Print and media company, APN, is set to aggressively expand its outdoor advertising offering following the transaction completion of its joint venture with Quadrant Private Equity.

The joint venture deal, which was first inked in February, sees the company’s APN Outdoor division valued at $272 million with the new venture generating gross cash proceeds of approximately $190 million for APN.

The announcement of the joint venture transaction completion, on 1 May, came only a day before APN’s annual general meeting, in which the company’s CEO, Brett Chenoweth, told investors that the company had made “substantial progress” in its mandate to reposition the company and transform it into a high growth media company.

With the company’s ANZ newspaper arms’ earnings falling over the last financial year, it has focused heavily on its outdoor advertising portfolio, the expansion of which will be heavily aided by the completion of the joint venture with Quadrant Private Equity.

On 1 May, Chenoweth (pictured) told investors that, “the establishment of APN Outdoor as a joint venture is an outstanding opportunity. It leverages APN’s expertise in outdoor advertising into a well-capitalised business that is able to drive innovation and growth.

“Quadrant is a highly respected private equity firm that brings further strategic focus as well as investment capital. We look forward to working closely to pursue a range of opportunities that will deliver our growth agenda,” he said.

The 50/50 joint venture between APN and Quadrant Private Equity, which has retained the name of APN Outdoor, was effective from 1 May.

Australian greeting card company, Yellow Postie has launched a new B2C marketing tool in the form of client relationship cards following strong customer demand. Suitable for all business types, CR Cards enables users to manage their client relationships through customised communications.

Matt Sandford, director of Yellow Postie and founder of CR Cards, believes customer relationship marketing is an incredibly important aspect of running any business, yet as a communication channel it is often neglected. “We’ve launched CR Cards in response to this, taking our consumer expertise and applying it to a corporate market.

“Users will be able to make productive, sustainable personal connections with the customers that their company depends on for success,” said Sandford. “What’s surprising in our research is that so many suppliers are neglecting the very basics. Direct mail or email communication can be a fantastic way to stay in touch with clients and build relationships, and, if done correctly, can take minimum effort. However, it appears that lack of care, attention and creativity could be causing more damage than good.”

CR Cards allows businesses to apply technology that was previously only available to consumers. This will help companies build client relationships through a range of personalised, branded, printed and posted marketing collateral. CR Cards will also offer full database management, allowing users to easily schedule their outbound customer communications.

“At the moment we are running Yellow Postie and CR Cards on an iGen digital printer, which is keeping up with demand. But at some point we will have to split them up with a new press because we foresee our B2C card volumes will be much bigger than our existing social card offering.

“We started building the new B2C tool six months ago and even though it is only two weeks old we have received a phenomenal amount of interest from companies and print franchises that want to get involved,” said Sandford.

As part of the launch, CR Cards conducted research among more than 300 SME owner-managers in order to understand how business owners drive client loyalty. The study revealed that the vast majority (69%) of business owners ‘frequently’ received poorly targeted or badly executed direct mail or email from their existing suppliers. Spelling mistakes and wrong company names are the most common gripes.

Australian greeting card company, Yellow Postie has launched a new B2C marketing tool in the form of client relationship cards following strong customer demand. Suitable for all business types, CR Cards enables users to manage their client relationships through customised communications.

Matt Sandford, director of Yellow Postie and founder of CR Cards, believes customer relationship marketing is an incredibly important aspect of running any business, yet as a communication channel it is often neglected. “We’ve launched CR Cards in response to this, taking our consumer expertise and applying it to a corporate market.

“Users will be able to make productive, sustainable personal connections with the customers that their company depends on for success,” said Sandford. “What’s surprising in our research is that so many suppliers are neglecting the very basics. Direct mail or email communication can be a fantastic way to stay in touch with clients and build relationships, and, if done correctly, can take minimum effort. However, it appears that lack of care, attention and creativity could be causing more damage than good.”

CR Cards allows businesses to apply technology that was previously only available to consumers. This will help companies build client relationships through a range of personalised, branded, printed and posted marketing collateral. CR Cards will also offer full database management, allowing users to easily schedule their outbound customer communications.

“At the moment we are running Yellow Postie and CR Cards on an iGen digital printer, which is keeping up with demand. But at some point we will have to split them up with a new press because we foresee our B2C card volumes will be much bigger than our existing social card offering.

“We started building the new B2C tool six months ago and even though it is only two weeks old we have received a phenomenal amount of interest from companies and print franchises that want to get involved,” said Sandford.

As part of the launch, CR Cards conducted research among more than 300 SME owner-managers in order to understand how business owners drive client loyalty. The study revealed that the vast majority (69%) of business owners ‘frequently’ received poorly targeted or badly executed direct mail or email from their existing suppliers. Spelling mistakes and wrong company names are the most common gripes.

Salmat and Computershare have fended off Australia Post’s court injunction application to prevent the Digital Post Australia joint venture from using the name until trial next month.

In making his decision, the Melbourne Federal Court judge found that Australia Post had a weak case on the question of whether Digital Post Australia was likely to mislead or deceive consumers in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act (Cth).

David Hynes, chairman of Digital Post Australia (DPA), said the win allows the joint venture to continue trading under a name that he claims accurately reflects what the business does. “We are in an unrivalled position to deliver an innovative, ground-breaking offering to Australians in 2012, and we remain focused on the job at hand.

“Digital Post is an inevitable next step in the online evolution as consumers embrace the ease and convenience of the Internet to make more of their everyday transactions,” Hynes said. “We are very proud to demonstrate real leadership in making this transformational idea a reality in Australia. Our market is ready for the significant and widespread benefits a digital post box will bring for consumers and businesses.”

Digital Post Australia intends to deliver Australia’s first digital post box in the second half of 2012.

Chris Round, partner of Middletons Lawyers, which acted for DPA, said: “This is a great first step for Digital Post Australia in its fight with Australia Post regarding the use of the name Digital Post Australia for its new service.”

You know that times are changing when one of the country’s leading Christmas card manufacturers starts sending out e-cards by email to showcase its broadening product range.

Card manufacturer, Australian Christmas Cards, this week emailed Easter e-cards to all the customers and suppliers on its mailing list in a bid to trial its new offering, e-cards.

The message on the e-card, which was sent on 4 April, reads:

“Due to overwhelming demand, we are planning to add e-cards to our range of corporate Christmas cards and discounted Christmas cards. We are testing this with an Easter e-card today.”

The greeting card printing company’s managing director, Ian Renton, explains that the new e-card offering has been launched in response to rising demand for e-cards from many corporate customers.

“We’ve had many requests for e-cards,” says Renton, “We can’t ignore all of the people that have asked us for [e-cards].”

While it might seem like the new e-card offering could cut into his company’s core business of printed cards, Renton believes that, in reality, as long as the price of reserved mail remains reasonably priced, the market for real cards will not diminish.

“That’s a problem…but I think so long as Australia Post can keep their rate low, we can still do Christmas cards,” says Renton.

The real threat to the traditional greeting card industry, according to Renton is the burgeoning influence of Gen-Y as they grow up and enter decision-making positions in the workforce.

“Once Gen-Y get into management positions and start making decisions, that will be a danger later on,” says Renton. Until then, however, Renton believes that real cards printed on real paper will remain the best option for those who want to share the joy of the festive season. “Real cards are still better than e-cards, and we try to push that,” he says.

Sally Kissane (L) and Michelle Holland (R)

Direct marketing agency, OgilvyOne, has introduced a new management structure and business strategy that aims to cut through the growing ocean of data and return to a more ‘humanity’-based approach which, according to its new managing partners, could be a boon to the direct mail channel.

Under the new structure, the direct marketing arm of advertising agency, Ogilvy, will focus less on the myriad digital channels available for DM material, and more at the precise needs of individual clients, a move that could see renewed interest in direct mail.

“I think [mail’s] got a great place, and the place is where it fits with the customer needs,” says OgilvyOne’s managing partner, Michelle Holland. “There’s still the ability for direct mail to come through, it’s got that tactile thing that people like. When we look at customer journeys, direct mail still has such a strong offering there.”

Rather than contribute to the growing volume of data flooding into digital and online marketing channels, the new-look OgilvyOne will work with digital partners such as DTDigital, and Social@Ogilvy to analyse existing data and determine the best channel selection for its clients.

“With the data explosion, there’s so much data and insights that can be derived, and coupled with automation and IT…what we’re seeing is there is also a myriad of channel clients, its getting increasingly hard for our clients and other clients in the market to make the right decisions,” says the agency’s managing partner, Sally Kissane.

With former Shift creative director, Rob Morrison, on board to focus purely on the creative side of things, the agency hopes to return to the basics of the DM craft and let the channel decisions be made on a case-by-case basis.

“With this customer-centric planning model, we enable our clients to select the right channel,” says Kissane. “The right channels become more evident.”

With the volume of digital marketing messaging such as email and social in the marketplace now, Holland believes that, in many cases, the ‘right’ choice for the best cut-through can often be direct mail.

“The inbox is full but the mailbox is wide open. When you have the opportunity to surprise and delight a customer with something in direct mail, we’re seeing direct responses,” says Holland.

Those involved in the Australian catalogue industry will soon be given their time to shine, with the Australian Catalogue Association’s (ACA) 21^st annual awards now open to entries from local retailers, marketers and creative designers.

The ACA annual awards brings together over 600 retailers and attracts some of the industry’s most creative minds, and is designed to help showcase one of the most popular advertising mediums. The awards will be judged on design and effectiveness.

With the annual awards event introducing several new categories this year, ACA’s chief executive, Ken Bishop, says he expects to receive over 800 entries within over 30 categories. Among the new categories to be introduced will be whitegoods, furniture, and technology on paper.

“We expect another strong field, with entries from some of Australia’s largest retailers,” says Bishop. “The ACA looks forward to showcasing the talents of our industry in what is a great networking event, while acknowledging the contribution to one of the most effective advertising mediums in Australia.”

Last year’s winners included David Jones, with up to 1.5 million catalogues distributed, and Freedom, also with over 1.5 million catalogues under their belt. Bishop says that despite diminishing marketing budgets in the marketplace, there continues to be modest growth in the catalogue industry by volume.

“When most cut back on advertising in fear of what would happen next, catalogues still experienced growth and have become and indispensable part of the marketing mix,” says Bishop, who adds that the printed medium remains vital to a multi-channel approach to marketing communications.

“Catalogues are at their most effective as part of a multi-channel offering and have complemented the digital offering well,” says Bishop. “With the web becoming a competitive purchasing channel, the role of catalogues has expanded to become a driver of online, while maintaining their own place as a powerful marketing tool.”

This year’s awards night will be held at the Docklands in Melbourne on 10 August, and entries close on 29 April.

To find out more, click here.

Salmat chief, Grant Harrod

Traditional mail items will now be accessible online with a new joint venture by marketing and communications group, Salmat, and data management company, Computershare, to introduce the new technology into the Australian market.

The two companies will introduce the new service, Digital Post Australia, later this year, in partnership with US-based Zumbox Software, which developed the technology and launched the service in the US in 2010.

The system will allow anyone in Australia free access to digitised versions of any physical mail that is distributed through most of the country’s mail houses. Mail such as bills and business letters will be accessible via a private and secure web-based mailbox.

Salmat and Computershare, who announced the partnership on 14 March, say that security and privacy are key features of the service, which is a closed system that is restricted to verified mailers and individually verified consumers linked to a physical mailing address.

Digital Post Australia’s chairman, David Hynes, believes the Australian market is ripe for this new service that will transform the way Australians receive and organise essential mail items.

“We are taking one of the oldest forms of communication and making it more relevant to today’s market place,” says Hynes. “The Australian consumer is ready for the next generation of mail delivery and the benefits it will bring will be significant and widespread for both consumers and business.”

The new service will effectively add a second communications channel for mail houses, and is estimated it will give service providers a cost saving of 50-70 per cent per communication with the extended channel range.

“We see digital postal mail as a great extension of our multichannel communication strategy and in particular our focus on digital communications,” says Salmat chief, Grant Harrod. “Our partnership with Computershare and Zumbox provides unrivalled reach to bring this innovative new service to market.”

ADIDAS marketing VP, Dagmar Chlosta

It may still be six months away, but this year’s ADMA Forum is already shaping up to be an event chock-full of some of the world’s most respected marketers with the announcement that the 2012 Forum will be hosting ADIDAS Group’s vice president of Global Marketing, Dagmar Chlosta as a keynote speaker.

As the marketing mind behind one of the most recognisable brands in the world, Chlosta will be in good company alongside Grammy Awards marketing and social media director, Beverly Jackson, who was also named as a keynote speaker for this year’s event, to be held in August.

Chlosta plays a key strategic role in the global marketing of German brand, ADIDAS, where she leads various business units in the lifestyle and fashion arena with an end-to-end responsibility across marketing, design, operations and retail.

For her keynote presentation at the 2012 ADMA Forum in Sydney, Chlosta will be sharing how ADIDAS created a new, groundbreaking process and technology called ‘Virtualisation,’ the impact this has had in driving innovation, anticipating change, and setting trends in a highly competitive landscape.

“We are excited that Dagmar will be joining us at Forum 2012,” says ADMA CEO, Jodie Sangster (pictured). “The fast moving market environment that ADIDAS operates in will give us a future perspective on creating emotional connections between brands and consumers.”

ADMA Forum 2012 will be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, from 22-24 August.

New Publishers Australia MD, Matthew Green

Although print volumes might have slumped with some of Australia’s big publishing players making the move to digital, the newly appointed head of Publishers Australia believes the downward trend will be short-lived, with print remaining stable and possibly increasing over the long-term.

“I don’t think print is dead. It might slow down for a while, but it will come back,” says Matthew Green, who was appointed this week to take over as general manager of the Australian magazine industry’s peak body from 19 March.

Green, who is leaving his role as managing director for IT company Creative Folks does, however, concede that a clear digital strategy is vital for the future of the industry, especially for smaller publishers.

“They really do need to get their heads around what works best for them, how much to invest, and how they can quantify what they’re getting back,” says Green.

With his background in IT, he believes he can help build a bridge between industry suppliers and publishers, providing the latter with the knowledge information to help develop the most appropriate business partnerships

“What I can offer to the members are introductions and explanations of what is available,” he says. “It’s a big black hole at the moment and no one really knows exactly what they should do – a lot of smaller publishers have a lot of questions.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Publishers Australia chairman, Geoff Hird, who says that Green’s experience in publishing technology will allow the peak body to stay at the forefront of developments within the industry.

