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Digital News & Trends, Ecommerce, Mobile Marketing

Australian Digital Stats Compilation 2014 – 30 Fast Facts

October 2, 2014 No Comments

It’s been a year since I compiled my latest digital stats summary and so I felt I was long overdue to provide another one.

A lot can happen in a year, it was only yesterday my son was born and next week we are celebrating his first birthday (now you know why it’s been a while between drinks).

In digital a year is like a decade and the statistics demonstrate just that. With consumer consumption across the majority of channels and devices continuing to show upward growth – the biggest thing marketers need to be thinking about is how to reach the connected consumer in a orchestrated fashion.

Whilst building channel strategies is important often these are done with little consideration to the customer journey. It’s time for marketers to build blended strategies and understand consumer behaviour across various channels on the path to purchase to minimise marketing investment / waste and maximise value derived from digital efforts. I often talk about spray and pray in the email space and as brand investment has continued to grow we are seeing a similar approach applied to other key channels like social, display and more. Advertising networks including social, news publishers and beyond are innovating heavily to aid marketers to become more targeted and reach consumers at various stages of the path to purchase rather than just at the awareness phase. To do so marketers need to start taking a risk in Australia, testing and learning in this space to improve returns from digital budgets.

Over the coming few years, brands who leverage these innovations and combine it with their own consumer data to drive sophisticated, relevant and timely digital strategies will rise above the pack.

Now onto the stats…

Mobile & Tablet Usage

1. The percentage of Australians owning 3 electronic devices – a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop – has climbed to 53 per cent, from 28 per cent last year – Deloitte Australia, July 2014

2. 56% of Australians own a tablet device up 12% over the past 12 months – Sensis eBusiness Report, September 2014

3. 77% of Australians now own a smartphone up 5% over the past 12 months – Sensis eBusiness Report, September 2014

4. 55% of mobile web users now use mobile as either their primary or exclusive means of going online, an increase from 40 percent in 2013 – InMobi Report

5. Of those Australians who have an internet enabled phone 53% access the internet more than 5 times a day – with one in 5 accessing it more than 15 times a day – Sensis eBusiness Report, September 2014

6. The average mobile user consumes 6.7 hours of media per day, with mobile (23.3%) almost surpassing television (23.8%) in terms of time spent – InMobi Report

7. Tablet ownership is highest amongst Millenials and generation Xers. Over the past 3 years, 67 year olds and over (the Matures) have shown the greatest increase in appetite for tablets and are the only age group to have higher ownership of tablets than smartphones – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

8. Tablets continue to be used primarily for content consumption rather than content production or creation. Tablet usage in Australia differs across age groups. Boomers and Matures tend to use their tablets for communications, reading the news and e-books, as well as for online banking and taking photos. Millennials and Xers are more likely to use their tablets to watch TV shows and listen to music – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

Entertainment

9. Australians spend an average of 3.3 hours online for personal use as compared to 2.2 hours watching TV – TSN

10. The Internet as a preferred source of entertainment continues to grow at the same rate as in previous years (10% YOY growth over the past 3 yrs), it will eclipse watching TV in the coming year heralding a significant digital tipping point in our media habits – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

11. Connected TV use in Australia lags compared to other markets at 42% vs China (83% of those surveyed), the US (58%) and Italy (51%) perhaps due to the limited content offered locally – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

12. When it comes to online video, men lead the way in terms of consumption whilst the number of viewers across male and female are evenly split men watch 155 streams a month on average, vs. 138 for women—or 12.3% more. They also spent about three-quarters of an hour longer watching those streams – Nielsen Online Ratings & Hybrid Streaming

13. Overall in February 1.1 billion videos were streamed from YouTube with an average time spent among video viewers of 5 hours 43 minutes – Nielsen Online Ratings & Hybrid Streaming

14. e-books are on the rise with almost 32% of Australians purchasing e-books. 66% of those who purchase e-books are reading more digital books than printed books – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

15. Australian consumers are not willing to pay for news online with 92% of Australians saying that they would not pay, as they believe there is enough information available for free – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

16. Traditional news formats continue to decline, with 32% of Australian survey respondents now indicating that keeping up to date with breaking news is one of their top 3 reasons for using social media – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

Online Spending

17. For the year to July total online sales grew by 8.6% to reach $15.6 billion, online sales are now equivalent to about 6.6% of traditional retail spending, up from 6.3% for the same time last year – NAB, July 2014

18. 3 in 4 Australians are spending more than $2,500 each year buying goods and services over the internet – Sensis eBusiness Report, Sept 2014

19. Males are more inclined to make more purchases online, spending on average $3100 compared to $2100 for females – Sensis eBusiness Report, Sept 2014

20. Almost as many Australians reported purchasing on tablets (27%) as mobile phones (30%) over the past 12 months despite higher ownership of mobile phones – Sensis eBusiness Report, Sept 2014

21. On average, 26% of online purchases from Australians are made from businesses located overseas, which has fallen from 32% last year. Australians in the younger age demographics tended to report higher proportions of their online purchases coming from overseas – Sensis eBusiness Report, Sept 2014

Social Media

22. Age is correlated with the number of connections Australians have online with those 14 – 19 boasting average 511 connections, whilst those 65+ having on average 88 connections – Yellow Social Media Report

23. 95% of Australian social media users are on Facebook – Yellow Social Media Report
24. 61% of social media users under 20 use Snapchat – Yellow Social Media Report
25. 19% of female social media users use Pinterest – Yellow Social Media Report

26. 71% of Australians now use their smart-phone to access social media sites – whilst tablet usage isn’t far behind laptop computer usages at 39% and 55% respectively – Yellow Social Media Report

Advertising

27. Video advertising grew 76% to reach $196 million during the 2014 financial year – Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Online Advertising Expenditure Report.

