Reading Materials 3

The materials that I've gone through so far kept on emphasising the importance of hedonic pleasure and interactivity in internet advertising. I wonder what does that mean.

The first two reports below addressed the fun and interactive factor by discussing about digital display formats and concluded that rich media with video is generally the most effective in terms of achieving advertising goals.

Sawyer (1994) also mentioned the importance of fun via "make them laugh" in his guideline for print advertising. Most of the principles are applicable to both media especially "you're not selling the product, you're selling the benefits" where the people's needs and preference are the highest priority of all. However, "if you have a good story to tell, tell it: don't be afraid of long copy" is something questionable in this information era. People tend to ignore wordy advertisements in newspapers unless the headline is attractive enough to make them continue reading, or, it is extremely long till it looks like an article rather than an advertisement. What is more when it comes to internet advertising? Nonetheless, this is still a useful guideline to assess the effectiveness of advertisements and will be used to analyse newspaper and internet advertisements in my future post. 

Guidelines for effective internet advertising
MediaMind. (2012) '7 Best Practices for Building A Smart Ad'. Best of Digital Report: Rich Media & Video. Malaysian Digital Association (MDA). pp. 9-15. [Online] Available at: http://www.digital.org.my/pdf/MDA_Digital_Booklet_First_Edition_Q3.pdf [Accessed: 13 December 2013].
- proposed a guideline for internet advertising:
  ~ use video which initiates automatically and matches with the site content
  ~ use richer, more visible ad formats/ synched ads
  ~ integrate exchanges into media buy


DoubleClick and Dynamic Logic. (2012) 'Better Brand Engagement with Display Formats'. Best of Digital Report: Rich Media & Video. Malaysian Digital Association (MDA). pp. 16-21. [Online] Available at: http://www.digital.org.my/pdf/MDA_Digital_Booklet_First_Edition_Q3.pdf [Accessed: 13 December 2013].
- concluded that:
  ~ greater frequencies improve aided brand awareness for all formats
  ~ rich media with video is the most effective format for building online ad awareness
  ~ greater frequencies improve online ad awareness for all formats
  ~ simple flash performs worst at affecting brand favourability and purchase intent
  ~ greater frequencies improve brand favourability for all formats
  ~ greater frequencies in rich media format improves purchase intent the most

- provided a guide on display formats by industries and goals

Guidelines for print advertising

Sawyer, P.W. (1994) 'Ten Principles of Effective Print Advertising'. In: Managing and Mastering Change: The Dynamics of Market, Advertising and Public Opinion. Toronto: Roper Starch. pp 67-91. [Online] Available at: http://www.positiveresponse.com/Starch10Principles.pdf [Accessed: 10 December 2013].

- a guideline for print advertising in 1994:

  ~ keep it simple

  ~ grab them by the eye

  ~ put on a show (being engaging)

  ~ make them laugh

  ~ appeal to appetites (the importance of consumer insights)

  ~ understand the value of good flow: if you lead them, their eyes will follow

  ~ when possible, heighten the contrast (either in content or form: consideration of design elements like colour, composition......)

  ~ don't leave them asking, "what the hell is that?": avoid ambiguity

  ~ if you have a good story to tell, tell it: don't be afraid of long copy

  ~ you're not selling the product, you're selling the benefits

** how many are still applicable in 2014? Are people still interested in reading long copies? If long copies are necessary, how can we make people read those copies? 

** is it suitable for internet advertising?

Reading Materials 2

I found a report showing the advertising media forecast for 2013-2017, so I'll just update the findings here. No major changes like previous reports though......

Here are also two reports studying the relationship between consumer attitude and internet advertising. One of Haque at al. (2007)'s conclusions is males have better response with internet advertisements mainly because it is convenient in information gathering and product purchasing. Kwek et al. (2010) pointed out that 'made in Malaysia' is also a consumer-favourable concept for internet advertising. It is possible to say that made in Malaysia male products are advisable to advertise and sell via the Internet? I wonder how frequent male products are advertised online, maybe I should find out more, maybe......

Below, a more detailed summary about the reports mentioned.

Advertising forecast

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). (2013) Malaysia entertainment and media outlook 2013: Customers and innovative in the Digital age. PwC. [Online] Available at: http://www.pwc.com/en_MY/my/assets/publications/entertainment-media-outlook-2013.pdf [Accessed: 10 December 2013].

