Victorians clean up IABC Gold and Bronze Quills

by Marketing ON 22 May 2013

Victorians from Medibank, Aurecon, Telstra and Becton Property Group played starring roles in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) revamped Quills awards.

The awards recognise communication excellence on a global scale and are widely regarded as a mark of international best practice in the communication profession.

Chapter President and 2013 Bronze Quill winner, Monika Lancucki says the awards were an ideal avenue for Australian communicators to show the world their communications potential.

“It’s fantastic to see Victoria well represented in the Gold Quill awards. To be recognised as the best of the best internationally is an immense achievement. On behalf of IABC and the Victorian chapter I congratulate our local 2013 winners,” she says.

Gold Quills will be presented at the IABC world conference in New York on 23 June and Bronze Quills at IABC Victoria’s annual Cocktail Gala on 6 June, at Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne.

Businesswoman and CEO of Marcus Venture Consulting, Lucy Marcus, is guest speaker at the gala. For tickets head to www.vic.iabc.com

Ten in exclusive talks for cricket rights

by Marketing ON 17 April 2013

Network Ten has entered into a period of exclusivity with Cricket Australia, that will last until the end of the month, for the media rights to the sport. The exclusivity window locks out other bidders from negotiating with Cricket Australia.

It is reported that Ten is offering to pay $350 million over five years for rights to all forms of cricket which will amount to roughly $70 million annually, quite a jump from the estimated $45 million that Nine is said to have paid for its seven-year deal. Ten’s offer will cover Test cricket, limited-over internationals and the domestic Big Bash League.

The Big Bash League has only appeared on subscription television channel, Fox Sports, but Cricket Australia is reportedly keen on airing some games on free-to-air channels.

The Seven Network is also said to have thrown its hat into the ring, prior to the exclusivity period, reportedly offering $320 million for all rights. The Australian has reported Seven has also presented three other options including separate offers for the Big Bash League, currently held by Fox Sports, One Day Internationals and International Test matches.

Though Ten is making a strong case in obtaining the rights, Channel Nine still has the right of last refusal, meaning the network has the right to see all other offers made by rival networks and the option to match them.

Yesterday The Australian also reported that Telstra was no longer vying for Cricket Australia’s mobile and digital content rights, increasing the likelihood they could end up in the hands of a free-to-air broadcaster.

Cricket Australia is hoping to finalise a broadcasting deal by mid June.

Drug allegations could cost Aussie sport millions in sponsorship dollars

by Marketing ON 8 February 2013

Australia’s major sporting codes are in danger of losing millions of dollars in sponsorship as the sporting community reels from widespread doping allegations.

The AFL, NRL, Cricket Australia and Football Federation of Australia have all been embroiled in controversy around recreational and performance-enhancing drugs, as well as links to organised crime and match fixing, following the release of a damning report from the Australian Crime Commission (ACC).

Naming rights NRL sponsor and major AFL supporter Telstra confirmed it would act swiftly to distance itself from the sports if wrongdoing was proven. The telco reportedly signed a $150 million, five-year, naming-rights deal for the NRL last year.

Its CEO, David Thodey, said he would examine the allegations prior to making a decision on the future of its sponsorship deals, in a statement released to the press.

“Our brand image is tied up with those who we sponsor, so if there is untoward behaviour that we don’t agree with, we would make our position very clear. We will always do that,” Thodey says.

“I understand stories come and go but we will need to look at the detail and make our decision.”

Other sports implicated in the wide-reaching report, which did not publicly name how many or which clubs were allegedly involved, include Cricket Australia, which counts CommBank as a principal sponsor, and Football Federation of Australia, its league sponsored by Hyundai.

The ACC report claims substances were supplied by organised crime figures who have formed partnerships with the codes, doctors and anti-ageing clinic have prescribed new, hard to detect performance-enhancing substances and clubs have been involved in match fixing.

Toyota Australia, the naming-rights sponsor for the AFL, said it supported the co-ordinated response to the allegations, The Australian reports.

“The positive aspect is that these issues are being tackled jointly by the national sporting bodies, the federal government, the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority,” a Toyota spokesman said.

Telstra partners MCN to become 7th largest online property group

by Marketing ON 23 August 2012

Telstra Corporation and Multi Channel Network (MCN) have brokered a deal that will see the pair’s combined online assets become the seventh most visited online group in Australia, and in the top handful of digital advertising players.

