NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> Advertising in Shanghai, International
ONLINE-ADS>> Advertising in Shanghai, International
Suzan Nolan (bluesky_at_club-internet.fr)
Wed, 02 Jul 1997 16:24:09 +0200
Hello all,
Mark Dolley <mark_at_zapworks.com> on 25 Jun 97 12:58:00 wrote
in response to Phil Ren and Josh McCormack about advertising to markets
outside the U.S. and gave his impressions about why *some* U.S.-based
sites weren't interested in reaching audiences outside the U.S.
I'm curious to know if it's a simple but pervasive view that *only*
Americans are a worthwhile audience (to offer advertisers) as he
indicates many sites believe, or if anyone has another experience with
*their* advertisers wanting (or not) to reach other markets, like Canada
or Japan or Europe or South America or wherever?
For those who lost the thread,
Phil Ren <philrenc_at_online.sh.cn>, from China, wrote on 20 Jun 1997
11:25:09
>>> I am waiting someone interested in online advertising in developing
>>> countries, don't forget they are huge markets.
and was answered by
Josh McCormack,jmccormack_at_scholastic.com who wrote on 6/24/97 4:00 PM:
>>Not only are the international markets huge, but do to the high cost of
>>Internet access in many countries outside of North America and Europe
>>the demographic can be tremendous...<snip>...What might be the greatest
>>problem is convincing potential advertisers of the merit of targeting
>>groups outside of the US.<snip>
Mark Dolley <mark_at_zapworks.com> wrote on 25 Jun 97 12:58:00
>You can surf at the Sheraton in New Delhi for 800 rupees an hour
>or $22.34. Using one of the DTP machines
>with a Net connection at Kinko's costs $24.00 / hour.
>But I'm not being entirely fair, and certainly home access is very
>expensive in Japan, Germany, Thailand and other places where Government
>regulations stink. <snip> You must also bear in mind the
>comparatively low levels of penetration for domestic PCs outside the US
>(with the exception of Scandinavian countries).
>We advertise in all the Internet cafes around the world with web site
>banners on mousepads.<snip> In our experience, there are web sites with a
>global
>service or looking to become a global brand. <snip> However, some websites in
>particular only want to advertise in the US as they feel this is the
>market they should be offering in turn to *their* advertisers.
It seems to me that for advertisers to be able to exploit the fact that
the web reaches consumers world-wide relatively cheaply, the key is to
be able to quantify and qualify the value (merit) of audiences outside
the U.S. in familar terms: terms such as education, income level, buying
habits, psychographics, etc. However, it's important to measure the
audience's value in such terms relative to that market and not only in
direct comparison to the U.S. Sheer quantity doesn't always equal
absolute quality.
I believe the point Mr. McCormack was trying to make above is that 800
rupees is a heck of a lot of money in India (although it may be chump
change for Mr. Dolley) and the websters spending it are a worthwhile
target. They might be good enough for Avon or GM or some mail-order
house, in fact. If it's the equivalent of reaching a relatively upscale
audience with money to burn, like the kind of audience that reads Cigar
magazine, I imagine many advertisers would be happy to reach them with a
banner or a mousepad or whatever. But then I've got a direct marketing
background and I'm as interested in cost-per-objective results as CPM.
Valuable branding can happen in either case, if we're smart about it.
When you realize that thanks to the minitel (which although primitive
does qualify as a vehichle for on-line commerce and generates about $1.2
billion in revenue) 20% of the French population of 50 million people
has bought something like train or plane tickets on-line compared to
less than 1% of the American population, and that these 10 million
people all have smart cards that are in SET testing as we speak, well,
it makes you think for a minute. Like, Gee, maybe I should try to
make it a little easier for them to buy MY stuff, since they already buy
lots of stuff on-line. Even if there are fewer than a million Frenchies
on the Internet today - the rate of web growth is increasing and they
are pretty affluent consumers. And they've got those smart cards. If
only they spoke English...and wore cowboy boots. (Just kidding,
President Clinton...) They do wear Levis, and Nikes, and Timberlands and
stuff from L.L. Bean, and, well, so do a lot of other consumers who
aren't in America.
Mr. Nabil M. El-Khodari" <fits_at_servtech.com> pointed out on 25 Jun
>- Industry Canada has identified that failure to speak to the target
>audience in their own language is one of the 10 top causes of failure of
>international trade. This may be a selling point to advertisers.
Mais oui. I'd like to hear the experiences of others like Mr. Ren in
China and Mr. Nabil M. El-Khodari and Mr. McCormack and Mr. Dolley and
all who are reaching beyond physical and mental borders to make the web
local AND world wide, and who are working to get their advertisers in on
the ground floor of developing markets. I know the U.S. market keeps
everyone pretty darned busy, but I'd hate to think we were failing our
clients. What do you think?
Cheers,
Suzan Nolan
P.S. If you want some fun facts to know & tell your clients about the
U.S. and other international markets, you'll find some on
http://www.blueskyinc.com/keyfind.htm
--
Suzan Nolan tel: +331.46.05.90.75
suzan_at_blueskyinc.com fax: +331.46.05.91.40
bluesky international marketing
Paris, France & Portland, Oregon
http://www.blueskyinc.com
Global - Local - Cross-Cultural
