Australia: Acceptance of Mobile Advertising Jumps

Have you incorporated SMS marketing into your marketing activities? Have not? Uh be fast to adopt this new and highly accepted method before left behind. Not convinced? Let's see below! :)

Australians are becoming more and more accepting of mobile advertising with new figures showing a boom in the proportion of mobile users 'opting in' to receive corporate SMS and MMS messages.

Almost 60% of consumers surveyed in the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association's (AIMIA's) 2012 'Annual mobile phone lifestyle index' (AMPLI) said they had opted in to receive direct mobile ads from businesses, up 10% on last year.

The research also revealed that once consumers received advertising messages, they were more likely to engage with them than not, with 54% or respondents saying they would engage with direct messages.

The news comes as the Australian government considers amping up privacy laws which would curb the ways mobile marketers are allowed to communicate with consumers. 

Unsurprisingly, the percentage of smartphone owners has also jumped year-on-year, with 76% of all respondents owning a smartphone, up from 67% in 2011.

Based on the survey results, AIMIA predicts that 80% of respondents will own a smartphone by the end of 2012 and 84% will own a smartphone by mid-2013.

Tablet ownership has more than doubled year-on-year, with 38% of respondents saying they owned a tablet device, up from last year’s figure of 16%.

An additional 33% of survey respondents said they were planning to purchase a tablet within the next 12 months. Based on these results the forecast for tablet ownership is 50% by December 2012 and 71% by mid-2013

When it came to the use of mobile apps, 69% of people reported having downloaded and installed an app on their mobile phone, up from 55% in 2011.

The most popular type of apps were those for navigation and games, followed closely by news and weather and social networking.

Almost 60% stated they had paid to download an app, flat on last year.

But while uptake of mobile technology booms, it seems customer satisfaction with mobile carriers is low. Last year’s AMPLI survey saw satisfaction levels for almost every service type decrease considerably when compared to previous years and the 2012 results have persisted, with minimal evidence of recovery. 

However this year’s results show substantial variation in satisfaction across the carriers when it came to specific services.

Satisfaction with Virgin was considerably higher for almost all services when compared to other carriers, except for network coverage

Vodafone experienced substantially lower levels of satisfaction compared to the other carriers for overall satisfaction, customer service, network coverage and content and services available via the carrier’s portal. AIMIA said these results were most likely an outcome of the network issues the carrier has experienced over the last year

Satisfaction with Telstra’s network coverage was a standout for the carrier when compared other providers

The AMPLI report is a collaborative industry research project carried out by the Mobile Industry Group (MIG) - a special interest group of AIMIA.

Source: By Madeleine Ross on 27th September 2012.

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Australia - SingTel Group's Mobile Customer Base Reaches 434 Million

Singapore based SingTel Group has reported that its total mobile customer base grew 13 percent or 50.7 million from a year ago to reach 434 million as at 31 December 2011.

Subsidiaries

Optus Australia continued its postpaid customer growth momentum with net additions of 113,000 this quarter. Postpaid customers comprised 54 percent of the total base, up 2 percentage points from a year ago.

Prepaid customer growth increased this quarter with net additions of 69,000 as sales lifted and churn rates improved.

The number of 3G customers grew to 6.24 million, an increase of 5 percent from a quarter ago. This included a base of 1.55 million wireless broadband customers, an increase of approximately 94,000 customers in the quarter.

Total mobile customers grew by 182,000 to 9.41 million, up 5 percent from a year ago.

Source: By Ian Mansfield on 11th February 2012.

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Australia - Mobile Payments Could Replace Cash By 2016

Are you running on the same pace as "c-h-a-n-g-e"? No? Trying to catch up? Yes but barely can breathe? =) Anyway, as the title suggests, you and I may tend to pay without taking cash from physical wallets. Instead, we will be using our electronic devices to make payments. So, are you ready to move forward with us?

Paying for everyday items with your mobile phone will be commonplace within a couple of years.

It's no secret that mobile payments are growing by leaps and bounds. It's not hyperbole to say that mobile payments are the future of financial transactions, especially in the consumer-to-business marketplace. Is that future happening sooner than you might think? It looks that way - if a new report from Forrester Research and PayPal has it nailed.

Change is Coming Sooner Than You Think

First, know that mobile payments are already widely viewed as being "mainstream." A July 2011 study from KPMG notes that 72% of business executives say that such payments, on a large scale, are inevitable. Another 58% say that their companies already have a mobile payment system in place.

"We believe that exploding smartphone growth and a myriad of opportunities will grow mobile payments at a much faster rate than our respondents anticipate," said Gary Matuszak, KPMG global chair of the Technology, Communication and Entertainment practice, in a statement. "A wide variety of payments is ready for adoption, as several key players already provide or are rolling out mobile payments, and interest among consumers in utilising mobile payments is growing, in line with the industry's readiness to deploy them."

