MEDIA-I: Web yet to prove appeal - media chiefs

<p>HONG KONG: The internet is rapidly showing its potential to build </p><p>brands but it has some distance to go before it can measure up to </p><p>television and print as the brand-building medium of choice. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For the time being, according to speakers at the Society of Publishers </p><p>in Asia (SOPA) media forum, the online medium offers a more effective </p><p>one-to-one marketing opportunity but as part of an overall campaign. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Carat Hong Kong managing director, Anna Azilli, said: "It's more of a </p><p>CRM tool or for product promotion, not for branding." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mike Cooper, OMD Asia chief executive officer, agreed saying that the </p><p>internet "is not yet a premier, first division medium". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The point being that the internet was still experiencing growing pains </p><p>as marketers get to grips with the digital medium. According to Jimmy </p><p>Poon, regional director of Tribal DDB, the interactive arm of DDB, the </p><p>internet has yet to erode the marketing appeal of television and </p><p>print. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The web cannot compete against television on a brand awareness level. </p><p>It (the internet) is really about building loyalty, not so much </p><p>awareness," Poon said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But with proper auditing, websites could offer advertisers the </p><p>opportunity of cutting wastage. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Said Sohu.com senior vice-president of marketing and sales, Edwin Chan: </p><p>"The internet gives advertisers precision targeting along with </p><p>interactivity and the wastage is very small. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"A television campaign might reach three million people but maybe only </p><p>half the advertiser's target audience." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tribal DDB's Poon said advertisers' caution in making greater use of the </p><p>web is largely because the industry was still at an investment </p><p>phase. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Another problem is that websites are finding it difficult to create </p><p>loyal communities around them in the same way that print titles and </p><p>television programmes have done so. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, as internet penetration rates show exponential growth, the </p><p>crucial issue marketers are looking at is when will the digital medium </p><p>eventually become part of the mainstream media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>