CReATION: Measurement on the 'Net means more than click-throughs

<p>Measuring the success of Internet advertising goes beyond using the </p><p>standard CPM and click-through models, 'Net ratings and interactive </p><p>specialists agreed at MEDIA's recent i-Marketing Seminar 2000 in </p><p>Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It was not the number of clicks that count, but how many of those </p><p>translated to sales, and what was done with the information gathered </p><p>from users, they said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CPM (cost-per-thousand) and click-throughs are the standard metrics used </p><p>for measuring web traffic, but agencies have argued against the accuracy </p><p>of relying on those models to evaluate the success of a marketing </p><p>effort. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"CPM is the easiest type of metric that clients can understand. They </p><p>assume that a banner is served every time, but what if it is at the </p><p>bottom of a page?" said Mr Stephen Yap, director of marketing and </p><p>communications for IamAsia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Another speaker, Blue Sphere Interactive managing director Jay Shapiro, </p><p>pointed out that it is the behaviour of users after clicking the banner </p><p>that is important. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The Internet has the potential to build sales loyalty, and marketers </p><p>are interested in creating value to drive their businesses. Looking at </p><p>click rates is a false measurement of success." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In other words, measuring loyalty and awareness among the audience is at </p><p>least as important. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Some ways to ensure accuracy, said Mr Hugh Bloch, managing director of </p><p>ACNielsen e-ratings.com, are by measuring the strength of one site </p><p>against another, making cross-country and global comparisons, giving </p><p>detailed measurements of the sites and advertisements, and comparing it </p><p>with traditional forms of media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The biggest problem, said Mr Yap, is in setting up a representative </p><p>sample of users to study: "It is not the size of the panel but whether </p><p>the panel represents the demographics of users. A larger panel is not </p><p>more accurate." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Bloch agreed: "It depends on what you want to do with the data. If </p><p>people want to look at things in more detail, then a panel is needed </p><p>where we can look at individual markets." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Knowing where to advertise is of course the first step in successful </p><p>Internet marketing. According to Mr Yap, once the users' demographic </p><p>data is available, a company can focus on a specific target audience. </p><p>Many companies, however, choose to advertise in "superportals" that can </p><p>result in wastage. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"People go to Yahoo.com or China.com to ensure they are reaching out to </p><p>the maximum number of audiences. Sure, they can reach a lot of people, </p><p>but many are those that they don't really care about," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Web auditing in Asia is still nascent. We should use opportunities </p><p>available to find a sophisticated way of measuring." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said that the metrics used today cannot determine the particular </p><p>sites visited and the time of day of an activity. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Media owners and advertisers need to work together to come up with new </p><p>metrics." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A key reward in using the Internet effectively, some speakers noted, has </p><p>been seen in customer relationship management (CRM), where a company can </p><p>have richer interaction with users than through traditional media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The Web is a great way to identify and use information to attract key </p><p>customers," said Mr Graham Kelly, Ogilvy Interactive's regional creative </p><p>director of Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He cited an example where the Skandic Hotels had used its data to drive </p><p>its business by identifying its most valuable customers and providing </p><p>them with free WAP phones installed with a reservation system. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Mr Peter Schoppert, senior VP of product and strategy of </p><p>AsiaContent.com Media, noted how MTV (Asia) had utilised its online </p><p>membership to drive its success. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Within a couple of months, he said, 200,000 members had signed up for </p><p>its newsletter. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Getting to know the audience is more important than just providing </p><p>content," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>