source: Sydney Morning Herald 12 March, 2010

There’s been a decided shift in television viewing numbers already in 2010 and it seems to be a nationwide trend. Here in Newcastle we have been intrigued by the difference in audience numbers this year compared to the same time last year.

So far there seems to be an average of 20,000 less viewers per top 10 program than for the corresponding week in 2009. For example the #1 program in Newcastle for week 10, 2010 was The Mentalist with 84,000 viewers. The #5 program was NBN  Saturday News with 67,000 viewers and the #10 program was Talkin’ Bout Your Generation on SC TEN with 55,000 viewers.

IN 2009 for the week ending 3 March (corresponding week) here are the numbers: #1 Underbelly on NBN with 124,000 viewers, #5 RSPCA Animal Rescue on Prime with 86,000 viewers and #10 CSI on NBN with 75,000 viewers. Of course, Underbelly is a standout ratings winner but the #1 program last week had less viewers than the #5 program last year.

As you can see there are about 20,000 less viewers for the main Free-to-Air channels. And this is happening every week.

Now the national media are picking up on the trend. The rest of this post is taken from today’s Sydney Morning Herald.

Too soon to judge digital effects: networks by Julian Lee

FREE-TO-AIR networks are calling on advertisers to cut them some slack over figures that appear to confirm fears audiences of their primary channels are being significantly cannibalised by new digital channels.

Some media buyers are delaying judgement on the double-digit falls in audiences for Seven, Nine and Ten’s main channels until after Easter, when they will have at least nine weeks of this ratings period to review.
They say a change in the make-up of the audience measurement panel to include time-shifted viewing, the launch last year of three digital channels and events such as the Olympics mean comparisons between this year and last cannot be made.

But one senior media buyer said the underlying trends could not be ignored and the level of cannibalisation of audiences by the new channels-One HD, GO! and Seven Two-was obvious as it was worrying.

The chief strategy officer with Mediacom, Mat Baxter, said: “You can look at the hero assets of those networks and draw some conclusions… that the jewel in everybody’s crown is no longer as shiny.

“The question is will the sparkle reappear in the [viewing of multi-channels] to the degree that is necessary for them to protect their total audience and therefore their revenues. I would say probably not but … I am more than happy to modify my view as more data comes through.”

He said waiting until Easter meant media buyers were almost a quarter of the way through the year before reaching a conclusion.

The chief sales and digital officer of Seven Media Group, James Warburton, acknowledged “an element of cannibalisation within our core station” but said total audience across his two channels was up.

Seven’s audience rose 5.5 per cent across Seven and Seven Two in the key demographic of 25 – 54-year-olds between 6pm and 10:30pm in the first 10 weeks of this year. But the audience for Seven’s main channel fell by 5.7 per cent.

Mr Warburton said it was too early to determine the impact of panel changes, digital channels and anomalies created by sporting events such as the cricket, which ran later than usual, and the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

“The industry needs to get its head around multichannels first, and then time-shifted viewing second. It will take time for the industry to get a strong view on it. When things are new there’s a little bit of a cut-off but it will iron out and then everyone will make the right decisions.”

Ten decline to comment and Nine’s sales and marketing director Peter Wiltshire, did not return calls.

The OMD managing partner Peter Horgan said that “given the multitude of variables” his agency was waiting until after Easter before forming a view.

The investment director of Universal McCann, Victor Corones, said his agency was taking time to “understand the implications of the changes in the composition of the panel”.

But pay TV operatives say the excuses are a smokescreen. Anthony Fitzgerald, chief executive of Foxtel’s sales house MCN, acknowledged the fundamental changes in the TV landscape, but said: “The fact that the main channels are down an average of 13 per cent is a clear indication of cannibalisation. In my view audiences would not be down to anywhere near that degree if they hadn’t launched those channels, where 90 per cent of all multichannel viewing comes from free-to-air homes that do not have pay TV. These are the facts.”

Is now the time for new kind of communications business that connects marketing specialists with corporate marketers?

Its been obvious for a while now that the generalist media era is coming to an end. No longer do a handful of large media outlets determine our news and entertainment the way they did during the last century. Increasingly we are turning to a multitude of specialist media providers to satisfy our many needs. Media consumption is splintering so rapidly that it’s difficult to keep track of the vast array of options available to us.

