Vodafone to put 3 brand out to pasture by September

by Marketing ON 17 June 2013

Vodafone has announced it will be shutting down its ’3′ mobile telecommunications brand over the next three months. All 3 customers will move over to Vodafone by 30 August this year.

3 and Vodafone merged in 2009, creating Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA). The two brands planned to create a single network under the global Vodafone brand.

“We really appreciate the loyalty our 3 customers have shown over the years and we know many will be sad to say goodbye, as will many members of our team at Vodafone Australia who have been with the company since the beginning,” says Vodafone director of customer care, Cormac Hodgkinson.

“3 customers have already been using the Vodafone network since August 2012, so all they need to do now is pick up a new Vodafone SIM and plan to continue to use their same handset and mobile number. We are working hard to ensure customers have a seamless experience,” explains Hodgkinson.

The closure of the 3 brand and the end of its roaming agreement with Telstra, which finishes at the end of June, will finalise the 3-Vodafone brand merger.

As part of the move, Vodafone has moved its call centre from overseas to back home in Kingston, Tasmania, with the promise of offering Vodafone and 3 customers a higher quality localised customer service.

The phone network also announced a significant new network expansion program last week, that will add thousands of square kilometres to its mobile coverage network in regional Australia from July.

“It’s a huge year for Vodafone. We’ve already seen the investment in our 3G network resulting in a faster, more reliable experience for customers. Last week we announced from July we will significantly expand our coverage in regional Australia. There is also a tremendous buzz and momentum around the imminent launch of our super fast 4G network,” says Hodgkinson.

“Vodafone has worked hard over the past three years to ensure our communications with customers are honest, open and timely. We are really looking forward to welcoming our remaining 3 customers over to Vodafone,” he says.

Australia slipping in eyes of wealthy Chinese travellers

by Marketing ON 7 June 2013

The Chinese traveller is on a lot of radars. (And if it isn’t, it should be). The group is helping drive the top end of the tourist market, which last year hit a total of 83 million outbound trips from China. That figure is projected to rise to an enormous 94 million this year – the most of any country – according to a report by the The Hurun Research Institute released this week.

But Australia is missing out on the lucrative tourists, with the report showing Australia is slipping down the rankings as a preferred luxury destination for the wealthy Chinese, who are becoming more sophisticated and aspiring towards higher social status.

The research is based on 463 one-on-one interviews with Chinese millionaires and billionaires, which Hurun claims is the first serious attempt to understand the mindset of this market.

Education is key in the rise of the second generation of wealthy Chinese, the report claims, with education driving luxury travel, overseas property purchases and migration. Most Chinese millionaires consider educating their children overseas, with the US leading the list of preferred education destination by a large margin, followed by the UK, Canada, Switzerland and New Zealand.

The most popular travel times are October Chinese National holiday, followed by Chinese New Year and the May Labor Day holiday.

Interestingly, 57% of Chinese millionaires make their own bookings, with online reservation services the most used.

Shangri-La took out the top spot as most popular hotel among Chinese billionaires, while a large number and proportion of wealthy Chinese are female, which is also fuelling luxury travel figures.

The top 10 preferred international luxury destinations were:

France
USA
Australia
Japan
Maldives
Singapore
Italy
Switzerland
Dubai
Hawaii.

Aussies want brand info while Brazilian’s just want freebies on Twitter

by Marketing ON 16 May 2013

Australians are far more likely to have a genuine interest in the brands they follow on Twitter than their counterparts in the UK, Germany and Brazil.

A new study by Exact Target has found consumers’ online habits vary across the globe and had revealed that peoples motivation to ‘follow’ on Twitter vary from country to country.

The top reason for following a brand or organisation on Twitter in Australia was ‘to keep up to date with a company’s products’ and 36% of respondants liked to ‘to receive alerts related to developments within the organisation’.

The top reasons from the other countries surveyed were:
· Brazil: ‘to receive discounts’
· UK: ‘for more information related to my personal interests, hobbies, etc.’
· Germany: ‘to receive alerts related to developments within the company’

Lee Hawksley, managing director of ExactTarget Australia explains, “While only 6% of the online Australian consumers follow brands on Twitter, Twitter followers are networkers, leaders and influencers that Australian businesses can’t afford to ignore.”