“Matthew has been a long time supporter of the association and has experienced firsthand the benefits of both membership and sponsorship,” says Hird. “Add to this 20-plus years working with publishers on their ever-changing technology needs and proven operational and business management skills, and we have someone who can bring a new dynamic and drive to PA.”

As general manager, Green will be responsible for developing member services, growing membership and increasing the organisation’s industry profile. Key events in 2012 include a Media Sales Roadshow across three states in March and Magazine Week and the Excellence Awards in November.

We need radical transparency - Jeffrey Hayzlett

It might come as a surprise to hear it from the mouth of an advertising executive, but honesty is, in fact, the best policy when trying to win over customers, according to the industry experts featured at this year’s Schmart Marketing Conference.

The themes of honesty, sincerity and authenticity stood front and centre at the second annual PMP Schmart Marketing Conference in Sydney this week, with some of the marketing industry’s most renowned thinkers highlighting how honesty in marketing can provide far more leverage than any other strategy.

Keynote speaker, Jeffrey Hayzlett, who not only served for four years as the CMO for the Eastman Kodak Company, but also appeared alongside Donald Trump on Celebrity Apprentice, said that honesty and transparency in a business drives positive brand association among the public.

“We need radical transparency,” he said during his energetic keynote presentation. “The elephant in the room, why don’t we just talk about them? They should be pushed front and centre.”

Hayzlett outlined how, in today’s online social marketing environment, the public has taken control over brand image. Through forums and social media posts on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, customers now have the power to easily drive positive or negative brand association. “You are not the owners of the brand, the brand owns you,” said Hayzlett.

According to Hayzlett, for businesses to work successfully in this new environment, they need to actively engage in, and offset any negative public sentiment by participating openly with it, and guiding it back to positive messaging.

“Even if we screw up, let’s just do it faster. Make the mistakes, take the risk, tension is what we’re striving for,” he said.

This is a principle that has been embraced time and again by one of Australia’s most successful marketing men, Rob Belgiovane, executive creative director at BWM, the agency behind Telstra Big Pond’s highly successful ‘Great Wall’ advertising campaign.

Belgiovane says that, to successfully leverage a campaign, it is important to tap into community sentiment, and engage with it openly and honestly. “You have to have an authenticity, not only great insight.”

By openly and honestly engaging with public brand commentary, and contributing to it with sincerity, a marketing campaign can attain the potential to go social, without seeding it in a social environment.

“A social idea is not new, the new bit is just that we’ve got social media that allows us to talk about it faster,” said Belgiovane. “Social media is about sincerity. It has to be interesting enough for people to talk about. If you have a great idea, you don’t have to lead it with a social campaign for it to go social.”

As difficult as it might seem for an ad-man to pledge his reliance on honesty, this was a sentiment echoed with resounding frequency by some of the other marketing gurus who spoke at the conference, including author and social media expert, Scott Stratten, who believes that if brands and businesses act like people, with genuine values and authentic attitudes, they will succeed over their rivals in the marketplace.

“Brands acting like people, can drive a personality and lead to awesomeness,” he said. “The less awesome your industry is, the more chance you have of being awesome in it.”

GRAMMY marketing director,

Beverly Jackson

The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) has called in the marketing heavyweight of the music world with its recruitment of the 2012 GRAMMY Awards director of marketing and social media, Beverly Jackson, to head up this year’s ADMA Forum.

With the 54^th annual GRAMMY Awards now done and dusted, Jackson will take some time out to come to Sydney to be a keynote speaker at ADMA Forum 2012, which will be held at the Sydney Convention Centre from 22-24 August.

Jackson is the director of marketing, strategic alliances and social media for The Recording Academy, the group that organises the annual GRAMMY Awards. Jackson also oversees the awards’ integrated marketing programs for brand partners, the digital promotion of the event’s broadcast and drives social engagement with fans and artists.

At this year’s ADMA Forum, Jackson will draw upon her GRAMMY Awards experience to share what she has learned in the key digital marketing areas of live content streaming, video on demand, and social media interaction, including fan feedback and experiences.

“We are excited that Beverly will be joining us at Forum 2012,” says ADMA CEO, Jodie Sangster. “Her extensive experience in digital, social and mobile programs will provide us with a future perspective on the trends and issues in innovative digital marketing.”

Jackson is the first of the ADMA Forum 2012’s featured speakers to be named.

Contract closures and soft market conditions have been identified as two of the main culprits behind Salmat’s 12.7 per cent drop from last year’s first half earnings, with the company this week announcing a $7 million slump from 2011’s results.

The printing, distribution and digital marketing solutions company this week reported that its earnings before taxes and costs (EBITDA) dropped by 12.7 per cent to $48 million from the previous year’s result of $55 million. However, the company recorded a slight rise of 5.7 per cent on the previous half’s $415.4 million from the end of June 2011.

The first half of 2011’s EBITA result was $48.8 million, while this year’s was $38 million, representing a 22.1 per cent drop for the same period.

Due primarily to the closure of its Telstra CCS contract, Salmat’s Customer Contact Solution division’s revenue was down 25.5 per cent on the previous year to $121.3 million. The company says softer trading conditions and new start up costs were behind the slump.

“This year we are experiencing the double impact of subdued trading conditions and continued investment in transformational change,” says Salmat CEO, Grant Harrod. “Considering these factors, I’m please to report that our traditional businesses have continued to post resilient underlying results and that our journey to a stronger digital presence is well underway.”

The company’s Targeted Media Solutions division revenue for the half was up on last year’s $121.8 million by 17 per cent to $142.5 million, however this result was impacted by heavy investments in the division’s growing digital businesses, leading to an underlying EBITA result of $18.7 million, 16.9 per cent down the previous year for the same period.

In all, the company has spent $2.5 million on its Lasoo online shopping site, $0.5 million on its Roamz e-commerce site, and $0.8 million on other digital ventures in the first half of this financial year.

Salmat’s Business Process Outsourcing division revenue was down 2.6 per cent from the previous year, to $158.6 million. While overall volumes declined, new business wins saw mail pack volumes increase from 508 million in the half ending June 2011 to 539 million in the current half. Document volumes also increased in the same period.

“Following December and January trading, clients have highlighted growing uncertainty around trading conditions as most sectors experienced reduced demand,” says Harrod. “In light of the deterioration in sentiment, we are adjusting our forecast for underlying EBITA for the full year of $78 to $83 million.”

PMP’s pre-tax (EBIT) earnings were down by almost a third on last year’s figures, with the company claiming a 28.2 per cent dip from 2011’s half-year results, and plans for further redundancies to help even up the balance sheet.

Although sales were down by 7.1 per cent, to $577.5 million down from $621.9 for the first half last year, the print distribution and marketing company has made a net profit of $4.6 million after tax so far this year, which is in stark contrast to last year’s pre-tax loss of $14.8 million for the same period.

In an effort to minimise losses in the long-term, the company says it expects around $8 million of restructuring costs in the second half of the year primarily relating to redundancies. This follows $2.8 million in significant items around redundancies for the financial year so far.

“At the back end of the first half we did some restructuring of the business, including redundancies and cost reduction initiatives…those benefits will flow into the second half,” says PMP CEO, Richard Allely. “We’re also looking at further restructuring, which should also deliver benefits, probably by the second half.”

The company’s print revenue in Australia was down by 2.9 per cent, or $7.1 million, with the company citing lower volumes in its heatset printing operation, and its directory printing business, the latter of which was down in volume by a whopping 42.6 per cent.

However, in a turnaround that challenges the trend toward digital, the company’s Australian letterbox distribution first half sales was up by 1.3 per cent year on year following new contracts, and pre-tax (EBIT) earnings were $2.1 million, up 50 per cent on last year’s results.

Perhaps one of the more troubling results for the company last half was the poor result in its digital business, with which it has been trying to expand its service offering, and transition into a multichannel marketing provider. PMP Digital’s pre-tax earnings only came to $0.1 million, which equates to a 76.8 per cent drop from last year’s results for the same period.

In light of this result, the company has pointed to lower activity in the retail market sector and a slower than expected take up of its workflow software system, DMarketer. The company says it has implemented a cost reduction program to combat the losses from its digital division.

The company says that, with its New Zealand transformation now nearing completion, it expects to make an annual saving of $18 million, with the full impact of the transformation set to flow through in the fourth quarter of this financial year, although revenue from its New Zealand operations fell by 7.1 per cent on the previous year for the same period, with weak trading conditions for its Gordon & Gotch magazine distribution service.

Allely, says that, “given our expectation of tough market conditions in the second half of the year we expect full year EBIT – before significant items – to be in the range of $43 million to $47 million, and net debt of approximately $140 million as at June 2012.”

SEMA's Keith Hunter

SEMA has made the shift offshore with its new ‘Technology Centre’ due to open up in the Philippines in March this year, resulting in job losses from the company’s Australian technology operations.

As part of an ongoing series of transformation projects, particularly in its technology area, SEMA announced this week that it would open a new Technology Centre in Manila, the Philippine capital, to increase flexibility, scalability and fast job turnaround.

While the move will see around 55 of its IT jobs go offshore, it will not affect the company’s printing and distribution operations, all of which are based in Australia. SEMA CEO, Keith Hunter, says that, although it made sense for the company to move its technology office overseas, its printing and distribution operations will stay put in Australia.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to conserve [costs] but the logistics involved in delivering printed articles prevents an overseas option,” says Hunter. “Production will always stay in Australia.”

Sema recently signed on for two high-speed Impika printers for its local production plants.

The multi-channel marketing services company settled on the Philippines for  its new centre because of the high availability of skilled IT professionals, the minimal two-hour time difference from Australia, and the high rate of English spoken by the locals.

“We’ve always struggled to get staff in Australia,” says Hunter. “[But] there is a huge market of skilled resources in the Philippines.”

The company has stressed that its new Manila operation, which will provide IT product development, QA and testing services, will be wholly owned by and operated by SEMA Group in Australia, and that the move will not affect its customers. All data will remain sequestered in Australia.

“There will be no disruption to customers during the transition. SEMA remain committed to local production and is investing in local infrastructure,” says Hunter, adding that all “customer data and production will remain in Australia, as will customer sales and service.”

The countdown is on for PMP’s second annual Schmart Marketing conference, which kicks off later this month in Melbourne and Sydney, and will feature some of leading marketing experts from Australia and overseas.

This year’s conference, which will be held in Melbourne on 21 February and in Sydney on 23 February, is part of an ongoing program by print and distribution company, PMP, to help Australian marketers build powerful customer relationships by bridging the gap between social and traditional media.

Last year’s inaugural event featured the likes of Gruen Transfer regulars, Russel Howcroft and Todd Sampson, US social media expert Amber MacArthur, and best-selling author, Jeffrey Hayzlett, who returns this year as the conference’s keynote speaker.

Joining Hayzlett this year by the founder of The Impossible Institute, Dan Gregory, along with the author of Un-Marketning, Scott Stratten, and former CEO of Cudo, Billy Tucker.

Last year’s conference witnessed much discussion about the challenges for marketers of mobile technology adoption and resource allocation. This subject was nutted out in a panel discussion, featured in the video above, between Jeffrey Hayzlett, Amber MacArthur, MGImedia co-founder; Janine Allis, Boost Juice founder; Russell Howcroft, CEO of Y&R Australia and New Zealand.

To find out more about this year’s event and register for Schmart Marketing 2012, click here.

Get 'Schmart' with PMP

PMP’s Schmart Marketing conference will roll around again in Sydney and Melbourne this month, bringing with it some of the most respected and well recognised experts in marketing, advertising, retail, engagement and social media.

Last year, the print and distribution company flexed its marketing credentials by launching the inaugural Schmart Marketing conference. This year’s event looks set to follow suit, featuring industry experts who will share their thoughts and advice to help businesses create captivating brand experiences and build powerful customer relations.

Returning to speak at this year’s conference will be Jeffrey Hayzlett, best-selling author of The Mirror Test and former Fortune 100 C-suite executive, who will be conducting the event’s chair address. He has appeared on Fox Business News and Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump among other business programs.

This year, Hayzlett will be joined on stage by Cudo chief, Billy Tucker; Dan Gregory, ‘The Gruen Transfer’ regular and CEO of innovation and engagement company, The Impossible Institute; viral and social expert, Scott Stratten, author of UnMarketing; and many other leaders in the field.

The Schmart Marketing conference operates on the philosophy that, while the tools and media landscape may have changed for marketers, the basic principles still apply. Following this principle, the event will help marketers get the right message to the right audience at the right time.

The event is designed to enable marketers to look beyond social media and online tools and explore how, combined with traditional media, they can be used to connect and engage with customers to build lasting one-on-one relationships in a multichannel environment.

The conference will take place in Melbourne on 21 February at the Sofitel Hotel Melbourne, and in Sydney on 23 February at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Click here to register.

The ‘118 Elevator Pitch,’ Jeffrey Hayzlett’s presentation from last year’s Schmart Marketing conference.

With direct marketing messaging shifting online at an unsurpassed rate, and the world still climbing out of the crater left over by the GFC, direct mail providers will be glad to discover that printed DM material is, in fact, on the rise, according to a study by the Winterberry Group.

The strategic consulting firm’s Outlook 2012: What to Expect in Direct and Digital Marketing report determined that direct mail spending has increased over the past year despite the continued migration of direct marketing messaging to digital channels, and will continue to increase in the coming year.

The Winterberry Group study found that the annual spend on direct mail last year in the US reached (US) $45.8 billion, an increase of two per cent on 2010’s total spend. The study also predicted that this year’s total spend will increase again to reach (US) $46.9 billion.

The study also found that, while digital greatest area of expansion among DM channels with an annual increase of 19.8 per cent for last year, direct mail, and other printed mediums still managed increases in their own right, with direct mail seeing a two per cent rise over the year.

Looking into the coming year, the study forecasts that 2012 will finish up with a 2.5 per cent rise in DM – half a per cent on 2011 – and a 10.7 per cent rise on other printed DM materials.

Although digital channel growth will clearly continue to outstrip traditional mail, the modest but solid increases in direct mail spend reported by the study will no doubt shine a light on the horizon for direct mailers heading into the coming year.

Print popular among younger shoppers

Traditional printed circulars have proven to be significantly more popular and effective among today’s shoppers than electronic-based direct marketing materials, according to a new Nielsen survey.