- useful forecast related to newspaper publishing and advertising, internet advertising in Malaysia

   ~ internet advertising spend is expected to increase in future but it is still relatively small compared to newspaper advertising

   ~ relevant ways for the advertising industry to adapt to the emerging digital market: deliver personalised experience with engaging contents based on good understanding and analysis of customer insights

Internet advertising VS consumer attitude
Haque, A., Al Mahmid, S. and Farofder, A.K. et al. (2007) 'Internet Advertisement in Malaysia: A Study of Attitudinal Differences'. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. 31 (9). pp. 1-15. [Online] Available at: https://ejisdc.org/ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/viewFile/233/208 [Accessed: 10 December 2013].
- concluded that male internet users exhibit more positive beliefs about internet advertisements than females
- males prefer internet advertisements when compare with newspaper, magazine and radio advertising:
  ~ enjoyable, informative and useful for purchasing
  ~ reduces time to make purchasing decisions
  ~ doesn't require to purchase the product in person, physically
- suggested advertisements targeted to males to be placed on the internet, especially those with coupons, promotions and sweepstakes 
- emphasised the importance of being culturally sensitive and have advertisements in different languages in certain types of advertisement
- observed that Chinese use internet advertisement to gather information before buying while Malays favour internet advertisement for its convenience of shopping


Kwek, C.L., Tan, H.P. and Lau, T. C. (2010) The Determinants of Consumers' Attitude Towards Advertising. Canadian Social Science. 6 (4). pp. 114-126. [Online] Available at: http://cscanada.net/index.php/css/article/viewFile/1082/1101 [Accessed: 7 December 2013].
- suggested consumer-favourable advertising strategies:
  ~ credible, fun, informative, customer oriented and up to date
  ~ 'made in Malaysia' concept to evoke the feeling of helping the country's economy

Reading Materials 1

These are a few reports about internet advertising from other countries. I find their frameworks relevant and useful to answer my essay question.

Below are the frameworks modified into a Malaysian context.

Frameworks that I can make use of

AMAS Ltd. (2010) RTE Background document: Digital advertising and its impact on traditional publishers. [Online] Available at: http://amas.ie/wp-content/uploads/Digital-Advertising-and-Traditional-Publishers-_RTE-response-to-NNI-PRINT-VERSION_-Nov-16_FINAL.pdf [Accessed: 13 December 2013].
- a modified version to answer my question:

  ~ Malaysian audiences have moved online?

  ~ is there a global shift in advertising spend towards digital? + reasons to support

  ~ how is Malaysian digital advertising doing, competition with international digital distributors?

  ~ has it challenged Malaysian print advertising?

  ~ what strategies are taken to counter this trend?

  ~ conclusion: what opportunities and challenges are taken/ missed by print advertising in this information era

Digital Direction. (2010a) White Papers: Interactive Advertising - A new value chain. [Online] Available at: http://ddrxn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/INTERACTIVE-ADVERTISING-WHITE-PAPERS-PART-2.pdf [Accessed: 13 December 2013].
- another one:

  ~ overview of changes to the value chain

  ~ increase in consumer power

  ~ new opportunities and challenges for advertisers

  ~ media distributors - consolidation and fragmentation

  ~ advertising agencies - new structure and roles

  ~ advertising enablers - new intermediaries

Digital Direction. (2010b) White Papers: Interactive Advertising - the Singapore context. [Online] Available at:  http://ddrxn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/INTERACTIVE-ADVERTISING-WHITE-PAPERS-PART-3.pdf [Accessed: 13 December 2013].
- and another one:

  ~ advertising value chain in Malaysia

  ~ economic contribution from digital advertising and print advertising

  ~ current state of the advertising value chain

  ~ areas of strength (information, monetisation, education and talent, infrastructure and content)

  ~ areas of weakness (consumers, advertisers, media distributors, advertising agencies, advertising enablers)

So, I've Chosen Question 3

Following the previous post, I've decided to compare print advertising and internet advertising. I think I'll narrow down print advertising to newspaper advertising for a more control analysis.

I've found some reports about the two media. In general, advertisers are spending more on newspaper advertising and very little in internet advertising. Again, these reports showed that internet advertising is growing fast but relatively small in the advertising industry.

Below is the summary of materials I've analysed for now.

Useful statistics

Boardroom Research. (2011) 2011 Marketing Trends Report - Malaysia - Executive Summary. [Online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/boardroomresearch/2011-marketing-trends-report-malaysia-executive-summary [Accessed: 13 December 2013].

- marketers still prefer traditional media and the shift to non-traditional media may not come so soon

Ding J.A., Koh, L.C. and Surin, J.A. (2013) Mapping Digital Media: Malaysia. London: Open Society Foundations [Online] Available at: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping-digital-media-malaysia-20130617.pdf [Accessed: 10 December 2013].

- more statistics

   1. internet usage:

       ~ it's about time to arrange them according to time, relevance and importance

   2. "Internet usage is fairly high at about 65 percent of the population in 2010, with higher usage recorded among those aged 15–39."

       ~ considerations of advertising directions according to the target audience

   3. online VS print media

       ~ suggested reason: increased online news readers and reduced overall news readers

       ~ what are the measurements advertising agencies should take to cope with the changing trend?

