Screen presence

Online initiatives are forming an important part of marketing strategies.

Try this at home: type "search" on google.com and and click "I'm feeling lucky". Within seconds, you will be staring at arch rival live.com's search site. If instead you decide to scan the results of the search, you will find google.com is only second on its own list. It's no trick "" search engine optimisation allows website owners to control the number and quality of its visitors.

More importantly, it is a clever tool that more and more companies (not just Microsoft) are realising holds tremendous marketing potential.

Online marketing strategies have changed significantly from the pop-up and banner ads that were the gold standard until just a couple of years ago. And, as marketers become increasingly innovative in their approach to the Internet, the online advertising category is reaping the benefits.

From Rs 42 crore in 2003-04, the market grew to Rs 162 crore in 2005-06, a 52 per cent increase over the previous year (Source: Internet and Mobile Association of India). It is likely to cross Rs 220 crore this year.

It is not just the size that's changed "" even the nature of online marketing is evolving, as different industries try their hand at attracting Internet viewers.

Until 2002-03, the market was dominated by financial services and information technology companies, who accounted for 35 and 16 per cent respectively, of all online advertising.

Other key sectors were online services (such as matrimonial sites and job portals) and travel and ticketing sites.

Now, other industries have thrown their hats in the ring "" telecom and entertainment, consumer goods and automobiles are all active in the online space.
 

SURF'S UP: MEDIA HABITS
Hours a week	TV	Radio	Internet	Newspaper
20+	13	5	42	-
11-20	29	8	25	-
5-10	35	20	22	49 (5+ hrs)
<5	20	50	10	33
<3	-	-	-	16

"Companies are taking note of the increase in Internet users that India has witnessed. Earlier, there were 2 million users and some 20 companies advertising; today there are hundreds of companies because India now has close to 37 million users,"points out Subho Ray, president, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Media experts agree. "Online marketing is seeing an increase, thanks to investments from a wide section of advertisers,"says Meenakshi Madhvani, managing partner of media auditing firm Spatial Access Solutions.

There is one clear reason why companies across sectors are waking up to the web "" the increasing number of Internet users in the country and the increase in the time spent by users.

Compared to 13 per cent of television viewers and 5 per cent of radio listeners who spend more than 20 hours a week on the medium, over 42 per cent of Internet users claim to spend that much time on the Net. Clearly, that's a market waiting to be tapped.

But the increased exposure to the Internet also means that these are consumers who aren't likely to be swayed by run-of-the-mill banner ads and sponsored links. Internet marketing needs to be sophisticated and innovative. Here is what some companies are doing.

Seek and retrieve
In August 2006, research conducted by Pinstorm and IAMAI found that in a month, Internet users in India make 1 billion search requests. The results for 308 million requests were accompanied by sponsored links "" of which, only 4.8 million were clicked even once (mostly ticketing, hotel reservation and financial services sites).

To be fair, a huge number of searches are aimed at specific photographs, video clips, reports or games and, in these cases, sponsored links don't help. But clearly, sponsored links isn't a winning solution.

But there has to be some way of cashing in on the billion-plus search requests, and on the insight that nine times out of 10, surfers opt for a search engine to guide them to the websites they are seeking. Enter search engine optimisation (SEO). Companies are forking out fees of anywhere from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh to Internet and multimedia agencies, who work on over 250 parameters such as keyword popularity, regular information uploads and so on, to ensure that the company information appears in the first 10 pages of the search.

Companies like Marico, Madison, Hero Honda and financial service portal sharekhan.com have all used SEOs to increase traffic at their sites.

For instance, when consumer goods company Marico launched its "Uncommon Sense"campaign in March 2006, it also revamped its website, which now shows up in the search results for "uncommon", "sense", "innovation" and "healthy oil", apart from the to-be-expected Marico and Parachute. The result: visitor count went up 40 per cent.

Yahoo India Managing Director George Zacharia points out the search marketing and advertising on graphic content "" advertising on games "" are the fastest-growing sectors in the US and the UK. It's catching up in India too "" estimates place the SEO market at around Rs 50 crore and growing faster than banner advertising. Marketing experts add a caveat: SEO strategies may drive traffic to your company's website, but they won't keep them there, unless your website makes it worth their while.

