|
BEIJING, CHINA, October 15, 2001 - SOHU.COM (NASDAQ: SOHU),
China's leading online media, communications and commerce company is attracting
e-marketing dollars with product-centric, multi-media games, also known as
'advergames.' Corporate clients taking advantage of these entertaining branding
platforms include multinationals KFC, Pizza Hut and Nestle as well as leading
Chinese companies C-bons, Kejian and Founder.
SOHU's advergames are market-driven products that respond to the needs of
younger, tech-savvy consumers who demand more interactivity and fun when
introduced to online advertising campaigns.
Advergames and other e-marketing tools position SOHU at the center of a
circle of value locking clients and users into the SOHU web site. Our vast user
base of 30.3 million attracts corporate clients targeting the largest online
audience in China while our clients' interactive ad campaigns in turn attract
more users to SOHU.
"Young urban Chinese live fast-paced life-styles, and demand value for every
minute spent on the Internet. The biggest challenge facing advertisers is
knowing how to successfully drive young people into a marketing campaign when
thousands of competing ad-icons are fighting for 'voice'?" said Charles Zhang,
CEO, President and Chairman of SOHU.COM. "The engaging nature of SOHU's
advergames grabs the attention of consumers longer, allowing companies to
educate them more effectively about new products or product features."
According to Jupiter Media Metrix research online gaming in U.S. is growing
at a rate of 25 percent per year, and is set to overtake movies as the reigning
entertainment option. Chinese analysts expect Asia to follow this trend. In a
national survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, over 60% of
Chinese teenagers with access to the Internet spend more than thirty-minutes per
day playing online games and visiting chatrooms.
"Advergames not only focus the minds of consumers on brands longer than
traditional advertising mediums such as television and newspapers, but also
provides marketers with a rich database of information that tracks consumer
tastes and buying preferences. Advergames also promote viral marketing, which
provides corporate clients with free word-of-mouth promotion that gains momentum
as users tell their friends about the games," Charles Zhang added.
SOHU helped one of its major multi-national clients successfully recruit a
huge community of users to its branded online club by designing an interactive
jigsaw puzzle, that required users to register their names and email addresses
in order to play the game and win prizes.
About SOHU.com
SOHU.com is the leading Internet portal in
Mainland China with current daily page views exceeding 12 million. It provides
navigation/search, news, sports, business and finance, real estate channel,
entertainment, chat, email and e-commerce activities for a solid and wide base
of visitors. Dr. Charles Zhang founded SOHU.com in 1997. Its investors include
Intel, Dow Jones, IDG, the Morningside China Group, PCCW, Legend and Hikari. Its
content partners include CNET, DOW Jones and dozens of local media organizations
in China.
For further information:
Dahlia Wei
SOHU Investor
Relations and Communications
Tel: +86 10 6272 6598
E-mail:
ir@sohu-inc.com
http://www.sohu.com/about/English/ | 
