website and a PDF file, allowing large amounts of information but with smaller file sizes.

In the past, one of the biggest hurdles to the development of online versions of printed catalogues has been file size - they simply took too long to download. Another problem is that it is difficult to search PDF files.

The Mobular software also allows marketers to track who is looking at what online.

The Liberal Democrats tested Mobular in the run-up to the General Election, sending supporters the party's full manifesto. The party could then track page impressions, click-throughs and what topics people were searching for within the document.

Online DM commercial director Paul Anderson says: "Mobular has been extremely successful in the US and Australia and we are expecting great demand in the UK, particularly from online retailers and travel companies." Mobular catalogues can be delivered to hand-held devices in addition to PCs.

In the US, companies such as Sony and IBM use Mobular for marketing; e-commerce and government sectors use it for publishing and distributing data.