Neo Website Gets an Upgrade
We are currently upgrading our website and will be back shortly.
If you would like to get in touch regarding digital solutions for your business, please contact Garth Agius:
+61 2 9277 6195
Garth.Agius@ogilvy.com.au
Twitter gets personal
Tailored Twitter trends is the latest announcement revealed by Twitter this week.
Twitter will now select trending topics for a user’s Twitter feed based on their location and those they follow. The reason behind the personalised experience is to ensure trending topics are relevant for the user. Twitter followers can revert back to a non-personalised experience to see what’s trending in their city or country.
Rebecca Haly
How are consumers using their iPad?
Some interesting learnings to take on board when thinking about iPad activity from News Australia.
Insights that Incite: 10 Things We’ve Learned From 10 iPad users
Last week we spent 20 hours watching how 10 iPad users use the device. Here are 10 things we learned by watching 10 iPad users:
1. It’s a global newsstand. They are buying foreign versions of magazines, oftentimes not even knowing it. “The cover of Vogue is different from the print version” (btw, these were smart, affluent luxury readers we interviewed). We now compete with 12 versions of GQ in the Zinio newsstand.
2. The competition on tablets isn’t just other magazines; it’s everything from Angry Birds to Skype to Pinterest. We are competing for their attention against 60,000 other iPad apps.
3. Awareness of Apple Newsstand and Zinio is low. People are generally unfamiliar with magazines on tablets. A lot of focus is on apps for work and just using the tablet for web browsing (Safari) and email, social networking.
4. Ads with interactivity win: They like being able to engage and interact with relevant ads. Ads without interactivity annoy – they are just static, take up the full screen and unlike print, there is no content on the opposite page because there is no opposite page.
5. A flick is faster than a flip: When they are annoyed by ads or not engaged with it, they can flick by fast – faster than they can normally flip a page.
6. They prefer to flick left to right – not up and down. They get lost when going up and down, and worry that they’ve missed some content.
7. Content and commerce can blur: They don’t mind the blurring of content and commerce – it reflects the “lean back AND lean forward” experience of the iPad.
8. It has to work: There are a lot of apps that crash or don’t work properly. Unlike laptops, the ipad has more limited disc space/memory and they will delete apps that don’t work or offer value to their lives.
9. Most people will continue to read a mix of print and iPad magazines. Only a few planned to totally ditch print.
10. A magazine renaissance is coming. Print and tablets have many parallels – they use the same language to talk about them: the tactile nature, the beautiful photos, the focused attention they place on them.
From the study “Making Digital Glossy” – a collaborative study between NewsLifeMedia and Mediacom Prestige
Ecommerce Booming Down Under
Due to the estimated increase of Australian online buyers and spend, the estimated increase will continue to rise into the billions of dollars.
” … having a local presence in Australia doesn’t necessarily give native retailers an advantage in ecommerce—innovative international sites that offer competitive value remain an important destination.”
High online buyer penetration and the growth of average sales per user spur sales
Ecommerce is booming worldwide, but especially so in Australia. eMarketer forecasts that B2C ecommerce sales in the country will rise from $10.5 billion in 2011 to $13.3 billion in 2012, an increase of 26.7%.
In the April 2012 issue of GroupM’s semi-annual report “This Year, Next Year,” the media investment management firm forecast total ecommerce in Australia to reach AU$36 billion ($37.1 billion) in 2012, up from AU$32 billion ($33.0 billion) in 2011. While GroupM’s absolute figures are more bullish, the growth rate is lower at 12.5%.
Although the two growth estimates show a huge variance, both figures are considerable. The increase is due to two factors: First, eMarketer estimates that online buyers will approach 70% of all internet users in 2012, for a total of 9.5 million. Second, GroupM estimates that the average consumer in Australia will spend $2,108 online in 2012, up nearly $100 from $2,011 in 2011.
And the Australian market is wide open for foreign retailers, as well. According to Forrester’s April 2012 “Asia Pacific Online Retail Forecast, 2011-2016” report, having a local presence in Australia doesn’t necessarily give native retailers an advantage in ecommerce—innovative international sites that offer competitive value remain an important destination.
