Internet advertising gains currency

Internet is emerging as one of the preferred medium of advertising. Consider this: media spends on internet have almost doubled, from Rs 42 crore to Rs 79 crore, over the last year, in India.

Preeti Desai, president of Internet and Online Association of India said, "The potential is humungous. With multifold increase in internet usage in India, advertisers have started identifying this medium as an integral part of their marketing plans. Internet advertising is estimated to cross Rs 100 crore by the first half of the next year."

There are around 2.2 crore Indians using the internet and the numbers are expected to shoot up to over 10 crore by 2007, Desai added.

Desai was one of the key panelists at an entertainment, media and marketing forum""EM2""organised by the Film Producers Guild of India in Mumbai. According to Desai, the entertainment industry is poised to touch Rs 41,900 crore by 2007.

SN Bhaduri, head of sales at MSN India, said, "Entertainment is one of the most popular destination on the net. The most popular downloads from the website are film and television related." Around 12,000 Indians took part in movie and entertainment-related contests in the last one year, Bhaduri added.

According to a study conducted by the US-based independent research organisation, cyberspace today plays a key role in the box-office success of movies unlike in the past when it was all about trailers poster and word-of-mouth publicity.

For instance, in the US, more filmgoers than ever are buying movie tickets, reading reviews, viewing trailers and exploring interactive content online. The trend is fast catching on in India, media and entertainment industry officials said.