CReATION: Yam.com evolves to deliver varied content

Yam.com, the first Chinese Web server, has profoundly adjusted its business model and strategy in a bid to stay ahead in today's rapidly changing cyber environment. Originally launched as a non-profit Chinese search and directory site in 1994, yam.com dipped its fingers in the ebusiness of marketing and advertising sales two years ago. According to Ms Geena Lin, yam.com's sales director, the Internet should develop itself not just as a medium, but as an interactive community for viewers and marketers. Interactive communication and a niche community are key values of the Internet, which plays a different role to traditional TV and print media, said Ms Lin. As the region's staple food, the name Yam underlines the company's aim to provide basic information, from news and shopping, to finance and music. "We developed a variety of content to communicate with different communities," said Ms Lin. The Internet is evolving from an information media to an interactive marketing tool with the offering of database, online survey, communications and marketing solutions. Banners became the most commonly used advertising tool online when marketers first recognised the Internet as a medium. Ms Lin said today marketers seek more sophisticated online communication solutions to promote their brands and products. IT-related services and products accounted for 40 to 45 per cent of total Internet ad spend a couple of years ago. With the bursting of the dotcom bubble in the stock markets, the company's dotcom clients have dropped by 20 to 30 per cent since April. However, the drop was picked up by emerging categories like FMCG, telecom, skin care, travel and beverage. Yam.com staged a 2.5 to three-time increase in revenue growth this year, buoyed by marketers' increase in online budgets. Although banners accounted for 75 to 80 per cent of yam.com's total advertising income, Ms Lin said advertisers were keen to explore new tools such as floating icons, content sponsorship and text linkage. "You have to put (the potential of interactive) communication first when using the Internet (as an advertising medium)," said Ms Lin. The Internet is not simply a mass medium, but it is an interactive communication platform, which offers viewers a chance to chat and share opinions. Content, communications, virtual community, ecommerce and Chinese comprise the motto of yam.com, which has 10 to 12 million page views and one million visits per day. Internet advertising is about creativity, not just design, noted Ms Lin. She added that the crux of cyber advertising was creating something you have never thought about doing with traditional media. Yam.com is actively looking into new communication platforms for viewers, targeting marketing tools and integrated WAP phone and broadband technologies, according to Ms Lin. Yam.com has also formed a joint venture with a computer retailer Cybermart in the mainland. The venture presently focuses on logistics, rather than websites, said Ms Lin. She added that the company's ultimate goal was to expand into the ecommerce business.

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