Marketing "connectors" assemble teams of specialists

One hangover from the generalist media era is the full-service agency. Whilst “everything under one roof” may have been feasible when there were only a handful of media options, in 2010, with a ridiculous number of feasible marketing options available….Free to Air TV, Subscription TV, Radio, Digital radio, Press, online press, outdoor, SEO, SEM, social media, inbound marketing, micro sites etc…. its seems ludicrous to believe that one shop can do it all.

We all know its nearly impossible to be good at everything. We’ve all heard the saying: “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Yet so many agencies are having trouble accepting the fact that it’s time to let go of the whole pie and begin specialising in certain ingredients instead.

A few days ago Marc Andreesen advised the old media to “burn the boats”. In particular he was referring to the print media who have been attempting to straddle print and online for the last decade. Andressen feels that these guys need to commit to one or the other, ideally burning their original platform to wholeheartedly embrace their digital futures. Unfortunately too many of these organisations are finding it impossible to let go of their old business model, and perhaps they can’t.

Likewise, agencies seem reluctant to burn their full service boat. Its served them well for a long time and the glory days weren’t that long ago.

But the writing is on the wall. Marketers understand that the world has changed and want to be presented with the best options. They’re increasingly sceptical of anyone who tells them they have all the best people under one roof ready to provide solutions to all their marketing needs.

Is it realistic to believe that the agency who delivers killer TV creative can also nail the SEO component? Or the SEM strategy? Or craft an effective social media plan?

Marketers know they need specialists to assist in each area. And the areas of specialisation are becoming narrower, not wider.

The biggest challenge they now face is where to find all these specialists. The full service agency made it easy. One shop, one account manager. If this is no longer viable then how does the poor marketer sift through the plethora of “experts” to assemble their new dream team?

The answer may lay with another specialist. The connector. The connector is essentially a marketing consultant who understands the broad needs of the client and then introduces the best specialists for each aspect of the job. The connector works with a wide range of specialists, understanding where each of them fit in the bigger picture.

The best analogy is your family doctor. In many ways your doctor is the connector. He can offer quick advice on the general problems but refers you to  range of specialists for the more technical stuff. The doctor is often then the collector of the specialist reports and communicates them back to the patient / customer.

You trust your GP to refer you to the appropriate specialist, say an orthopedic surgeon, but you’d be very concerned if he suddenly offered to do that knee reconstruction himself.

Likewise, marketers should be wary of the generalist agency who claims to be able to address all their requirements.

What do you think, have we entered the specialist era or is there still a strong argument for full service agencies? Will we witness the rise of the marketing “connectors”?

some of the Colliers International riders in Tour de Kids

I had the distinct honour of participating in the Tour de Kids charity ride from Melbourne to Sydney last week as part of the Colliers International team. Part of my job was to cover the event online for Colliers and demonstrate how effective modern mobile and web-based tools can be.

We decided to keep things simple by setting up a Posterous site to post all the daily updates and photos then compliment it with a dedicated Twitter account.

It couldn’t have been easier. Another Colliers rider and I were able to post directly to the website from our phones. The PicPosterous iPhone app meant that I could post images and short descriptions immediately from anywhere on the ride, allowing those following the event to gain almost real-time access.

We also pointed visitors and Twitter followers to the donations page of Tour de Kids urging them to support the riders. We felt it was important as a charity event to encourage donations whilst people were engaged rather than delay action.

It worked extremely well with riders raising more money for Starlight Foundation than ever before in the ten year history of the Tour de Kids and generating a considerable amount of media coverage.

Tour de Kids Peloton - photo by Steve Ferguson

All-in-all it was a great example of how easy it can be to engage and share online.

On a personal note, the Tour de Kids was an amazing experience. The people who rode and ran the event were extremely generous, paying their own way and raising almost $500,000 for seriously sick kids whilst enjoying the highs and lows (literally) of pedalling 1200km in 7 days. Meeting some of the families who Starlight help and hearing their stories was truly moving and was a reminder of how lucky most of us are to be in good health.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Following several rumours that ex-2HD breakfast announcer Luke Grant was about to sign with another network and was leaving Newcastle, I contacted him for official word.

