Aussie banks gaining on US/UK leaders: Brand Finance

by Marketing ON 19 February 2013

The latest The Banker/Brand Finance Banking 500 report released by global brand valuation firm Brand Finance shows that the brand values of Australia’s banks have risen considerably over the past year.

The report reveals ANZ as the most valuable banking brand, on top of having the highest global gain in the Top 50 banking brands. Rising eleven places, from 50 to 39, this is seen as being major movement at the station, particularly with 14 Australian banks named among the most valuable banking brands overall.

In fact, the total of Australia’s banking brand values are up 27.3% compared to 2012, with ANZ leading the Australian banking list (valued at USD$5.8b) ranking ahead of Commonwealth Bank (USD$5.29b), NAB (USD$4.98b) and Westpac (USD$4.1b).

In terms of overseas markets, US leader Wells Fargo (USD$26b) has overtaken UK’s HSBC (USD$22.8b) to become the world’s most valuable banking brand in 2013 while another American bank, Chase (USD$23.4b), has risen from fifth to second, also overhauling HSBC.

As the European banks continue to struggle post the fiscal insecurity of the previous four years, plus the troublesome Eurozone, the Brand Finance league table highlights the issue in its data.

As it stands, only five European banks are in the top 20, led by Spain’s Santander (6), France’s BNP Paribas (9) and Germany’s Deutsche Bank (12) with North American and Far Eastern making up the bulk – Brazil and China also feature well at the top of the list.

On releasing the results, Brand Finance chief executive, David Haigh explains: “This year’s results suggest that globally the banking crisis is nearly over as both brand ratings and values are rising. While UK banks continue to lag the global recovery in both reputation and brand value, Australian banks are increasing their brand value.”

Full results from the report are available here.

Digital teens: boys shun traditional media, flock to gaming and social

by Marketing ON 11 October 2012

Gaming and social media are the best places for marketers to find notoriously hard to reach teenage boys, a study from TNS suggests.

The research agency’s ‘TRU’ study, which interviewed over 800 teenagers between 12 and 19 years of age, reinforced the differences between male and female teens when it comes to media consumption. Certain magazine titles and TV shows are considered ‘rites of passage’ for young girls, making them easier to target – 60% read magazines, with Dolly, Girlfriend and Cosmopolitan the top three titles, while dramas, such as Home and Away, are their favourite shows.

In contrast, few teenage boys engage with traditional media, with only 7% nominating reading magazines or other forms of media as a pursuit they like to spend free time on. Playing video games and going online were the two most popular media-based activities for this group, with 49% and 29% electing these as a preferred uses of spare time respectively.

Preferred media pursuits in spare time

The findings come at a time when teen buying power is at an all-time high, according to Tania Kullmann, managing director at TNS Australia. The average spend per week among teenagers has now reached almost $100 per week, or $5000 a year. This is higher among boys, who average $124 per week, than girls, at $70 per week; and ranges from $56 per week for 12-13 year olds to $192 per week for 18-19 year olds.

Clothing and apparel was their number one area of spend, particularly among 18-19 year olds and girls, while mobile phones and technology to help them stay connected with friends followed a close second.

“Teens define themselves through their clothing, hairstyles, places they eat, and whom they associate with… and seek validation through brands,” Kullmann says.

Big, mainstream brands are favoured, with Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonald’s and adidas ranking among the top five.

While traditional media is still an effective channel for targeting teen girls, online methods are emerging as more fruitful, particularly for boys, the report suggests. Both boys and girls spend 2.5 hours using the internet a day (a figure as high as 3.5 hours for 18-19 year olds), a time that is all about social networking where they ‘hang out’ with friends in spare time at home.

“Social media sites are increasingly prominent ways to communicate with Aussie teens, especially for reaching older teens,” Kullmann says.

But for targeting boys, marketers need look no further than video games, the report concludes. “With half of all teen boys nominating video games as a preferred way to spend their free time, the medium offers the potential for a captive audience.”

Foster’s coins ‘Australian for chic’ tagline in the UK

by Marketing ON 21 February 2012

To build on the brand’s ‘posh’ qualities, Heineken has invested AU$11.1 million in an ad campaign for its Foster’s Gold premium beer, which will run with the tagline ‘Australian for chic’.

