INTERNET: Marketers squabble over best model to use on the Internet

<p>As the Internet's popularity continues to boom around the world, </p><p>marketers are still in a debate over which model applies to </p><p>cyber-branding and ecommerce. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) attempted to clear the air on </p><p>the subject with a recent seminar in Europe, however, the marketers </p><p>found themselves deadlocked in two camps. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On the one side there are the traditionalists; those who say that </p><p>marketing is still about understanding and anticipating the needs of </p><p>consumers and developing brands and that it doesn't matter what media </p><p>channels are used. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Facing them are a new breed of marketers. CIM's London-based chief </p><p>executive, John Stubbs, said during a recent trip to Hong Kong: "This </p><p>group argues that marketing is about creating networks and managing the </p><p>company within a network, because we are in a very interactive </p><p>world." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, he did say that, in his opinion, it now came down to creating </p><p>alliances, coming up with new business models and working in logistics </p><p>because the Internet provides very fast and accurate logistics </p><p>management. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Stubbs referred to Amazon.com, which effectively changed the </p><p>marketplace by changing the information and transaction base and </p><p>changing the way products are sourced and altering the pricing </p><p>context. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Because of the rapidly changing business landscape, he said that there </p><p>are companies which have moved from their selling their products in the </p><p>traditional bricks and mortar way to becoming logistics providers for </p><p>Internet firms. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"How do you, as a marketer, contribute in the supply chain? How do you </p><p>work more effectively to get the costs down and how do you go about </p><p>exploiting information technology? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"These are areas that marketers have traditionally not been expert in," </p><p>said Mr Stubbs, who was deputy head of Unilever's marketing division </p><p>before heading up CIM. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But while he stressed that the jury was still out over who was right; </p><p>the traditionalists or the modernists, he did say changes in the way </p><p>marketing is conducted has taken place. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Before, you just had a given product, a given marketplace and a given </p><p>set of retailers and when you launch you looked at brand name, </p><p>positioning, advertising and packaging. These were the walls within </p><p>which you operated. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Today, you have the opportunity to redefine channel and media. You </p><p>stand back aand take a view as to how ideally you would develop </p><p>relationships with consumers over the 'Net. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"To do that you must find other companies and develop a group of allied </p><p>companies where you all tackle issues like Internet shopping." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>* The full story appears in the April edition of MEDIA's sister </p><p>publication, Asian Brand News. This is available only by paid </p><p>subscription. For more details, please call Ms Iris Tang at MEDIA, (852) </p><p>2577 2628, or email subscrib@media.com.hk. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>