The Hindu Business Line : Online advertising `clicks'

FLIRTATIOUS snake charmer, Shah Rukh Khan enticed Pepsi bottles in the new commercial that was debuted on the Net before hitting the television screens; now the online companies are trying to cast the same spell on advertisers.

Internet, which was so far dismissed as a niche medium for advertising, is now becoming popular among media planners who are convincing companies to reach out to customers through personalised and customised online campaigns. The online ad market is expected to touch Rs 162 crore by March 2006, up from Rs 107 crore recorded last year with several new categories such as automobiles and consumer goods using the platform.

B2C e-commerce sales: According to Ms Preeti Desai, President of Internet and Mobile Association of India, "These numbers will get further support from Business to Consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales, which crossed Rs 570 crore last year and is projected to be at Rs 1,180 crore for 2005-06."

Mr Sundar Raman, General Manager, MindShare, said that there is no uncertainty about the medium any more. "The Internet players have matured and fly-by-night operators have been pushed out of the market, lending a stability to the platform. We are recommending the medium to most of our clients."

Focussed group: Unlike the mass channels, advertising on the Net allows companies to reach out to a focused group of consumers. The fact that most of the Internet users fall in the 20-40 years age bracket and prefer to read about the product online before making a purchase decision, helps.

Also Internet facilitates an "extended dialogue" with viewers. For instance, against an average dialogue window of 30 seconds in a traditional media, net ads can provide an extended dialogue of six minutes including the time taken to do research on the Net, download information, leave behind their own information, and conclude a transaction.

Convergence: "With convergence, millions of consumers will have mobile handsets that can access rich media content and services from the Internet making this a very potent medium for the advertisers," said Mr Jasmeet Singh, Vice-President - Product Marketing, Rediff.com.

Going forward, search ads would gain prominence as it allows companies with smaller ad budgets to reach out to targeted set of customers in a more focused manner, said Mr Ratish Nair, COO, Internet Communications Company, Media Turf.

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