       ~ is there a difference between print advertising in newspapers and advertising in online news sites (eg. Malaysiakini.com)?

   4. advertising in different media

       "Although internet advertising is growing, advertising in newspapers remains a traditional first choice for many advertisers, although the next generation of media planners may shift their advertising consumption patterns."

       ~ suggested reason: internet advertising can be more versatile and deliver more targeted information to audiences

       "Although internet advertising has increased, funding for exclusively online news publications from advertising remains in a precarious position as it has been going to international search engines or social media sites such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, and MSN."

       ~ supporting reason:

          ** note that no online news sites are in the Top 10 List

       ~ the decision of choosing which advertising media depends on the people's media preference (who and how many read newspapers/ surf the internet/ use online mobile devices, which sites do they normally visit?)

       

       "Digitization has prompted changes in the sense that newspapers can no longer rely on single platforms to deliver their content, but must be present on multiple platforms."

        ~ same goes to advertising

Restorm My Brain on Question 3

Question 3: Briefly trace the arrival of the Internet to Malaysia, analyse recent reports on the current state of the web in our country, and present the findings that may have the most impact on your field of practice.

Here is my new mind map for Question 3. The history of Internet in Malaysia remains as part of the essay while the rest focuses more on analysing internet advertising.

Generally, Internet usage is high in Malaysia and internet advertising is expected to grow in future. Having said that, why internet advertising is still low when compared to other advertising media?

Various problems of internet advertising were identified by Abdul Rahim and Osman (2001) while other studies revealed new advertising trends and suggested ways to improve in internet advertising.

Research shows that internet users prefer advertisements which are personalised and interactive. Thus, advertisements in this information era are not just required to be informative and attention grabbing anymore. Advertising agencies need to understand more about the people's needs and preference. An obvious example would be pop-ups: they grab attention, but in an annoying way. Is it not what the advertising agencies want to show to the people, but what the people want to see in advertisements.

Below are the reading materials I've read so far, accompanied with a short conclusion and some insights.

** I think I am a little lost, I seem to be doing more on marketing rather than graphic design......

History
Ramadass, S. and Osman, A. (2013a) 'Malaysia: Snapshot of the Internet around 1990'. In: Chon, K. (ed.) An Asia Internet History - First Decade (1980-1990). Seoul: Seoul National University Press. [Online] Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/internethistoryasia/book1/Malaysia-snapshot [Accessed: 25 November 2013].
- detailed history of the internet and Malaysia (JARING, TM, DSL broadband, wireless broadband)

Ramadass, S. and Osman, A. (2013b) 'A History of the formation of the Malaysian Internet: Part 2'. In: Chon, K. (ed.) An Asia Internet History - Second Decade (1991-2000): Focusing on Internet Organizations. Seoul: Seoul National University Press. [Online] Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/archiveasiainternethistory/home/2section10.5malaysia.docx?attredirects=0 [Accessed: 25 November 2013].

- more on organisations (MSC, IPv6)

Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC). (2004) 'The Internet in Malaysia'. Apster. APNIC Newsletter. 9 February. p.1. [Online] Available at: https://www.apnic.net/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/27920/apster9-200402.pdf [Accessed: 25 November 2013].

Current status

Malaysian Communication & Multimedia Commission (MCMC). (2009) Advertising Development in Malaysia: Catching Eyeballs in Changing Media. Cyberjaya: MCMC. p. 32. [Online] Available at: http://www.market- http://www.skmm.gov.my/skmmgovmy/files/attachments/Ad_Dev_Malaysia.pdf [Accessed: 8 December 2013].

- is it possible for internet and mobile advertising to be the next trend in future?

Malaysian Communication & Multimedia Commission (MCMC). (2012) 'An overview of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia (C&M) Industry'. Presentation slides. In: Opportunities of Partnership with Telecom and Broadcast French Companies. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia. 24 September 2012.  [Online] Available at: http://www.market- http://www.ubifrance.com/medias/press/mcmc-overview-of-malaysian-communication-and-broadcast-industry-24.09.2012_3_10_2012_19_24.pdf [Accessed: 6 December 2013].

- a general status on how Malaysia is doing in the communications and multimedia industry

Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (AAAA). (2011) Malaysia Advertising Expenditure Report (February 2011). [Online] Available at: http://www.aaaa.org.my/index.php/resources/nielsen/193 [Accessed: 8 December 2013].

- why is it so low for internet????

Internet advertising

Teo, B. K. and Wong Jin Nee & Teo. (2010) 'What is Branding in e-Commerce Context?' In: Ramasamy, R. (eds.) ICT Strategic Review 2010/11: e-Commerce for Global Reach. Selangor: The National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM). pp. 163-176. [Online] Available at: http://www.market-eagles.com/pdf/ICT2010_11_Fullset_08092010.pdf#page=99  [Accessed: 6 December 2013].