28. Online advertising expenditure for the 12 months reached $4.387 billion, 22% higher than last year’s result. Search and directories was the largest part of the pie at 52%, followed by general display (29.2%) and classifieds (18.8%) – Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Online Advertising Expenditure Report.

29. Mobile advertising has grown strongly reaching $620m in the year to 30 June, making it now larger than the total magazine market – Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Online Advertising Expenditure Report.

30. 36% of Australian survey respondents expressed some concern about their social networking posts/tweets being used for advertising or promotion purposes, with 17% ‘extremely concerned’ about it – Deloitte Media Consumer Survey

Watch: Australian Digital Media and Digital Economy Statistics

References
TNS
Sensis eBusiness Report, Sept 2014
InMobi Mobile Report
Deloitte Media Consumer Survey
IAB Expenditure Report

Content Marketing, Digital News & Trends, Ecommerce, Mobile Marketing, Social Media, Tablets

8 Interesting Insights from Mary Meeker’s 2014 Internet Report with an Australian Twist

June 2, 2014 No Comments

Last week, the very influential Mary Meeker released her 2014 Internet Trend Report at the Code Conference in California.

If you don’t have time to wade through the 160+ page report – here is my summary of some of the most interesting insights for marketers with an Australian take on it (where possible).

SOCIAL

1) From social broadcasting to selective messaging

Tech acquisitions often shed a lot of light into where things like social media are heading, so when Facebook attempted to acquire SnapChat and went on to purchase WhatsApp it became pretty clear that people were beginning to favour private communications over public social networks. In the past 12 – 18 months, we have seen the popularity of messaging apps soar as consumers seek more control over who sees a message or photograph – demonstrating a shift from broadcast type social messaging to communicating to a select few. This consumer shift will change the way brands use social media with these direct messaging services providing brands with new tools to find and build relationships with individual customers.

With recent statistics demonstrating apps like Snapchat are growing in popularity down under – with approx 10% of the online population already using the Snapchat service, it’s one Australian marketers need to watch closely and consider relevance – particularly brands operating in the youth brand space.

2. Content generation growing but becoming unfindable

As consumers shift some of their focus and attention to communicating via messaging apps – there is a growing amount of unfindable content being generated which limits marketers’ ability to capture brand perceptions and sentiment as well as glean data from social on individual consumers.

MOBILE & TABLET

3. Mobile growth unabated but mobile advertising still flat
Mobile internet usage continues to grow, with mobile data rising 81% year over year and now making up 25% of total web usage. Despite the significant growth, globally mobile advertising represents just 11% of internet advertising demonstrating lots of room for growth in the years ahead.

In Australia, mobile internet usage trumps usage on any other device making up 33% of all minutes spent accessing the internet. In line with global trends there is significant upside and growth opportunity in mobile advertising down under with mobile internet advertising currently attracting just over $1 in every $5 spent in display, and 17% of all search advertising spend according to the IABs recent statistics.

4. Single purpose apps all the rage

Part of the success of apps like Instagram, WhatsApp and others has been attributed to their single minded purpose. We are seeing tech giants globally begin to invest in single purpose apps i.e. Facebook Messenger to ensure important features that drive usage and interaction are not buried under a mound of functionality.

5. Rapid growth in sensors drives innovation & big data

The rising growth in mobile handsets shipped with sensors will pave the way for the next generation of mobile experiences – as the increasing number of sensors embedded into mobile devices provides an opportunity to create new / more engaging experiences. Equally the growth in sensors is also anticipated to create troves of additional data to mine, contributing to the big data mind-field.

6. Tablet continues to power ahead

The growth of table, seems to continue to roll on growing 52% in 2013, and uptake has grown faster than PCs ever did however penetration globally remains low. The low levels of penetration and high levels of growth indicate there is still significant upside for tablet growth in the years ahead. Locally however it is quite a different story. According to Telstye, sales of tablets in Australia reached 4.8 million in 2013, and it is now estimated that tablet penetration stands at 40%. Telsyte estimates that 29 per cent of units sold in 2013 were Low (<$200) or Medium ($200 – $450) cost, and anticipates these segments to grow to over 50 per cent of sales by 2018, given current trends – which demonstrates Apple share will soften in the coming years in Australia.

TV

7. The evolution of TV a key space to watch

A solid portion of the report focussed on the evolution of TV – which demonstrates the significant amount of change occurring in the space.

Some of the key trends include;
• Traditional TV is being replaced with mobile apps as broadcasters seek to provide consumers with new ways to consume content on the go
• Millennial’s are leading the charge in online TV consumption shunning traditional TV viewing.
• The growth of new premium channels on YouTube can’t be ignored providing consumers with more choice – much of which is being consumed via mobile (approx 40%)

ECOMMERCE

8. Instant gratification drives same day delivery

As free shipping moves towards the norm globally, with approx 47% of online transactions coming from free shipping – the next big horizon is same day delivery to satisfy consumers need for instant gratification. As geographical constraints have led to slower adoption of free delivery by retailers in Australia (due to cost), it is anticipated that same day local delivery will fail to become the norm locally for quite a number of years yet as logistics prove too difficult for most retailers to master.

