MEDIA-I: 24/7 signs one year ad contract with GigaMedia

<p>TAIPEI: 24/7 Media has inked a one-year contract as online ad </p><p>representative for one of Taiwan's largest broadband content and </p><p>internet access providers, GigaMedia. The new business includes seven </p><p>content channels under the client site, gigigaga.com, which 24/7 Media </p><p>claims has pushed its online ad volume past the seven million daily </p><p>impression mark. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The deal consolidates business formerly handled by DoubleClick and the </p><p>client's in-house team, said Michael Chang, general manager, 24/7 Media </p><p>Taiwan. GigaMedia chief executive officer, Raymond Chang, expects </p><p>second-quarter advertising to reach NTdollars 1.9 million (USdollars </p><p>55,255) and to grow in the second half of the year, as gigigaga.com </p><p>rolls out ad packages for entertainment and online PC games. 24/7 Media </p><p>Taiwan is one of three media networks, including DoubleClick and </p><p>AdSociety, that handles Taiwan's non-portal advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These media networks are all Taiwan can support currently. Although </p><p>online advertising was estimated at NTdollars 870 million in 2000, </p><p>according to the Institute for Information Industry's Market </p><p>Intelligence Centre, most ads appear on popular portals - yahoo, kimo, </p><p>pchome, yam and others - and are handled in-house. The tight market has </p><p>forced media networks to re-interpret industry practices. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When the networks first started, the big thing was exclusivity," said </p><p>Sean Wu, general manager of AdSociety. "But that is fading fast because </p><p>no single network can satisfy a big client. If we want to buy GigaGiga, </p><p>and our client has the money, we can still book whatever we want." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>