ANALYSIS: Advertising - Bear market likely to dilute E*Trade's dramatic debut. Atifa Hargrave-Silk looks at at how online brokers are getting their message out

<p>Stock brokers and sexy models don't usually have much to do with </p><p>each other, at least not professionally. But then again, neither does a </p><p>smashed up sports car and online trading. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, as establishing a foothold in the already-crowded online </p><p>brokerage industry gets increasingly difficult, late comers to Hong Kong </p><p>are fighting for attention, armed with everything from free tissue </p><p>packets to dotcom stocks and smashed-up Ferraris. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>When Tai Fook On-Line Services, a branch of Tai Fook Online Securities, </p><p>launched its services in November 2000, its senior executives found </p><p>themselves in the company of model Rosemary Vanden-broucke. Together </p><p>with 200 of their colleagues, they scouted the streets for potential </p><p>investors, handing out packets of tissues. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>US-based online trading firm E*Trade Securities recently kicked off its </p><p>Hong Kong operation by ramming a car into a Ferrari. E*Trade's </p><p>television campaign has been created by BBDO, the agency behind the </p><p>in-your-face campaigns that have made Sunday telecoms a household name </p><p>in Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Clearly by ramming a car into a Ferrari, BBDO is hoping the eventful </p><p>start will help E*Trade achieve its - objective: to "get a reaction from </p><p>the Hong Kong public". That it did; more than 119 complaints have been </p><p>logged with the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority. </p><p>Viewers complained the ads encouraged destructive and vengeful </p><p>behaviour. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>E*Trade managing director, Mathias Helleu, says the public "can expect </p><p>other promotions with great impact from us" and adds, "we will continue </p><p>to be bold, aggressive and humorous in our marketing". The campaign is </p><p>perhaps the latest sign of the intense competition rocking online </p><p>stockbroking in today's bear market and the lengths some have to go </p><p>through to compete. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One of the early players, Charles Schwab, has been marketing </p><p>aggressively for some time. Cash On-line, the online trading subsidiary </p><p>of Celestial Asia Securities, has established online trading cafes </p><p>throughout Hong Kong. It also splashed its name across billboards in </p><p>major districts. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Local firm Boom Securities opened trading branches and spent vast </p><p>amounts on promoting it services, while the securities arm of property </p><p>giant Sun Hung Kai also started its e-trading arm SHK Online. As Charles </p><p>Schwab's marketing director, Gary Leung, points out, the controversial </p><p>E*Trade TVCs are in line with the company's advertising tone in the US. </p><p>"If they hadn't come out with something dramatic, I would have been </p><p>shocked," Leung says. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the question many are asking is whether this aggressive </p><p>approach will make up for E*Trade's late market entry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>E*Trade has come into the market challenging established brokerages such </p><p>as Charles Schwab with an even lower commission rate. Motiv8 managing </p><p>director, Chris Fjelddahl, whose agency handles the Charles Schwab </p><p>account, says there is "always a case for ads that rock the boat", but </p><p>adds, "I think perhaps this approach is needed considering how late </p><p>E*Trade entered the market." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Fjelddahl, the two online brokerages are targetting a very </p><p>different market. "There is a big difference between someone who trades </p><p>Microsoft in the US, or someone who just trades Cheung Kong </p><p>locally." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Centro chief creative officer, Stanley Wong, agrees that the TVC has the </p><p>power to stop the audience in their tracks. But timing is another </p><p>matter. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Says Wong: "The idea is simple - jealously. It's one that not many have </p><p>touched on and the ad has been done beautifully. But it's the message </p><p>that is worrying. It's not really relevant at this time. They are giving </p><p>the message that E*Trade can make you a millionaire at a time when </p><p>stocks are down and there is unlikely to be any empathy. I'd say they </p><p>are a little late to promise this." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>