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In August 2007, Alibaba launched its online advertising platform, Alimama.com, marking its entry into online advertising. The business model of Alimama is similar to that of Taobao, Alibaba's C2C/B2C online auction site, though with online advertising space being sold. Once a price is decided upon, advertisers can make payment through Alipay, Alibaba's payment arm.
Alimama is not the only evidence of Alibaba's interest in advertising. On Alibaba.cn, there is a link to a "Media Supermarket" (媒体超市) on its home page. The Media Supermarket is a platform where media providers -- grouped as magazine/newspaper, TV, radio, outdoor advertisement, or new media/internet -- seek out advertisers and sponsors. (See the screen capture below; the picture, along with those of all the major Chinese websites, is in gray and white in honor of the victims of the recent earthquake in Sichuan.) Unlike Alimama and Taobao, there is no charge for this Craigslist-style service; perhaps the company intends to again follow Craiglist's example and eventually start charging for the postings.
Recently, Alibaba CEO Jack Ma stated that he wants his company not to be a purely internet company but to be a "service company" targeting small and medium-sized businesses. The "Online Supermarket" may offer an example of how Alibaba plans to use its online auction and sales expertise to enter the world of offline advertising.
Click here to read the second part of this two-part series.
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