Consumer Goods MNC In Singapore Markets Ice Cream On Web

Unilever Singapore Pte Ltd. will launch on April
3 its first interactive Web site for one of its key brands, Wall’s Ice Cream, to better market the
product to its business partners and consumers in Singapore.

The company is using this Web site as a pilot to better understand
marketing on the Internet. Unilever Singapore also aims to build a
relationship with its customers via interactive means as the use of the
Internet becomes more wide-spread in Singapore households.

“Online interactive media is poised to gain importance as a new channel for
[the] marketing of consumer products,” said Jun Vivar, chairman of Unilever
Singapore, after revealing that there are 400,000 regular Internet users in
Singapore.

“With the launch of this Web site, our goal and challenge is to gain
experience in interactive relationship.”

The Wall’s Ice Cream Web site is built on broadband applications and is
connected to Singapore ONE. The content of the site was built with feedback
and suggestions from consumers.

It contains product information as well as discount promotions. Surfers can
also make their own ice cream on the site. They can watch various video
snippets of the eating sensation of different ice cream. The site also
provides a virtual tour of an ice cream factory and multimedia games for
children.

However, there are no transaction capabilities.

The site is also optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 5 due to a
partnership between Unilever Singapore and Microsoft Singapore for the
launch of IE 5 at the same time here.

Wall’s Ice Cream is leading in the ice cream market in the country and has
an impulse market share of 45.4 percent according to ACNeilson’s report at the
end 1998.

Unilever Singapore also distributes consumer brands such as Lipton Tea,
Pond’s, Hazeline, Lux, Organics, Brut, Breeze, Persil, Jif and Vim in
Singapore. The company might also market these brands on the Web.

“Until the development of the Internet, direct marketing has proven to be
relatively costly. Mass electronic channel such as the Internet [reduces]
the cost factor,” said Vivar.

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