Mass marketing still has its place despite allure of the 'Net

<p>A DDB survey has challenged the notion that the only thing that </p><p>matters in marketing is the one-to-one relationship between the brand </p><p>and its consumer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The agency's proprietary research, entitled Brand Capital, has </p><p>determined that one-to-one marketing has its place - but not to the </p><p>exclusion of mass marketing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The study was conducted by leading US research house Angus Reid in 14 </p><p>countries, including China, Japan and Australia in Asia-Pacific. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A total of 800 people took part in the survey in each country. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It examined three types of relationships between the brand and the </p><p>consumer: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Acquaintances or those who are familiar with a brand; </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Friends or those who would consider purchasing a brand; and </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Lovers or those who would definitely buy a brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The survey found that as the number of friends increased, the number of </p><p>lovers increases exponentially. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>DDB Hong Kong strategic planner Jennifer Wirth said that this underlined </p><p>the continued importance of mass marketing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Advertisers think the Internet will solve all their problems because </p><p>they can finally do one-to-one marketing," she told MEDIA. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But Brand Capital shows us that you need a certain number of friends </p><p>before you can get the numbers of lovers that you want." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Wirth added that to get the attention of the potential friends, </p><p>companies have to go the traditional mass marketing route. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Aaron Lau, DDB's Greater China president and CEO, said, "Mass </p><p>marketing is the most effective in arousing interest among a large </p><p>population within a very short timeframe, while the Internet is most </p><p>cost-efficient in reaching consumers individually. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The paradigm is going to shift to a more balanced mix of mass and </p><p>one-to-one marketing." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The survey underlined the fact that strong brands exhibit high magnetic </p><p>appeal in terms of quality, popularity and category leadership and </p><p>uniqueness. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Lau said that there was an interaction among the four elements which </p><p>make up magnetic appeal. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Brands are successful when they have more lovers," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But they are also successful if they have the unique ability to provide </p><p>a broadly desirable quality and if they are growing in popularity." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The four elements of brand appeal could be used to analyse the current </p><p>status of any given brand and the steps needed to grow it, Mr Lau </p><p>added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If you look at McDonald's, the lover of this brand is more </p><p>family-oriented and so you must include family values in any advertising </p><p>to promote the brand." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Only global brands - such as Pepsi, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, KFC and Kodak </p><p>- were examined in the Brand Capital survey because DDB wanted to get a </p><p>worldwide picture about how consumers and brands interact with each </p><p>other. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>