The market research company’s Evolution of Circulars survey, published last month, found that printed marketing materials such as direct mail, newspaper inserts, and in-store catalogues were the most popular of all retail-related direct marketing materials, with roughly 60 per cent of consumers looking at them once a week.

Additionally, the survey unearthed a surprise finding that direct mail is marginally more effective on the ‘Millenial’ generation than on the older Generation-X shoppers, confounding the common belief that the future of marketing will be solely online.

Taking in a sample number of 11,000 shoppers, the Nielsen poll also found that a whopping 90 per cent of shoppers surveyed wished to continue receiving paper-based marketing materials at home or in-store, while only 70 per cent expressed the desire for electronic messaging delivery.

One of the trends picked up in the survey was the shift of in-store marketing materials to mobile devices, with 18 per cent of shoppers using a mobile phone to see what’s available in-store and 33 per cent using a tablet device, with almost two-thirds of shoppers researching that information from home computers.

What the direct marketing industry can take away from this survey is the knowledge that, while digital and mobile marketing channels are well and truly on the rise, it will not be to the detriment of traditional channels, but in addition to printed marketing materials.

Dscoop Asia-Pacific Steering Committee

chairman, David Minnet

Continuing its drive to connect printing industry players with direct marketing agencies, Dscoop announced this week it would focus on educating members on brand strategy for their DM customers at next year’s Dscoop7 annual conference in Washington D.C.

With many big print service providers in a position to liaise directly with creative or marketing directors at client companies, the HP Indigo users’ collective wants to advise members on how best to meet their customers’ range of marketing needs – from direct mail to signage and packaging.

“As print becomes commoditized, today’s economy demands that print service providers evolve and add more value,” said Eric Hawkinson, executive director of Dscoop. “Whereas our members might have focused on one channel in the past, Dscoop7 will enable them to see the bigger picture as well as give them tools and share the latest trends to take back to their customers.”

David Minnett, chairman of Dscoop’s Asia-Pacific Steering Committee and managing director of Group Momentum said that, with local companies such as Salmat and PMP including digital multi-channel marketing services on top of their core DM printing services, the time is ripe for HP Indigo users to diversify their services.

“They’re looking to diversify their business. Everyone’s developing a more sophisticated business model where you’re doing more than just putting ink on paper. We aren’t just producing print DM for clients, we’re also running email campaigns.” said the Sydney-based Minnett, who will be attending the conference.

“We’re trying to move away from just talking about print-related activities to having our members educated about a general marketing base, and helping printing guys connect with agencies,” he said.

The Dscoop international annual conference will be held on 22-24 March.

Adstream Australia's Peter Miller

The workflow specialist now offers advertisers a complete solution from initial brief right through to delivery with its new web-based application, Printpath.

According to Peter Miller, managing director of Adstream Australia, the new solution allows the company to support print management in the same way it handles advertising, “independently and transparently.”

“We have learned a great deal about print management from brand owners, agencies and printers who use our print and broadcast advertising services.

“We’ve been talking to printers and advertising agencies throughout the development, and there are elements of their DNA within this application. It’s something new for us but we are playing to our strengths, which is streamlining processes,” he says.

Miller sees the application being adopted by major procurers of advertising and is also promoting it to Adstream’s current client base.

“This application is taking us ahead of the Quickcut moment, offering our clients two tool sets from which they can manage a print project up to point of approval and past that to quality assurance.

“Printpath provides one environment where key stakeholders can bring to bear all the experience and key learning’s of past archived jobs on their next project. It’s all about optimisation,” he says.

Designed and powered by workflow applications specialist Automaton, Printpath allows corporates and agencies to achieve quality print outcomes within budget.

“We are also launching a digital solution in the New Year, as the commercial print management market approaches that space and we weren’t in it,” he adds.

Printpath features an archive of all briefed work, providing users with the ability to manage print specifications within a customisable interface that also holds quotes, comments and attachments.

Print is the new premium medium -

Ben Golik, creative director, Kittcat Nohr

Printed direct marketing material is the premium communications medium according to the European Marketing Dynamics Summit in Brussels.

The summit focused on the effective integration of print, online, mobile, and social media for direct marketing campaign strategies.

According to Danny Mertens, business development manager of document printing at digital printing machinery producer, Xeikon, “print is a VIP medium.” The proliferation of digital channels has demanded an increasingly innovative approach to printed materials using incorporated online digital data.

“Our highly creative customers and specialists in direct marketing see the printing business changing drastically as interest increases in the combined power of internet, digital and printed applications,” said Mertens.

He suggested that digital printers now have the capabilities to successfully create a finished product of high quality and variability able to successfully partner with online messaging.

“Essential to the success of any creative campaign is the quality of print,” he said. “As all new media focus on high quality, full colour and personalized communication, that is what print has to match.”

Ben Golik, creative director of London-based marketing agency, Kitcatt Nohr Digitas, echoed Mertens’ comments, saying that, “print is the new premium” medium in the direct marketing industry.

This repositioning of print as the more exclusive cousin of newer technologies in the DM industry was central to the presentations and discussions held over the two-day event, with the summit’s closing motto reflecting the continuing importance of print in marketing: ‘if you mean it, you should print it.’

David Pesko, vice president of operations at InfoTrends – who co-organised the event with Italy’s 4IT Group, said that the summit’s objective was to, “help marketers and service providers leverage print, online, and mobile marketing programs to stimulate customer interaction and grow their business.”

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Marketing grinners - The Hallway agency

(L-R) David Lidster, Jules Hall, Simon Lee

Some of Australia’s leading digital printing and direct marketing industry players converged on a Sydney pub last week to help raise funding for a children’s medical charity and increase the presence of digital printing technology among the nation’s direct marketing agencies.

Sydney’s Grace Hotel played host to the Agency vs. Agency Pitch competition, which was held on the evening of 7 December and was designed as the starting point of an ongoing program to create and execute a multi-channel marketing and fund-raising campaign for the Smile Foundation children’s medical charity.

Over 80 DM and printing industry professionals braved the wet and blustery conditions on the day and turned up to play their part in supporting the competition, which was jointly sponsored by HP Indigo user’s group Dscoop, ADMA, the Currie Group, and Satellite Digital Printing.

The competition saw marketing agency, Hallway, battle it out with the combined forces of fundraising group, 2 Evolve, and direct marketing experts, DM101. Despite the strengths of both campaign pitches, no winner was announced on the night. The decision will be left to the Smile Foundation as to which campaign will make the best use of the DM and printing services donated by the sponsors.

Satellite Digital donated $10,000 worth of digital print services for the winning campaign to the charity, and email marketing company, Lyris, matched it by offering up another $10,000 worth of marketing services. Additionally, printing and marketing support company, Chameleon Workflows, donated $5000 worth of their services to the campaign.

One of the instigators of the event, Currie Group’s Gary Warby, said the event was not only designed to help out a charity, but also to increase the awareness of direct mail success and digital printing technology among multi-channel marketers.

“The key aim is to get direct mail back into the minds if the industry,” said Warby. “Direct mail really does cut through compared to some of the new solutions.”

Dscoop was also involved with the event to help champion the importance of digital print and direct mail in the marketing industry, and worked alongside Currie Group to initiate and sponsor the competition.

David Minnett, managing director of Group Momentum and chairman of the Dscoop Asia-Pacific Steering Committee, said the event provided the perfect forum for the digital printers’ cooperative to reach out directly to industry clients on behalf of its members.

“Our aim was to really try to get the Dscoop message out,” said Minnett. “A lot of these people didn’t have any great awareness of what Dscoop is all about. Most of the [printing suppliers] that were there were up to speed, but for the agencies, they didn’t all know what Dscoop was about.”

To Minnett’s eyes, the event was a two-fold success, enabling a charity to launch a big marketing campaign, and introducing the marketing industry to some of the digital print possibilities in the direct mail channel.

“We’ve got a more complex media choice across electronic and digital and it is a matter of hitting all the right buttons, but electronic in isolation is not going to achieve the same degree of success,” said Minnett, highlighting the importance of printed material in any multi-channel marketing campaign.

The winning campaign is planned to begin rolling out around March next year.

Agencies, DM101 and 2Evolve

(L-R) Justin Utteridge, Kel Beckett, Paul Lonergan

David Minnett, chair of Dscoop Asia-Pacific and director of Group Momentum

ADMA CEO, Jodie Sangster

Time for a change - ADMA CEO Jodie Sangster

Westpac marketing executive, Karen Ganschow, has stepped into the role of the Australian Direct Marketing Association’s chair following a boardroom shuffle at the peak body this week.

Ganschow, the general manager of customer relationship marketing at Westpac Retail and Business Bank, has taken over the role of chair from Quantium CEO, Tony Davis, who has held the position for the past three years and has now arrived at the end of his tenure in the board’s top position.

“Tony Davis has been instrumental in the further development and growth of ADMA,” said ADMA chief, Jodie Sangster. “Tony’s commitment to the growth of digital and direct marketing has resonated in the advancement of the association during his tenure.”

Sangster said she expects the incoming Gaschow to, “continue to emulate ADMA’s key messages and contribution to the marketing industry.”

The boardroom shuffle also sees the appointment of three new ADMA board members, comprising of the head of Qantas Frequent Flyer, Simon Hickey, industry leader in the financial services and auto arena, Mel Silva, and CEO of Clemenger BBDO, Andy Pontin.

According to Sangster, the new board appointments are designed in part to increase and extend the representation of leading marketing brands around ADMA’s board table.

More value to advertisers -

Sensis CEO, Bruce Akhurst

Ratings and review site, Yelp, was launched this week in the Australian market as an exclusive partner with Sensis’ Yellow Pages online business.

The partnership between the two companies, which was confirmed in July and launched on 30 November, sees Yellow Pages online business listings coupled with Yelp’s local reviews and ratings.

The deal is designed to provide a mechanism for Sensis to muscle in on the blossoming online reviews forum landscape. However, the company’s CEO, Bruce Akhurst says the deal’s primary objective is to add value to advertisers’ listings, following the waning value of the Yellow Pages print edition.

“It’s our job to ensure Yellow Pages advertisers can be found where their customers are looking and our partnership with Yelp is another example of how we’re extending our advertisers’ reach,” says Akhurst.

“As part of Yelp’s partnership with Sensis, the Yellow Pages local business listing data has been integrated into Yelp.com.au, including mobile sites and apps, which means Yellow Pages advertisers will be able to be found by more potential customers.”

Australia is the thirteenth international market the Yelp review service has been introduced into. Since its initial US launch in 2004, the California-based company has grown to receive an average of 61 million visitors a month globally, and five million views a month globally through its mobile app. As of September this year, Yelp had generated 22 million reviews worldwide.

Yelp ratings and reviews will be displayed in Yellow Pages online and mobile from 15 December.

Lots of gold - ADMA Awards

Wunderman’s creative director, Matt Batten, turned out to be one of the brightest stars at this week’s Australian Direct Marketing Association’s Award gala dinner in Sydney, winning the first ever ADMA Outstanding Contribution Award.

Over the course of the last year Batten (pictured) has spent time away from Wunderman’s Sydney offices to help establish and run the ADMA Creative School, mentor young marketers through the ADMA Education program, and participate in the judging of a number of international marketing competitions.

However, Batten was only one of an increasingly large number of industry luminaries to be awarded for their efforts. So plentiful were this year’s award candidates and winners that ADMA CEO Jodie Sangster said that this year’s awards had “the most number of nominations received in the history of the awards.”

“The benchmark for winning has been set higher than before with marketers and advertisers cleverly engaging and embracing a truly integrated multi-channel approach,” she said in her introductory speech. “This year we have seen exceptional talent and it has been a difficult job in judging not only the Awards for Excellence, but also the individual campaign work.”

The evening was presided over by comedian Kitty Flanagan, who kept proceedings flowing at a break-neck pace.

Among the Awards for Excellence winners were Sandra De Castro, chief marketing officer for National Australia Bank, who won the prestigious Direct Marketer of the Year Award for the NAB’s ‘Break Up’ campaign, and group account director at Mark, Rebecca Bezzina, who won the Young Marketer of the Year Award for her leadership of several campaigns for clients such as Google, Qantas and Nestle.

The night saw a glut of gold awards presented for outstanding work. Among the recipients were M&C Saachi for the Optus ‘Make Cyberspace a Better Place’ campaign which won in the Creative Art Direction category, and Naked Communications for the Transport Accident Commission’s ‘How “SpeedKills” Killed Speed campaign, winning in the Creative, PR & Experiential category.

The full list of all awards winners can be found here

Graham Reaney

Publishing and direct marketing giant, PMP, does not expect profit growth to return to its balance sheets until the second half of the financial year ending 2012, it has been announced at the company’s annual general meeting this week.

Outgoing PMP chairman, Graham Reaney warned shareholders that restructuring investments and a continued soft market will result in a drop in profit growth in the first half of 2012, with an increase not expected until the second half of the financial year.

“When taking into account the likely short-term continuation of difficult market conditions…the guidance we are currently able to provide towards the full year EBIT before significant items is that it is likely to approximate last year’s EBIT of $56.7M,” said Reaney. “EBIT for the first half will be lower, on the back of difficult market conditions and the loss of the Pacific [Magazines] contract.”

Restructuring developments in New Zealand are expected begin delivering returns by late next year.

“In the second half, the transportation plan savings will flow through primarily from New Zealand, and we expect H2 EBIT to exceed H1,” said Reaney.

The announcement follows what has been a difficult year for PMP, with the closure of publishing company Scribo and natural disasters in Queensland, Christchurch and Japan impacting some of the company’s operations.

Although PMP’s pre-tax earnings were up 8.5 per cent to $56.7 million in the financial year ending 2011, it recorded an overall net loss of $11.3 million.

However, despite these setbacks, the company is still spending up big on investments. PMP spent $24 million on a new press in WA – almost as much as it lost from the Scribo closure – and hopes to pay pack its $55 million transformation investments within the next three years.

Despite falling print revenues, the company expects its multi-channel marketing services to increase overall profit, particularly its digital services.

“The rise of the internet and digital media has led to an explosion in marketing channels,” said PMP CEO Richard Allely. “PMP already has the experience and technology to answer these questions.

“Under the guidance of our recently appointed executive general manager, Dr Anna Cicognani, PMP’s refocused Marketing Services business will develop new product lines and services for the marketers of the future.”