The partnership will see MCN represent key Telstra online assets and deliver advertisers an average monthly unique audience of 8 million Australians per month, according to an announcement issues today. This would place the Telstra-MCN combination behind only Mi9 (ninemsn) and Yahoo!7 as the biggest Australian publishers, based on June’s Nielsen Online Ratings.

From October, MCN will offer integrated sales packages which include 42 of Telstra’s online portals and sites as well as mobile, tablet devices and IPTV.

Group managing director, Telstra Media, Rick Ellis, says the deal with MCN would deliver top-tier advertising scale and give clients access to cross-platform marketing opportunities across Australia’s premium entertainment brands.

“The combined strength of MCN and Telstra Media’s assets will make the enlarged network one of the top five players in the Australian digital advertising market. This outcome makes strategic sense by strengthening Telstra Media and MCN’s capabilities to deliver innovative advertising solutions to the market,” Ellis says.

The deal will enable Telstra to target multiple devices including television, Ellis adds. MCN’s brands, which include FOXTEL Networks, FOX SPORTS, Sky News, The Discovery Networks, BBC Group, Showtime, ESPN and Sky Racing, attracted 500,000 unique viewers to its video content in April, according to comScore.

CEO of MCN, Anthony Fitzgerald, says, “Telstra has developed some of Australia’s leading online media and entertainment properties and we are delighted to be able to represent and leverage the value of those assets within the Australian market.

“This is a significant move for MCN’s online business and for the Australian digital advertising landscape in general – reinforcing our position as a one-stop-shop for advertisers who want to align with the key genres of entertainment, sport, lifestyle, music, kids and factual properties.”

Telstra’s digital assets include Telstra T-Box, BigPond.com, BigPond TV, BigPond Sport, BigPond News, AFL.com.au, NRL.com.au, V8 supercars, the Racing network, music streaming service MOG and restaurant booking service Dimmi.

Android dethrones iPhone as most owned smartphone platform in Australia

by Marketing ON 27 July 2012

Google’s Android operating system has overtaken Apple’s iOS as the most owned smartphone platform in Australia for the first time, growing its share of the market by 7% in the past quarter and capturing the hearts of technology early adopters.

Over the past year, Marketing with the help of Kantar WorldPanel’s ComTech data has been tracking smartphone penetration in Australia and the battle between iPhone and Android for operating system supremacy in Australia. Data from the ongoing study of 10,000 Australian mobile phone owners shows that, as of the beginning of July, Android commanded 38% of smartphone market share compared to iOS’ 37%.

Kantar’s strategic insights director Tamsin Timpson says Android’s surge has been driven by the success of Samsung, the operating system’s range of offers for new smartphone converts and how female orientated and mainstream the iPhone has become.

“It was in contract [post-paid market] where Apple had its stronghold and it’s now lost that,” Timpson explains. “The share for the contract market is now pretty much level between Apple and Samsung.”

In an ironic twist, Timpson believes the iPhone’s popularity may now be working against it, as early adopters looking for less “mainstream” alternatives hone in on Android, just as Apple’s meteoric rise was built on its position as an edgier alternative to Microsoft. “The younger males who are typically the early adopters of new technology want something different now… I think they want to separate themselves from iPhone because it is so mainstream. Android, Samsung and HTC are showing much more strongly in that younger male demographic.”

With three in five (59%) Australians aged over 16 years now smartphone owners, the surge of Android will see developers and marketers begin to place an even heavier emphasis on Android devices. Android’s growth looks set to continue in the absence of a new iPhone release, with the operating system taking in 63.2% of smartphone sales in the four weeks to July 8, compared to iPhone’s 25.8%, (down from 29.9% in March).

During Apple’s third quarter earnings report on Wednesday morning, CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenhiemer blamed consumers holding out for the widely discussed next iPhone release for a global slow down in sales, while hinting at a Spring release for the launch of the handset’s sixth iteration.

“iPhone sales continued to be impacted by rumour and speculation about new products,” Oppenhiemer said. “We’re reading some rumours and speculation [about a] new iPhone and we think this has caused some pause in customers buying.”

True to form, Apple kept quiet about release dates, but Oppenheimer did mention that Apple “could not be more confident in our new product pipeline,” and also mentioned a Spring “transition”. This transition was brought up in the Q&A after the presentation, to which Oppenhiemer replied, “Not something that we’re going to talk about in any level of detail today”.

The “transition” could be the introduction of a smaller iPad or the launch of the next iPhone. MacRumours points out that it will need to take place before the end of September in order for the new release move the dial on next quarter’s figures. Apple also said that it expects a year-over-year increase in Mac, iPad and iPhone sales in September, fuelling speculation of a Spring launch.