To view the full report click here

Watch: Takeaways from Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends report 2014

Content Marketing, Digital News & Trends, Ecommerce, Mobile Marketing, Social Media, Tablets

13 Valuable Australian Digital Resources For Marketers

February 9, 2014 No Comments

Australian publishers, agencies, industry bodies and bloggers are pumping out a raft of valuable resources which can support strategy / business case development or to simply get up to speed with the digital landscape. This article is a compilation of some of the best infographics, case studies, reports and more that I have come across on the Australian digital market. If you have come across any other valuable resources please share them via the comments field below.

Content Marketing Resources

1. Report: Content Marketing in Australia: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends
Published: November 2013
Overview: Compiled by the content institute, ADMA and KingContent – this presentation takes a look at the state of content marketing in Australia vs the UK and US. The presentation covers statistics related to investment in content marketing by marketers, key challenges faced and more.

Download here

2. Blog Article: 17 excellent examples of content marketing in Australia
Published: January 2014
Overview: This article is a great compilation of brands both large and small in Australia leveraging content marketing to achieve key marketing objectives. Case studies covered include Intrepid Travel, MYOB, kikki.K, Telstra, Netregistry and more.
View here: http://www.expermedia.com.au/17-excellent-examples-of-content-marketing-in-australia/

Digital Media Resources
3. Diagram: MediaScape – Guide to Australian Digital Media & Advertising Trading Landscape
Published: December 2013
Overview: If you are new to the digital media space, this useful diagram provides a detailed overview of all the options that exist within the digital media trading market in Australia. It serves as a useful cheat sheet for discussions with your media buyer.
View here: http://www.mediascope.com.au/guide-digital-advertising-sales-agencies-networks-exchanges

Mobile Resources

4. Infographic: mCommerce & Mobile Shopping in Australia
Published: May 2013
Overview: This infographic combines data from an array of sources to provide insight into the mobile shopping landscape in Australia. The infographic details statistics on showrooming by Australians, popular mobile shopping categories and more.

View here: http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/infographic-m-commerce-and-mobile-shopping-in-australia-40000/#.UvYpsPmSyOh

5. Report: AIMIA 9th Mobile Lifestyle Index
Published: October 2013
Overview: You might need to get yourself comfortable before reading this report as it is 99 pages. The AIMIA Mobile Lifestyle Index is a yearly study now in its 9th year. The report contains a host of valuable statistics related to mobile usage in Australia – from smartphone market-share to key activities consumers engage in via their mobile device.
Download here: http://www.aimia.com.au/ampli

6. Report: Telstra’s How Mobility is Changing the Rhythm of Australian Retail
Published: 2013
Overview: This detailed report provides insight into the Australian mobile shopper – including analysis of the role mobile plays in influencing consumers at various stages of the path to purchase. This is a great resource for any marketer operating in the retail space.
Download here: http://www.telstra.com.au/business-enterprise/download/document/business-enterprise-teg1398_mobility_retail_white_pages_v08_hr_singles.pdf

Social Media

7. Report & Infographic: State of Social Media in Australia
Published: May 2013
Overview: This report / infographic explores both Australian consumers consumption of social media along with how businesses are leveraging social media (with a focus on small businesses). From a consumer perspective the report provides a host of statistics on consumer social usage in Australia including the portion of consumers using social media when viewing TV, the portion of consumers accessing reviews via social channels and more. Whilst from a business perspective, the report looks at business uptake of social, budget allocation to the channel and other key statistics.

8. Report & Infographic: Social Customer Care
Published: November 2013
Overview: Social Pulse released a comprehensive report detailing how customers use social media to make enquiries. The report also details what customers expect from companies and how companies are responding to social media queries.

View the infographic here: http://www.marketingmag.com.au/tags/customer-service/#.Uvcq0_mSyOg
For a copy of the full report contact Social Pulse here http://socialpulse.co/social-customer-care-report

eCommerce / Multi-Channel

9. Report & Infographic: NAB Retail Sales Index
Published: Monthly & Quarterly
Overview: Over the past few years NAB has published monthly and quarterly retail sales indexes. The index provides insight into eCommerce growth in Australia, domestic vs international share of online purchases and more.

View the October quarterly infographic here; http://business.nab.com.au/online-retail-sales-index-indepth-special-report-october-2013-5126/
View all available reports / infographics here: www.nab.com.au/onlineretailsales

10. Report: Optus Future of Business Report
Published: 2013
Overview: The Optus Future of Business 2013 research report offers detailed insights into how the retail industry is adapting to succeed in an omni-channel environment. The research also reveals what consumers expect of service channels now and in the future.

Download here

11. Infographic: Online Gift Purchasing – Christmas 2013
Published: January 2014
Overview: Hot off the press this infographic summarises Australians online buying behaviour during December 2013 – detailing key reasons consumers shopped online at Christmas, types of gifts purchased online and a host of other valuable statistics.
View here: http://cdn.marketingmag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Infographicfinal2.jpg

Other

12. Infographic: Nielsen Australian Connected Consumers
Published: November 2013
Overview: This infographic compares Australians digital usage and consumption behaviour 10 years ago vs today. This infographic demonstrates the growth / change in device ownership overtime, uptake of social media, online advertising spend investment and more.

