Web Advertising

Web advertising, not to mention the Internet itself, finds itself in a stage of relative infancy and therefore provides marketers with novel challenges and situations which need to be dealt with caution . The realm of Web advertising is unchartered terri tory! In terms of South Africa, the country finds itsef somewhat behind technologically. However, this may not prove to be a disadvantage as the uncertain nature of Web advertising may make a policy of 'watching and learning' most viable. What implications will this new technology have for marketing? What is the nature of Web advertising? How can a business use the medium effectively ? Where is all this going ? These questions appear to be most pertinent in the process of understanding interact ive marketing on the Internet. The qualified opinion of John Matthee, a Web site designer employed by Adept Internet (an Internet service provider), was sought in accumulation of a large sum of the following data. This seems appropriate as the novelty of Web advertising at this stage h as led to generral lack of academic data in the practicalities of advertising via this medium. 2) THE INTERNET: AN INTRODUCTION 2.1) Original development of the Internet What was originally created by the US military to provide a secure means of communication in case of nuclear war, which has now become known as the Internet, has metamorphosed into the strategic global communications tool of our era. The end of the cold w ar left this massive installed structure - initially dubbed ARPANET- without much of a purpose. Soon universities, major corporations and governments began to piggyback on to the global framework, extending its reach and commercialising it. Known as the N et to aficionados, the Availability of cheap, accessible and easy-to-use Net access points throughout the world has seen the number of global Internet users increase dramatically each month. While the convenience of electronic mail was initial catalyst for Internet growth world wide, it's the emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) multimedia interface that has captured the attention of prospective users across the globe. The resources available on the WWW are as varied as they are extensive. There hundreds of thousands of sites which can be broadly categorised under topics such as sport, entertainment, finance and many more (Perlman, 1996).

2.2) Development of Internet in South Africa Perlman (1996, p 29) ventured that 'South Africa is major global Internet player. It currently rates in the top 15 in the world terms of Internet growth rates.' Local user numbers are certainly fueled by universities, companies and schools. The genesis of South Africa's rapid Internet growth seems to stem from UniNet, the Internet service offered to the countries major tertiary institutions and steered from Rhod es University. This explains the phenomenon whereby the majority of local Internet entrepreneurs - many of them are under thirty and already multi-millionaires - come from tertiary education backgrounds where they were weaned on readily available Internet access. Popular 'browser' client software for navigating the multimedia WWW includes Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. On the other end, there exist approximately 30 local companies which call themselves ISP's (Internet Service Providers), which operate in similar fashion to a cellular company such as Vodacom, providing either dial-up connections to the Internet and/or leased line connectivity to companies. This has led to the explosion of a number of related ventures, such as companies who speci alise in producing multimedia web pages (such as Adept Internet), Internet commerce, cable companies and modem suppliers (Perlman, 1996). 2.3) Technological Implications for Marketing Joseph (1996, p. 29) concisely described the situation as such: ' Marketing, like most business disciplines, is undergoing a period of change as a direct result of the information revolution. The rapidly declining costs of and increasing power of information processing technology is altering the in which customers and businesses relate to each other. Marketers, however should be cautious not to attempt a quantum leap from more traditional meth ods as this is sure to bring issues such as lack expertise to the fore which could prove disastrous (Steyn, 1996). Essentially, the point is that as a marketing drive, the additional services supplied by technology provides the marketer with the opportunity to gain an edge in the race to win the consumer. More and more, new technology appears to be focusing on the add ition of value. On an individual level, for example, the marketer may use the technology to make himself more accessible to the consumer thus adding to his service levels. A company may realise added value by investing in expensive multimedia kiosks which introduce the subject of interactive marketing (Joseph, 1996). The emergence of new and revolutionary technology forms a double-bladed sword, as it can represent both an opportunity and a threat to the business. In particular, this technology places an interesting and novel challenge on the shoulders of the modern da y marketer. The failure to utilise these developments can put the business at a great competitive disadvantage while even the practical application of the technology can provide major problems caused simply by the novelty of the options, a general lack of expertise and the difficulty of accurate prediction (David, 1997). The process must begin with the individual himself. A marketer who is not pushing the bounds of personal technological progression is most likely not inclined to do the same for the company (Joseph, 1996). Joseph (1996, p.29) concluded that 'The Internet, multi-faceted appliances and even the creation of new applications for old technology are all the domain of the marketing visionary.' 3) THE INTRODUCTION OF INTERACTIVE MARKETING ON THE INTERNET Internationally, the Internet medium is successfully selling everything from nuts and bolts to motorcars, property and traditional mail order products. A pertinent question that arises is: 'What forces led to either the accidental emergence of interactive marketing on the internet or the realisation of a need for the development of an alternative marketing medium that satisfied specific consumer or marketer needs?' Steyn (1996, p.13) introduces the concept of interactive marketing through the words:'Interactive marketing uses new technologies to overcome practical database and direct marketing problems whilst building more rewarding customer relationships'.

From the marketers' point of view, interactivity, is the convergence of three main advertising functions or activities: direct marketing, sales promotion and conventional above the line advertising. The developments allowed by interactive marketing throug h the Internet