That could be happening faster than even the most optimistic mobile payment advocate could have hoped. Recent data from the U.K. arm of Forrester Research, in partnership with PayPal, estimates that mobile payments will replace other forms of payment by 2016.

No Wallet? Use Your Smartphone Instead!

A PayPal article, entitled No Wallet Required, examined the British mobile payment marketplace and concluded that "digital money" will become the go-to payment method within the next four years.

"We'll see a huge change over the next few years in the way we shop and pay for things," says Carl Scheible, Managing Director of PayPal U.K. "By 2016, you'll be able to leave your wallet at home and use your mobile as the 21st century digital wallet. Our vision of money is to enable you to pay for something from wherever you are, whatever device you're on – a PC, mobile phone, tablet, games console [sic] and a whole lot more."

Scheible adds that paper currency won't go away entirely, but will face a diminishing demand. "The lines between the online world and high street will soon disappear altogether," he says. "Children born today will become the first 'cashless generation.' It will be completely natural for them to pay by mobile."

PayPal should know. It already processed about A$3.6 billion in mobile payments in the U.K. in 2011 alone – that's five times the amount that the online payment giant saw in 2010.

Australians Love Their Smartphones

Australia has the second highest rate of smartphone penetration in the world, only Singaporeans use the device more than us. A staggering 28 per cent of visits to banking sites in this country are now made through a mobile device reports The Australian Financial Review. This is up from just 2 per cent in 2009.

Locally, mobile has rapidly become the most important battleground for retail and banking institutions as they look to defend their payment turf from a host of emerging competitors, including technology and social start ups.

The Bottom Line

The British report concludes that the trend to mobile payments is only growing stronger with each passing year. About 50% of all mobile or smartphone device users bought something via mobile payments in the three months leading up to the publishing date of the study.

That number will grow, the data shows, and will cement mobile payments as the payment of choice for consumers not just in the U.K. but also here in Australia.

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Australia - 78 Million Texts to Celebrate

To all my dearest-s, Happy New Year 2012!! Are you actually worrying that your text messages are unable to reach promptly before 1st January 2012 or hoping that you can text at once to all your friends, families, colleagues and etc? Heee here we are for you! =) Look for us and wait no more!

As 2012 rockets into life, Telstra is anticipating Australians to send more than 78 million text messages to each other on Near Year's Eve and New Year's Day - up 4 million on 2011.

Maryanne Tsiatsias, Telstra Director of Consumer Marketing said last year Asutralians sent 74 million SMS and 1.4 million picture messages.

"As champagne corks pop and glasses clink across the country, people will be furiously sending text and picture messages to welcome in the New Year," she said, adding 11pm - midnight on December 31 was the busiest hour for messaging," she said.

"To ensure customers can keep in touch, Telstra will be closely monitoring the performance of the network throughout the New Year period, in particular at key holiday and celebration locations.

"While customers may experience some short delays in getting calls or messages though during this period of time, we encourage them to be patient, wait a few minutes before trying again," she said.

Source: By Daily Examiner on 30th December 2011

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Australia - Forrester Unveils Australian Mobile Behavioural Profiles

Understanding the attitudinal and behavioural preferences of your customers is essential for you to leverage the right means of marketing communication to boost the effects of your marketing effort. So people, let's have a look at the below diagram and hope it helps you. :)

The latest research from Forrester Research advises retailers to ‘base mobile commerce strategies on their own circumstances… rather than the technologies available’ and take the POST approach to m-commerce.

In Mobile Techograhics: Australian Online Shoppers, Forrester Research identifies six segments of consumers within the Australian population based upon their mobile usage (listed in the below diagram):

Mobile behavioural trends that Forrester identified from this research include:

- 84% of Australian online adults who have mobile phones use them for more than voice – uses range from SMS to consuming mobile video.
- 49% of Australian adult mobile phone owners who regularly shop online for apparel, footwear, or accessories are also in Forrester’s Entertainers category, meaning they buy content, apps, or personalised services for entertainment on their mobile phones at least weekly.
- 38% of Australian adult mobile phone owners who regularly shop online for computer hardware, software, or peripherals are also in Forrester’s Connectors category, meaning they use mobile email at least once a month, or they use another efficiency or productivity application like mapping.

Taking The POST Approach

Forrester Senior Analyst, Steven Noble stresses that retailers need to base their mobile strategies on customer needs, rather than let available technologies dominate their decisions.

In the report he highlights the value of The POST Method, a three step process based on first identifying and understanding customers needs via their Mobile Technographics profile, then determining objectives and building a strategy… finally choosing the most suitable technology.

Noble suggests that retailers conduct surveys of their own customers to establish where they fit within the Mobile Technographic profiles.

“Consumer mobile behaviour will cross over between profiles (for example, a ‘Entertainer’ may also be a ‘Connector’), however if you understand the majority of your target audience this may go a long way to building a relevant m-commerce strategy,” he advises.