The campaign, set to launch on 5 March and span TV, outdoor and digital channels, will incorporate elements of humour but aims to reinforce the premium standing of the new variant, according to Marketing’s sister publication [Ed's note: in name only], Marketing UK.

Head of customer marketing for off-trade at Heineken, Doug Walker, told Marketing UK that the campaign was being brought in to make sure the premium beer was top of mind for consumers in the lead up to Summer.

“We’re launching the next phase of the Foster’s Gold campaign in time for the crucial Summer trading period, and reaching nine million of our target audience to make sure that it’s on the top of the list when shoppers drop in to a local shop,” Walker said.

Launched in August 2011, Foster’s Gold is a 4.8% alcohol by volume beer aimed at tapping into mixed-sex drinking occasions. Since launch, it has sold 33 million bottles in the UK.

The campaign will continue the humorous theme featuring regulars, Brad and Dan, who will be joined by Holly Valance, originally of Neighbours fame, in the first commercial.

The face of Foster’s Gold, Valance has starred in previous ads for the brand alongside Brad and Dan, such as the launch ad shown below which emphasises the Australian accent and is set at Opera Bar in the forecourt of Sydney’s Opera House.

Image credit: Marketing UK.

The A-Z of Australian and NZ PR blogs

by Marketing ON 5 June 2009

Public relation practitioners and industry gurus Trevor Young of parkyoung and Kylie Lewis of Slice Media created a list of Australian and New Zealand PR blogs. We often hear about top marketing blogs but not PR ones. Now more than ever, is a time for PR to shine and what better way to stay abreast of industry knowledge than to read what your peers are writing.

I have included a note from Kylie below:

Big shoutout to all the fab tweeters who responded to our calls for
assistance with this post – you guys give good tweet!

Weve tried to make sure these are blogs specifically about PR
issues/campaigns written by flacks.

If youre not on the list and think you should be, leave a comment and well add you in. If you are on the list and would prefer not to be, or
would like your listing updated/corrected, ditto.

While we did find more blogs than listed, if they hadnt been updated for more than six months, we didnt include them. Even so, we were a tad
surprised that we didnt find more PR comms blogs. Are comms people too
busy helping their clients with blogs of their own? Is blogging seen
as to time consuming for the perceived return? Hmm… interested to hear
thoughts from the frontline. Regardless, theres lots of great stuff listed, so dig in and enjoy!

Australia

Andy Larks blog – Andrew Lark

Behind
Digital PR – a Hill and Knowlton blog

Better Communications Results –
Lee Hopkins

BlackLine PR – Jennifer Black

Black Watch –
Tony Blackie

Boost Your Career – Heidi Alexandra Pollard

Caffeine blog – Espresso Comms

Clever together -
PR explained – Horizon Communications

Corporate
Engagement – Trevor Cook on Crikey blogs

CP
Communications – Catriona Pollard

Creative Territory – Tracy Jones

Creativity in
Public Relations – a Hill and Knowlton blog

Dennis Rutzou PRs
blog

Dummy Spit – Dr Tom
Watson

Fresh Chat – Network PR

Hill and
Knowlton – a collection of blogs

In Brands We Trust – David Park and Trevor Young

Influencing
the influencers – a Hill and Knowlton blog

I scratch my mind –
Renee Creer, New Media Director, Stellar*

In silico – Paul
McKeon

Just another PR
blog – Karalee Evans

Just another 24 hours –
Daniel Young

Kimberley Lee

Louise Convy Media

Lexy Klains blog – Lexy Klain

Marketing is Us

Mumbrella – Tim Burrowes

On the write track – Roger Christie

Porter Novelli
Adelaide

PR Disasters.com – Gerry McCusker

PR Lab – Greg Smith

PR Warrior – Trevor
Young

Publicity Queen – Sally
Romano

Pursuit
Communications blog

Shoot the
messenger – Kinectics Comms

Stand Out! Tips – Candy
Tymson

Stellar* blog

Strawberry
Communications blog

Tale Spin – Lukas
Picton

The Communications Room

The Media Pod – Ross
Monaghan

The Perth Files

The
Professional Communicators Coach – Heidi Alexandra Pollard

Trevor Cook

Young PR – Paull Young

New Zealand

Michelle Boag

Bullet Points –
Bullet PR

NZ Voice – Public
Relations Institute of New Zealand

Pursuit PR blog

Also, check out the PRIA page of resources for other sites on
blogging, social media, RSS, social media releases and international PR
blogs.