View here: http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/au/en/images/infographics/Nielsen-ACCR-Infographic-Final.jpg

13. Infographic: Australian Baby Boomers Online Media Usage
Published: April 2013
Overview: Mi9s Baby Boomer infographic puts the spotlight on the over 50s Australian consumer. The infographic details weekly consumption of the internet statistics, multi-screen ownership data and online purchasing behaviour.
View here: http://cdn.marketingmag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Mi9-Baby-Boomers-infographic-2.jpg

Content Marketing, Digital News & Trends, Ecommerce, Mobile Marketing, Social Media

2014 Digital Predictions From the Experts

December 22, 2013 No Comments

Digital Trends and Marketing Predictions 2014

It’s that time of year again – tinsel, lights, too much food and digital predictions for the year ahead. With a host of digital experts touting what we can expect in the year ahead, I have curated what I believe to be the most interesting predictions for 2014.

1. Pay to play becomes crucial in social media

Augie Ray, former Forrester analyst suggests a focus on paid media will eclipse earned media in marketing strategies. As Facebook and Twitter continue to monetise their social platforms and brand noise continues to rise – it is going to be harder to succeed in the social space unless you pay to play. Thus in 2014 brands will leverage paid as an important part of their social strategy more than ever before.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2013/12/17/2014-digital-trends-and-predictions-from-marketing-thought-leaders/

2. Content attracts media spend

According to Adam Vincenzini from Kamber, an Australian content agency, 2014 will be the year where content promotion takes a bigger chunk of media spend. As brands have been heavily investing in content production in recent years, brands are recognising that this great content is often not gaining the reach / visibility to gain maximum impact. Thus in 2014 we will see more and more publishers creating content solutions to enable brands to work their content assets harder.
http://www.slideshare.net/AdamVincenzini/social-media-trends-2014?from_search=14

3. The internet of things (IoT) will accelerate

According to Quartz, 2014 will be the year the internet of things takes off. Quartz suggests until recently, connecting a device to the internet was expensive and difficult. But in the past year or so, companies like Qualcomm, Intel and Texas Instruments have created inexpensive, power-efficient chips that enable pretty much anything to connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, or to a mobile phone via a standard called Bluetooth Low Energy. As a result innovation by big corporates as well as start ups will accelerate in 2014.
But what does this mean for marketers?
One of the most notable outcomes of the IoT, is that these smart technologies gather a tremendous about of data and for marketers trying to already grapple with the tremendous amount of data already available the IoT adds another level of complexity. Although this challenge will probably not be one marketers need to tackle in the year ahead given the IoT is still emerging.
http://news.msn.com/science-technology/will-the-internet-of-things-be-a-thing-in-2014-1
http://qz.com/154064/2014-is-the-year-of-the-internet-of-things-no-seriously-we-mean-it-this-time/

4. Location-Based Mobile Commerce

According to ExactTarget, location based mobile commerce will begin to flourish driven by technology and application innovations like iBeacon.
Kyle Vanhemert in his inWired article described the potential of iBeacon;
“You step inside Walmart and your shopping list is transformed into a personalized map, showing you the deals that’ll appeal to you most. You pause in front of a concert poster on the street, pull out your phone, and you’re greeted with an option to buy tickets with a single tap. You go to your local watering hole, have a round of drinks, and just leave, having paid—and tipped!—with Uber-like ease. Welcome to the world of iBeacon.”
http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/5-marketing-technology-trends-to-watch-in-2014/#!

5. Social TV opportunities expand

Whilst second screen usage is not new, few brands have taken advantage of it – particularly when it comes to tapping into the social TV trend. Millward Brown believes 2014 will bring a host of new social TV opportunities. According to Millward Brown “the social TV opportunity will be expanded as Twitter introduces additional audience-based targeting opportunities. Millard Brown writes “based on their data connecting TV to social media usage on the second screen, Twitter will be able to define like-minded communities organized around TV viewing habits. Eventually this will lead to more sophisticated psychographic targeting when those audiences are further segmented based on other interests and habits. For brands that are title sponsors of a show or an event, this means they will be able to continue targeting their show-specific audience long after the event itself, and not necessarily just when those people are tweeting or reading about show-specific content.”
http://www.millwardbrown.com/ChangingChannels/2013/Predictions/index.html

6. Privacy concerns give rise to disappearing data

In an era of Big Data, marketers equally need to grapple with disappearing data. In 2014, David Berkowitz, Chief Marketing Officer of MRY believes marketers are going to have to come to terms with disappearing data in the social space with new social applications like Snapchat gaining momentum. Such a trend will make it more difficult for marketers to track and target consumers. Equally as companies seek to capture more data than ever before consumers will increasingly prioritise privacy, which puts pressure of law makers to legislate against the capture and storage of various pieces of information. Search marketers already have to come to terms with disappearing search query data from Google – expect much more of this in the year ahead.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2013/12/17/2014-digital-trends-and-predictions-from-marketing-thought-leaders/

Watch: Game-Changing Digital Predictions for 2014

Digital Strategy, Mobile Marketing

Mobile: Retailer Loyalty Friend or Foe?

January 28, 2013 No Comments

Some hail mobile as the saviour of the high street – whilst others are concerned about the impact mobile is having on bricks and mortar businesses as retail stores become showrooms for online retailers. Regardless of which corner you sit in – both points of view speak to the influence mobile is having on retail sales and that influence is only set to grow. A recent Deloitte study, titled the Dawn of Mobile Influence, affirmed the increasingly influential role mobile will play in the coming years with the report anticipating that by 2016 as much as 17-21% of all retail sales will be mobile influenced.

