Internet changes marine world

by Rob Kothe on 9 Jun 2006 For special interest groups, the Internet is now the dominant information source worldwide. Online news has become a major information source for mainstream news, this change in consumer behaviour has moved much more rapidly in the marine world.

Sydney to Hobart veteran Rupert Murdoch recently reminded the print world … ‘A new generation of media consumers has risen demanding content delivered when they want it, how they want it, and very much as they want it.’

As Internet Search Engine giant Google explains, ‘online ad growth is being fuelled by a sea-change shift to Internet marketing from print and broadcast.

‘The Internet is changing the way people are accessing information, particularly detailed technical material and hence advertising…its changing the way people are doing business.’

As if you did not already know its now been confirmed that web media is the dominant at-work media (with 54.6 percent reach, compared with television's 21.1 percent) and is second in the home (after TV) - and it is also the first-ranked daytime media - writes CNET, citing an Online Publishers Association (OPA) report based on research by Ball State University's Center for Media Design.

In the US there was another four percent decline in Mens Interest magazine ad pages this month, according to the Mediaweek Monitor. Key advertising categories are shifting their dollars as they follow droves of men to interactive media.

Steve Lanzano, MPG executive VP. ‘Magazines are going directly online or foregoing their print edition because young men are getting their information from the Internet. They’re not looking to wait for a monthly magazine to find out.'

Four percent does not sound too much, but keep that up for 12 months and it is those kinds of falls that are funding the giant online advertising growth.

This is not just a US situation. For the first quarter of 2006, the Audit Bureau of Verification Services reports that the Australian online advertising market grew by 65% over the same quarter in 2005.

Sailors have already voted with their mouses. Their sport rarely makes it to the mainstream news. In the past, they found news in marine magazines (with a 30-60-90 day delay). Now they receive the majority of their news online, within minutes or hours. Major marine companies in Asia, Europe, NZL and Australia are reporting that up to 70% of their sales leads are coming from the Internet.

Advertisers, having recognised this trend, are now adding or expanding to online media as a major part of their advertising mix. So where to advertise?

Sail-World.com is the largest marine news network in the world. It will have 500,000 unique* visitors in 2006 (*a sailor who visits every day all year is still just one unique visitor). Monthly page views of around 4 million make it a very big marine magazine.

Sail-World.com started in Australia but it now has a global footprint with sites in the USA, the UK/Europe, Asia, New Zealand and World and Australian Cruising sites. Sail-World will launch its new Boating and Boats site in the next week.

The monthly unique visitor numbers on these sites are now much greater than the combined circulations of a large lump of magazines. In the Asia Pacific they are greater than the combination of Australian Sailing, Australian Yachting, Cruising Helmsman, Asia Pacific Boating, Fragrant Harbour, Boating NZ and SeaSpray.

This is a major change within the industry and it does mean advertisers need to seriously consider a major change in placement of their industry advertising spends.

Sail-World does not wait for sailors to visit the site. 80,000 Sail-World newsletters a week, deliver News, Advertisers’ Press releases and hyperlinked ads to Sail-World’s loyal subscriber base.

It’s a winning combination - instant reach, international exposure, regional sites around the world and online archives.

A major story about a marine company may appear in a magazine once, but then it is gone. By contrast, Sail-World’s 30,000 story archive is online. Each day, around half of the Sail-World audience looks at the stories of the day, but the other half is reading stories on Sail-World from as far back as 1997.

Sail-World stories via its customisable news tickers already appear on more than 200 Sailing Club, Association, Industry and regional news sites. We deliver RSS feeds and mobile phone versions. With new technology allowing sensing of download speed and visitor preferred settings, it’s about to deliver full screen images, with customised content and advertising.

While traditionally one talks about the 'winds of change', the velocity and strength of the winds blowing in this change mean that it’s a 'gale of change'.

Preparing your 2006-2007 budget? Make sure that somewhere between 40% and 100% of your advertising expenditure is allocated to online media.

We have a range of promotional programs costing variously from AUD$275 up per month and we can tailor a package specifically for your requirements.

Please contact us to discuss this as soon as you can, so we provide you with full package details. Email mailto:advertising@sail-world.com or call +612 4977 2116

In the mean while, now would be a good time to put a hold on any traditional advertising contracts. (If you are not the advertising decision-maker in your company, we’d be pleased if you could on-send this article. You can see the link below).