- branding in e-commerce context: INTERACTIVITY and EXPERIENCE

- brand protection in the internet: trade mark law, constant monitoring of potential brand abuse

- the importance of understanding the users' needs and respond to them with flexibility and creativity

Abdul Rahim, M.H. and Osman, M.N. (2001) 'Internet advertising: problems and prospects in Malaysia'. Jurnal Komunikasi; Malaysian Journal of Communication. 17. pp. 159-173. [Online] Available at: http://journalarticle.ukm.my/4746/1/V17_2.pdf [Accessed: 6 December 2013].

- problems of internet advertising: 

  ~ ethical implications: to disseminate valid information

  ~ lack of clear identification of web advertising: depending on the content

  ~ lack of publicity: strategic marketing plan, convenient link system

  ~ advertisement language: ?? to advertise in native language

  ~ lack of sufficient space: the necessity of attention grabbing ads

  ~ limited outreach: behaviours of the general internet users VS potential audience

  ~ poor accessibility: ? internet booth and guides for new internet users

- advantages of internet advertising:

  ~ 24 hour advertising time, e-shopping

- information era: to accept its presence and to evaluate the reliability of internet information

Yaakop, A.Y., Anuar, M.M. and Omar, K. et al. (2012) 'Consumers' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Advertising on Facebook in Malaysia'. In: World Business and Economics Research Conference. Auckland: New Zealand. 10-11 December 2012. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). [Online] Available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2183787 [Accessed: 7 December 2013].

- 3 significant factors influencing consumers' perceptions and attitudes towards advertising on Facebook (social networking sites) in Malaysia: 

  ~ perceived interactivity: advertisement appears on every page, cookies

  ~ advertising avoidance: interruption of task, perceived clutter on internet sites, negative past experience

  ~ privacy

- ** credibility is not a significant factor

- the importance of understanding Facebook users perceive advertisements and making advertising decisions

Qaffas, A.A., Cristea, A. I. and Shi, L. (2013) 'Is Adaptation of E-Advertising the Way Forward?' In: Proceedings of 2013 IEEE Conference on eLearning, e-Management and e-Services. Kuching: Sarawak. 2-4 December 2013. IEEE Computer Society (IC3e). [Online] Available at: http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~acristea/lei/alaa-ic3e2013.pdf [Accessed: 6 December 2013].

- businesses: personalised advertising maximises effectiveness and profit

- internet users prefer adaptive ads 

  ~ to provide some level of personalisation, eg. more information of interest

  ~ design considerations: to avoid pop-ups in front od the user window, information that loads slowly and have no "close' button; closeness gestalt principle; ads to be placed on the left of the screen for language with left-to right reading direction

  ~ bandwidth: video format VS text format

- proposed AEADS to meet both internet users' and businesses needs

Truong, Y, McColl, R. and Kitchen, P. (2010) 'Practitioners' perceptions of advertising strategies for digital media'. International Journal of Advertising. 29(5). pp. 709-725. [Online] Available at: http://web.efzg.hr/dok/MAR/vskare/kolegiji/im/materijali/Practitioners_perceptions_of_advertising_strategies_for_digital_media.pdf [Accessed: 7 December 2013].

- 5 trends:

  ~ towards permission-based advertising

  ~ higher levels of personalised ads

  ~ more three screen advertising campaigns

  ~ increased interactivity level

  ~ development of performance-based metrics

- ** advertising campaigns combining traditional and new media increase audience reach and consumer involvement (traditional: building general awareness, new: attract smaller but more 'reactive' audiences with similar behaviour and interests)

Mobile advertising

Chi, C.W., Vaithilingam, S and Nair, M. (2011) 'Factors Influencing Mobile Advertising Adoption in Malaysia: an Empirical Study'. In: Knowledge Globalization Conference. Boston: Massachusetts. 16-17 October 2011. Massachusetts: Knowledge Globalization Institute. pp. 86-99. [Online] Available at: http://www.kglobal.org/files/PROCEEDINGS_2011-bosJan_2-3-2012.pdf#page=85 [Accessed: 7 December 2013].

- the 2 strongest factors influencing customers adoption of mobile advertising in Malaysia:

  ~ perceived usefulness: personalising mobile-ads based on customers' perceived usefulness, eg. value added services, useful information for new subscribers 

  ~ social influence: advertisers could promote that accepting mobile-ads is trendy, eg. celebrity endorsers, reference group to specific target audience

___________________________________________________________
Feedback:
- timeline is ok

- try to find 2 reports about the internet and see how it influenced the graphic design industry (are both of them supporting/ contradicting each other??)

- BE SPECIFIC (eg. internet advertising/ publishing..)

- if possible, try to find out more about print ad, how is it doing in the information era?

- a suggestion: e-books VS print books