According to Timpson partnerships with the carriers could also be impacting on iPhone’s fortunes in Australia, with around two-thirds of new phone buyers in the Australian market classified as ‘upgraders’ who buy new handsets with the same carrier. “Optus is very tied in with Samsung and Telstra with HTC,” Timpson says. “Handset manufacturers need to make sure they’ve got a really strong relationship with their carriers otherwise that carrier is going to push a different brand.”

While the surge in Android handsets represents the first time the operating system has toppled the iPhone for market share in Australia, iOS users continue to user their phone for more tasks than Android users, with 55% using 11 or more non-voice services a month compared to 22% for Android overall. This access to a greater range of content and apps is borne out at the advanced handset level also with only 33% of Samsung’s Galaxy S II owners and 35% of S III models being heavy users of non-voice services.

“iPhone owners are still the highest spenders and very much engaged with their phones,” Timpson concludes. “They over-index on everything compared to the average smartphone owner. Because Android is capturing a much higher proportion of new smartphone owners those people tend to be lighter users of non-voice services and aren’t as engaged with their smartphones.”

Timpson predicts that Apple will hit back, but much will depend on how the sixth-generation iPhone is received when launched later in the year.

Telstra clings to home phone rentals with new T-Hub product

by Marketing ON 17 July 2012

Telstra today unveiled the second generation of its hybrid home phone-tablet device, T-Hub, with an Android operating system and all-new design.

A play to protect the telco’s home phone line revenue base, the T-Hub 2 looks and acts more like a tablet than its predecessor but will remain connected to the legacy home phone line PSTN network. Users will need to pay for phone line rental to use the device as a phone, although it will be compatible with the National Broadband Network’s cabling to transition customers to high-speed broadband when their local area is fibre-enabled.

Executive director of Telstra Wireline Products, Brian Harcourt, says the device is the next step in Telstra’s connected home strategy. “T-Hub 2 caters to what modern households need in a home phone, offering a smarter way to make calls, manage contacts and access handy internet services like live weather updates and social networking sites.”

Harcourt insists that the home phone “remains central to how Australian families communicate” and that the “T-Hub 2 re-imagines a much-loved communication device”.

The device offers features for handling contacts and calls including and internal phonebook, calendar, Yellow and White Pages apps and voicemails displayed as a list so owners can see who called and jump to the messages they want to hear most.

The 7-inch Wi-Fi enabled tablet sits upright in a charging cradle with stereo speakers and has a built-in kick stand so that it can be used throughout the home. Feedback from owners of the original T-Hub called for greater audio clarity, managing contacts, and access to applications for everyday activities.

It is available from today for $360 outright for customers with eligible services or can be purchased in conjunction with a on a 24-month contact for $15 a month.

ACMA: New code to crack down on telco ads, save billions in ‘bill shock’

by Marketing ON 12 July 2012

Buzzwords used by telcos such as ‘unlimited’ and ‘capped’ plans which are often misunderstood by consumers will be cracked down on in a new mandatory code introduced to protect consumers.

The Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code, set to come into effect in September, will force telcos to be literal with the words used in their advertising, along with complying to a range of other regulations aimed at protecting consumers from issues such as ‘bill shock’, confusing mobile plans and poor complaints handling.

The code is being introduced following the Reconnecting the Customer public inquiry conducted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) which estimated annual costs of $1.5 billion associated with consumers choosing the wrong plan, $108 million for the costs of telephone complaints and $113 million for the costs of writing off bad debts.

ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman says the new code should give rise to a much needed, much improved, customer experience. “The code is a unique and ground-breaking document by world standards, bringing together best practice protections at all of the touch points in the telco customer lifecycle,” he says.

Previously the industry was regulated under a voluntary code. The results of ACMA’s inquiry found that better advertising practices, more effective information for consumers, tools to avoid bill shock, streamlined complaints handling, a customer care reporting framework and changes to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme were required.

Telcos will have to tell customers when they’re about to breach their ‘caps’, which in the future will be defined as ‘hard caps’ to clarify that if a plan is capped at a certain price the customer will never pay more than that capped amount.

Similarly, the term unlimited will really have to mean unlimited, with shaping and additional charges not part of the fine print.

“The code comes against the background of the rollout of the NBN and is a good example of forward-looking and evidence-based engagement in a converged world,” Chapman adds.