Twitter were also found to be less motivated by discounts and freebies than fans on Facebook or email subscribers. They were even seen to be more viewed as a place to gather information including: product and service updates, advanced notice of new products, alerts related to developments within the company, exclusive content and information related to hobbies and interests.

“When using Twitter, remember to consider your audience. Consumers want to be heard—especially the influential users on Twitter who follow your brand. Provide them with an intimate view of your brand, so they can share their ‘insider information’ with the rest of the world. Also keep in mind that many online consumers are monitoring Twitter, even if they are not actively participating,” Hawksley added.

Australians also came out as the top consumers for engaging with brands on Facebook, creating a tremendous opportunity to connect with fans on an individual level and drive engagement that builds loyalty and brand advocates. More than 50% of Australian consumers Like a brand on Facebook, compared to 77% in Brazil and 45% in the U.K.

The results are based on surveys from online consumers gathered over the past year in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany and the UK by ExactTarget and published in their 2013 Global Executive Summary.

Swedish retailer H&M announces Australia move

by Marketing ON 22 March 2013

Swedish fashion retailer H&M is hunting locations for their first Australian store, with Melbourne the most likely destination for the ‘high-street powerhouse’ responsible for some of fashion’s leading brands such as Marni, Versace and Commes des Garçons.

The official announcement of the move that has been rumoured for some time came via Facebook late last night (Australia time):

Facebook announcement

Chadstone shopping centre and Emporium, Melbourne’s latest CBD retail outlet set to open in late 2013, are the two places where H&M might bunker down, yet Sydney is still a possibility.

Bill Rooney, chief executive of retail consultancy group 6one5, has confirmed that H&M has approached his real estate contacts: “There is a big footprint there for the international retailers, and to have a tenant like H&M would be pretty awesome,” he told the Herald Sun this week.

Following the opening of two other international high-street brands in recent years, Zara and Topshop, H&M will offer Australian shoppers even more variety and access to the big European marques.

Additionally, Japanese retail titan Uniqlo, Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21 plus Victoria’s Secret are all whispered to be seeking dwellings in Sydney and/or Melbourne.

3 key digital marketing trends to watch: optimisation, personalisation, monetisation

by Paul Robson ON 5 March 2013

It’s such an exciting time to be a digital marketer in Australia. Every year we see the emergence of new trends as well as familiar ones moving further towards maturity, but in 2013 the pace and potential for pushing the boundaries is greater than it’s ever been before. This year is going to be the year we see the next generation of customer experiences delivered, driven by rapid optimisation for mobile and app based experiences, the evolving dichotomy of personalisation and privacy, and the explosion of retail integration.

In late 2012, ‘The APAC Digital Marketing Performance Dashboard 2012‘ was released by the CMO Council in partnership with Adobe, which highlighted how these trends were gaining traction. The report lifted the lid on what digital marketers across the APAC region were expecting in 2013, with Australia leading the charge in many areas. Key local findings included that:

Companies are directing the largest amount of their digital marketing budget to website content development and performance optimisation,
67% of Australian marketers surveyed said that customer preference as their reason for investing in digital marketing,
50% of Australian marketers said that social media optimisation, including boosting community growth and engagement, is a priority this financial year,
84.5% of Australian marketers surveyed are using digital marketing analytics and reporting, and the 4 key metrics being used by are: website performance data including traffic and traffic sources (76.5%), click-through rates (74%), response rates (72%), and conversion rates (64%), and
APAC will be home to some 2.15 billion mobile phone users this year – nearly 55% of the global total – and will represent nearly 60% of all mobile phone users by 2016.

It’s clear that consumers have begun to prefer mobile experiences, and based on the survey results, it’s also clear that marketers are starting to invest in the tools to get them right. Even though mobile apps are often preferred by consumers, digital marketers are moving more towards mobile-optimized websites and content because it’s easier to publish and more importantly it also gives marketers real-time access to analytics data through the cloud. We are at the inflection point now where we have as many mobile devices as there are PCs and if you don’t have mobile-optimised content, you will be left behind very quickly. In the coming year, it will be very interesting to see how apps compete against mobile-optimised content.

