Southwest Airlines, which doesn’t list its flights with the big travel sites, has recently found great success with a desktop application for its loyal customers. Now Mario Sgambelluri has an excellent interview with the AdTools president Chris Heitmann, who explains the short-term, long-term benefits and relative cost.

iMedia Connection: Desktop Apps & Branding.

"Branded Desktop Applications," … often take the form of "communicators" or "screenmates". This means they are built for a single brand and are generally not multi-party advertising vehicles but rather work to build a medium- or long-term relationship between a user and that specific brand.

Heitmann says that BDAs work very well for brands which are a long considered purchase, such as an expensive vacation to a pricey resort, but they have also been used effectively to promote the upcoming release of a much anticipated movie or game. Although more expensive than normal advertising, they are more of an advertising channel than a single ad. If your customers are going to be collecting information about your brand over a long time, or if they need updated schedules, a BDA may be the most effective way to bond with them. One of the most widely used BDA’s is the WeatherBug.