The new code was developed by the Communications Alliance, which formed an independently chaired steering group comprising industry and consumer representatives, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

Telstra throws down gauntlet to Spotify, with identical pricing

by Marketing ON 21 June 2012

Telstra has launched its music streaming service, MOG, with an almost identical pricing model to leading competitor, Spotify, which launched a month ago.

At $6.99 per month for the PC-based service and $11.99 per month for mobile access to 16 million tracks, MOG’s main point of difference to Spotify is that it does not offer a free, ad-supported option. It is available on a two-week free trial, however the trial requires credit card details and ticks over to a monthly charge if not cancelled, which may prove to be a deterrent to some.

The partnership between MOG and Telstra was announced before Spotify hit the market, in an attempt to alert consumers to the service as an alternative. It is available to users of all ISP or phone providers, but downloads will be unmetered for BigPond users.

Director of digital media and content at Telstra, Adam Good, says Telstra’s research shows that portable digital music players are the number one music listening device in the country, and that many Australians hadn’t bought a CD in the last year.

“Telstra’s research also found that 50% of Australians haven’t bought a CD from a record store in the last year with 75% of people saying it’s due to the cost of CDs or citing constantly changing music taste as the reason,” Good says.

While Spotify boasts a strong brand in the music streaming arena, MOG has received favourable reviews, particularly for its recommended songs feature which is driven by an editorial team (based in the US) which offers up tracks and albums for you to listen to. In the mobile app a slider bar prompts you to ‘stray’ from your usual music library, by offering a sliding scale between songs from the same artist and recommendations for similar artists.

Telstra to storm IPTV market with $35m deal

by Marketing ON 20 June 2012

Telstra has invested $35 million in US-based IPTV video company Ooyala, in a move that sees the telco boost its online video offering significantly.

Telstra will integrate Ooyala’s technology into its IPTV platform, according to a report on ZDNet, to deliver video across all connected devices, with a personalised, multi-screen approach.

The deal sees Telstra become a lead investor in Ooyala, which already works with companies such as Miramax, Bloomberg, Tennis Australia and Dell, and secure a seat on its board of advisors. The telco will deploy Ooyala’s software and analytics into its IPTV platform, T-Box.

Commenting on the deal, Telstra’s director of media, Gary Traver, says, “The industry is now standardising around technology stacks that enable the future of IP-based distribution. With Ooyala’s robustness and focus on personalisation and profitability, it is becoming the platform on which the next generation of large-scale deployments are built.”

Telstra, which owns 50% of Foxtel, was reportedly to hand over its 300,000 T-Box subscribers to Foxtel as speculated mounted that the device would be abandoned.

The telco also moved into the music streaming business recently, announcing a deal with American music streaming company MOG to deliver services in Australia.

Woolworths most valuable Aus brand, pockets of hope for decimated retail

by Marketing ON 12 June 2012

More than half of Australia’s top 30 brands registered declines in their value over the past year, with Harvey Norman and David Jones among the worst hit, a study has found.

There were clear winners and losers over the past year, Brand Finance found in its annual study into the value of Australian brands. Retail and finance brands bore the brunt of the tough conditions, with many in these sectors experiencing a 10-20% decline in the value of their brands, but it wasn’t all bad news for these sectors with standout brands performing well.

In the retail sector, Bunnings, Coles and Target showed that growth is achievable despite difficult trading conditions, notching 20.3%, 14.5% and 10.0% increases in brand value respectively.

Coles, valued at $4.7 billion, succeeded in closing the gap on rival Woolworths, gaining $597 million in value and moving up the ladder to reach third position. Woolworths, valued at $7.1 billion, maintained the top spot despite losing $504 million of value, prompting managing director of Brand Finance Australia, Tim Heberden, to point out three areas where retailers could step up their game. “Due to increased international competition and changing consumer behaviour, Aussie retailers are learning the importance of customer service, brand differentiation, and omni-channel strategies,” Heberden says.

Australian finance brands also recorded mixed results over the past year, but on the whole outperformed their global peers with six of our banks featuring in the top 100 of Brand Finance’s global list of the top banks. MLC declined the most out of the top 30 brands, shedding 25.8% of its brand value. Macquarie Bank and St George also experienced significant declines, but at the other end of the scale BankWest and ANZ increased in value by 16.5% and 9.8% each. The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) seized the title of Australia’s most valuable banking brand from NAB, increasing its value by $185 million.

