MEDIA-I: Region records highest banner clicks

Online advertisers targetting markets in Asia-Pacific can look to

South Korea and Hong Kong for some encouraging news, according to the

Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Index, which found surfers in the

two markets had the highest click rates for banner ads.

The news comes as debates over the effectiveness of online advertising

continue and advertisers opt for braver, larger ad sizes to attract

shrinking ad dollars.

According to ACNielsen eRatings.com Hong Kong managing director, Hugh

Bloch, South Koreans, along with other surfers in Hong Kong, "had the

highest click rate for ad banners, meaning that banners are still a

relatively effective way to catch these consumers' attention as they

breeze through web pages".

"Asia-Pacific countries are showing the most dynamic internet usage

patterns in the world in terms of high levels of usage, click rates on

ad banners and duration visits," added Bloch.

Still the most active internet users in the world, South Koreans led the

region in terms of page views for March, but barely paused on each

page.

"Interestingly, the average click rate for top banners increased

globally in March, a worthwhile footnote to the recent debate over the

effectiveness of online advertising."

A three-day internet cable cut in Taiwan during March caused a decline

in the time spent online, number of sessions and number of page views

for the month. However, the report added that Taiwan still ranked

highly.

A/P COMPARED TO US AND GLOBAL AVERAGE

Rank Country Number of Average

(Number of Page Views Click Rate

Page Views Per Surfing for Top

Per Month) Session Banners

1 South Korea 92 0.62

2 Hong Kong 63 0.69

4 Japan* 52 0.37

Global Average 43 0.41

6 Singapore 55 0.24

7 US 35 0.36

9 Taiwan 55 0.50

16 Australia 39 0.27

20 New Zealand 30 0.23

* Japan data from February 2001

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings