Canon partners with Yahoo! search

Hong Kong - Canon has signed on as the first advertiser in Hong Kong to use Yahoo! search in its offline campaign, with the project receiving a click-through rate of 30%.

The TV and print campaigns tied online search in its off-line promotion aimed at drawing online traffic to Canon's mini-website.

Vincent Cheung, director of CII, marketing division for Canon said that while above-the-line advertising is important, it is still "uni-directional transmission" and that its effectiveness cannot be measured.

He added that the integration of Yahoo search in its ad campaign allowed more engagement and encouraged the audience to react to their communications to drive eyeballs to the mini-website that entailed detailed features of the new product.

The Canon DV camcorder campaign was developed by Leo Burnett and media buying and planning duties were handled by Starcom.

When Canon launched its Expo in November this year, the company also integrated Yahoo search in its TVCs and print ads with a call to action message for consumers to attend the exhibition.

Cheung believed that search marketing had helped to put out the message as 33, 000 visitors attended the event in the 3 days of the expo and the mini-website received a click through rate of 20%.

He added that search marketing is an effective tool for brand building as the company distributes its products and does not have a dedicated store.