Wait for second quarter profits -

Salmat MD, Grand Harrod

Multi-channel direct marketing group, Salmat, has pointed to soft market conditions and heavy digital investments as being central to the company’s 10.6 per cent drop in net after tax profit for the financial year ending 2011.

In the group’s annual general meeting held this week in Sydney, managing director Grant Harrod addressed the company’s 1.8 per cent drop in sales revenue and its 10.6 per cent drop in profit to $42.4 million.

Harrod said that acquisitions of new digital businesses and softer trading conditions had dragged down the organisation’s overall figures – a condition that has continued into the next financial year.

“The first quarter of FY12 has been continued softer trading conditions, particularly in the retail segment, which has slowed the momentum of some of our businesses,” he said.

“Given the continued volatility of the macro environment we are inclined to take a more conservative view and anticipate the benefits from our growth strategy will push into the following fiscal period as we deal with softer trading conditions.”

The 2011 financial year saw Salmat spend over $100 million in buying up digital businesses, many from the Photon group. The company’s digital drive culminated with the formation of Salmat Digital and the appointment of Nick Spooner to oversee the new department.

Despite this digital spending spree, Harrod suggested that the new department would not begin to see real profits until the second half of next year.

“The first quarter [of 2012] has generally been soft,” he said. “However, we are expecting an improvement in conditions for the second quarter. We are anticipating the second half will post a stronger performance than the current half.”

At the core of the company’s slump seems to be the drift away from traditional print mailing, with the long-term shift to electronic mail hovering around 2-3 per cent per annum.

The company intends to offset that decline by building up its BPO division and e-solutions business. However, until its new digital acquisitions begin to perform as hoped, the company can expect profits to remain sluggish.

Harrod believes that the growth in market demand for digital incorporation into its multi-channel marketing services will translate into greater earnings sooner, rather than later, for the company.

“While our traditional communication channels remain highly relevant, demand for complementary services in the digital space continues to grow as this market grows,” he said.

Harrods announcement this week to shareholders echoes what he said in August when the company’s financial report was published, in which he suggested that, “ongoing volatility in global markets will continue to dampen local trading conditions.”

Start small, aim big - BMF's Rob Chandler

Consumer decision-making is not logical. For many people in the marketplace, decisions on what to buy and who to buy it from are based on habit, but there are some strategies direct marketers can employ to pave the way for habit-changing behaviour.

According to Rob Chandler, head of marketing sciences at advertising and marketing agency BMF, consumers are generally lazy when making their purchase decisions, leaning on familiar brands when they do not have the energy to investigate other options.

However, marketers can break through this habit-based behaviour by employing action-based marketing techniques designed to introduce consumers, in small increments, to new activities or behaviours, eventually forming into new habits.

Drawing on this principle, BMF created an online game for Commonwealth Bank, designed to encourage potential customers to buy investment property loans.

In his presentation at this week’s ADMA Digital Day in Sydney, Chandler outlined how the game, called Investorville, was structured to introduce customers to the logistical factors involved with owning an investment property.

“The original brief was to find out how we could more people to the website,” said Chandler. “But as we dug into it we started to use a behavioural change model and identified that, if we could just get people to interact with things there would be enough desire and interest to buy an investment property.

“There is no small change behaviour in buying investment property, you either do it or you don’t do it. That’s really what Investorville was all about. By building a simulator, we help people make small changes in behaviour, start to experience what it’s like to own an investment property and start to see what the outcomes look like.”

The key to the strategy, according to Chandler, was to make the game easy and fun use, but to also include a gratifying pay-off.

“It’s about making it easy and increasing motivation,” he said. “It’s easy to find and play. Anything that’s too hard is never going to work at changing behaviour.”

BMF made sure that players had the potential to lose all of their virtual money and fail in the game so that, when they did well with their virtual properties, the emotional reward was more profound than if there were no possibility of failure.

Since the game’s launch, its dedicated website has had over 83 thousand visitors, and over 20 thousand people register to play. Furthermore, according to Chandler, Commonwealth Bank has sold over six hundred home loans as a result of people playing Investorville.

Chandler believes it is within any marketer’s powers to introduce this behavioural strategy in campaigns, and to see successful results.

“Consumer decision-making is not logical, there are a whole lot of decision-making devices we can play to,” he says. “The digital environment gives us the opportunity to leverage those devices. Drawing potential customers to things they will talk about and share. All those small behavioural things lead up to big behavioural changes. They are essential to getting people to make those big decisions.”

Content drives sharing - ninemsn head of news,

Hal Crawford

Even with the plethora of utilities available to direct marketers using digital and social media channels, it is the quality of the content being used – not the technological innovation – that can make or break a campaign, according to the head of news at ninemsn, Hal Crawford.

With the direct marketing industry scrambling to make the most of burgeoning digital channels – especially mobile technologies and social media – it can be easy for marketers to get caught up in the technicalities of the campaign and forget about the value of the content.

In his presentation at this week’s Australian Direct Marketing Institute’s Digital Day in Sydney, Crawford said the rise of social media has led to the publication of articles designed to encourage sharing and ‘like’ clicks on social pages. Central to this strategy, according to Crawford, is the creation of messaging content designed to resonate with recipients.

“Content is the key driver of sharing,” said Crawford. “It’s not where you place buttons, it’s not even what your broader strategy is. Unless your strategy revolves around the quality of the content that you want people to share, you’ve probably got it wrong.

“If you create a campaign and it falls on barren ground – there’s no take-up, no click-through, you probably don’t blame the audience. If information is important then you are able to make it clear and engaging. If it is important, there is a way to make quite a lot of people read it.”

The first step for content producers to create messaging that will be read by recipients is to be aware of the environment in which people consume content, as that environment will, in turn, dictate how to design content for maximum response.

Ninemsn’s research has shown that user traffic to the news website spikes several times a day, most acutely at around 11pm, suggesting that people are taking tablet devices with them to read in bed instead of traditional books. This trend allows ninemsn to fashion appropriate content to be released at the appropriate time for maximum user responses – click rates and article shares with friends.

One news article published on the website was shared a whopping 54 thousand times. Crawford makes the point that, as an average Facebook user has an average of 130 online friends, that shared article had the potential to reach an estimated 7 million people.

“Definitely over a million people would have seen it through Facebook alone,” said Crawford.

Among the best strategies, according to Crawford, is to design for messaging that runs counter to popular expectations and sentiment, and to create messaging that evokes emotional responses from consumers.

“A study into virality found that emotional arousal correlated to the amount people were likely to share a story – and that could be positive or negative. You should know what the levers are.”

Going digital - Sensis chief, Bruce Akhurst

Only days after Sensis announced it welcomed the revamped Google AdWords program to its host of services and boosted its mapping offering by launching a national address file database, the company has axed a further 23 jobs from its ailing Yellow Pages print directories business.

The move follows Sensis’ decision earlier this year to cut 120 jobs from its ranks in response to falling Yellow Pages sales, and applies to mostly middle management and back-office roles within the company.

The job losses reflect an overall strategy within the Telstra-owned company to expand its online and digital offerings while stemming the losses from its printed products. In March this year, Sensis CEO, Bruce Akhurst, announced an overhaul of the business, designed to focused firmly on digital services.

While Sensis winds down its printed Yellow Pages service, it is eagerly trumpeting its new digital services, with the company announcing earlier this week that it had boosted its mapping offer by launching the Sensis National Address File, and welcoming the arrival of Google’s refreshed AdWords advertising program into its swag of services.

The Sensis National Address File is a database of geo-coded Australian commercial and residential addresses – over 9 million of them – to allow government agencies, emergency services, and insurance companies to accurately locate physical addresses across Australia.

As an authorised reseller of Google’s AdWords advertising program in Australia, Sensis also announced this week that it was pleased to welcome the refreshed version of the program, which now includes the new Premier SME Partner Program (PSP).

This new addition allows Google AdWords partners like Sensis to connect with small and medium-sized businesses that want help with creating, managing and optimising their online advertising campaigns.

Aprimo chief, Lisa Arthur

Email remains one of the most effective media choices for digital marketers. As new digital channels have proliferated, the value of email has only grown as a way to reach prospects, especially when used in collaboration with other digital media. Lisa Arthur, CEO of marketing software and service provider Aprimo, looks at how effective management of email subscriber lists can drive the email channel to become even more customer-driven.

Good Management

Clearing your email marketing file is recommended for reducing churn, lowering costs and improving new engagement metrics used for inbox placement and deliverability. More active subscribers are more likely to respond. But emotionally, many marketers are hesitant because reducing file size runs counter to the desire to reach the largest number of people.

By focusing on the needs of active subscribers, marketers improve relevancy and lower frequency, and segment the file with tighter subscriber profiles. Realistically, the only way to improve relevancy in email marketing – and boost response – is to create stronger subscriber experiences. Email marketing starts and ends with the quality of your file.

Win back lost subscribers

For a long time, it was believed to be reasonable to keep “dead” addresses on file, as it didn’t cost much to email them, and having a larger denominator made complaint rates and deliverability metrics seem lower. However, mailbox providers like Gmail are suspicious of marketers who keep non-responsive data, believing they are trying to escape penalties for high complaint rates.

All of this attention on engagement and subscriber activity puts a spotlight on “win back” campaigns, where an email message is sent with the express purpose of earning some sort of response. Most marketers do this campaign too late in the lifecycle. It’s difficult to use email to recapture the attention of someone who has been ignoring your messages for six months or more.

A better recommendation is to send the campaign earlier in the cycle. Consider incorporating a win back in your calendar every quarter. Take the subscribers who have not opened, clicked or converted via email in the past 90 days and encourage them to interact. You don’t need them to purchase, just to indicate that they are still interested in your email program. Any click will do.

The importance of segmentation

Making effective email connections that drive response and revenue requires segmentation. Many marketers know they need to segment to engage subscribers, but struggle to access the data and develop creative approaches that match the customer lifecycle. Marketers should demand greater data integration and access from their vendors, and test new content and creative approaches.

A good strategy is to ease into segmentation to avoid overtaxing resources, then use the early tests to learn about subscriber interests and understand key success metrics. Such an approach can build confidence and help make a case for automation, data integration and creative services – all of which are essential for advanced segmentation and higher results.

There are two ways to approach a segmentation opportunity, both with the goal of “right message, right person, right time”:

1. Customer profile segmentation

With profile approaches, even simple segmentation can make a big difference. Separate your file into large segments that distinguish subscribers by a factor that has significance to your business. Clickers are a good place to start – subscribers who have engaged in the past month. Also try segmenting by new subscribers, geography or gender.

Draw the segment lines around key drivers for your business – differentiators that give you a clear path to a custom message that will make an impact. For example, for many Business to Business marketers, the most important driver of customisation is job title. Focus on the customer attributes that lead to increased sales and satisfaction for your segmentation and you will be rewarded with the biggest lift.

2. Life stage segmentation

To effectively segment by life stage, abandon the notion that every email program has to be a long-term affair. Short-term email conversations can be more powerful, particularly because they address a specific need at the time. A four-message reminder series that disrupts the messaging flow around renewal time can be more powerful than the generic newsletter that comes like clockwork every two weeks.

Consider customer life stages, from purchase to service call to non-activity, and create a custom series of messages that cluster around each stage. Remember to think through the dialogue of the conversation if the message series is longer than three messages so that you can intensify, cease or adapt the message stream to accommodate response.

The goal of “right message, right person, right time” can be well-achieved through segmentation that focuses on a specific life stage, as well as customer profile. By carefully cultivating digital campaigns using list management, segmentation, testing and other best practices, marketers can continue to make email an essential component of a successful multi-channel strategy.

About Aprimo

Aprimo, a Teradata company, is a leading global provider of marketing software and services that enhance the productivity and performance of marketing organisations.

Centryc welcomes Google to the party

Google+ has been welcomed to the social party alongside Facebook and Twitter with digital marketing facilitator Centryc Solutions adding Google integration to its MeTag real-time engagement platform.

The MeTag system, which makes use of a wireless customer credential chip built into either a card, sticker or wristband, made its first appearance this week with the newly integrated Google applications, including Google+, Picasa and Gmail.

The platform not only allows people to automatically check-in at events, sponsored parties and business locations while creating automatic updates synced with multiple social media streams, but also allows businesses to track customer movement and brand mentions.

The resulting information enables businesses to create instant real-time consumer messaging that can be distributed through applicable digital channels.

This week’s Google integration into the MeTag system substantially increases the messaging reach of companies utilising the technology.

“The MeTag engagement platform allows brands to engage with each consumer as an individual via Facebook, Twitter, Google, email and mobile,” says Centryc chief, Dave Aicken. “Brands can track numbers, engagement and sentiment in real-time so actions can be taken during an event to ensure all guests have the best experience.”

Aicken believes that systems like MeTag allow businesses to track consumers’ comments and movements in such a way to provide accurate ROI figures from digital and social channels – a benefit he says is vital for marketers.

“To truly cut through, real-time brand interaction and engagement is needed, with hard numbers driving ROI,” says Aicken, adding that strategies like “gamification do not magically make social media work. A sound engagement foundation needs to be built first.”

The platform is currently used by Luna Park Sydney, Smirnoff and Southern Cross Austereo.

Open Slather on Bulk Mail prices -

Major Mail Users of Australia CEO, John Gillroy

The government has officially removed ACCC oversight from all of Australia Post’s pricing, with the exception of reserved mail, the so-called ‘grannie mail.’

The decision by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy comes after months of deliberation, following calls for submission by those in the industry. A notification announcing the decision was sent out today to those organisations that provided submissions MMUA, ADMA and Printing Industries.

The decision will hurt the direct marketing community and the major mail users who fear they will be bled to subsidise the universal requirements of the failing ‘grannie mail.’ The move to exempt reserved mail is seen as a way of avoiding public opposition to unchecked monopoly pricing.

John Gillroy, CEO of mail industry association, Major Mail Users of Australia, expects Australia Post to waste no time in jacking up prices. “I’d bet that the next price increase we’ll see will be on the first of January next year,” he said, adding that the decision has granted Australia Post “open slather on setting Bulk Mail prices.”

Gillroy describes Australia Post’s decision to retain ACCC checking of ‘granny mail’ as a “clearly cynical political move on the part of the government to avoid public criticism on postage price increases as Australia Post will be able to make up revenue shortfalls on its monopoly mail by increasing business mail whilst retaining the 60 cent postage price in the public’s eye.”