Trends Indicate…
- Mobile App or M-Site? Forrester’s research reveals that only 23% of Australian smartphone users regularly download apps, so its seems a mobile website should be your first priority… unless perhaps you have a large demographic of ‘Entertainers’ or ‘SuperConnecteds’ who will appreciate the richer and tailored experience of an app.

- Who do I build for… iPhones, Android or Blackberry? 50% Australian smartphone users use the iOS platform. Therefore all signs indicate that retailers (depending on their audience) should focus on developing applications for these devices. This means taking into consideration not using Flash and perhaps exploring the opportunities afforded through HTML5.

- Keep It Simple! The research also reveals a small proportion of Australian smartphone users engage in promotions, use coupons and/or enter contents via their mobile devices. Dependent on your customer’s Mobile Technographic profile, don’t rush into elaborate mobile marketing campaigns, keep it simple and as your target audience’s behaviour becomes increasingly sophisticated, let your mobile marketing evolve.

“For a long time retailers have felt that mobile is something exciting and that they would like to do but delay for various reasons, however now is the time for mobile,” urges Noble.

“We are at a point in Australia where consumer mobile behaviour is ahead of what merchant’s can offer and it is no longer something that can be put on the back-burner,” he warns.

Source: by NIROSHA METHANANDA on 6th December 2011.

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Australia - Demand for Website Banners To Significantly Decline as Advertisers Turn to Online Video

Growth will see Australia's online general advertising market value rise to $1.051 billion by 2016

Sydney, 10 October 2011 -The face of Australia's online general advertising market will undergo a marked change in the coming five years as demand for mature inventory segments including online display, advertorials, integrated site content, sponsorships and electronic direct mail/electronic newsletters declines. The use of simple banners will reduce significantly and in their place, Frost & Sullivan predicts very strong growth rates for online video advertising and an increasing proportion of rich media through to 2016.

The Australian Online General and Mobile Advertising Market Report 2011 released today by Frost & Sullivan shows that the online general advertising market grew solidly in the 12 months to June 2011, rising by 11.9 percent to reach a value of $635 million (excluding mobile advertising). This rate of growth was slightly higher than the year prior, when the market was influenced by the lingering impact of the global financial crisis. Over the next five years the market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.6 percent, reaching a value of $1.051 billion in 2016.

The study notes that in a survey conducted with 240 senior management level executives in July 2011 just over half of advertisers stated they increased their online general advertising budget during 2010/11. The budget changes are highly correlated to the size of organisation, with larger organisations more likely to have increased expenditure during the prior 12 months. The largest growth rates during this period were experienced in the industry verticals of Finance and Insurance, and Fast Moving Consumer Goods/Retail.

The major multi-sector publishers such as NineMSN, Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7 and News Digital Media continue to retain the largest slice of the online general advertising revenue pie, however the growth of social media advertising has been exceptionally high. Social media publishers now account for seven percent of the total market. By far the dominant player in this segment is Facebook which holds approximately six percent of the overall online general advertising market share. YouTube accounts for approximately four percent of revenues, largely due the growth of video advertising.

Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising expenditure rose steadily during the last 12 months but growth rates have remained below market expectations as the mobile advertising market has not yet gained the high level of traction that was anticipated a few years ago. Frost & Sullivan notes that the mobile market has yet to gain enough momentum to reach the tipping point where media agencies will begin to view it as a mainstream alternative to online and off-line channels. The major restraints that have inhibited adoption of mobile advertising to date include a lack of locally available mobile sites, under-utilisation of consumer targeting, lack of rich media ad serving functionality, insufficient industry and ad agency awareness and fragmentation of mobile operating systems.

However, many of these issues are now being outweighed by the positive drivers for mobile advertising including rising smartphone penetration, increased data caps on standard mobile plans, increasing amounts of mobile content and a growing range of mobile advertising inventory. As a result, more than 60 percent of advertisers surveyed by Frost & Sullivan say they plan to increase their mobile advertising budgets in 2012.

Excluding spending on application builds and Bluetooth services, the mobile advertising market, grew by approximately 26 percent during 2010/11 and was valued at $13.9 million. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 43 percent over the next five years, leading to a total market value of $82 million by 2016. Peak growth is forecast for 2013/14, by which time the remaining major inhibitors to market adoption will be overcome.

Phil Harpur, Senior Research Manager Australia/New Zealand – ICT, Frost & Sullivan, says, “The two big trends in advertising over the next five years will be a rapid growth in video advertising driven by an increased presence in online video streaming and significant growth in mobile advertising. Right now Australian mobile advertising expenditure is low compared to the UK and the USA, despite the fact that Australia’s smartphone penetration is now roughly on par with those markets, but this is already starting to change and we anticipate rapid growth as mobile advertising, driven by further adoption of smartphones and strong growth in Tablet PCs, gains more acceptance amongst advertising agencies as a crucial part of the overall advertising mix”.

Source: http://www.prwire.com.au/pr/25446/demand-for-website-banners-to-significantly-decline-as-advertisers-turn-to-online-video on 10th October 2011.

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