Luke confirmed that he has signed a contract with Macquarie Radio Network and starts work on Monday1 March 2010 in Melbourne. He will be working directly with Steve Price on assembling a commercial talk radio station, as reported elsewhere, in direct competition with long time market leader 3AW.

Luke cannot elaborate on any other details at this stage.

Telstra’s directories unit is up against a formidable foe online, and it doesn’t look good, writes Dominic White from the Australian Financial Review.

Who bothers to dig out the Yellow Pages if they want to find a plumber or order a pizza when they can Google it in seconds on their laptop or iPhone?
It’s a question Telstra shareholders may be asking after the company revealed this monthly the first-half print revenues at the Yellow Pages tumbled by some 8.7 per cent.

Even after adjusting for growth in China, online, currency movements and the loss of Trading Post, revenues at Sensis, the Telstra unit that looks after Yellow Pages, fell 0.1 per cent – the first revenue fall in Sensis’s history.

Until now Sensis have proved remarkably immune to the headwinds that have battered other Yellow Pages businesses across the planet, including rise of Google. Unlike its rivals, which are largely owned by private equity, it doesn’t have debt problems.

But now experts wonder whether the move into negative growth marks a worrying turning point for Sensis, a business that generates almost 10 per cent of Telstra’s total sales.

Sales of offshore print directory businesses fell 15 to 30 per cent in 2009 because of the global financial crisis and the shift of advertising dollars and eyeballs from print to the computer and mobile phone screens.

Christian Guerra at Goldman Sachs JBWere notes that Sensis has been one of the best performing directories businesses in the world. Its Yellow Pages and White Pages print revenues rose 1 per cent and 8 per cent in the year to June 2009.

But he warms that it is now at greater risk that is peers if print’s decline accelerates because the company generates almost two-thirds of revenues from print. that is among the highest percentage of its global peers.

“Quite simply, a rising number of consumers are conducting online searches: one, online or via wireless: and, two, on search engines such as Google or via competing online directory sites,” he wrote in a recent note setting out key trends to watch in the telecommunications market in 2010.

“This, of course, is driving a reduction in usage of print directories.”

Sensis has boosted its online presence in an effort to offset the decline in print, notably through its Chinese investments and via a syndication deal with Google in which Yellow Pages listings have appeared on google Map online searches since the start of 2009.

Steve Power, chief executive of ReachLocal, which advises small businesses on how to reach customers online, says he does not advise clients to advertise with yellowpages.com.au because there is no guarantee their ad will appear high up up on the screen in Google Maps search results.

“Around 97 per cent of all searches are done through Google, Yahoo! and ninemsn, so if you’re a business and want to be found you need to be there, ” he says.

For a huge number of small businesses, however, the Yellow Pages remain a must. Some have no web presence and have limited options when advertising with Google. Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show just 36 per cent of businesses had a web presence as at June 2008, much lower that 55 per cent comparisons for the United States and United Kingdom.

But Guerra says this percentage will rise, and will give small businesses more options for advertising and increase the percentage of Yellow Pages customers that advertise online only and avoid the print product. (That figure now is just 1 per cent, according to Telstra).

He also notes that, “disturbingly”, online revenue growth for traditional directory businesses around the world has slowed.

“We believe it will be more challenging for Sensis to grow its top line at the same rate going forward. . . revenue growth will slow as print directories come under pressure.”

He expects Sensis to invest more in online and digital businesses, to seek new revenue opportunities (such as building and maintaining websites for customers) and to make selective acquisitions in an effort to offset print decline.

Marketers must start thinking about apps

The mobile phone apps market is booming and is expected to go into overdrive when Apple’s new iPad device launches next month. For most corporate marketers apps are probably nothing more than a curiosity or a convenience if they have app-friendly devices.

But maybe businesses should start thinking about apps a little more strategically as part of their internet marketing strategy.

Research firm Gartner expects that cellphones will be the most common device used for browsing the web by 2013. They predict the number of browser-equipped phones to exceed 1.83 billion, compared to 1.78 billion old fashioned computers in use within 3 years.

Morgan Stanley estimates that the value of the mobile internet market will grow from $US48 billion last year to $US107 billion in 2013.