Printing Industries CEO, Bill Healy, said that those in the industry will need to keep an eye on Australia Post to make sure its pricing remains fair.

“We’ve just got to make sure Australia Post doesn’t abuse the privilege they’ve been given,” he said.

Jodie Sangster, ADMA CEO, echoes this sentiment, suggesting that it is in Australia Post’s own interests to keep the prices of pre-sorted bulk mail low as mailers would not continue to use the medium if it became economically unviable.

“It is important that Australia Post continues to act responsibly in its reserved service rates,” she said. “We want Australia Post to encourage [industry] growth and support companies that do direct mail – it’s in their interest to make sure they do that.”

An explanatory statement included in the government’s Price Notification Declaration (Australia Post Letter Services), said that:

“Given the increased competition and the greater choice of communication media – which has lessened the dependency on Australia Post’s discount letter services—the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy conducted a regulatory impact analysis in relation to reducing the scope of Australia Post’s letter services subject to ACCC prices surveillance.”

“As a result of regulatory impact analysis, the Australian Government has decided to limit the ACCC’s price surveillance of Australia Post letter services.”

Photon is focused - CEO Jeremy Phillips

Marketing and communications giant, Photon Group, has sold off its Field Marketing & Retail Agencies division to Navis Capital Partners, in a move that effectively releases it from the precarious financial position it was in earlier this year, and places it firmly in the black.

The sale, which was announced to the ASX on 3 November, includes the group’s five Field Marketing & Retail agencies: Demonstration Plus, Club Sales & Marketing, Powerforce, Ausrep, REL, Artel and Retail Insight.

Once completed, the transaction will not only free the Photon Group from the $450 million of debt it was burdened with at the beginning of the 2011 financial year, but also leave it with a spare $15 million in its coffers.

“At the beginning of the 2011 financial year, Photon was an eclectic mix of 45 highly uneven business units in five divisions. The company carried an entirely unsustainable debt load of $450 million,” says the company’s CEO Jeremy Phillips.

“During the course of the past year Photon has been transformed through this transaction, other divestments, recapitalisation, and a corporate restructure. We have now transformed Photon into an unleveraged, focused, transparent company, with leading Australian and international agencies including Naked, BMF, and BWM.”

Including this week’s sale, the Photon Group has sold 13 of its businesses over the last 12 months.

Social saviour - Red Cross targets nuclear weapons

A ‘social media explosion’ will be used to help Australian Red Cross convince the public to support a convention to ban the use of nuclear weapons.

The Target Nuclear Weapons campaign, which was designed and created by digital agency Pollen, with help from Belgiovane Williams Mackay (BWM), features a dedicated microsite that encourages people to spread the word about nuclear weapons’ humanitarian consequences via their social media networks.

Central to the campaign’s strategy is a planned ‘social explosion’ where participants are asked to use their Twitter and Facebook accounts to send a one-time message to their friends on 14 November, asking them to sign the campaign register and further spread the word.

Visitors to the microsite are able to join the campaign through its social media links, and can also use a Google maps-integrated feature to see how nuclear blasts of varying sizes would affect their geographical locales and surrounding areas.

The campaign has the support of several prominent Australian personalities including Ruby Rose, Mick Fanning and Reg Mombassa, the social networks of who will help to further broaden the reach of the campaign’s messaging.

BWM creative director, Rocky Ranallo, says that the campaign was designed to keep people engaged in an long-term capacity.

“The trick here was to do something that not only got people joining up but also engage them in a longer ongoing dialogue,” he says.

Not only will the social media component of the campaign drive long-term dialogue, but is also expected to leverage individuals’ social media networks to great effect. However, Pollen director Brett Mitchell believes that marketing campaigns using social media in this way are only effective for charities or not-for-profit organisations.

“Such an idea would only be possible for a client like Australian Red Cross. You couldn’t do this type of campaign for a consumer brand, it just wouldn’t work,” he says. “You can get away with stuff when you’re doing it for charities – handing over the keys to your social media account is a big thing.”

The campaign has seen over 236,000 people signed-up since its launch last week, and campaign membership has leaped over international borders, with people from 83 countries now having signed up.

Code to build group buying confidence-

ADMA CEO, Jodie Sangster

Australian group buying websites will now be under greater scrutiny following the release of an industry-regulated code of conduct aimed at building consumer confidence in the online group buying industry.

The Australian Group Buying Code of Conduct, released on 2 November, is the result of a joint venture between the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) and the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) to improve and bolster the industry’s public image.

The Australian group buying industry, like its international counterparts, has seen customers unsubscribe from group buying email lists due to poorly targeted, overly frequent messaging, and many incidences of deals not being honoured by merchants.

Sensing a need for a standard set of rules and regulations, Australia’s leading group buying entities banded together earlier this year to initiate the creation of the code. Eight industry leaders are already signatories to the code, including Cudo, Spreets, Groupon and LivingSocial.

The code of conduct, which has been developed on a voluntary basis, will work to ensure that its signatory businesses comply with current privacy, competition, spam and consumer laws.

ADMA chief, Jodie Sangster, believes the code will act as a central resource for the disparate laws and regulations surrounding the industry, to be used by consumers and group buying businesses alike.

“If you look at the regulating bodies and legislation, there is legislation covering each standard, but what the code has done is pull that all together into something that is meaningful for consumers,” she says.

Although the code is voluntary and self-regulatory, Sangster says that it will enable customers to differentiate between trustworthy sites and others, with signatory group buying companies to display the code of conduct logo on their websites. Sites that are found to deviate from the code will be unlisted as signatories and thus will lose the right to display the logo.

The complaint process has been designed to encourage the group buying industry to resolve consumer complaints itself before government regulatory bodies become involved, with the complaint handling process to be managed by the ADMA Code Authority.

Among the specific problem areas addressed in the code are clear communication methodology, making standard policies and procedures available for customers, and ensuring all electronic marketing messaging complies with the relevant legislation.

It is hoped the introduction of the code will instil a renewed sense of group buying industry trust and confidence among consumers.

“[The code] means that consumers have an understanding of what the expectations are of group buying sites,” says Sangster. “They can have some trust in the companies that have signed up for the code – make them feel a bit more confident.”

Mobile coupon redemption to hit $43 billion US

Mobile coupon redemption value is set to reach $43 billion US  globally by 2016, according to a report released this week.

The mobile coupon study conducted by UK-based Juniper Research and published on 2 November, found that mobile coupon redemptions this year are expected to top $5.4 billion US this year. By 2016, the report predicted a eightfold increase to $43 billion US ($41.7 billion AU).

Mobile coupons – or M-coupons – are mobile device-based deal coupons that can be redeemed at points of sale with an on-screen barcode. Issued directly over mobile networks to smartphones, the coupons have become an integral part of many virtual wallets.

Initially, the digital coupons had been issued primarily by online deal websites, but the report has found that bricks-and-mortar retailers have started to take up the technology.

“Mobile coupons are going mainstream,” says the report’s author, David Snow. “Cost effective mobile coupon campaigns are now within the reach of smaller retailers providing them with an easy way to drive profitable footfall and build customer loyalty.”

While mobile coupon adoption is rising rapidly, the report stressed the importance of businesses giving consumers the freedom to opt-in to receive deals. It suggested that indiscriminate and unwanted promotions would turn potential customers off the coupons, whereas proper use of the technology would build customer loyalty.

Despite the already swift up-take of mobile coupons technology, the report suggests that it is still a largely untapped opportunity for businesses, and coupon redemption is set to rise as consumers become familiar with M-coupons.

“To ignore the potential of mobile coupons would be to ignore the future of mobile commerce,” says Snow.

Everyone agrees - mail drives online

(L-R) Vanessa Mayer, Greg Simunovic, Praful Desai, Linda Greene

Marketing budgets are more splintered than ever before. The explosion of online and digital channels available to direct marketers has resulted in marketing budgets becoming so sliced and diced that ROI is now perhaps the one key element in every multi-channel campaign.

Such fragmentation has left some DM channels struggling to prove their worth amid emerging fast-paced and much-hyped digital channels.

With Australia Post reporting ever-dwindling reserved mail volumes, it would seem that new channels are driving direct mail the way of the dinosaurs. However, when put under the microscope, it turns out that traditional mail is still relevant and, in many cases, drives online connection.

The Yellow-brick road to ROI

One such mail provider that has continued to thrive despite online expansion is Horizon Media’s The Yellow Envelope.

The Yellow Envelope is a postcode-targeted unaddressed C5 envelope containing several inserts from different advertisers. Horizon Media works with many of its clients to create inserted material and to choose which postcodes to send them to.

The Express Post-coloured envelope is delivered through Australia Post and, although unaddressed, sits comfortably with the addressed mail it is delivered with.

According to Horizon Media’s managing director, Linda Greene, the style of the envelope sets it apart from most letterbox-delivered brochures, and encourages householders to open it along with other regular mail.

“The Yellow Envelope has an excellent in-house penetration,” says Greene. “It is outperforming other media, just on a pure ROI basis. For one advertiser, we outperformed all media on an ROI basis, and that’s including TV, radio, newspaper, and magazines.

“I think it’s all about Australia Post delivery and the way we deliver it, because there is a real science around the envelope, the category exclusivity, the target by postcode, being delivered in an envelope that has a premium feel, contributes to the results we get.”

While the results The Yellow Envelope’s clients get with their inserts may vary markedly depending on the type of product on offer, one thing remains constant, the drive to online channel touch-points – especially among younger demographics.

“In terms of response, a lot of offers are a total drive to web,” says Greene. “It’s really offline driving online, and the uptake of the Yellow Envelope is very high, partly because of the loose-leaf format – recipients don’t have to write it down – and it’s a great follow-up to TV advertisements too.”

Using envelopes to head to web

Direct mail’s tendency to drive consumers to digital channels has also been recognised by ROI specialist media agency MPG’s head of direct, Praful Desai, whose company tracks multi-channel marketing response rates and, in conjunction with its response management system, plans and optimises marketing communication strategies.

Desai says that tracking consumer response from envelopes is very accurate when compared to most other media. Mail campaigns are executed in conjunction with specific contact points, such as unique telephone numbers or website portals, to determine highly accurate response rates.

One of the trends that has become apparent to Desai through his media tracking is that, among the younger demographics, and also a fair chunk of the rest, direct mail is effective in driving new acquisitions online for an advertised product or service.

“The younger [demographic] segments look at it, but go online to research it, and then buy it online,” he says, but adds that this trend can make it harder to accurately determine ROI. To get around this problem, Desai chooses to marry overall sales figures with specific mail campaigns to generate a reasonable response estimate.

According to his calculations, unaddressed Australia Post-delivered mail such as Yellow Envelope garners a 20 to 30 per cent higher response rate from recipients when compared to other contractor-delivered material such as brochures and catalogues.

“The Yellow Envelope letterbox drops work better than newspaper inserts,” he says. “The model for this low-cost unaddressed mail is…much more viable than those that are not through Australia Post.”

Even when compared to other marketing mediums, Desai’s research suggests the Yellow Envelope is among the most effective.

“By tracking and constantly optimising, what we realise is that Yellow Envelope is one of the most cost-effective mediums,” he says.

Getting it right – the perfect mix

One of the more useful features of the Yellow Envelope-type mail format is the capability of conducting A/B split tests to determine the optimal combination of creative design and deal offer.

Greg Simunovic, marketing director at Identity Direct, carried out an A/B split test for one of his company’s deals and found a 20 to 60 per cent lift over the pre-existing mail campaign. The test enabled him to determine that the value of the offer was central to the heightened response rates.

“It’s less about the format and more about the offer,” he says. “We’ve discovered that it tends to be a very offer-led media. When we try creative tests and don’t change the offer we get very little uplift. But we’ve found, if we put a fantastic offer in there, that has a bigger impact than format or creative.”

Identity Direct runs its mail campaigns in conjunction with specific websites and contact phone numbers. Simunovic, like the others, has found that one of direct mail’s primary benefits is the online traffic it drives.

“We find that offline marketing is still driving online sales,” he says. “We know if we stopped [DM] we wouldn’t get the traffic to our website, so the challenge is to justify the ROI by looking at the other channels through which customers are ordering, and trying to attribute those orders back as much as possible to the offline media that drove them there.”

Don't risk going overseas - designer, Brad Anderson

Would you consider major cosmetic surgery at an unknown location in Pakistan purely because it was much cheaper than doing it here in Australia? Sure, it could save you money, but what about the risks involved?

The same goes for your business. Why would you risk your company’s image to an outsourced designer overseas?

Although design outsourcing has become far easier and cheaper with the emergence of international freelancing websites, there are things that businesses must watch out for. Graphic designer, Brad Anderson, looks at how to avoid any outsourcing disappointment.

You get what you pay for

Australian designers are facing increasing competition from internationally outsourced design contractors, through sites such as freelancer.com. The work is cheaper, but the risks and unknowns associated with going offshore are high. Employing local Australian talent, by comparison, is a much safer option.

The old adage, ‘you get what you pay for’ rings true when it comes to outsourcing and, what you save in costs outsourcing overseas, you pay for in quality. Many design jobs sourced overseas require re-working on the home front. In some cases this may involve more work than if the job had been sourced from a local designer.

The benefits of going local

While it is true that Australian freelance designers may not be able to compete financially with many international contractors, the benefits inherent in going local are manifest in the finished product.

An Australian freelancer will better understand the domestic market. They also better understand the current popular styles and trends in the local mainstream media. In most cases they will also have more relevant experience with Australian brands and best marketing practices than their international counterparts.

Lost in translation

It goes without saying that there can be sever language barriers when dealing with international contractors. Although English may be widely in many contractors’ home countries, there will inevitably be some elements lost in translation.

A local contractor, however, will have a much easier time clearly understanding a brief.

Additionally, working with a local contractor in the same time zone as your business allows for real time responses from designers within normal business hours.

An Australian freelancer is easier to liaise with, and to freely toss around ideas with, when compared to the logistical headache involved in making contact with overseas contractors.

Local Protection

Perhaps one of the most important factors when dealing with local freelancers is that, if there is ever a disagreement, problem or dispute with the work or the designer in question, businesses have access to several avenues of recourse to rectify situations that may arise.

The government bodies and national associations that exist to help both clients and contractors work their way through professional differences cannot flex their muscle at an international level. Any support a business can expect locally will not be available if an international contractor has been employed to do the job.