Mobile or not, the combination of increased optimisation and sophisticated analysis that we’re seeing from local digital marketers ultimately leads to more personalised consumer experiences and clearer ROI. With the right data, you can provide a powerful bespoke experience for individuals, rather than a website designed for everyone that relates specifically to no-one. In doing so you can gather and analyse more finite data to get accurate ROI, as well as creating the utopia where advertising stops being perceived as ‘advertising’ and becomes relevant information. However, this hinges on the availability and accuracy of the information given – which leads people to the fundamental question: How much of my personal information do I want known by organisations that want to sell things to me?

Whichever way you answer, there is a trade-off to be made: personalisation or privacy. Essentially, the more information you’re willing to give about yourself, the more targeted and more relevant experience you’ll get and vice versa. This is a decision that must be made by each individual, but given the polarity of opinion on the subject it will also be interesting to see if governments legislate on it in future, or use it as a point of discussion during this election year.

Retail in this country is also set to change dramatically during 2013 as a result of optimisation, personalisation and analytics. Thanks to the ubiquity of mobile, wherever we are now, we’re in a retail store making purchasing decisions – and if the company marketing to you gets the experience right, the sales potential is huge.

By integrating retail into optimised personal digital experiences, calls to action become more effective and both organisations will benefit. This means that during the content creation and optimisation process, marketers also need to think in terms of how the experience can lead to sales, rather than just blanket awareness. Again, those who don’t will be left behind.

There is a lot to do and a lot to watch this year, but one thing is certain – the end of 2013 is going to look completely different to now. 2012 saw marketers starting to rapidly innovate their content strategies, but this year the successful ones will be those who continue to evolve and push the boundaries of optimisation, personalisation and magnetisation. The question is, will that be you?

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Decline in console sales as digital and mobile gaming sphere skyrockets

by Marketing ON 14 February 2013

Australia’s entertainment industry recorded $1.161 billion of retail sales in 2012, boosted by mobile gaming sales from smartphone and tablet users.

Australia’s Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA) announced the figures today, which include revenue gained from console hardware, games software and gaming peripherals sold through retail outlets.

Despite a drop of 23% on 2011′s numbers according to market researchers NPD Group Australia, iGEA CEO Ron Curry states the data fails to include the increasingly popular mobile and digital gaming space.

“As Australians consume video games across a broader range of mediums, it’s becoming harder to get a true indication of the value of the industry via a single source. While there is a decline in traditional sales, the gaming industry as a whole remains buoyant as people shift towards a ‘hybrid’ model in their consumption of interactive entertainment,” Curry says.

Technology analyst firm Telsyte believes the digital and mobile gaming sphere will see an 18% increase in 2013 on the estimated $620 million generated in 2012.

“The growth in digital gaming is driven by mobile app gaming on smartphones and tablets, which is offsetting the decline in physical purchases and even pushing the overall games market into growth,” senior research manager for Telsyte, Sam Yip, says.

The continued hype surrounding the next-generation of Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox consoles is seen as a contributing factor to the retail revenue decline, which began in 2005 ahead of the release of the current console gaming systems.

With Macworld

Adobe, Apple, Microsoft subpoenaed by Australian Government over pricing questions

by Marketing ON 13 February 2013

The Australian Government’s IT Pricing Inquiry has ramped up its investigation into the so-called ‘Australia Tax’ today by issuing subpoenas to Apple, Adobe and Microsoft to appear in court next month for questioning on why some prices are higher in Australia compared to other markets.

The legal summonses, as reported by Gizmodo Australia, call the three companies to appear before the House Committee on 22 March to address concerns over hiked prices on IT goods that have been sold locally.

Federal Member for Chifley, Ed Husic, told Gizmodo Australia today that he is disappointed with the lengths the committee had to go to, in getting the companies to cooperate with the inquiry.

“In what’s probably the first time anywhere in the world, these IT firms are now being called by the Australian Parliament to explain why they price their products so much higher in Australia compared to the US,” Husic told Gizmodo Australia.

“Adobe, Apple and Microsoft are just a few firms that have continually defied the public’s call for answers and refused to appear before the IT Pricing Inquiry.”

Prior to the Government-issued subpoenas, Apple met with federal politicians in Canberra in July last year, after been granted a closed-door hearing in the parliamentary inquiry, with US representatives for the computer giant arguing its case.