Viral fever
If SEO doesn't help in brand building, what does? Viral marketing websites and email campaigns, say marketing experts. Consider travel portal makemytrip.com.

In September 2005, the company launched a viral marketing campaign to coincide with its first TV ad "" three short, animated films that promoted its air tickets' offer.

The success of pass-alongs is measured by the number of times they are forwarded: two clips were forwarded over 5,000 times in the first week of their launch, while the third had been sent to over 8,000 people within 10 days.

Last January, the company launched another three clips, in time for its second TV campaign. Points out rediff.com Vice President, marketing, Manish Agarwal, "Word-of-mouth and virals work very well on the Internet."

Pass-alongs and short clips are fun to watch and forward but they also serve an important purpose "" they are an excellent way of interacting with a target audience.

Points out Farokh Balsara, media and entertainment practice leader, Ernst & Young India, "Ads on the Internet can be focused at niches and be easily measured." Prasad Narasimhan, vice president, marketing, TVS Motors, agrees.

In January 2006, TVS launched a website for its new motorcycle, the TVS Apache. Aimed at youngsters in the 18-22 year age bracket, the site allowed bikers to blog, communicate and post their comments on the Apache. TVS claims to have received more than 170,000 online enquiries on the bike.

Consumer products giant Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) has attempted something similar with its gangofgirls initiative centred on Sunsilk hair products.

Launched in 2006, the website offers features like a makeover machine, blogs, movie reviews and even a parade ground for displays of members' talents. HLL claims the site has more than 524,000 members. Explains a company spokesman, "Online advertising gives the exclusive advantage of reaching to a specific consumer group."

In most cases, online marketing initiatives are accompanied by on-ground promotions as well. Even in the online space, most companies ensure their links are advertised on heavy-traffic websites.

While HLL advertised its gangofgirls on rediff.com, TVS stuck to user review sites like mouthshut.com. Marico's advertising for Parachute Advansed cream in September 2006 is another example.

During the India-Australia-West Indies triangular one-day cricket series, the company tied up with Yahoo, which was streaming web casts of the matches. The podcasts of the matches also carried ads for the new product.

Over five days, Marico claims the ad received 9.5 million clicks, of which 240,000 visitors spent close to 11 minutes on its site. It's not just Marico that's pleased with the result. Declares Yahoo's Zacharia, "Since we have a very huge and diversified portfolio of consumers, we are a must for most company that go online."

Playing for keeps
The trouble with pass-alongs is that they don't encourage repeat visitors to a site. What companies need, ideally, is a way to engage the customer with their brand for an extended period and in such a way that he comes back for more. That's easier said than done. Most surfers are looking for entertainment when they come online "" they don't want spiels on various brands.

Which is why some companies are shifting the war for the consumer's attention to battlegrounds he will recognise. Their weapon of choice? Advergaming. Many companies offer free online games "" on their websites or on popular gaming sites "" in a subtle attempt to build product/ service awareness and brand recognition. It's a strategy that's becoming increasingly popular.

Explains contests2win COO Raj Menon, "Companies are using contests for tactical purposes such as new brand launches. They use banners to drive traffic to these contests or websites and once the consumer comes there, they use games to explain product attributes and educate the consumer on the brand."

In 2006, gaming sites like contests2win.com and hungama.com have hosted free games sponsored by L'Oreal, Coke, Aviva and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

Says Pranab Mishra,vice-president products, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, "Through games we tried to relate our message to people's lives by leaving subtle messages in the storyboard."It isn't the only financial services company that took the fun route to engaging with its target group. UTI Bank, too, launched a game created by contests2win when it launched its new product "priority banking".

Says Manju Srivatsa, senior vice-president, UTI Bank, "The quality of the interaction and its well targeted approach justifies the slightly higher cost per person."But, interestingly, it didn't try to drive traffic to the game from within the site, choosing instead to advertise on rediff and yahoo.

"The profile on gaming sites didn't match our target audience, as we were targeting the mass affluent customer,"explains Srivatsa. Needless to say, advergaming isn't restricted to products and services "" it's even being used to promote new films. Bollywood movies like Don and Baghban, too, have games on the Internet.

And just in case you were curious: typing "search" on live.com does not direct you to google.com, but to search.in. Searching there takes you to ask.com "" at which point, we decided to give up our search.