In support of Australia

It is vitally important to support and nurture Australian talent and business. It has far-reaching effects economically. Although it may not be a significant benefit directly to a client’s business, it is, ultimately necessary to play its part in keeping a healthy economy in the country.

All of this isn’t to detract from the possibility of finding a great working relationship by outsourcing internationally, but merely to try and shed some light on the things to be aware of.

There are some very talented and professional contractors involved with these international sites, but finding them is a challenge and often involves taking a leap of faith at some point.

Whose work is it anyway?

Another point to be wary of is a growing number of businesses that are now sub-contracting work out to international contractors while passing it off as their own creative material. These businesses are misleading their clients if they choose to omit that the work will be outsourced overseas.

Always be sure to check that the work you are paying for is being done by the people you think it is.

Final points

A few final points to think about: The price of a freelance designer should not be the only thing he or she is measured on. Talent, ability, innovation, professionalism is more important than saving a few bucks. A professional who can clearly interpret and produce what you want, and someone who is easy to work with are equally, if not more, important assets to consider upon hiring a freelance designer.

Brad Anderson is head of Brisbane-based graphic design company, Brad Anderson Creates. His services include Photoshop work, Corporate Identity & Branding, Websites, Image Retouching, Digital Art, Advertisements, Logo Design, Business cards, Flyers, Posters, Catalogues and Brochures and all other graphic design disciplines.

Spicers beefs up design industry

In a bid to create printing industry cut-through and reconnect with designers, Spicers Paper has launched a marketing campaign designed to beef up the design industry’s public image.

The Spicers Guild of Xtreme Printing and Finishing campaign, which was created by brand consultant Block, features three macho men who, over the next month, will find extreme ways to print, emboss and cut paper.

The campaign was launched this week with a video introducing the three men, named Joe ‘The Brawn Identity’, Paulie ‘The Gun’ and Dave ‘The Number Cruncher’

“Move over pretty boy,” the voice-over says, “printing and finishing is about to get ugly.”

Incorporated into the campaign has been a twelve-month follow-up program, featuring a six-month calendar of the ‘Guild’s’ favourite extreme printing and finishing techniques, followed by a six-month calendar based on the campaign follower’s ideas.

The campaign’s progress can be followed at: http://www.facebook.com/SpicersXtreme

Shonky winner - 'free' game charges players

Consumer watchdog Choice has announced the winners of its annual Shonky Awards, naming and shaming some of Australia’s most misleading marketing ploys over the past year.

Among the Shonky finalists was SensaSlim, a weight-loss oral spay company, that was found to have used false testimonials and bogus clinical trial results in its marketing material.

Also featured was a mobile device Smurf-themed game app that, although touted as a free download, charged users real dollars for in-game Smurf currency called Smurfberries. The game, aimed at young children, enabled children to unwittingly clock up charges of hundreds of dollars from their parent’s iTunes accounts.

Choice’s aim with the Shonky Awards is to keep business’s marketing departments on their toes when it comes to marketing content accountability.

“The idea of the awards is to highlight the dubious and the deceitful or dangerous products on the market that use claims that aren’t fully supported by credible research,” says Choice’s Ingrid Just.

For marketers who know the value of brand association, the Shonky Awards will be a keen reminder to keep marketing material above board, or customers, and regulators, will know about it.

“In terms of protecting brand credibility and delivering what you say you’re delivering, customers are pretty savvy and active, they have a lot of tools to check claims and statements” says Just.

“Your marketing material should be kept in line with the research you’ve done,” she says, and warns that, “marketing regulators will come own hard on those marketers using false information.”

Despite running the awards campaign for over half a decade, the consumer group is seeing as much misleading marketing material as ever.

“The biggest surprise is that although we’ve been running this for six years, there’s still plenty of candidates to choose from,” says Just.

ADMA to send award winner to Las Vegas

Want a free trip to Las Vegas? If so, you have until the end of this week to enter the Young Direct Marketer of the Year Award, which closes to entries at 5pm, Friday 28 October.

The award, which is run by the Australian Direct Marketing Association, is an annual event to recognise outstanding talent in the field of multi-channel marketing by marketers who are 30 years old or younger.

This is the first time the award prize has included a trip to Las Vegas. The winner will also be given a ticket to next year’s Direct Marketing Association Conference, to be held in the casino capital of the US, and a VIP pass to the international ECHO Awards.

The award judges will be looking for young direct marketers who have shown excellence and inventiveness in the development and execution of multi-channel campaigns.

Potential entrants can be working as a client-side marketer, for an agency, or on the supply side of operations, in a data house or at a production company where multi-channel direct marketing is applied.

Marketers can either nominate themselves or a colleague. The winner will be announced at the ADMA Awards Gala on 24 November in Sydney.

For more information, or to enter, click here.

Social Media World keynote speaker,

LinkIn Australia's Clifford Rosenberg

Web-based marketers will be gearing up for the launch of The Internet Show, an event compiling three separate internet marketing conferences, which kicks off this week in Sydney.

Comprised of the Social Media World conference, E-Commerce & Payments World and Planet of the Apps conference, The Internet Show will feature some of Australia’s leading experts in web-based marketing and internet business developers.

Examining the intricacies of one of the direct marketing industry’s hottest touch-points, social media, will be Vodafone Hutchison Australia’s social media manager, Chris Gross, and LinkedIn Australia and New Zealand managing director, Clifford Rosenberg.

Rosenberg, who is a keynote speaker on day one of the Social Media World conference, will be looking at how to network with customers, prospective clients and partners via the social medium. Specifically, he will focus on how to manage a company’s online brand, and how to indentify new prospects and leads.

The E-Commerce & Payments World conference will feature presentations by Paul Greenberg, co-founder of web-based seller Deals Direct, the CEO of eStore.com.au, Lorenzo Coppa, and PayPal’s mobile business developer, Paul Buchanan, among others.

Also featured as part of the event will be the Planet of the Apps conference, which will look at how businesses can take advantage of the proliferation of smart phone adoption and all the apps, m-commerce and messaging technologies that have followed.

The conference will look at how to create new revenue streams through mobile apps, how to use apps to engage your customers in new and profitable ways and how to use mobile apps to drive growth through existing customers while increasing acquisition.

The event is running over two days, 27-28 October, at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour.

To book, click here

Automatic coverage for members -

AMI chief, Mark Crowe

Marketers and marketing advisers will be able to ply their craft without fear of legal action from disgruntled clients under a scheme to be offered by the Australian Marketing Institute from 1 November.

The new legal support policy will automatically provide coverage for the marketing peak body’s financial member organisations, and associated marketing advisers who provide consultancy services and earn up to $250,000

The main cover for members is a professional indemnity policy capped at $10 million for Certified Practising Marketers and $5 million for all other members.

Although the marketing industry has not been traditionally viewed as litigious when compared to the medical or legal professions, the AMI’s CEO, Mark Crowe, says that the decision to provide insurance protection for its members was prompted by a growing trend to litigation in the Australian marketplace.

Not only has this general shift influenced the institute’s decision to implement the coverage but, until now, the slim uptake of insurance policies within the marketing industry has made such coverage expensive for individuals.

“It’s been a challenging issue,” says Crowe. “The cost has been quite high and prohibitive for some. The reason being that not many marketers took out personal indemnity [policies] so the risk could not be spread out to many, only a few.”

It is hoped the professional protection offering will make it easier for marketers to pitch tenders, as many companies and government departments require tenders to have personal indemnity coverage.

Additionally, Crowe believes the new policy, which will be provided through CGU insurance, will help increase consumer trust in the marketing industry as a whole.

“When it comes to marketing advice, people will be more inclined to seek out the advice if they know there is a [legal] backing,” he says.

New Bohemians: (L-R) Chris Christofi, Brett Dawson, and Peter Leaver

A new marketing supergroup in the Australian marketplace believes it has created a unique agency operating system, unlike any existing marketing agency models in the country.

The agency, Bohemia, was launched on 24 October and differs markedly from its competitors by choosing to focus predominantly on client-owned assets in the design of its communication strategies, instead of traditional bought media.

The shift in focus is an apt response to an industry where a ever-increasing proportion of consumer contact communication is moving to user-controlled spaces.

By engaging wholly with client-owned media assets, including company websites, Bohemia’s strategy is to curate, and thus hopefully influence its client’s digital communication channels. The aim is to foster a client’s owned media to drive the control of ‘earned’ media such as facebook fan pages.

Founded by ex-Ikon department directors, Chris Christofi and Brett Dawson, along with Peter Leaver from the Commonwealth Bank Group, Bohemia is not the first agency in the industry to utilise client-owned media spaces, but it is the first to focus primarily on this channel segment.

“Bohemia is a new agency operating system that brings together a collective of experienced and networked individuals, unencumbered by traditional agency buying models, licensed to go deeper into a client’s business than ever before to put media and data-led strategy at the centre,” says Dawson.

“We will concentrate initially on a brand’s most influential assets such as its customers, its digital and physical footprint, its sponsorships, its social community, its brand imprints and its data to create ‘participation programs’ not just media plans,” he says.

The start-up agency is part of the STW communications group, whose CEO, Michael Connaghan, has eagerly backed the new venture.

Also involved in the formation of the agency is Ikon founder, Simon White, who says that the new venture is “a merging of several disciplines – that of a media and direct agency built from scratch specifically for the new media world environment without any baggage.”

White believes that Bohemia’s fresh model will allow for campaigns that require real-time responses on a daily basis and through multiple contact points and channels.

The winner is...Simplot

Brand manager Amanda Mortensen

There were murmurs of puzzlement at this week’s annual AMI Marketing Awards ceremony as attendees struggled to understand how a 25 year-old UK brand could win the award for ‘best new product/service launch.’

The frozen vegetarian food brand, Quorn, has been operating in the UK for decades and was introduced into the Australian marketplace in the last year. Within three months of its local launch, with marketing agency Simplot behind it, the brand had taken market leadership in the frozen vegetarian segment.

Despite its recent entry into Australia, it was the brand’s long-running familiarity to many of the award’s attendees that generated puzzled head-scratching from much of the crowd as Amanda Mortensen, Simplot’s senior brand manager, accepted the award trophy.

Simplot also walked away with AMI’s top prize, the Marketing Program of the Year award, with their Quorn campaign being judged the most outstanding entry across all categories.

Other winners on the night included Mater Health Services’ win in the brand extension category for its Mater Mothers’ Private Redland campaign. George Patterson Y&R and Arnott’s won the top prize in the brand revitalisation category for their Wagon Wheels ‘reinventing the wheel’ campaign.

In all, there were 20 award wins, including the prestigious Sir Charles McGrath Award, which was awarded to John Roberts, professor marketing at the Australian National University and the London Business School, for his long-term service to the marketing industry.

Curate the conversation -

IE's Rhys Hayes

Although the proliferation of online and social media channels has opened up user-controlled spaces where direct marketers’ influence plays second fiddle to public opinion, these burgeoning digital channels can provide a gold mine of consumer information if properly utilized.

If marketers make an effort to curate online conversations about their client’s products or services, not only can they mediate public opinion, they can also collect mountains of useful data to drive post-purchase follow-up conversation and messaging.

According to Rhys Hayes, founder of marketing service provider IE, businesses can take owned media such as brand websites or social media pages and, by curating customer conversations and monitoring comments or reviews, can accumulate higher volumes of usable consumer information than many research companies.

“In a world where it’s a two-way conversation, if we want the advantage over the consumer, we need to curate that conversation. We can’t own it, we can’t define it, we can’t force it, but we can curate it,” said Hayes in his presentation at this week’s AMI annual conference in Sydney.

“No matter what brand you represent, you have more people engaging right at this second through your existing owned media channels than you could ever afford to analyse using research,” he said. “[Consumers] are there and they are interacting with your brand in a rich way, where you can grab that data and you can learn more about your customers than ever before in real-time.”

By utilising owned media spaces such as Facebook in this way, businesses can source, in house, all the information they need to design efficient and targeted marketing campaigns.

“If you’ve got two million customer interactions a month and you’re paying a research company to tell you who your customers are doesn’t make any sense,” said Hayes.

By tapping into content management systems with real-time data taken from all of a company’s online consumer touch-points, Hayes believes that marketers can develop real-time customer insights, which further strengthens online messaging value.

“It costs nothing,” he said, “you don’t have to hire the social media person to be doing the posts for you when your owned media is structured in such a way that you’re curating your own customers to do the earned-media stuff for you.”

Divide and conquer for success -

Melbourne Business School's Mark Ritson

With an influx of foreign brands entering the Australian marketplace, local marketers need to become more exclusionist with their targeted messaging if they want to excel in brand positioning and success.

According to Melbourne Business School’s associate professor of marketing, Mark Ritson, Australian brands are losing legions of customers to incoming overseas-based companies that are more effective at brand positioning than local businesses.

Ritson highlighted the success of Spanish clothes retailer, ZARA, following its launched in the Australia market. Ritson said that ZARA’s Australian stores were outselling those in the company’s home country, while local Australian brands are struggling to move stock.

In his provocative presentation at the annual AMI Conference this week, Ritson suggested that many local marketers are inept at effectively deciding which consumer groups to exclude from campaign messaging, leading to overall less successful marketing campaigns than those of incoming businesses from overseas.

“Segmentation’s important and many brands don’t do it,” said Ritson. “Targeting is what separates the best brands from the wost brands, and in Australia, only three per cent of companies do it right, everyone else is going after everyone.”

By trying to target every consumer demographic in the marketplace, brand identity is watered down and, subsequently marketing messaging becomes less effective.

To combat this dynamic, Ritson believes that marketers need to create a firm brand position, identify a specific target demographic, and actively exclude everybody else from marketing campaigns.

“Divide, target and then conquer, don’t try to be all things to all people,” said Ritson.

However, to create adequately targeted material, marketers must collect the data necessary to determine which sectors in the market to focus on. It is important to have the groundwork research done before constructing a marketing strategy.

“With competition the market becomes granular. Who are you for, and by definition, who are you not for, becomes a key question you have to answer at the start of the process, not down the track,” said Ritson, who added that asking customers questions and gathering data was necessary to make those decisions.

“Without data, you cannot be a marketer,” he said. “Without data every year, you cannot be a marketer – it’s one of the fundamentals. You have to have the humility to go out and talk to consumers.”

Marketers need to be math men,

not mad men - IBM's Jarther Taylor

Australian chief marketing officers need to develop a head for numbers and finance if they want to remain relevant and influential within their organisations, says local IBM senior marketing executive, Jarther Taylor.

