Heralding a new age in electronic one-to-one communication, broadband offers the advertiser opportunities to delivery personal editorial content via the Internet without the need for a third-party media owner. Forrester Research forecasts that 36% of total European homes will have broadband connectivity by the end of 2005. Broadband is the prize: the power, authority and entertainment of television combined with the interactive and non-linear functionality of the Internet. It is currently accessible to about 400,000 homes across Europe, with Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands being the most advanced markets.
BROADBAND ADVERTISER OPPORTUNITIES
From the consumer's perspective, an "always-on" connection will make it quick and easy to access the Internet, any television channel and any radio station and, crucially, all the new broadband sites/channels whenever they want. At the same time, for advertisers, broadband will create profound changes in the relationship they have with increasingly sophisticated and global market con- sumers. The critical emotional relationships between consumers and a brand's provenance will be forged electronically through broadband interactivity, with a sophistication and personalisation far beyond the 30" commercial.