Another brand value study, Millward Brown’s BrandZ, recently ranked CBA as the most valuable Australian brand on the global stage at $13.1 billion, compared to the $4.1 billion valuation given in this study. However, Millward Brown does not release Australian results or include all Australian brands in its global list, making no other comparisons possible.

Brand Finance calculated the overall value of the top 30 Australian brands at $51 billion, well below the value it attributes to the largest global brand, Apple, at US$71 billion. The researcher calculates a brand’s value by looking at a company’s market share, profitability, reputation and emotional connection with consumers.

Telstra held on to second place in 2012, gaining $294 million to reach a value of $5.1 billion, placing the telco on par with the once great Nokia brand in an international context.

The Qantas brand continued to free fall dropping below the billion dollar threshold, although this year’s drop of $108 million represents a reduced rate of decline.

Spotify launches with local partners

by Marketing ON 22 May 2012

Spotify, the world’s largest on-demand music provider, launched in Australia overnight, boasting Commonwealth Bank, Carlton United Brewers, McDonald’s, and Triple J as commercial partners.

The Sweden-based company brings access to more than 16 million tracks to consumers, for free if they put up with occasional advertising or for a premium to access the service without ads, and available on mobile devices.

Ad options will include banner ads and audio spots, for which the service has already signed a number of parties including, but not limited to, Commonwealth Bank, Carlton United Brewers, McDonald’s, and Triple J, The Australian reports. Global partner Coca-Cola is also expected to extend its advertising and app agreement to Australia.

Spotify’s business model is based on a dual revenue stream: free access supported by advertising through banner ads and audio spots, and premium access priced at a monthly rate without ads and bolstered by mobile access based on an app. Premium access costs $11.99 a month, giving users offline access, access via mobile app and a high data allowance, which is limited to 10 hours of streaming per month for free users after an initial 30-day trial.

Its launch was delayed by more than six months while it negotiated deals with the major record labels in order to offer the most extensive music library possible. Record companies are paid a royalty by the service each time one of their songs is played and receive a percentage of the subscription revenues Spotify generates.

Spotify’s New York-based chief marketing solutions officer Jeff Levick told The Australian, “We will have the largest, most comprehensive online catalogue of music in Australia. It’s not just the major labels, it’s also about having local labels. In every market… we make sure we have local artists relevant to that country.

“Australia is an incredibly important music market for Spotify, it’s the sixth largest music market in the world. Consumers in Australia are online and highly social, and love music. So that’s the perfect trifecta for Spotify and exactly the sort of consumers we want to reach.”

While the service will compete with paid services, such as iTunes and a similar streaming service from Telstra due to launch this year, Levick says it also cuts down on piracy of music, returning profits to the music industry.

“We’re bringing revenues back to artists and labels, reminding people that music is an art and craft. We paid back 250 million (AUD$324m) to the music industry in Europe last year. That was money that was basically lost to piracy.”

Spotify relies on sharing and its Facebook integration, which lists tracks people listen to in their friends’ news feeds. Users can also subscribe to playlists created by friends, brands or celebrities.

‘Digimums’ drawn to social networks to keep track of kids

by Marketing ON 7 May 2012

Mothers are turning to social media to hold onto children who’ve flown the nest, friending their children in increasing numbers, according to a Mother’s Day press release from Telstra.

The research, conducted with over 1000 Australians, found four in five mothers have ‘friended’ their children on at least one social network, and that in most cases the online relationship is an amicable one, with only one in ten admitting to being ‘defriended’.

The research reinforces the online networking trend of mothers with children at home, as well as those with older children; according to director of consumer marketing at Tesltra, Maryanne Tsiatsias, 62% of mums regularly use Facebook, a figure up from 47% in 2009.

“The explosion of internet connected devices from smartphones to tablet PCs means social networking is a crucial tool for Aussie mums to stay in touch and keep an eye on the content of their kid’s online pages.

“Interestingly, older mums are embracing their ‘digimum’ persona, with more than half of mums over 55 years using social networking sites to keep track of what their kids are up to.”

While an online relationship is something many mothers are seeking out, children thinking of using social media as an easy way to wish mum Happy Mother’s Day should think again. “The overwhelming majority of mums want to speak to their kids on Mothers’ Day, with 80% identifying it as their preferred contact method,” Tsiatsias adds.

In its infinite wisdom, Telstra has created a top tips for digimums list, counselling mothers not to be too suffocating, embarrassing, click-happy or revealing. The press release reads, “It’s their time online too, so give them some room” and “Watch where you click… it’s all too easy to accidentally ‘like’ a random photo and reveal your snooping ways”.