The results of IBM’s inaugural international CMO study were presented at the annual Australian Marketing Institute conference this week in Sydney, and the findings will have Australian marketers brushing up on their finance skills.

The study found that, although company boardrooms are placing increasing pressure on marketing departments to provide accurate evidence of ROI value, only 44 per cent of the marketers surveyed believed they are sufficiently prepared to be held financially accountable for their work.

In fact, although 63 per cent of respondents believed that ROI would become the most important measure of success over the next three to five years, only 16 per cent of CMOs interviewed believed that financial acumen was necessary to their success in the marketing industry.

Taylor, who authored the study, says that ROI is now central to the level of influence and decision-making a marketing department can wield within an organisation. Without ROI clarity, marketers and marketing decisions will be at the mercy of other departments within a company.

“Financial skills are about understanding, not about budgets – it’s about what value the [marketing] work is bringing to the company,” said Taylor in his presentation at the conference.

Taylor believes marketers need to be engaging in cross-CFO collaboration, and working out how to successfully engage with financial department to generate the highest value out of marketing strategies.

“Is the dog wagging the tail or is the tail wagging the dog? I think it might be the tail actually,” he said, and suggested that by addressing issues of ROI and financial accountability, marketers will be able to regain the control. “We have to rethink the ecosystem within company,” he said

Google needs to be held accountable -

ACCC chairman, Rod Sims

Google Australia may have been drawing a sigh of relief following the Federal Court’s decision that some of its sponsored advertisements do not breach the Trade Practices Act.

However, in a move that will have the search engine company once again reviewing its ranking system, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced on 13 September it would appeal the Federal Court’s decision.

The ACCC had alleged that Google had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing advertisements on their search page in which a headline of the advertisement comprised a business name or product name not sponsored or affiliated with the advertiser.

If a Google user clicked the words in the heading of the advertisement associated with the competitor’s business or product, he or she was taken to the advertiser’s website.

The appeal follows the Federal Court’s Justice John Nicholas’ finding that Google could not be held accountable for the misleading nature of the four advertisements in question.

The competition watchdog says that if the case was held before the Full Court, Google may be found to be culpable of the misrepresentations being made.

The ACCC chairman, Rod Sims, says that search engine providers should be closely scrutinised, considering the influence they can exert in the online age.

“It is important they are held directly accountable for misleading or deceptive paid search results when they have been closely engaged in presenting and publishing those results,” he says.

YouTube to send experiment into space

YouTube has released a video promoting its joint venture with computer manufacturer Lenovo that will see space-borne experiment footage streamed on the video sharing website.

The YouTube Space Lab initiative, launched this week, is a competition calling for young adults, between the ages of 14 and 18, to design a science experiment they would like to see conducted in outer space.

The entries will be judged by leading experts in the field, including Stephen Hawking. With the cooperation of NASA, the European Space Agency and JAXA, the Japanese space agency, the winners’ experiments will be carried out on the International Space Station and streamed live on YouTube.

The video promoting YouTube Space Lab was produced by the Google Creative Lab Europe in London and directed by Jack Cole.

Google EMEA head of marketing operations, Zahaan Bharmal, who conceived the YouTube Space Lab initiative, is featured in a video where he discusses the project and how to enter the competition.

“Google and YouTube are companies founded by scientists, and so, inspiring the next generation of scientists is something that’s very dear to our hearts,” he says in the video.

AIMIA CEO, John Butterworth

Although more Australians are connecting with businesses over their mobile phones than ever before, the increased interaction has not been mirrored in mobile-based purchase conversion rates, according to the latest Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index Report.

The report, published last week by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), says that while the country has seen a surge in messaging and advertising from businesses to individuals over the mobile channel, only a small proportion of consumers are making purchases based on those communications.

The findings indicated that, although over 40 per cent of those surveyed had opted in to receive messaging from businesses, over 60 per cent of respondents who had received mobile-based advertising said it did not lead to a purchase.

In fact, only 17 per cent of respondents who received SMS or banner ads, and 12 per cent who received MMS ads on their mobile phones said that the message led them to purchase a product more than five per cent of the time.

Although the report found the message to purchase conversion rate to be minimal, marketers who employ a mobile app strategy in their campaigns will be glad to discover that, for the first time in Australia, over half of those surveyed had downloaded and installed an app in the past six months – fourteen per cent more than last year.

Also for the first time in Australia, the report found a clear majority of mobile phone users had a data allowance as part of their plan, with 63 per cent now including data in their service compared to only 47 per cent in 2010.

“For the first time this year we’ve seen more than half the respondents indicate they have a mobile data allowance as part of their phone plan, which is a significant tipping point,” says AIMIA CEO John Butterworth. “When you take a closer look at the results you can see that people are beginning to understand and unleash the capabilities of their phones.”

Choice head of media, Ingrid Just

Frequent flyer programs are a boon for big business – they encourage spending and enforce brand loyalty – but a report released this week by consumer advocacy group, Choice, has found that for most customers, the promise of points does not lead to air time.

The report, authored by the head of Choice’s investigative team, Andy Kollmorgen, suggests that travellers may save more money than what the points are worth simply by buying the cheapest tickets.

With only two airlines offering points programs in the domestic market – Virgin and Qantas – competition has lifted the value of points slightly, but the report says that the loyalty programs are still designed primarily to get consumers to fly more and spend more, not to help them save money.

Choice’s findings echo the results of a similar study conducted by comparison website, WhistleOut, earlier this year, which investigated the value of frequent flyer program affiliated credit cards.

The study found that, for most cards on the market, consumers needed to spend more money on card-related interest, charges and fees than they would have spent outright on the airline tickets the point would have given them.

In fact, WhitleOut found that, depending on the credit card, consumers would have to spend between $42,673 and $130,000 over nine years to qualify for a complimentary flight to London from Australia.

Choice’s findings suggest that airline-based points programs are similarly difficult to benefit from, with an entry-level Virgin customer needing to travel from Sydney to Los Angeles return thirteen times to earn enough points for the same trip.

Choice head of media, Ingrid Just, says that if the airlines intended their loyalty programs to be genuine reward schemes, the points would have longer expiry dates and the programs would be much simpler to understand.

Instead, Just suggests that the loyalty programs are designed merely to drive profits.

“We know that for the airlines, [points programs] are a big income generator,” she says. “For Qantas, 60 per cent of their net profit last year was through these programs.”

Choice suggests that those who are not frequent flyers, should simply look around for the cheapest airfares, rather than staying with one carrier to accumulate points.

“If you’re trying to save money to get points by sticking with one carrier, that can cost more than looking around for discount tickets,” says Just.

Australia Post CEO, Ahmed Fahour

Australia Post has finished the financial year in a stronger position than the year prior, claiming an annual profit of $332.3 million before tax – up 31.3 percent from the year ending 2010.

The results were released this week in the company’s annual financial report, and indicate that, while the overall profits of the company seem to be in good shape, its ailing reserved mail services business – a mainstay for direct marketers – continues to lose money.

This year saw the reserved mail business make a $91.3 million annual loss and, although this is a better result than the previous year’s loss of $250.1 million, it is clearly representative of the troubled mail sector.

In an attempt to stem the severe losses coming from the reserved mail business, Australia Post lobbied the ACCC to lift its oversight on the business’s pricing. In July, the mail group succeeded in getting the green light from the competition watchdog to freely change its prices in that business. This primarily affected its pre-sort letter service, leading to increased expenses for direct mailers.

Despite the resulting reduction in losses, Australia Post’s CEO, Ahmed Fahour, says that other market factors will continue to minimise profits. This may leave marketers open to the possibility of further price hikes to make up the shortfall.

“The increase to the stamp price helped to reduce the losses in our reserved letters business,” says Fahour. “However, this was offset by the continued decline in the volume of domestic addressed letters mailed in Australia (down 3.7 per cent this year), while the cost of servicing Australia’s expanding delivery network continues to rise.”

The annual financial report comes only days after Australia Post announced changes that will encourage greater use of its parcels and financial services – two areas which have grown over the past year.

“Our focus on ecommerce has been vindicated as we’ve experienced overall parcel volume growth of 10.9 per cent which drove parcels revenue up 5.3 per cent and resulted in a 36 per cent growth in profit over the past 12 months,” says Fahour. “This is only going to continue as online retailing in Australia continues to grow at a rapid rate.”

New leadership, PMP's Anna Cicognani

In a move that brings marketing provider PMP one step closer to the expansion of its digital channel services, the company has appointed Dr Anna Cicognani as its executive general manager of marketing services.

Cicognani brings to the role her digital experience garnered from working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations, including Fairfax, APN and Telstra.

PMP is well known in the Australian market for its print and distribution services, but Cicognani’s appointment paves the way for the company’s expansion into digital and new, as yet unnamed, revenue streams.

PMP’s chief, Richard Allely, says that Cicognani possesses the necessary thought leadership to help drive the company’s emerging services into the marketplace.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in Australia who would have the breadth of knowledge in this area than Anna would have,” he says. “Anna is a strategic thinker and her knowledge in this area is probably the best in the country.”

Cicognani’s appointment comes at the end of PMP’s year-long review of the market to determine the areas of the marketing industry the company could expand into. The proliferation of new marketing channels is central to the expansion.

“The real challenge that has emerged is the explosion of channels available,” says Allely. “[Businesses] are not increasing marketing budgets, and we hope to assist these people through our product suite so we can help them make a better decision.”

Although Allely will not elaborate on the specific services his company will be introducing, he says that customers will be seeing the new offerings within the next six to twelve months.

Christena Singh, author of the

Sensis e-Business Report

Aussie retailers are increasingly missing out on sales opportunities as the number of shoppers shifting to online channels far outstrips the number of small businesses selling online, according to a report released this week.

The annual Sensis e-Business Report, released on 11 October found that, while two-thirds of Australians now make purchases online, with a 40 per cent increase in online expenditure over the last year, there has only been a one per cent increase in small businesses selling online.

“The rate of small businesses selling online is not mirroring the rate of consumers who are purchasing online,” says Sensis’ Christena Singh, who authored the report.

Although the report found that small business website ownership had increased over the last twelve months to around 67 per cent, only 59 per cent of those businesses were equipped to take online orders.

The report found that two-thirds of Australians now make purchases online, with the increase in online spending far outstripping the increase in online selling – leaving Australian retailers with a growing gap in the market.

Singh says that, while a moderate percentage of this shortfall can be attributed to overseas sales, the majority is still Australian-based.

“Some of this expenditure is going to overseas sites, with consumers indicating that 29 per cent of their online purchases with overseas businesses,” says Singh, “but the majority is being spent with local businesses.”

The report also found that, although almost 60 per cent of Australians are now using social media networks only twenty per cent of small businesses have a social media presence.

Considering that it was found over half of the businesses using social media believe it has a positive impact on their sales, those who do not communicate directly to customers through social media are missing out on lost opportunities.

“The proportion of small businesses with a social networking presence is small when you consider how pervasive it has become amongst Australians,” says Singh.

Australia Post chief, Ahmed Fahour

With Australia Post’s annual financial results to be released this week, the company’s CEO has announced that its parcels and financial services will receive a major investment to balance the losses from its letters business.

Australia Post chief, Ahmed Fahour, announced on Monday that several changes will be made to the company’s parcels services, most of which are designed to cash-in on the rise in online sales and the resulting parcel delivery volumes.

The new changes will include longer trading hours at 100 stores for extended customer parcel collection and the introduction of electronic parcel lockers for after-hours collection, to be trialled in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Additionally, post office box holders will have the option of using new parcel lockers in 24 locations across Australia for parcel collection at any time.

On trial at five retail outlets will be self-service machines for domestic parcels and Billpay, with more planned to be in operation by the end of the financial year.

“These new measures are additions to existing parcel services and come in response to a 10.9 per cent increase in parcel volumes over the last financial year,” said Fahour, who adds that the increase is directly linked to Australians taking up online shopping “in record numbers.”

In a bid to encourage more online sellers to use its parcels services, Australia Post is offering flat-rate satchels and boxes for domestic mailing, and a new international tracked parcel product called, ‘Pack and Track international.’

Also available will be services that offer retailers assistance in shifting their businesses online. Australia Post’s ‘SecurePay’ and ‘Shop In A Box’ products, which will be available online shortly, will help retailers with online ordering and payment transactions.

“This is the biggest change Australia Post has ever made in our parcels business since it was set up many decades ago,” said Fahour. “It will allow us to introduce more services to complement those we continue to offer.”

In addition to the drive to expand its parcels revenue, Australia Post plans to ramp up the presence of its existing financial services, including the sale of insurance, superannuation and foreign exchange.

Today's marketers need to be math men,

not mad men, says IBM's Jarther Taylor

Australian CMOs are falling behind their international counterparts when it comes to effectively embracing new technologies and preparing for shifting consumer demographics, according to a global CMO study.

IBM’s inaugural CMO study, released on 11 October, has found that 80 per cent of Australian CMOs believed themselves to be unprepared to manage key market forces in technology and demographics, compared to 50 per cent of CMOs globally, indicating that the Australian marketing sector is slipping behind in the race to keep up with international marketing best-practice standards.

The study’s results indicated that 80 per cent of Australian CMOs felt they were unprepared for new digital channels and devices being used for direct marketing, a figure that outstrips the global average.

IBM conducted interviews with 1700 CMOs globally, including 57 in Australia, to ascertain the current major influences and forces in the marketing environment, and how they were affecting the role of CMOs in the marketplace.

Central to the study’s findings was that, although marketing executives recognise the dramatic and permanent changes occurring in their sector, many of them feel that they are not sufficiently equipped to adapt to those changes.

The study identified four main areas where CMOs felt particularly vulnerable to change – data, social platforms, channel and device choices, and shifting demographics.

Data analysis topped the list of CMO’s challenges. With 90 per cent of the world’s data being created in the last two years, marketers are struggling to keep up with the analytical tools to make use of it.

While 56 per cent of CMOs viewed social media as a key engagement channel, the study found that most marketing executives still struggle with capturing valuable customer insights from the data lifted from social media endeavours.

A global shift in demographics has left marketers talking to the wrong people, according to the study, which found that a growing shift to a younger demographic with different patterns of information access is replacing traditionally targeted affluent, middle-aged consumers.

“We’re growing incredibly quickly and have higher social media usage per capita than anywhere else in the world,” says IBM senior marketing executive, Jarther Taylor, referring to the Australian market. “We’re skewing towards a younger demographic. All these are shifting demographics that [Australian] marketers need to deal with.”

