RE: UKNM: Fast Summit

[Steve Andrews (home)]

The net needs true credibility, followed by inevitable penetration, with the

average consumer.  This it doesn't have!


I guess we can look at Channel 4 and the Sky channels for clues (wet finger

in air) as to when an audience figure and the associated demographic is

acceptable enough for the advertisers to "pile in" wholesale.  In the UK and

Europe at the moment, there just isn't sufficient internet usage penetration

of the traditional FMCG audience.


Be it as it may, we on this circulation are all speaking from middle-class,

relatively affluent, "nice house in Chertsey" positions.  Allied to which we

all have pretty in-depth knowledge and experience of the medium.  My dustman

doesn't; my milkman doesn't - and doesn't want to understand until the

mechanism for delivery of the medium is as simple as teletext:  free,

one-click, preferably seamless with something safe like TV, instant and

interactive.  When we have that, then the masses jump in and then the FMCG

boys will really motor.


Presumably P&G, and their advisers, know this, which puts them in the same

boat as everyone else who isn't in the pure "business to business" arena:

finding that killer app!  So they dress it up with the same tired rhetoric,

smoke and mirrors just to look busy.  My bet is that they are just treading

water, waiting for something more tangible, something that fits into their

traditional model.


Steve Andrews

Stevewnbc [dot] co [dot] uk

-----Original Message-----

From:

ownerchinwag [dot] com

 [

ownerchinwag [dot] com (mailto:ownerchinwag [dot] com)

] On Behalf Of Nick Suckley

Sent:	Tuesday, September 15, 1998 6:04 PM

To:	UK Net Marketing

Subject:	UKNM: Fast Summit


In my opinion P&G is driving Fast for one reason and one reason

only...the benefit of P&G - so in that respect I would say it's

*exactly* the same as what they did with telly in the 50s. Something

along the lines of "Well, we've got this new thing, we don't exactly

know what to do with it but we're sure as hell going to drive it the way

we want!"


I don't want to state the obvious but the potential of any medium is

defined by its audience - the fact that the online audience is

measurably big enough (and made up of the right type of consumers) to


attract the interest of P&G is great news as it lends credibility and

value to online media.


I think their approach is less flawed as much as biased toward what's

important to large FMCG advertisers. Remember, P&G's success was built

on "traditional" mass advertising so it's inevitable that's the starting

point. With audiences fragmenting though, I wonder whether old dogs can

learn new tricks!


Nick


Suckley Media

Independent media planning for the net

nick [dot] suckleyvirgin [dot] net

0171 286 2575


<Thanks Rick>