“US retailers have already targeted Australia, but there is plenty of room for expansion,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst. “Besides sharing linguistic and cultural affinities, Australia does not require duty on imports under AU$1,000 ($1,031). Plus, the strength of the Australian dollar further adds to the attractiveness of this market.”
Please read the original article over at eMarketer
- Neil Anderson
Spotify hits Australia
The rumours are true, Spotify is here.
With over 16 million tracks, Spotify is now offering the Australian and New Zealand market free live streaming. Launching in the US in summer 2011, it has taken almost 12 months to reach the AU and NZ markets.
The platform was initially available to the US for a 6 month trial. After 6 months, a premium version was required to access the platform. However, the AU and NZ strategy is offering access indefinitely allowing the platform to monetise through advertising. A premium version is available, without ads.
The platform can be accessed via a desktop or streamed through the dedicated app. The Spotify player also allows integration between a number of streaming sites such as last.fm, Triple J and Rolling Stone, where users can share and rate all their music in the one place.
Spotify are yet to conquer Latin American and Canada, however “there is no denying that Spotify has its sights set on global growth”.
Rebecca Haly
Source: http://mashable.com/2012/05/21/spotify-australia-newzealand/
Social eCommerce
19 year old designer of Pinterest, Sahil Lavingia, is launching his latest online creation Gumroad.
Gumroad is an eCommerce site tipped to take online shopping to a whole new level of social. Set to rival the closed network of iTunes, Gumroad allows digital creations to be uploaded and sold. Think apps, music, blog posts, any content creation that you can share and sell, can be uploaded. Creators can sell to their Twitter followers, Facebook friends. Gumroad makes money by taking a 5% cut of every purchase, compared to the 30% retained by Apple across from app store.
Like iTunes, Gumroad competes with the philosophy that creativity and content can/should be shared for free. However, Lavingia notes that the biggest problem won’t be getting people to buy content on Gumroad, it will be counteracting the fear that creators have when it comes to putting a price “on the stuff they create”.
Gumroad’s major selling point is that it offers a service for amateur creators to share their products and potentially make a buck unlike any other platform. Lavingia hopes that the service will grow to attract professional creators and artists who are looking for alternate distribution models.
Rebecca Haly
Source: http://www.fastcompany.com/1835159/gumroad-pinterest-sahil-lavingia
Virtual ice cream
Magnum have launched their campaign promoting the Infinity ice cream, which uses facial recognition technology in billboards across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
In a world first for Australia, passers by are encouraged to activate the billboard with a smile and then eat their way through a virtual ice cream. They can then have their photo taken, which will be posted on the Streets Facebook page. A virtual bite may not be quite satisfying enough for Magnum lovers, so it is hoped that they’ll want to indulge in the “ intense pleasure of the real Magnum Infinity”.
Rebecca Haly
Source: http://www.bandt.com.au/breaking-campaigns/magnum-launches-first-aussie-facial-reconition-bil
Digital Eyeware – the newest thing in fashion and social media
Vergence Lab have announced that they are creating electric powered glasses. This new electrically enabled eye ware not only records your point of view in real time, but allow you to share your everyday experiences online.
Designed by Jon Rodriguez and Erick Miller, the sunglasses will retail for close to $299. “It’s a consumer electronics fashion accessory designed with technology to enable cool new social video and new electric sunglasses lens capabilities while being fashion-forward and stylish in the process”.
Rebecca Haly
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/01/kickstarter-these-nerdy-glasses-will-record-your-life/
Goldilocks SEO – What’s “Just Right”?
Good infographic from SearchEngineLand on the main elements of SEO, splitting them into:
- Too hot – which the search engines will likely consider spammy and de-value you
- Too cold – which won’t hit the mark for
- Just right – the way to effective and profitable SEO (and user experience)
David Chase
Asia Pacific Social Media Statistics
Internet usage is sky-rocketing throughout the Asia-Pacific region, obviously making the growth of social media the fastest in the world. If you take a look at the Australian statistics we have one of the highest levels of internet penetration in the region, and are in the Top Five for mobile penetration.
Check out the full Infographic here
-Neil Anderson