Isobar rolls out iProspect in Asia

Already present in the US and Europe, iProspect will shortly launch in seven markets in Asia-Pacific — Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. A further five markets — Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and New Zealand — are due to launch in the coming months.

Fredrick Marckini, chief global search officer, Isobar, and founder, iProspect, noted that search was becoming an increasingly important aspect of a network’s digital offer, with the discipline now accounting for close to 50 per cent of digital spend globally.

“Communicating to clients that search is a process and not a project is certainly the biggest challenge,” he said.

Marckini added that while brands were improving their use of search as a part of the marketing mix, there was still a long way to go.

“The search real estate needs to be laid out properly. The ads, which are currently on the right on portals such as Google and Yahoo, really need to be integrated into the results, in much the same way as a newspaper,” he said.

Each market is expected to have dedicated iProspect staff, with the operation aiming for close to 50 staff regionally once the brand’s full rollout is completed. Said Barney Loehnis, network director, Isobar Asia-Pacific: “We expect search to really springboard in Asia in the next 12 months, when marketers really will be forced to take a look at what they do.”