Hi-Media, Europe's third-largest online sales house, announced last
week that it is withdrawing from the UK, and placed most of the blame
for its imminent office closure squarely at the feet of digital
planner/buyers.
Sasha Dhillon, the 26-year-old MD of Hi-Media UK, intends to close the
Birmingham office within the next two months, with the loss of around
eight jobs.
She was selling a portfolio of 24 small- to medium-sized websites, which
were grouped into subject areas such as motoring, teen and property.
They included Pistonheads, Totalvideogames, Carnet, Countryweb and
Studentworld. Hi-Media has stopped taking advertising bookings on the
sites.
Simeon Quarrie, head of business development, is already in talks with
prospective employers.
Dhillon, whose online sales company Purplepot was bought by Paris-based
Hi-Media in January 2001, is quitting the web-sales sector. She plans to
start her own marketing venture with two her of staff: marketing manager
Nick Brown and sales consultant Raj Singh.
Dhillon attacked digital media agencies for being preoccupied with the
use of creative formats, when most smaller advertisers were still
getting to grips with banners.
"Media planner/buyers are trying to run before they can walk," she
said.
"Most clients haven't moved as fast as they have and don't want to be
bombarded with wonderful, clever stuff.
"The industry is so caught up in the technology side that they don't
educate clients about what the net is and what it can do for them. Most
clients are dazzled by the wealth of information available. They don't
understand how to analyse campaign results and it's left to buyers to
interpret them."
She added: "Europe is doing well because planner/buyers keep things
simple and don't over complicate the process with too much
creativity."
Dhillon predicted that the next "casualties", after online advertising,
would be interactive TV and SMS marketing.
She said the decision to close in the UK, as well as Canada and Poland,
came after pressure from Hi-Media's shareholders.
.jpg)
.jpg)