Thomson multimedia involves itself in every aspect of bringing content to the end user-from software and hardware to development and distribution. The company has conducted consumer marketing and b-to-b interactive networks, and is currently looking at training on the Web. So it's not just selling product, but talking to consumers and the company's distribution network. And the Web is becoming a more important element of communication, information sharing and what company officials call "knowledge network." To learn more about Thomson's future online marketing plans, iMedia Connection interviewed Tom Wardrop, the company's vice president of advertising

iMedia Connection: How does Thomson multimedia view interactive marketing?

Wardrop: We have a Website, we have sub-Websites for our sub-brands. We handle customer service over the Web, and we communicate directly to our dealers over the Web. But we're not at the point yet where we want to compete with our traditional distribution network. We do, however, want to make sure we're prepared to take advantage of the e-commerce side of our business. We don't advertise our Website, and we don't push special prices. But we're making sure we're geared up for any transition over the short- or long-term where e-commerce would play a larger role.

iMedia Connection: How do you drive traffic to your Website?

Wardrop: Our Website is in every piece of communication we put out to the consumer. And we have an Internet advertising program in which we spend a certain amount on online advertising to drive consumers to our Website. We do promotions on the Internet for our primary sponsorship properties, such as the NFL and the Thomson multimedia Championships, and major marketing programs such as the high-definition underwriting of Super Bowl broadcasts, which we've done for the last few years on CBS and Fox, respectively.

iMedia Connection: What about branding?

Wardrop: There's not a specific effort at branding, it's just part of every piece of communication we distribute. Some of the Internet advertising we do is pure branding, which supports our overall positioning. Some of it is target-specific to develop better relationships with younger audiences. We try not to separate branding from a product sell. We're in a competitive environment, so we try to combine both branding and selling to support our product line.

iMedia Connection: What percent of your advertising dollars gets spent online?

Wardrop: Between five and 10 percent depending on the year, and that's probably a worldwide number.

iMedia Connection: Are you doing any cross-media campaigns?

Wardrop: Almost everything we do is integrated in some shape or form. Not to be integrated in our message delivery would clearly be a mistake.

iMedia Connection: What does online marketing need to do to mature as a medium?

Wardrop: From an advertiser's perspective, it needs to be better integrated by the media suppliers, who need to sell the whole package of the communication mediums, and their distinct roles. And that's not an easy task for them to accomplish. If you look back at the history of media sales, some companies had problems just cross-selling their magazine portfolios, and now it's an even tougher task. The better it's presented, the more mature Internet advertising will come across.

iMedia Connection: What is Thomson multimedia doing to show success?

Wardrop: We track hits and sales, we track how deep consumers go down into our pages - all the traditional things. We take a look at costs, in terms of how much we can get out of it. I don't think we have the wherewithal to compare Internet to traditional broad-reach, it's a tough comparison. The onerous is on Internet advertising to continue to demonstrate those comparisons and those levels of performance. It's an interesting quandary.

iMedia Connection: What can advertisers do to keep up with the increase in consumer media consumption?

Wardrop: Cleary, it's a factor in the way we've structured our businesses. We want to participate in the content delivery side, and the hardware that allows you to do these pieces. We're cognizant of the change in media consumption habits. We're looking at household convergence, speed of information, consumer consumption habits, and we're looking at partnerships. Cross-marketing partnerships really play into the changing consumer habits.

iMedia Connection: What's standing between traditional marketers embracing the medium and being afraid of it?

Wardrop: It depends on the category. In categories in which you can target your audience, there is a strong embracing of the medium. When you're talking about categories in which brand awareness is critical to success, you're always going to need the ultimate reach vehicles at a cost-effective price.

iMedia Connection: You mentioned reach. For TV and radio, "reach" is a valuable metric and commands a premium price. It doesn't seem as though this is as important to marketers on the Web. What role, if any, do large-based networks play in your company's future plans?

Wardrop: They play a large role for us, because if you look at the media side of the business, like everything there's contraction, so the mega media suppliers are controlling more of the marketplace. We're talking to them about all of our business units and how they might interact across all of their business units. It's a much more common conversation we have and it goes along with our integrated philosophy and our global approach to doing business. And it also goes along with their need in this competitive environment to extract a large percent of dollars from each advertiser in order to be competitive. In effect, the model works on both sides if it's presented, negotiated and becomes a win-win proposition for both sides.