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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | ||
SYDNEY, 9 September 2002 - Five years ago the Internet, or the Information Super-Highway as it was then commonly known, was in its infancy in Australia. One of the pioneers of the industry is Yahoo! Australia & NZ, which - like the Internet - has been moving with the times and is now celebrating its fifth birthday! As part of this celebration, the company is taking a trip down memory lane and looks back on the last five years. When Yahoo! Australia & NZ started in September 1997, most Australian home Internet users were using Netscape Navigator and connecting with 28.8 modems. Content was king during this time, and Yahoo! Australia & NZ launched with local and global news content from News Limited, APN Computing Group and Village Roadshow. Online advertising was still new in the local market and consisted primarily of banner ads and text links. Yahoo! Australia & NZ launched with four charter advertisers, including a couple of local brands - Coles Myer and Lion Nathan - making their first commitment to Web advertising. In addition, Mercantile Mutual (now ING Australia), also a charter advertiser, has gone on to make the Internet a key component of its business strategy. Fast forward to today where people are logging on with broadband connections, allowing them to stream video and music on their computers at home. People now use the Internet not just to find information, but to buy things online and communicate with people around the world. The Internet is no longer confined to a computer, but can now be accessed through PDAs and mobile phones. The number of people online in Australia has grown from an estimated 2.26 million in 1997 to more than 9 million in 2002.* During the last five years, Yahoo! Australia & NZ has continued to evolve and grow with the Internet and consumers' needs. The homepage has a new look, making it more streamlined and easier to find the content and service areas that consumers use the most. Yahoo! Australia & NZ's advertiser base has grown from the initial four to 91 this year, and Yahoo! Australia & NZ's Marketing Solutions offer comprehensive and innovative advertising programs to meet the specific needs of each client. Additionally, more than 4 million Australians visited the Yahoo! network during the month of July 2002, according to a report by Nielsen//NetRatings. "Since we launched five years ago, Yahoo! Australia & NZ has been dedicated to delivering the best service possible to our consumers and clients," said Nic Jones, managing director of Yahoo! Australia & NZ. "By continuing to address the needs of our audience, Yahoo! Australia & NZ has evolved into a leading player in the market, and we are recognized as the most valuable online portal brand in Australia."+ According to Nielsen//NetRatings July 2002 results, Yahoo! reaches over half of all Australians online each month and holds the no. 1 position among portals for average time spent on our site by users. By listening to our audience and evolving with the times, Yahoo! Australia & NZ has established itself as a leader in the market and continues to play a key role in the growth of the overall Internet industry.
+AC Nielsen, internet users 14+, June 1997 and 2002
About Yahoo! Australia & NZ
Carly Morrison or Sonia Fedele @ MacSween Communications Jennifer Hwang or Francesca Nickson @ Yahoo! Australia & NZ | |||