MEDIA-I: HSBC ad tops brands in ACNielsen findings

<p>HONG KONG: A study by ACNielsen.consult has ranked an HSBC Chinese </p><p>banner ad as the best among six brands measured online, while </p><p>Mitsubishi's Pajero ad was rated the "worst". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The research company found the HSBC Chinese ad increased brand </p><p>awareness, including intent to purchase, key brand images, top-of-mind </p><p>brand awareness and ad recall. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The report added that Chinese language online ads outperformed their </p><p>English language counterparts in Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Advertisers in Asia should consider using Chinese as the main language </p><p>in their advertisements, unless they are targeting expats," said </p><p>ACNielsen.consult chief executive officer, Ramin Marzbani. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The study tested 12 online ads for Cathay Pacific, Fujitsu, HSBC, </p><p>Johnson and Johnson, Mitsubishi and Nike in Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Jimmy Poon, regional director at Tribal DDB, which created </p><p>the HSBC and Johnson and Johnson ads, the online ads that work best are </p><p>direct and clear. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"A clear message is very important in creating online ads. You have to </p><p>include a call for action, which doesn't always work best with </p><p>traditional advertising. It's also essential to place the logo, </p><p>particularly if a lot has already been spent in building the brand, </p><p>prominently," said Poon. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Marzbani, the research company's Hong Kong Online </p><p>Advertising Effectiveness Study found advertising caused a six per cent </p><p>increase in intent to purchase, a two per cent increase in brand </p><p>awareness, a 23 per cent increase in ad recall, and statistically </p><p>significant improvements in six out of 10 brand image measures. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The results are pretty impressive for an advertising medium that has </p><p>been beaten up over the past six months as a medium that doesn't work," </p><p>said Marzbani. "Of course the notion that online advertising doesn't </p><p>work has had little research to support it besides click rates. Now we </p><p>have some research that demonstrates the branding effectiveness of </p><p>online advertising." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Rex Briggs, who led the study added: "The data demonstrates that the </p><p>much-maligned online ad banner is an effective branding tool, but there </p><p>are certainly some approaches to online advertising that work better </p><p>than others." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He added that many marketers were short-changing internet advertising, </p><p>and these results indicate that "leaving the internet out of the </p><p>marketing mix is big mistake". </p><p><BR><BR> </p>