Rishad Tobaccowala

Mr. Tobaccowala started the interactive marketing agency within the Publicis' empire in 1993, which makes him a pioneer of Internet advertising, and his career since then within Publicis has been built around the development of online media, including the dot-com boom and bust and the resurgence of Internet advertising today. His US perspective on the Middle East experience is therefore illuminating.

'In the US we have seen Internet advertising shift from around 2% of media spending three years ago to around 6-7% today, and it is higher for automobile and financial advertising which is 10-20% online. But this still lags behind the behavior of consumers who now spend 15% of media time online.

'The same process is probably happening in the Middle East, although the region lags behind in this pattern, and the same forces that are driving US advertisers online will also be seen in your region.

'It is a question first of consumer use: where is the consumer spending time? Secondly, it is a matter of enabling technologies like broadband that are allowing video advertising and search based advertising innovations. And thirdly this is a matter of organizational changes, with the arrival of younger clients in positions of power to make the decision to move online.'

Interestingly the US has seen exactly the same reluctance to embrace the Internet as an advertising medium as in the Middle East. There is still the tendency to book a full-page of expensive newspaper advertising rather than to embrace an often much cheaper and more effective online option.

Challenging mindsets

'It is the mindset of the client and the agency,' says Mr. Tobaccowala. 'But as you get younger people in positions of power things are changing, and even the less well informed clients are beginning to copy some of the earlier successful online campaigns. They can sense an opportunity.'

However, Mr. Tobaccowala does acknowledge that the online media has drawbacks. He notes that the ratio of the cost of placing adverts to the cost of producing them is higher for online than for traditional media. This is because creating and monitoring online advertising is typically more labor intensive, partly due to the smaller size of campaigns.

'It can be hard for agencies to explain to clients why these fees are higher, and that is another reason to stick to traditional advertising. But on the other hand, if the results are more targeted and useful to the client then the value is there, and we need to communicate that value.'

Indeed, part of Mr. Tobaccowala's mission within Publicis is to travel the word spreading new ideas throughout the agency's empire, and with 120 flights under his belt so far this year he is clearly doing a thorough job. His message on the importance of interactive media to the future will surely be received with interest.

'It's my job to identify what is happening and spread the word. The Internet is spreading all over the world as an advertising medium and it will be the same story for the Middle East.'