Businessline
Islamabad
May 28, 2001
The Internet is having an obvious impact on the promotional aspect of the marketing mix. FMCG companies can now use the Internet as a major form of promotional media. There are even on-line marketing firms which cater especially for FMCG companies. The internet is an attractive promotional tool, even for products traditionally pushed through point-of-sale material as it: can generate leads on customer behaviour; can be used to hard-sell to and cash in on consumers; it allows companies to customise their promotions depending on the profile of consumers being targeted; it can be used to translate consumer curiosity into sales. The Internet provides the opportunity to measure the effectiveness of advertisements as tracking devices can be used to record the number of ‘clicks’ made into a site. FMCG companies can also use the interactivity of the Internet to generate a database and gauge consumer interest in a product. In the USA 30% of all on-line advertising is done by FMCG companies, the trend is catching on in other countries such as India as they realise the huge opportunities which advertising on the Internet provides.