MEDIA-I: Region records highest banner clicks

<p>Online advertisers targetting markets in Asia-Pacific can look to </p><p>South Korea and Hong Kong for some encouraging news, according to the </p><p>Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Index, which found surfers in the </p><p>two markets had the highest click rates for banner ads. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The news comes as debates over the effectiveness of online advertising </p><p>continue and advertisers opt for braver, larger ad sizes to attract </p><p>shrinking ad dollars. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to ACNielsen eRatings.com Hong Kong managing director, Hugh </p><p>Bloch, South Koreans, along with other surfers in Hong Kong, "had the </p><p>highest click rate for ad banners, meaning that banners are still a </p><p>relatively effective way to catch these consumers' attention as they </p><p>breeze through web pages". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Asia-Pacific countries are showing the most dynamic internet usage </p><p>patterns in the world in terms of high levels of usage, click rates on </p><p>ad banners and duration visits," added Bloch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Still the most active internet users in the world, South Koreans led the </p><p>region in terms of page views for March, but barely paused on each </p><p>page. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Interestingly, the average click rate for top banners increased </p><p>globally in March, a worthwhile footnote to the recent debate over the </p><p>effectiveness of online advertising." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A three-day internet cable cut in Taiwan during March caused a decline </p><p>in the time spent online, number of sessions and number of page views </p><p>for the month. However, the report added that Taiwan still ranked </p><p>highly. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A/P COMPARED TO US AND GLOBAL AVERAGE </p><p>Rank Country Number of Average </p><p>(Number of Page Views Click Rate </p><p>Page Views Per Surfing for Top </p><p>Per Month) Session Banners </p><p>1 South Korea 92 0.62 </p><p>2 Hong Kong 63 0.69 </p><p>4 Japan* 52 0.37 </p><p> Global Average 43 0.41 </p><p>6 Singapore 55 0.24 </p><p>7 US 35 0.36 </p><p>9 Taiwan 55 0.50 </p><p>16 Australia 39 0.27 </p><p>20 New Zealand 30 0.23 </p><p>* Japan data from February 2001 </p><p>Source: Nielsen//NetRatings </p><p><BR><BR> </p>