Finally, a few people on the list regularly share their insights on Marketingmag.com.au. View the author profiles of Trevor Young, Jules Brooke and Gerry McCuskers for more.

Got your social media identity?

by David Iwanow ON 27 April 2009

Social media is an amazing way for companies to engage with customers, customers to engage with companies and generally share information easily. I don’t usually take the time to look at new social media products as they all seem to be trying to do the same task, but I see that a number of companies featured in recent stories could have benefited.

One of the more interesting products that appeared on my Twitter feed early this morning was Knowem. So you may think its another Twitter or Facebook service, but in fact it solves many social issues for companies.

The LA Times covered an article today that outlines how major brands need to learn to respond to social media and quick, or get left out. Recently the social media scene has seen Ashton Kutcher fighting with CNN to be the first to one million followers. This Twitter follower race was supported by a digital billboard campaign and other traditional media such as TV appearances.

Oprah was quick to jump onto the media circus, also showing support of Twitter was US TV show The View who called to their audience to join up and show their support by following them. The interesting thing about these TV appearances was that they looked more like an infomercial for Twitter and often seem quite scripted on how easy it was to use, how it worked and even some quick hints and tips on social etiquette.

The issue that was kept quiet was that CNN did not actually initially own CNNbrk until very recently – it was setup and maintained by British web developer James Cox. The smart process occurred when CNN quietly asked him to run the account and supplied assistance before hiring him to officially run it on behalf of CNN.

The successful Coke Facebook fan page was actually created by two LA actors, Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski, but once it reached one million fans, Facebook advised Coke, the trademark, owner to take control or lose it. Coke moved quickly in what is a new way of dealing with product evangelists they took them onboard and requested they run the page for the company. The newly official page has exceeding three million fans.

Facebook is not immune to issues with brands being heavy handed – Hasbro sued Scrabulous for making a Scrabble-like game, which draw angry responses directed at Hasbro to save Scrabulous.

More recently, Australian companies have started to feel the effect with Facebook closing down employee started fan pages, with requests from the company to take control ignored by Facebook. Social networks like Facebook and its policies can often damage a companys social image as their loyal fans think they have been thrown out in the cold, when the unofficial page is shut down by Facebook.

This heavy handed approach to banning what Facebook doesn’t think is official starts to blur the lines of who actually controls the content – is it the creators, the trademark owners or the social network.

So, we go back to Knowem and how it could have prevented this occurring for these companies/brands. The software is a cloud-hosted application that offers the missing link in the social land rush to ensure you own your trademark term. Knowem shows how quickly and easily you can check the availability of your brand name or vanity name across over 120 popular social media sites.

This means that companies can quickly and cost effectively claim their social media profiles across over 120 services such as WordPress, Twitter, Myspace, Digg, delicious, and YouTube.

The best thing about this service is that it can prevent your profile being controlled by a third-party who may demand millions or use it to damage your brand. Knowem seems smart enough to understand business just doesn’t always have the time or patience and offer a premium service to automatically register all your usernames. Understanding how quickly new sites are being launched they also offer a monthly subscription service that will continue to sign up your brand on the six to 10 new social media services started each month.

Now that you are thinking about social media and worried that someone will register your brands social profile, take the time to speak with a marketing agency. Many marketing agencies have social media experience or work with consultants to help you design a social media campaign to help you benefit from social media.

If you dont have the budget to hire a social media firm, request your marketing manager to use Knowem to ensure that you at least have your social identity secured, and take the social media process in stages.

Links

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-twitter20-2009apr20,0,2701874.story?page=1

http://www.prweb.com/releases/Social/Media/prweb2339354.htm

http://knowem.com/

http://www.thelostagency.com – my agency

Why do we need Social Media Club?

by Marketing ON 9 April 2009

Warning: The tone of this post has a healthy degree of cynicism and sarcastic undertones. As a result of tone and content, expect a healthy degree of negative comments and sideswipes. Let the fun begin…

Over the last few weeks we have seen the casual get together of the social media coffee mornings now generate the US originating brand Social Media Club in Australia.

So what about this club?