So is mobile a retailers’ friend or foe, and is mobile helping or hindering customer loyalty?

Mobile: A Foe of Retailer Loyalty

One of the biggest threats mobile poses is the heightening of consumer promiscuity. Price comparison is obviously not new – but the trusty mobile device has made it easier than ever to compare retailer pricing instantly and not just on a local scale. So easy has mobile price comparison become that a recent Telstra study has shown 49% of Australians now use their mobile phones to compare prices in-store. But it isn’t just price comparison that is the problem, traditional bricks and mortar retailers are being subjected to show-rooming – a trend where consumers browse shelves in store to touch, feel and experience the product before venturing online to buy it at a cheaper price.

Rather than bury their head in the sand, smart retailers are embracing the trend and tackling it head on. UK retail powerhouse John Lewis now offers free Wi-Fi in stores to enable consumers test their price guarantee.

Sean O’Connor John Lewis’ Head of Online Delivery and Customer Experience believes “when we supplement the price commitment with good advice, service, trustworthiness and the instant gratification of making a purchase there and then, we believe we have a winning recipe.”

But unfortunately not all retailers have shared the same sentiment to John Lewis. Take Best Buys in the US as an example – as an electronics retailer competition is fierce and comparing like for like products is easier than in verticals like fashion. Initially Best Buys considered how to stop the price comparison phenomenon in-store by adopting unique barcodes so consumers couldn’t easily scan and compare pricing. For Best Buys, price comparison and switching has become a thorn in the retailer’s side and the lack of positive action has led to significant revenue decline.
Regardless however of how retailers are reacting to the trend – price comparison and show-rooming are fuelling brand switching more than ever before – which makes mobile a bit of a retailer loyalty foe.

Mobile: A Friend of Retailer Loyalty

Whilst the always-on nature of mobile is diluting brand allegiance and fuelling a breed of disloyal consumers, mobile is presenting new opportunities for brands to take personalisation to a new level. Best in class retailers are integrating mobile location data with ones social graph and other customer information, such as purchase history and browsing behaviour to build more memorable brand experiences with shoppers to drive repeat purchase and loyalty.

The powerful nature of combining mobile technology and data has resulted in a proliferation of retailers building and experimenting with mobile loyalty apps that;
• Provide personalised local based offers
• Reward consumers for repeat purchase
• Store loyalty program data and preferences to streamline the in-store experience.

Brands like Dunkin Donuts, Game UK, Costa Coffee, Monsoons and a host of others have launched loyalty based apps to better engage their customer base over the past 12 months.

To date however Starbucks has been the stand out in the mobile loyalty space. Amongst other features, the app stores a virtual rewards card for the “myStarbucks reward program”. By doing so the app has enabled Starbucks to grow its loyalty program to over 10 million members, half of whom have opted in to receive personalised offers which keep Starbucks top of mind and increase shop frequency. The app also seeks to drive repeat purchase at shorter intervals by providing a “free pick of the week” which is a free download of music, content or even a game that can only be downloaded if the consumer ventures in-store. The Starbucks app even allows consumers to store their favourite drinks and pay for their purchase (25% of Starbucks consumers now pay via this method) – which streamlines the ordering process in-store.

By leveraging mobile as a central pillar of its customer management strategy – Starbucks has demonstrated the powerful role mobile can play in building deeper, more engaging relationships with its consumers.

Mobile: A Consumers Friend – Make it Yours

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. As mobile devices are the one item consumers can’t live without – you could say that the way to a consumer’s heart is through their mobile. With the launch of Apple’s Passbook in September 2012 and Google’s continued focus on growing Google Wallet, 2013 is set to be even bigger in the mobile space for retailers. Retailers must start to see mobile as a “friend” and core pillar to achieving CRM and loyalty success – as thinking any other way is a distraction.

References

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/RetailDistribution/us_retail_Mobile-Influence-Factor_062712.pdf

http://www.telstra.com.au/business-enterprise/download/document/business-australian-omnichannel-whitepaper-2012.pdf

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/starbucks-caffeinates-mobile-payments-with-over-2m-mobile-transactions-per-week

Mobile Marketing

Augmented Reality On The Rise In Oz

July 17, 2011 No Comments

According to a report by Visiongain, the value of the global Augmented Reality market was approximately $11 million in Q1 of 2011 whilst Juniper Research estimated the market at the close of 2010 to be $15 million. Despite the discrepancy in figures there is no denying that the future is bright for Augmented Reality. With broadband penetration increasing and improvement in Smartphone feature specifications, the Augmented Reality market could zoom from now until 2015. In fact, Juniper Research is estimating the market will approach close to $15 billion by 2015.

Whilst its use has been a little slow out of the blocks, Augmented Reality is starting to gain some traction amongst the marketing community in Australia. In 2011 we have seen higher uptake of AR than ever before with big brands experimenting in the space. This article details 3 great examples of how AR has been used to integrate online and offline activities to deliver a richer brand experience.

Coopers Clear AR Instant Win Promotion

At the beginning of the year Coopers’ Brewery launched a ‘Coopers Clear Cut’ campaign to mark the 1st year anniversary of the Coopers Clear product and to drive incremental beer sales.

