ASIA-PACIFIC Corporations in the region are losing control of their public images as people turn to the web to scrutinise brands, according to a survey of internet behaviour by Universal McCann (UM).
"The internet is no longer a one-way broadcast medium like it was in the '90s. Brands can no longer censor or edit consumer opinions,"said Phil Tiongson, strategic planning director, UM Asia-Pacific.
Seventy-four per cent of Asians said they trust a blogger's experience with brands. Koreans are the biggest bloggers, with 35 per cent blogging regularly, compared with 21 per cent of Chinese. "Marketers must listen to what bloggers are saying. People are more likely to trust bloggers in Asia, where people recognise that with freedom of self-expression comes responsibility,"said Tiongson.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they use a search engine to review a product before making a buying decision. "This is a big indication that the web is a preferred medium for research- ing brands,"said Tiongson.
The UM study surveyed 10,000 people in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, a universe of 204 million regular internet users.
