WPP reaps online advertising rewards

NEWS Advertising giant, WPP claims it took $120m worth of Internet and Internet-related orders last year. The news came as the company posted its yearly financial results and marks the first time WPP has separated online revenue from traditional media. WPP said an increasing number of its clients are now requesting a specific Web strategy, which created revenues of approximately $60m - 4 per cent of its total advertising revenues. Nigel Sheldon, managing partner of WPP subsidiary, Mindshare Digital, said his company is actively encouraging people to consider an online strategy. "We try to integrate with the other mediums so it's not just a footnote," he said. But he acknowledged that mainstream, mass consumer brands are still not taking Internet advertising seriously. "Internet use in the UK hasn't exploded in a way that mirrors the real world. The emergence of digital TV is likely however to start drawing in the mainstream advertisers." According to Andy Mitchel, UK managing director of global advertising network, DoubleClick, another factor that will drive online advertising is the emergence of free Internet service providers (ISPs). "Free ISPs are broadening the market and it's now becoming more reflective of the conventional consumer market. So we will be seeing more and more of consumer brands like St Ivel, Utterly Butterly and Macleans toothpaste going online," he told Silicon.com in an interview. The full interview with Andy Mitchel will be published on Silicon.com in the next few weeks.