In addition, Microsoft provided a three-page public submission that questioned the inquiry’s comparison of technology prices locally and abroad, saying: “Any such comparisons are of limited use, as prices differ from country to country and across channels due to a range of factors.”

Now it seems any previous attempts to resolve the matter will have to wait until the hearing next month. If Apple, Adobe or Microsoft fail to appear in court on the set date, they will face further legal action. Currently, it is not know whether other tech companies have been ordered to take part in the inquiry.

With Macworld.

Ad growth downgrades: 2012 to close at 0.1%, 2013 down to 1.5%

by Marketing ON 5 December 2012

Growth in Australian ad spend looks set to close the year at a paltry 0.1%, after earlier forecasts of 0.7% were downgraded.

ZenithOptimedia’s December report forecasts takings of $12.4 billion for 2012, while issuing a downgrade due to a week fourth quarter in which Christmas retail spend is expected to falter.

The media agency also downgraded forecasts for 2013 from 2.4% to 1.5%, to hit $12.6 billion. The market is expected to pick up thereafter, forecast to reach $13.3 billion by 2015.

The relatively healthy economy, compared to global markets, has not translated into a strong performance in the ad market for 2012, the report notes. ”The economic picture is bolstered by the resource sector, and that is not a big advertiser.”

Looking ahead, the strongest performers will be cinema and online, with cinema to grow 12% this year and 8% next year, and online to jump 17.1% and 14.9%.

Outdoor will also grow, by 2% both this year and next, as will television (up 0.4% and 1%) and radio (up 0.3% and 2%).

The fortunes of print will continue to decline, with newspapers expected to drop 11% this year and 9.5% next year, and magazines to decline 14% and 9.7%.

Meantime, the global market is expected to rise by 3.3% in 2012 to $497 billion, and by 4.1% in 2013, to $518 billion. Looking further ahead, the industry is expected to expand by 5% in 2014, and then register an additional 5.6% gain to reach $574 billion in 2015.

Globally, television is expected to hold steady at just over 40% of all media spend, with growth from $198 billion in 2012 to $226 billion in 2015.

Online media is forecast to grow by 18% this year and 19.8% next year, and by 2015, it is expected to account for 23.4% of the market, or $132 billion.

Newspapers, on the other hand, are expected to contract from 18.9% of the market to 15.9%, or $90.1 billion, by 2015. Magazines will also drop with sales predicted to slide from $43.2 billion to $41.6 billion.

ZenithOptimedia: Australian ad market to remain sluggish until 2014

by Marketing ON 3 October 2012

Australia’s ad market is expected to grow at sluggish rates over the next few years according to ZenithOptimedia’s global ad spend forecast, which predicts spend will hit $12.5 billion locally by the end of the year and grow by only 0.7% to $12.8 billion next year.

It is not until the following year that the market is expected to rebound, when it is forecast to reach $13.8 billion, leaving the local market to perform below global averages in the meantime.

Globally, expenditure growth is forecast to strengthen over the next two years, rising from 3.8% in 2012 to 4.6% in 2013 and 5.2% in 2014.

Predictions for Asia Pacific as a region are slightly stronger than the global average with a spend of US$148.4 billion forecast in 2013, a 5.7% year-on-year increase, and US$157.2 billion forecast for 2014, a 5.9% year-on-year increase.

The dim forecasts in Australia come despite other reports showing increased confidence among marketers. Nielsen’s figures for quarter two spend however, show that APAC spend figures were being propped up by strong performances from the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong, while Australia registered a decline.

ZenithOptimedia Group global chief executive officer Steve King says, “Advertisers are broadly continuing to invest, despite the global economic concerns and issues.

“However, they are seeking to ensure that any expenditures are delivering strong return on investment. The US continues to deliver solid growth. This, combined with the growth in developing markets and in digital media, has helped mitigate the drop in Eurozone spending.”

Ad market: Revenue stumble slight as print-digital shift hastens

by Marketing ON 17 September 2012

While the overall drop in advertising revenue for the first six months of the year was only slight, the gap between the winners and losers in the ad market continues to widen, from a drop of 26.0% for magazines to a gain of 29.8% for online.

Figures from the Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA) show total media advertising revenue dropped by 0.4% year on year to $6,745,314,000 for the first six months of 2012.