From www.socialmediaclub.org/about I gleaned that:

Social Media Club is being organised for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and promoting media literacy around the emerging area of Social Media. This is the beginning of a global conversation about building an organisation and a community where the many diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share, and learn.

Pity no one mentioned the users in this. On the web, the best, best practice is determined by the users not the channel or the medium or the ethical standards, or the media literacy or even the technology.

I will watch with interest, because these guys might have something interesting to say, but I wont have to join to benefit from that. However, I will also reserve a decree of cynicism. Social Media took off with kids, talking directly to each other, sharing their thoughts, pictures, hobbies, music, etc. None of them joined a club; they were drawn to it – what needs fixing about that. Commercial infiltration is whats going on here. But, commercial infiltration of the social media space is anathema to these people. Think of it like a park. Nice place to hang out with your friends and share in activities with others. As soon as the place gets filled with advertising hoardings, burger vans and park wardens telling you not to tread on the grass, you just move on because the place is no fun any more.

Social Media Club is now an organisational structure that has currently been set up in all the metro areas of Australia and seems to be run by self-designated individuals who have decided they are there to lead the rest of us minions in social media, with the best benefit being, we can get together and talk to each! We can listen to a speech by a self-appointed social guru, the guy that set the club up and next month, you can listen to one his mates, if you are very lucky. We don’t have to pay for the privilege here in Australia (at the moment) isn’t that just bloody marvelous value.

Initially I actually thought the concept could be good. I submitted ideas for speaking topics, etc. Then I started to see the manifestation of it and like Gavin Heaton who withdrew from nomination on the Social Media Club board, I ditched the idea as a bad one. I actually joined Social Media Club Canberra on Facebook as opposed to SMC Sydney, as a bit of dig, as I won’t be attending any events in Canberra as I live in Sydney!

Jye Smith stated on his blog:

I am a little uncomfortable with the idea of creating social media clubs. I smell rules and policy.

I actually smell a PR sell to clients, Oh yes Mr. Client I set up the Social Media Club and chair the board.

What we need is to leave social media to evolve through test and learn techniques and strategies with our respective clients. I don’t believe that clients and their agencies want to have open debate on their evolving social marketing practices. It is hard enough everyone getting his or her head around this channel. If there is something to share then that’s what case studies are for.

When it comes to networking with my peers, I can pop along for coffee on a Friday (although I rarely do, as I am not a morning person). But get this novel way I want to share with you, when I need help and insights from my peers in the social media space, I pick up the phone.

Why do I need a club?

Social Media Club I envisage will soon be publishing industry guidelines, then charging and telling us of all the benefits of paying to join their club and to follow their pre-determined rules to enforce us to behave in the way they want us to. Pre-program the masses to behave, there is loads of money in it, and just wait for the pay-to-attend SMC Conference, the regional Chapters of Social Media, it is like a setting up a religion and I believe there is loads of money in that too!.

Back in 2008 Laurel Papworth questioned the policy of WOMMA (The Word of Mouth Association) policy. This policy WOMMA said was only to accept membership from organisations not individuals. Totally farcical, given that the social media landscape that generates WOM (Word of Mouth) is individuals. Maybe that’s why the new leaders of Social Media Club in Sydney, slammed this entrepreneurial social media practitioner, she may dare to question the forthcoming rules that they, our self-appointed leaders, have in mind for us.

The web is very fluid. I picture it a bit like a lava lamp. Initiatives like social media emerge, take off, take shape and grow and then fade and disappear as another bubble comes along. Sir Tim Berners-Lee put the www together to be open, free and unregulated. Creating rules for any facet of it is going to be like herding bubbles. These bubbles have a short life of their own and defy regulation. Governments from America to China have tried to regulate, but ultimately they fail because the users choose not to be regulated. And so it is with social media. Everything, including the users, are too fluid. As soon as you have it all organised, documented, certified and protocoled, you will wake up to find that it has faded and the users have moved on to the next disposable web-thing and then your club is a bit pointless.

So, I guess you realise The Club is just not for me, granted it maybe for you. Now off to meet a few of my peers for some chilled unstructured sharing time!

Telstra tops Best Australian Brand Report

by Marketing ON 4 March 2009

Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy, today announced the 20 Best Australian Brands, with Telstra and Commonwealth Bank being named as having Australia’s highest brand values.