Smartphone users already appreciate the ease and convenience of apps. They provide a much more satisfactory online experience than the phone browser. For a simple example of the difference take the time to view this site on your phone then access it through our fairly basic iPhone app.

There are now more than 140,000 apps available at Apple’s App Store. The site recently passed 3 billion downloads. Google’s Android, Nokia’s Ovi and Research in Motion’s App World have all launched in order to move into this booming market, while Microsoft has announced plans for a Windows Phone.

Apps are increasingly becoming the online launching point for many people. What would you rather do:

• access your phone browser to search Google or just open the Google app?

• access your phone browser to search Wikipedia or just open the Wikipanion app?

• access your phone browser to access Twitter or just open the Tweetie app?

• access your phone browser to read your favourite blogs or just open their one-button apps?

The audience for apps is only expected to grow as more smartphones enter the market and devices such as the iPad launch. Many pundits predict the iPad will be a cross-over device that introduces previously non-tech oriented users online via a more user-friendly environment. And how will they access their favourite sites and online resources? Via apps.

In fact, apps are becoming the new web “bookmarks” for quickly accessing favourites and its not hard to argue that we may be seeing a transition from the web-browsing age to the app age.

Which of course means that marketers have another touchpoint to consider. Expecting the rapidly growing brigade of mobile users to access your clunky website on their smartphone is not good enough. If its not a user-friendly experience with proper mobile formatting you’ll lose them.

But if you can provide a useful, simple app then your brand has a strong advantage over competitors. Think about it. If somebody is willing to download your app they’re more likely to revisit it on a regular basis. If the app succeeds in engaging the users they it can become a valuable marketing tool, immersing users in your brand or returning regularly for your information. They are much less likely to do this via a mobile browser.

Whats-more, your app / brand is displayed on the users “desktop” every day.  Most marketers would kill for that sort of brand placement. In-your-face-every-day.

This isn’t the future, its happening now. Smart marketers are offering their visitors multiple touchpoints: Twitter, Facebook groups, RSS… and now apps. If your organisation has something valuable to say then you need to allow people to access that information – anywhere.

The problem is, most marketers are still coming to grips with creating a website that is computer-user-friendly, let alone mobile friendly. Most marketers are still not providing a regular flow of useful and engaging information. Those marketers are going to be left behind in the new mobile apps world.

I’m interested in your thoughts on this: Do you see apps becoming an important part of modern marketing? Lets discuss.

Marketing lessons from AC/DC

Last night I was the lucky recipient of a last-minute ticket to see AC/DC play in Sydney. As expected, the concert was great, but I couldn’t help noticing what that this aging band are also amazing marketers.

Here’s what AC/DC do that many businesses should try to emulate:

Know your niche. AC/DC are an out-and-out rock band, always have been. Its been said they’ve made the same album 13 times. No ballads, no tricky experiments, just good old-fashioned hard rock. They’ve stayed the same over 4 decades, ignoring trends and doing what they do best. They know their place in the market and don’t deviate.

Manage your brand. AC/DC have a great brand. Its evident in everything they do and everyone knows what the brand stands for – cheeky fun entertainment. They use iconic imagery to reinforce the brand message. The school uniform, the cheeky devil horns, the giant bell (Hells Bells).

Give the audience exactly what they want. Rather than make their fans sit through all “the new stuff” like many bands do, AC/DC know that everyone wants to hear the big hits. They deliver them with enthusiasm that belies their near-pension age and the fans go nuts.

Over deliver. We’ve all been to gigs where the band did the bare minimum. Turn up, play, walk off. AC/DC promises a big show, then deliver in spades. 2 hours of spectacle that made the massive Olympic Stadium seem intimate. Cannons, an oversized train, funny animated videos, a 40 foot blow up doll called Rosie and a seemingly endless guitar solo from fan-favourite Angus Young. Everyone seemed to leave very happy despite paying an average of $150 a ticket.

Create multiple revenue streams. Ticket sales, record sales, merchandise, programs. The band was raking it in from all directions.

