CReATION: Banner ads focus less on campaigns

Following an analysis of advertising on the major portals in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan, a report has found 85 per cent of online campaigns were heavily weighted to branding messages as opposed to specific promotions or offers that would invite click throughs. While most banner ads aim to increase click-through rates to websites, the majority of banner ads are actually "branding ads", according to a recent study by AdXplorer. The report also compared the effectiveness of email marketing with traditional direct marketing and found email marketing campaign response rates in Asia averaged between eight to 12 per cent, while direct marketing recorded a two to three per cent response rate. It added that email marketing campaigns not only recorded more than four times better response than DM, but "that email marketing campaigns costs less than half a direct mail campaign to reach a respondent". AdXplorer CEO Antony Young said the majority of online advertisers, excluding dotcoms, were telecom and mobile companies at 34 per cent, followed by IT firms at 27 per cent and ebusinesses at 16 per cent. He also said we would see an increase in online advertising as budgets of dotcoms shifted away from offline ad channels towards online advertising. The survey predicted Internet advertising in Asia would increase eight-fold over the next three years by 910 per cent, while the US market would grow 332 per cent. This would be driven in part by an increase in the number of traditional marketers incorporating the Internet as a standard component of their marketing plans. The doubling of Internet users to 180 million in the region would also push more advertisers online. Mr Young added Asia would lead the world in wireless advertising, with Japan and China being the two largest markets for third generation (3G) phone penetration. He encouraged agencies and advertisers to utilise new channels, such as wireless devices, for "impact advertising". "My advice to clients is to be innovative. There is a clear advantage in coming in early. If you execute a creative, innovative campaign through advanced technology, people will remember it ... Today, 95 per cent of the ads look and feel the same. You don't need to wait for 3G, just consider the technology available today and turn it into an effective marketing campaign," Mr Young said. He added the Internet in Asia was still in its "early days", with big portals such as Yahoo and Netvigator leading in online advertising. When it came to online shopping, the survey found Internet users in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan were divided when asked if they would buy a product online if it was slightly cheaper on the Internet. Meanwhile, 28 per cent of users in China said they would consider buying online, with only five per cent having actually bought goods on the Web, citing difficulties in payment and delivery as the main hurdles to buying on the 'Net. The study comprised data published by CNNIC, Forrester, IAB, IDC, iamasia and ACNielsen, as well as studies and interviews with industry heads by AdXplorer.

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