Buoyed by multiple merits of online advertising, not the least of which is massive reach often without being limited by various boundaries, that are often unachievable by traditional advertising in publications distributed via mail, Internet advertising has continued to grow at a double-digit rate this year, bucking the downtrend in the overall advertising market.

The Internet Advertising and Media Association of Taipei (IAMA) estimates that Taiwan’s online ad market will grow 14.9% to NT$6.87 billion (US$208 million, at US$1=NT$33) in 2009, including NT$4.37 billion (US$132 million) for banner ads and NT$2.49 billion (US$75.5 million) for key-word ads, up 12.35% and 19.73%, respectively, a remarkable performance compared with the languid state of the five major traditional ad media (TV, newspaper, magazine, radio broadcast, and outdoor media), whose total ad revenue plunged 15.7% year-on-year to NT$18.4 billion (US$558 million) in the first-half.

Targeted Marketing
C.M. Chen, general manager of the media business group, Yahoo!Kimo, remarks that growing numbers of advertisers have embraced online ads, to achieve “targeted marketing.” Still, insiders believe there exists huge potential in the untapped online ad market, especially considering that often-crowded urban environments, trite publications of all kinds, and more leisure time tend to force consumers to spend more time indoor to surf the Internet.

The rosy projections by the IAMA is not mere hype. One of the major online advertisers is online gaming firms, which spent NT$510 million (US$15.5 million) in the first half, double a year earlier. Construction firms and realty brokers are also major online advertisers, reflecting their faith in the continued upturn of the real estate market this year.

Key-word Ads
Key-word ads appear to be catching up quickly to banner ads, the mainstream form of online ads. The volume of key-word ads jumped 30.6% last year and will continue to leap 19.7% to NT$2.49 billion this year.

Yahoo!Kimo reports that the most popular key words used by advertisers and browsers in the first-half was “house renting,” which has retained the lead for three years running. Gaming-related keywords also featured prominently on the list of the top-10 most-favored key words, including “small game” (2nd place), “game paradise” (third place), “online game” (fifth place), and “games with great fun” (10th place). Also included on the list are “court-auction homes,” “second-hand cars,” and “gold prices,” all reflecting the consequences of the global downturn.

Savvy Approach
Industry insiders note that online ads have become increasingly savvy, including using techniques that enhance the entertainment factor, sometimes believed to be a smart approach especially in upscale, sophisticated communities that may be jaded. Interactive ads is one such example of a way to engage consumers by upping the amusement quotient; while online communities as blogs and Facebook are other innovative ways to keep amused, especially the Y-generation and Net geeks, and hence ease tension to help build appetite to consume.

Helping to build a credible, practical frame of reference for potential online advertisers, especially helpful amid the growing importance of Internet ads, Nielsen Taiwan recently released the “Nielsen Online Market Intelligence,” which are online ad statistics based on monitoring of traffic at major portals and focus-group websites.