The divided fortunes of the industry illustrate an accelerated shift from print to digital, with magazines the hardest hard hit, followed by classified directories, down 15.9%, and newspapers which shed 11.5%

Online notched the largest increase followed by subscription televisions, up 17.3% and outdoor advertising revenue, up 2.9%.

Overall the decline was slight compared to other periods of hard time, says CEO of CEASA, Bernard Holt. The media tracking body, which commenced its measurement of the industry in 1960, has seen declines of 8% in 2009, 6.9% in 2001, 6% in 1991 and 2% in 1990 in its 52 year history.

“From 1990 media advertising revenue began to show a boom and bust cycle, and the cycle was not uniform,” Holt says. “It also featured sharp ups and downs. In most cases recovery was strong.”

Other media to record an increase in advertising revenue included total radio, up 1.3%, suburban newspapers, up 0.8% and regional television up 0.6%. The fortunes of free to air metropolitan television dropped by 3.5% while metropolitan radio, down by 0.6%.

Aussies go thread bare to save amid fears of double dip recession

by Marketing ON 18 July 2012

Spending less on new clothes is one of the top three strategies Australians have adopted to save money, according to a study by Nielsen, which adds to the story of consumers changing their spending habits as overseas fears of a GFC aftershock are reflected locally.

The other most common strategy adopted to cut back was a reduction in takeaway meals, closely followed by measures to save on gas and electricity. Conducted globally among 28,000 consumers, the study isolates rising utility costs, job security and the economy as the key drivers of lower spend.

Managing director of Nielsen Pacific, Chris Percy says consumers are preoccupied with factors such as deteriorating economic conditions overseas, the increasing cost of living and banks not passing on interest rate cuts.

“Australians are being hit hard by the increasing cost of living, and a lack of confidence in the marketplace will only serve to further impact discretionary spending as people opt to keep their wallets firmly in their pockets,” added Percy.

Sentiment in Australia appears to echo the fears of a double dip recession overseas, with almost two-thirds believing now was a ‘bad’ or ‘not so good’ time to buy discretionary items. This is in direct contrast from figures from two years ago, when 60% said now was a ‘good time’ to buy things.

Nielsen also found that 47% of Australians are putting a portion of their spare cash into savings and 30% allocate surplus funds to pay off debts including credit cards. However, nearly one in five claim to have no spare cash after living expenses are paid.

Compared with other countries around the world, Australia ranked 25 out of the 56 nations surveyed in terms of consumer confidence – just behind New Zealand, Israel and Pakistan.

“Poignantly, this is the first time Australia has dropped below New Zealand in terms of consumer confidence in the past year,” Percy adds. “While New Zealand consumer sentiment has remained relatively stagnant in recent times, Australia has experienced a number of fluctuations including a significant drop in confidence in 2012.”

Asia-Pacific nations come out on top overall making up seven of the 10 most optimistic countries. Indonesia, India and the Philippines recorded the highest levels of consumer confidence globally.

The European nations of Hungary, Portugal, Italy and Greece took out the bottom four spots.

Pandora lifts its lid on music to Australians

by Marketing ON 11 July 2012

Pandora, the US music service that previously shut down access to international users, has all of a sudden lifted the ban with Australians regaining access to its music.

The web-based online streaming platform locates new artists and tracks for users to listen to based on an initial song or artist preference entered into the website on signing up.

Launched in 2000, the project was a revolutionary offering in the still-emerging online music services market. But in 2007 Pandora began to prohibit non-US connections, which meant Australians had to find different access points to listen to music online.

While today Australians have a handful of music services on offer (including Telstra’s recent partnership with MOG, Spotify’s Australian launch in May, plus many others) Pandora still offers something most other streaming services don’t, that is, a custom-built tracklist that plays more like a radio station.

The service is free, with ads included between songs. Currently, US users can purchase a US$37 annual subscription for ad-free access.

In Australia, Pandora can be accessed from web browsers (Mac or PC), with the service no longer blocking or listing Australian IP addresses as it has done in the past. To date, there’s been no sign of supporting mobile apps for iOS or Android being made available.

Originally posted by Marketing’s sister publication, Macworld Australia. Additional content from Marketing staff.