Coopers took the traditional FMCG instant win promotional concept and transformed it by branding cases of Coopers Clear with special Augmented Reality codes. Using either a micro site or iPhone to scan the code, buyers were able to view possible prizes that they could win, in 3D, including diamonds, Coopers Summer Packs, and BigPond music downloads.

Outcome: Coopers received nearly 20,000 entries into the competition of which over 7,000 were from the iPhone app! The app was downloaded in excess of 2,000 times with the remainder of entries coming via web.

CommBank Brings Ads To Life With AR

CommBank was one of early adopters of Augmented Reality through the launch of their property app. The app provides consumers with past sales history, current property listings and recent sales, all of which are mapped on to a real world view through the iPhone’s camera

To date the app has achieved strong uptake with over 100,000 downloads however as consumers are still relatively new to AR, CommBank needed a way to recruit more users! Enter more AR stage right!

In March this year, CommBank launched AR print advertisements in mX and News Ltd newspapers. Using the iPhone to trigger 3D animations of a virtual town, CommBank illustrated the features of their property app to entice more consumers to download the app.

According to Ikon the use of AR in print gave CommBank the opportunity to enhance awareness of the property app amongst the Bank’s wider consumer base through innovative use of press.

KIA

In 2011 Kia took its Australian Open partnership to the next level with its broadcast partner Channel 7, by combining Augmented Reality with television advertising!

Through the use of AR, KIA brought a 3D animation of the KIA Optima from the television screen to a user’s mobile phone, enabling consumers to experience the cars features in a fun and interactive way!

Outcomes; The app received strong take up with over 11,000 iPhone downloads and over 5,000 downloads on Android devices.

Digital Strategy, Mobile Marketing

3 Mobile Trends Marketers Simply Can’t Ignore

June 6, 2011 No Comments

Australians adoption of smartphones has mobile internet usage growing at a rapid rate. Nowadays the mobile device facilitates communication (talk, text and social network interaction) , entertainment (mobile TV / video & gaming) and provides access to information anytime anywhere – making it the one device that no one can live without.

It therefore comes as no surprise that it’s one of the key channels that marketers need embrace with open arms now and in years to come. But it is not only the sheer amount of time consumers are spending on their devices that makes the channel valuable, it is the context in which consumers are using them that will make marketers stand up and take notice!

Below are 3 key trends which I believe no marketer can ignore.

Trend 1: Second Screen Mobile Usage Is Significant

According to a recent study by YuMe, some 60% of TV audiences are distracted by their mobile phone while watching TV. However according to Nielsen and Yahoo’s research, second screen usage is as high as 86%. Although the 2 surveys present a discrepancy in second screen usage both surveys indicate that the trend is significant and this presents an opportunity for marketers – an opportunity to integrate! Now more than ever marketers therefore need to think about how to transition audiences from a traditional TVC to a mobile device. Strategies include but are not limited to;
• SMS – to find out more or to enter competitions / promotions
• Mobile Search – recommending consumers to search for a particular phrase relevant to the ad content and
• Augmented Reality – A few brands have already experimented with AR to deliver a richer 3D / augmented experience. This might be just what the doctor ordered to reinvigorate dull brand TVCs

Trend 2: Mobile Usage In Store

Not only are mobile phones monopolising the in-home entertainment experience, mobiles are also playing an increasingly influential role in-store. According to research conducted by iModerate Research Technologies more than half of smartphone owners are using their mobile in store to enhance their shopping experience by comparing prices, finding store locations and checking for discounts. Whilst a survey conducted by independent marketing firm IPSOS OTX found 79% of smartphone users utilise their devices in store. In Australia, retailers are already feeling the digital pinch, however trends such as these indicate that the fight for customers is only going to get tougher – as your competitors are only a click away at the point of sale. These new instore consumers experiences are therefore prime territory for marketers looking to inject a brand into a target audience’s psyche at a critical juncture in their decision making process.

Trend 3: Cross-Media Influence

Whilst mobile / second screen usage is distracting consumers, research from IPSOS OTX revealed that traditional media has a strong influence on mobile usage. According to the research conducted, 68% of consumers search on their phones as a direct result of traditional ad exposure. This research comes as no surprise, as mobile phones provide consumers with the immediacy to act upon a relevant brand message. Search is however not the only way in which consumers can act on a brand message. AR has enabled brands like CommBank to engage with consumers in interactive ways – making a simple flat print ad – a 3D experience.

As these trends show, whether it is at POS, on TV or out and about, brands, particularly retail ones, need to consider mobile as one of the cornerstones of their marketing strategy not an after thought!

Latest Digital Statistics Compilation Australia

January 18, 2011 No Comments

Since it has been a good 6 months since I have compiled a summary of Australian digital statistics, I felt it’s a good time for us to reflect on the second half of 2010. Enjoy!

Social – Facebook Usage

1. In December 2010 there were 9,361,520 Australia’s actively using Facebook.
2. In December 2010 – users by age group were as follows – 35% or roughly 3.2 million subscribers fell into the 20 to 29-year-old category. At 21% or nearly two million users each are the 30 to 39 and 13 to 19 age bands. More than 1.2 million users are in the 40 to 49-year-old band that makes up 13% of the total. And about 732,000 people between the ages of 50 and 59 form 8% of the total. The remaining 210,000 are aged 60 and above.
3. Facebook represents almost 1 in every 5 pages viewed on the web by Australians during September 2010. Facebook’s 19.3% share swamps Google.com.au’s 7.4% share of page views.
4. The average session time for a user visiting Facebook during September 2010 was 28 minutes and 58 seconds.