Provide customers with multiple opportunities to make a purchase. From the time you approach the stadium you are given every opportunity to part ways with your cash. Programs, t-shirts, flashing red devil horns and more. Merchandise stations were set up everywhere. The devil horns actually added to the atmosphere with tens of thousands of them glowing in the dark.

Control your PR. AC/DC rarely give interviews, and do so mainly when they’re touring or launching an album. Otherwise you never hear anything from them or about them. No crises, no political affiliations. They’re always 100% on-message with their media appearances – cheeky fun entertainment – nothing else.

Work hard. While they are canny marketers, AC/DC also work hard for the money. They put on a big show, as part of an 18 month World tour. They leave nothing in the tank. Their fans know it and appreciate it.

Many businesses could learn a lot from these old, unfashionable rockers.

I can’t help but wonder if News Limited totally miss the point regarding the new digital world or are just spectacularly successful trolls.

Rupert Murdoch, who spent a fortune investing in the like of MySpace only to see it drop away, continually threatens to remove his news content from search engine indexing and seems set on constructing paywalls to access his content.

In Australia, the News Limited marketing boss Joe Talcott toes the company line by unleashing regular diatribes about online measurement. His latest came last week when he attacked research showing that time spent online has outstripped that spent consuming traditional media.

The internet is not a medium, it’s a place where people do stuff. There’s media on the internet, no question. No one sits down to `watch the internet’.

Talcott was partly responding to a Nielsen study of internet users last year found that people spent 16.1 hours a week on the internet on average, more than any other media. He went on to say:

Social networks should not be compared with TV and radio; they should be compared with socialising.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Just because Talcott’s team, or any of the traditional media players, aren’t producing the content doesn’t mean its not a medium. Increasingly social networks are becoming a large part of our lives. They’re able to be accessed through our computers and phones and often refer us to the content of many of these traditional media players.

I’m sure Mr Talcott is happy when we arrive at one of his properties when referred via a link on Twitter or Facebook.

The other area where the News team seem to miss the point is when they say “people don’t sit down to watch the Internet”. We don’t merely watch it, we’re immersed in it. We’re contributing, interacting, creating AND consuming. Often simultaneously.

That’s the new reality Joe, its not the old one way street anymore.

Joe Pollard, CEO of ninemsn, was quick to point out that Talcott is wrong. Following a nice list of current online and media stats, Pollard said:

It’s hard to argue with such telling statistics! Online is most certainly a medium for consumers to be entertained and informed – it just happens to be interactive and the consumer is in control. If no one is “sitting down to watch the internet” then why are 11 million people consuming ninemsn’s short form video every month?

Is News Limited’s myopia going to harm their future in a superfast broadband world?

News really should start embracing the online medium and acknowledging its growing dominance. They should begin designing for greater digital consumption rather than protecting aged assets and a business model that is headed the way of the dinosaur.

For a look at a publisher who does “get it” and is embracing the digital future go no further than Wired who have just previewed their vision for the magazine as consumed via the iPad.

FYI, that’s online too Mr Talcott.

Sticky is looking for a Digital Account Manager with great project management skills to join the team. The role is a crucial link between our growing client base and digital team. Its an important position so we’ll be taking our time to find the most suitable person for the job. All the details are here.

This statement just arrived via email  from Luke Grant dated 5 February 2010. I have spoken with Mr Grant to confirm that he was indeed the sender and wanted it published:

“Following what I consider my unfair dismissal from Radio 2HD after more than 4 successful years hosting the Luke Grant Show, an attempt for conciliation with Fair Work Australia to resolve my claim was yesterday unsuccessful.

Whilst I cannot reveal the details of the conciliation I can confirm that my nature is always to find compromise if possible.

I will now pursue my rights through a public hearing in the next couple of months where I will present witnesses who will help uncover the truth and clearly demonstrate the difficulties I found working in the environment of 2HD.

I strongly deny any suggestion by the management of 2HD that I have acted other than with professionalism and integrity in a high pressure role and plainly say I was effectively starved of support in my judgement.

I would again like to extend my gratitude to colleagues, listeners and advertisers of 2HD for their loyal support, encouragement and good wishes. Being dismissed a week before Christmas has made my circumstances very difficult and I will continue a strong and public campaign to be reinstated or compensated.”

No further comment will be made at this stage.