The Australian Best Brands Report provides a ranking that is an indication of the value a brand holds not only economically, but also in the connection it holds with Australian consumers.

Interbrand’s 2009 rankings include 20 brands that are at the top of the Australian business landscape. The report includes detailed analysis including:

Telstra’s top ranking is due to its ability to tailor its offering; it is the only media and information services company in Australia that provides its customers with a truly integrated telecommunications experience.
The Commonwealth Bank remains the number one bank in Australia. The bank has achieved success through its consistency in cross selling and delivering the types of products customers want across a range of categories. In addition, millions has been spent on improving efficiency and customer service.

Damian Borchok, managing director, Interbrand Australia said:

“Interbrand’s Best Brands Report has become a global barometer for measuring the value companies are generating in building and managing their brand. Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank are great examples of Australian brands that have a strong connection with consumers and relevant business offerings.”

An important criterion of Interbrand’s evaluation of brand value was the successful strategies put in place by companies to ensure continued success in the downturn.

“The ability to create business opportunities in the economic downturn is a representation of a strong brand. One strategy to help growth in the current economic climate is for brands to look for business opportunities globally. Many of the Australian brands featured in the rankings are aggressively seeking to expand away from Australian shores into larger and more lucrative overseas markets. Brands such as Billabong, Macquarie Group, Harvey Norman and Flight Centre have now established offshore cash flows which have proven to be of great success,” continued Borchok.

Best Australian Brand Rankings (value in A$ million):

Telstra ($9,700)
Commonwealth Bank ($7,100)
NAB ($5,100)
Westpac ($4,800)
Woolworths ($4,600)
Macquarie Group ($3,200)
ANZ ($3,100)
Billabong ($2,200)
St George ($1,900)
Harvey Norman ($1,300)
Australia Post ($900)
David Jones ($760)
Myer ($670)
Flight Centre ($630)
Crown ($560)
Ansell ($500)
Computershare ($380)
Origin ($220)
JB Hi-Fi ($190)
Bendigo Bank ($150)

The Australian Best Brands Report 2009 includes an analysis of each of the top 20 brands in addition to background information on brand valuation and current industry trends.

An open letter to Stephen Conroy regarding the proposed changes in censorship of the internet

by Marketing ON 31 October 2008

Dear Mr. Conroy,

As the figure behind the Australian Government’s internet censorship endeavours, I am writing to express concern and disappointment with your plan laid out to date. While no person in their right mind can argue with the intent behind the moves, the actual methodology is futile, doomed to be thwarted by those seeking illicit material and will only harm the access of the wider, well-meaning population who do not use the internet for nefarious purposes.

The core of the issue is your Government seeks to recognise physical borders in a digital realm, a place where the notion of nationality means nothing beyond the suffix of a URL (i.e. .au, .co.nz and so forth). It is technologically impossible to permanently restrict the access of people to any corner of the web short of blocking the entire country in the fashion seen in North Korea – I trust the Labor Government does not wish to see that style of rule imposed upon the Australian populace.

The issues your Government is trying to confront are serious and require a focused effort to achieve the honourable aims. The methodology you are seeking to impose however is flawed and will not stop a trade in illicit materials; indeed it will do little to stem the flow of them either into or out of this country. What it will achieve is the censorship of a people who do not deserve it, who predominantly act within the boundaries of the law, and who, particularly among IT and knowledge workers, voted for your Government in part because of a spirited plan for increased broadband infrastructure across the country, something sorely needed in order for Australians to keep pace with our rapidly changing, increasingly digital world.

If this comes into effect, I can promise you – and please believe that this is a promise not a threat – that come the next election I will personally campaign for any party that seeks to roll these draconian measures back and put in charge of our nations IT infrastructure a person who knows what they are doing. Mr. Conroy, you are, with all due respect, clearly out of your depth on the issue, and I do not look forward to the embarrassment of your Government, nor the embarrassment of our entire country as the world looks on at the most heavily censored nation in the developed world; a nation we have previously been so lucky to call our home.

I look forward to a revised program from your office designed to tackle the issue in a meaningful fashion, and the abolition of your current proposal which, while well-meaning, will achieve few, if any, of its stated aims.

Thank you for your time,

David Gillespie