Sources
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/email-is-so-passe-for-facebook-generation/story-e6frg6z6-1225981885878
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/alan-long/2010/10/12_things_you_need_to_know_abo.html

Video

5. More than three quarters of online Australians (77%) watched video content on their computer at least once in September and a further 26% watched video on their mobile phone.
6. In October 2010, Australian video viewers consumed an average of nearly 8 hours of video.
7. Males spend a significantly longer amount of time viewing online video than females. On average, males watched just over 10 hours of online video in October, while females averaged 5.2 hours. Males also consumed a higher number of videos on average at 113 videos per viewer, compared to females at 72 videos per viewer.

Sources:
http://www.nielsen-online.com/pr/OCR_GOS-oct10.pdf
http://www.comscore.com/

Mobile

8. According to the AIMIA mobile survey, the proportion of respondents who own a Nokia or Motorola handset has declined over the last few years, while those owning an Apple handset has increased. The top handset brands of respondents this year were Nokia (41%), Apple (21%), Samsung (12%), Sony Ericsson (9%), LG (6%), Motorola (3%) and Blackberry (3%).
9. 24% of respondents used their mobile phone for banking at least on a monthly basis, compared to 19% last year.
10. 12% of respondents used their mobile phone to buy things for their mobile phone at least once on a monthly basis, compared to 10% last year.
11. 9% of respondents used their mobile phone to buy things not for their mobile phone, at least on a monthly basis, compared to 8% last year.
12. In September 2010, one third of Australians (36%) accessed the Internet via their mobile phone in the past 30 days and 13 percent accessed the Internet via a handheld media device other than a mobile.

Sources;
http://www.aimia.com.au/home/news/member-news/aimia-releases-sixth-annual-australian-mobile-phone-lifestyle-index
http://www.nielsen-online.com/pr/OCR_GOS-oct10.pdf

Online Shopping

13. In the past year, shoppers have spent $10 to $12 billion online, about 5 per cent of total retail sales of $250 billion.
14. Market researchers Frost & Sullivan predict that online spend will grow to $18 billion by 2014.
15. Online spending grew 12% in Australia in 2010

Sources;
http://www.smh.com.au/business/switchedon-consumers-signal-sea-change-in-retail-20110107-19iq7.html

Online Advertising

16. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Media and Entertainment Outlook 2010 – 2014 report, online advertising in Australia is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.4% every year for the next four years. While the same forecast for print growth is 1.9% and for free TV is 3.9%.
17. In Q3 2010, general display and classifieds advertising accounted for 26.5% and 24.6% respectively, of total advertising expenditure, while search & directories advertising comprised of the remaining 48.9%.
18. CPM based pricing continued as the dominant expenditure type with 75% of advertising expenditure allocated to CPM buys whilst 25% was on a direct response basis.
19. Finance, motor vehicles and computers & communications continue to be the dominant industries using general display advertising, comprising 44.3% of the general display spending. Motor vehicle (manufacturers) was the largest subcategory at 10.5% of general display spending for the quarter, marginally down from 10.7% in Q2 2010.

Source;
http://www.iabaustralia.com.au

Video: Digital Media In Australia – Facts & Figures

Digital News & Trends, Mobile Marketing

Mobile Mania in Australia – Mobile Internet Usage Statistics

October 23, 2010 No Comments

Last week I attended a mobile marketing breakfast held by Citrus in Melbourne. This was timely as AIMIA had also released their latest mobile study. With so many facts, figures and trends circulating it is therefore time to review and interpret just what this means for marketers.

Fact 1) AIMIA stated iPhone now represents 21% marketshare in Australia whilst a Telstra survey indicated ownership of iPhone was approx 10%.

Handset manufacturers globally and locally are very coy about releasing statistics related to handsets shipped to individual markets. As a result it is difficult to gain actual figures on handset ownership. What is however obvious from the above statistics is handset ownership of iPhone sits somewhere in the realm of 10 – 20% share in Australia. So what other manufacturers are dominating the landscape? Nokia still retains a high level of share with ownership above 40% but does seem to be slightly diminishing, whilst what is on the rise is the share of Android phones.
What this means is we have 3 to 4 dominant players which are battling for share and to quote the GM of Technology of Citrus “When creating mobile strategies don’t think handset think mobile capability”

Fact 2: 40% of smart-phone users in Australia are over the age of 40 (Source: AIMIA)

Like with social media locally and globally usage of smart-phones is becoming less generational. When mobilising your site it is therefore important to consider that it may be utilised by people of all ages thus how can you best cater for an array of individuals from different age groups.

However despite greater uptake by the older generations, it seems heavier usage still exists for younger demographics as well as for males – according to the Telstra Smartphone Index.

Fact 3: 41 per cent of consumers have installed a mobile application and of those 43% have installed less than 5 apps (Source: AIMIA)

When many organizations think mobile strategy they think apps. However these statistics show that whilst many consumers are using smartphone they are not all downloading applications. And those that are, many do so in small quantities. Therefore if your budget is small you need to decide where it will be best spent. I believe these statistics really crystallize 2 things;

1) Mobilise your existing site and build an app second
2) As app development can be expensive – do your research and your numbers and ensure that if you go down the application path that you build something unique otherwise your return may be minimal.

