MEDIA-I: 24/7 Media rebrands as web woes worsen

<p>HONG KONG: Online advertising network 24/7 Media Asia will rebrand </p><p>and change its name in an effort to distance the company from the online </p><p>advertising slump and expand its offerings to agencies and </p><p>advertisers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The company, which has been hit hard by the withering online ad sector </p><p>and the dotcom decline, is preparing to launch its new brand identity in </p><p>the coming weeks, according to 24/7 Media Asia chief operating officer </p><p>Stuart Spiteri. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While Spiteri declined to reveal the new name, sources said the company </p><p>is considering several names, including Mezzo Marketing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If you look at 24/7, it was 100 per cent owned by Chinadotcom about </p><p>two-and-a-half years ago when we started. In 2000, we moved towards 80 </p><p>per cent ownership by Chinadotcom. Since then there have been some </p><p>changes along the way," Spiteri said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One change has been the introduction of its expresso email-marketing </p><p>suite, which was launched in June, in an effort to accelerate the </p><p>business' move into the online direct marketing space. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Actually we've been doing this quietly for some time. Late last year, </p><p>we acquired an offline database for agencies and advertisers. We'll be </p><p>rolling out a suite of services with expresso," said Spiteri. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He explained that the company would continue offering its present </p><p>services, but would re-position itself as a solutions provider, offering </p><p>email and database marketing tools, as well as application </p><p>technology. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We will continue with the business we have been doing, but embark on </p><p>initiatives and execute different strategies, such as developing email </p><p>marketing and data mining, technology serving campaigns and data with </p><p>our own technology." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In recent weeks the 24/7 overseas operation slashed its work force, sold </p><p>off assets and closed its European division to cut costs and narrow its </p><p>focus. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the US, the company faces delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"As you know the announcement coming out of New York's 24/7 Media office </p><p>is that they want to focus on domestic operations. We believe and can </p><p>see that the market opportunities are still here in Asia-Pacific and </p><p>remain untapped. We found, along the way, that what fit in the US </p><p>organisation didn't necessarily fit here. They were rolling out their </p><p>business models and technologies and it was evident that this was </p><p>restrictive for the Asia operation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We are majority owned by Chinadotcom and so we feel we have a lot more </p><p>opportunities than the current name would let us reflect. We wanted to </p><p>illustrate our broader strategy of what we want to do." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>