Fact 4: Mobile eCommence has grown in some areas and has been fairly static in others.

Statistics from AIMIA showed;
• 24% of respondents used their mobile phone for banking at least on a monthly basis, compared to 19% last year.
• 17% of respondents used their mobile phone to make payments at least on a monthly basis, compared to 12% last year.
• 12% of respondents used their mobile phone to buy things for their mobile phone at least on a monthly basis, compared to 10% last year.
• 9% of respondents used their mobile phone to buy things not for their mobile phone, at least on a monthly basis, compared to 8% last year.

What these statistics show us is that more convenience type transactions like banking and mobile payments are increasingly becoming important to mobile users. Whilst transacting for general goods seems to have remained rather static year on year. This could be because of the lack of m-commerce sites in Australia as many retailers still struggle to establish an eCommerce presence.

Fact 5: One in five use mobile search sites like Google, Yahoo and Bing daily. (Source; Telstra Smartphone Index)

In addition to the above trends, statistics from Google suggest mobile search has tripled in the past year. Trends such as these reveal the importance of creating a mobile search strategy and in particular optimising for local search.

Fact 6: Mobile advertising expenditure will reach $76m by 2015, growing at 46% a year (Frost & Sullivan)

Mobile advertising in Australia has reached $9.1 million in 2010, small compared to the projection of the next 5 years. As it is projected that mobile internet usage will surpass desktop by 2013, organisations need to ensure they are investing their marketing budget in channels where their audiences are spending their time. In Australia we have witnessed slow uptake of shifting spend from the offline to the online space and therefore organisations who exploit the trend early will benefit from low advertising rates and higher cut-through.

Related Video: Australian Mobile Marketing

Mobile Marketing

On The Move – Mobile Marketing

July 9, 2010 No Comments

Just a week ago I was reading an article which was regurgitating the same old line – is this the year of the mobile? For those working in the industry, we all know that mobile internet has received strong enough penetration to consider it an important digital channel – one which cannot be ignored.

In fact in a recent report from Mark Meeker’s, from Morgan Stanley it was declared that by 2014 mobile will become the primary device for accessing the internet reinforcing just how big a role mobile will play in our digital strategy in the coming years. However just like social media the mobile space is moving rapidly and organisations are beginning to innovate in the space. So what are some of the trends emerging beyond those that we have already witnessed like Augmented Reality. 5 of the most interesting I have come across are detailed below.

Comparison Shopping – Mobile Style

The introduction of applications like ShopSavvy will provide consumers with new ways to compare and shop on the move. Named a potential game charger – comparsion apps combine location with traditional comparison technology to enable consumers to do online research out in the field. By scanning bar codes users can compare prices of the products in the area simplifying the process of “shopping around”.

Jeffrey Grau a senior analyst from eMarketer recently said “Until now, researching online and buying in a store have been sequential activities that take place hours, days or even weeks apart. But customers who bring their Web-enabled mobile phones with them into a store can do online research at the point of a purchase decision.”

mCommerce

Gartner analysts are predicting an explosion in mobile transactions this year, with the number of such purchases likely to increase by over 50%. The data, compiled by Gartner, showed the Asia-Pacific region to be the leader in mobile transactions, with 41.8 million users in 2009 – a number which is expected to rise to 62.8 million by the end of 2010. However with Australian retailers behind on the general commerce front it will be interesting to see how quickly retailers will embrace mobile commerce opportunities.

Location Based Marketing & CRM for Mobile

Globally in markets such as the US and UK, mobile is providing a key tool to drive traffic and sales to traditional bricks and mortar retailers – bridging the gap between online and in-store purchases. Mobile coupons are one of the key ways in which retailers such as Subway and Target are using mobile to drive consumers in-store. This presents a significant opportunity for Australian retailers who are yet to be convinced about the value driven through investment in online channels to drive sales in-store.

A newer opportunity is also surfacing and could also revolutionise mobile marketing and that is Geo-fencing. A geo-fence is a virtual field around a location that is used to shoot a mobile message to a user when they come into or leave that area through applications. For brands who have engaged consumers in the mobile space, geo-fencing presents an opportunity to communicate to their audience in a timely, relevant manner – based on their location. By doing so retailers will be able to drive repeat patronage in store and potentially increase share of wallet from its consumer base.

Appvertising

Both Google (AdMob) and Apple (iAds) are heavily investing in networks to monetise the increasing number of applications being loaded into app stores. Unlike other forms of advertising networks, mobile networks can combine location based data with user profiles to deliver a new targeting capability. And whilst statistics of mobile advertising vs other forms show market share is still relatively small the opportunity is significant. The Apple iStore alone has experienced over 4 billion downloads for free apps – and this sheer volume of consumer usage and engagement is one which many marketers will be looking to leverage – particularly early on. Like any newer form of media, consumer interaction is high partly due to lower advertiser saturation rates and noise. Statistics currently show that that appvertising campaigns are delivering response rates of between .3% – 6%.

Location Based Social Media

Location based social media is one other area that is significantly on the rise. FourSquare, Gowalla, Google Latitude and others are rapidly innovating and consumer take up is rapidly increasing. A month ago I provided a full overview of these networks and how they are changing the mobile and social landscape along with the opportunities they will present to marketers.

What other trends do you see emerging in the mobile space? Share them below.

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