Taylor says that the Australian component of the study discovered that local CMOs are not only struggling with data, new channels, and demographics, but are also finding difficulty in defining, and utilising ROI.

“Return on investment is really paramount,” says Taylor. “CMOs understand that, but are not making the necessary investments in technology for their personal ability to do this.”

Taylor believes that Australian CMOs should be focusing on accurate ROI to reassert their influence over boardroom decisions and, to do this, need to be able to accurately quantify the value in new channel activity such as social media and mobile devices.

“I know that I can report on followers’ clicks and website visitors,” says Taylor, “but at the end of the day, what does that mean? How many dollars does that turn into?”

The two barriers to effective marketing in the Australian market that arose from the study were the cost of technology and the lack of ROI. Taylor believes both of these stumbling blocks can be overcome if marketers partner closely with service providers who can help cut through the data.

“[Marketers] need to get engaged here,” he says. “CMOs need to be math men, not mad men.”

Australian Lifestyle Survey pulled from site

Australian direct marketing list brokers were left high-and-dry last week after Australia Post suddenly pulled its flagship data list, the Australian Lifestyle Survey, from its First Direct Solutions website.

The Australian Lifestyle Survey (ALS), known as one of the country’s largest and highest-quality data lists available for direct marketers was removed, unannounced, from its website on 28 September, forcing some list brokers to cancel scheduled mailing campaigns.

Media M Group’s Kerryn Marlow, found herself turning clients away after vital campaign information was made unavailable.

“We had a client who booked an email campaign,” says Marlow. “I had to ring the client and tell them we couldn’t do the campaign. So, essentially we lost a client. There was no notice at all, we just got a call on that morning saying it was no longer available.”

According to Australia Post, the withdrawal of the ALS from its subscriber website is due to the upcoming merger of the First Direct Solutions business with the eLetter business. Post plans to combine both businesses into a new eCommunications division.

“We are still going through the process of merging these two businesses,” says an Australia Post spokesperson. “So, at this stage the database is still unavailable.”

Although list brokers have lost access to the valuable data, Marlow suggests the merger might streamline Australia Posts marketing services.

“If this merger de-silos Australia Post, then it’s a good thing,” she says. “I do hope they make improvements.”

Until the new eCopmmunications business is launched, however, marketers across the country will be missing the data.

“It was a good quality list,” says Marlow, “There are other lists, but the ALS was the best, and will be missed.”

thruSocial offers Facebook pages and social coupons

Group buying websites will be actively guarding their territory as US-based Facebook page facilitator and social coupon provider, thruSocial, launches in the local marketplace this week.

Founded by Facebook’s first senior software engineer Karel Baloun, thruSocial enables businesses to easily and cheaply create fully customised, multi-page, professional Facebook pages with simple self-serve tools.

The company’s offering that will have group buy sites paying close attention, however, is its social coupon service, thrupon.com.au. This coupon site allows businesses to offer digital discount coupons through their Facebook pages and other social media.

What sets this coupon model apart from the rest of the group buy players is that customers do not need to reach a critical mass to cash in on a deal. Instead, participating businesses can set their own deal prices and advertise it online through social media channels and the thrupon.com.au website.

“It’s really about giving businesses control of the coupons,” says Luke O’Neill, thruSocial’s Austalian co-managing director.

The company’s coupon offering is designed to keep businesses actively interacting with their Facebook page ‘fans’. In time, the coupon site will become a standalone entity offering the discounts and deals featured on individual Facebook pages.

“Once you’ve got the following, the couponing tool keeps your users active,” says O’Neill. “Well consolidate all those coupons in the thrupon site and start pushing that as a standalone business.”

The core service currently provided by thruSocial in Australia is its Facebook page customisation. O’Neill believes that, with his company’s easy-to-use tools, businesses can develop professional pages at a fraction of the cost required to hire a digital agency or a web coding professional.

“We’ve got a pricing model that’s disruptive to anything else in the market,” says O’Neill of the company’s pricing, which starts at $17 a month.

Although thruSocial currently only operates through Facebook and Twitter, further expansion is planned, including LinkdIn and mobile device app development

AMI chief, Mark Crowe

This year’s finalists for the Australian Marketing Institute’s awards for marketing excellence have been announced.

Around 200 marketing organisations will compete for prizes in 18 categories. The winners will be announced at this year’s annual AMI Conference gala awards presentation dinner in Sydney next week

Included in the list of finalists for the Brand Extension category is Deloitte for its brand development and visual identity, and contenders for the Consumer Insight award include Qantas Frequent Flyer for its social media strategy and MediaCom’s P&O – Neighbours campaign.

In the Green Marketing category, Rocketman Media’s Earth Hour Awards 2011 online marketing campaign and DGM Media’s Salvo Stores ‘going green challenge’ will be among ten groups battling it out for first prize.

Two additional prizes will also be awarded during the dinner – the Certified Practicing Marketer of the year award and the Sir Charles McGrath Award, which will be awarded to an institute member for life long contribution to the marketing field.

This year’s AMI Conference will focus on how to create practical marketing strategies as a response to a troubled and fluctuating economic climate.

The event, to be held on 19-20 October at the Sydney Hilton, will feature 22 experts in the industry sharing their insights with Australia’s marketing community.

Among the featured speakers will be Dean McEvoy from Spreets – who will be on a panel discussing the future of retail, Nick Adams from Telstra and, speaking about the ‘end of marketing as we know it,’ will be Commonwealth Bank’s Andy Lark.

Mark Crowe, AMI’s CEO, says that the conference will feature discussions on the rapid change of marketing over last ten years, and how marketers can best use new two-way communications technologies.

“It’s now a two-way communication between the brand and the consumers,” says Crowe, who adds that the conference will focus on “adapting market strategies to changing environments.”

The awards dinner will be hosted by television and radio personality, Glenn Wheeler.

Click here to book.

Jodie Sangster, new IFDMA chair

Jodie Sangster, chief of the Australian Direct Marketing Association, has been appointed as chairman for the International Federation of Direct Marketing Associations.

The marketing association collective, known as the IFDMA, was founded in 1989 with the intention of creating a forum and communication hub for direct marketers around the world, allowing them to keep up with international standards of ethical conduct, best practice and self-regulation. It comprises 23 member associations from five continents.

The members, who meet twice a year, this week voted in Sangster as the new chairman for the Federation – a post that will see her head up the organisation’s discussions agenda.

“I am looking forward to building tighter relationships between direct marketing associations worldwide so we can better leverage the initiatives, projects developments and learning’s that we bring to the table,” says Sangster.

Sangster believes her appointment will see Australia’s direct marketing industry stay in closer touch with developments occurring in the industry globally.

“For Australian marketers, my appointment means that global learning will be delivered directly to the local market,” she says. “[It] ensures that Australian marketing practices will be promoted and discussed on the world stage, with representation in global direct marketing initiatives.”

Royal Mail to reduce mail centres by half

The UK’s Royal Mail predicts it will need to close around half of its mail centres across the country in response to its continued decline in mail volume.

The Royal Mail’s cost reduction plans follow closely behind the US Postal Service’s announcement that it will need to cut costs by US$20 billion a year to become profitable.

The move reflects an overall trend occurring in many markets, including Australia, where diminishing mail volumes mean that mail groups like Australia Post either have to hike prices, cut costs, or in many cases, both.

In the UK, the Royal Mail has seen its mail volumes decline by 40 per cent over the last five years, with 16 million fewer letters posted daily compared to five years ago.

The UK Letters & Parcels and International business lost £120 million in 2010-2011, a result that stands in stark contrast to the £20 million profit it made the previous year. It is mainly the drastic fall in mail volume that has been blamed for the loss.

The most recent casualty in the Royal Mail’s string of closures, which began in 2009, is the country’s Midlands region. It was announced this week that the region will lose 393 operational jobs and the number of its mail centres will be whittled down from seven to only four.

The reduction in job numbers will be accompanied by a ‘modernisation programme’ that will see new technology and equipment employed to process mail more efficiently, requiring fewer workers.

“Royal Mail…is automating its mail sorting and delivery operations as part of the largest change programmes ever undertaken in the UK,” said the organisation in a release published on its website.

“The mail centre closure programme began in 2009 and, since then, 12 mail centres have closed. The number of mail centres in the UK will reduce by around half over the next five years.”

The Royal Mail’s Midlands Regional Director, Paul Jobling, said that the organisation was “conscious of the impact this announcement will have on our staff in the midlands. It is hard to reduce job numbers at any time, and we are committed to doing everything we can…to make these changes on a voluntary basis.”

The Royal Mail says it predicts that by 2015, its ‘end-to-end’ mail volumes will have shrunk by 80 per cent in just over a decade.

New Facebook tools for marketers

Facebook has launched four new features on its upgraded Page Insights tool that will make it easier for marketers to monitor and quantify social media messaging impact and value.

The new features, which are to become active within the next fortnight, were announced in an email sent out to its business page users.

Among the new features is the ‘People Talking About This’ metric that counts all news feed mentions of a business’s page. Facebook says the feature will roll out this week.

The new ‘Conversation on Pages’ feature lets social media marketers reach friends of fans. According to Facebook, this extra coverage means businesses can potentially reach 34 times the number of people than was previously possible.

Another new feature is the ‘Premium Ad Unit’ which is designed to combine page posts with social context from Facebook friends. If a person viewing a brand’s advertisement has friends connected to the brand’s page, Facebook will expand the ad to include a line that shares which friends like the page.

Included in the revamped Page Insights tool is the new ‘Facebook Page Insights API’ feature designed to encourage analytics developers to create customised page insights solutions for existing clients.

“Facebook has enhanced Insights to show brands how to get more people talking about and sharing the things brands put on their pages, which is key to getting a brand’s message out to more people,” said the social media company in the email it sent to users.

“Research shows that word-of-mouth conversations among friends are the most influential for getting a brand’s message across,” it said.

iGroup's Paul Tannous and gnome

Those who attended this year’s ADMA Forum expo in Sydney might remember one eye-catching exhibitor stand that was populated by hundreds of ceramic garden gnomes.

It turns out that the army of gnomes has now become a novel and effective lead generator for mail marketing company, iGroup Australia, whose gnome-crowded display at the exhibition won the Forum’s award for most innovative stand.

The ‘Give a Gnome a Home’ concept was developed in-house by iGroup Australia’s campaign experts and was designed to not only spark interest in the company’s services, but also to provide a mechanism for ongoing contact with potential clients.

Expo attendees were given the opportunity to register their details to receive one of the hundreds of garden gnomes on offer. Visitors to the stand were encouraged to take the gnome home, and to take photos of them in different locations.

As part of the company’s follow-up, gnome ownership certificates were sent out by post, with details about a gnome website to be launched within the next few weeks, where gnome owners can upload travel photos of their ceramic wards.

“Of the 380 gnomes registered, we sent out about 360 envelopes as follow-up,” says iGroup Australia’s managing director, Paul Tannous. “A the moment, we’ve got about 35 active clients who we’re talking to, all off the back of the gnome project.”

Tannous says that, of all the different strategies his company has used to increase new industry business leads, this one has delivered more cut-through than anything else.

“We’ve tried all sorts of stuff,” says Tannous. “We’ve tried them all – beer cooler cans, stress balls, petrol vouchers –  [but] all of them were below par. The gnome campaign blew us away.”

The company intends to continue developing the gnome campaign by offering registered gnome owners interesting add-ons such as backdrops of famous world destinations for gnome photo-shoots, a ‘give a gnome a home’ Facebook page, and gnome accessories.

Tannous hopes the continued contact will keep dialogue open with potential clients and will eventually develop into fully-fledged marketing contracts.

“As long as we continue coming up with fresh ideas we’ll keep it going,” says Tannous. “We’d like to roll into ADMA Forum 2012 with it and integrate it into the next expo.”

Sydney Hilton to host AMI annual conference

Translating today’s troubled economic climate into practical strategies for marketing professionals will be the aim at this year’s annual Australian Marketing Institute conference.

The AMI’s Marketing Twenty-Twelve and Beyond conference and national awards dinner will be held at the Sydney Hilton on October 19-20 and will feature talks by some of the leaders in the industry.

Among the experts featured at the conference will be Spreets’ chief Dean McEvoy, Coca Cola Amatil director of media, Sally Loane, and Telstra’s director of one to one marketing, Nick Adams.

The event will focus on how marketers can get the most of the industry’s fragmented multi-channel landscape and what to do to increase marketing value in a two-speed economy with a flat-lining retail market.

Industry experts will share their thoughts on whether social media is driving, rather than supporting, marketing agendas, where public affairs has a role to play and the challenges of retail marketing.

“A lot of the presentations will be forward-looking in terms of what’s coming up, dealing with a mix of variables in what’s ahead for marketing,” says AMI chief, Mark Crowe.

Crowe believes the changes that have occurred in technology over the last decade have fundamentally changed the way marketers need to operate.

“Most people would agree the last ten years has been a decade of rapid change,” he says, “and we’ve seen a significant change in communications as it is now a two-way street.”

Accompanying the conference will be the 2011 national awards for marketing excellence gala dinner, which will be hosted by television presenter Glenn Wheeler

To register to attend, click here

Shop A Docket chief Simon McCord

Receipt coupon marketer, Shop A Docket, is developing a smartphone app to be launched in the Australian market next year, further increasing its online and digital brand presence.

In August the company won the national tender to supply register rolls to retail giants Woolworths and Big W, re-establishing a partnership that sees the company reach an estimated 93 per cent of Australian households, and over 2,300 distribution locations.

Before the deal, the coupon printer claims to have reached 83 per cent of households, and the new contract has seen it double the number of coupons printed to 31 million per day and increase its reach by 10 per cent.

This week the company has again reiterated its heavy Australian coverage along with an offer for small businesses to receive six weeks of free advertising for every 18- week advertising package purchased.

One of the organisation’s primary selling points to potential buyers – mostly small to medium businesses – is the continuing value in offline, printed marketing media.

Despite this claim, however, Shop A Docket has been investing heavily in its online and digital content. The company not only has a website through which an estimated 60,000 coupons a month are printed, but is also developing a smartphone app to be released next year.

“We’re not sitting idle in regards to extending into the digital arena,” says Shop A Docket CEO Simon McCord, “and I do think digital will surpass the printed format if it hasn’t already. We’ll introduce a phone app next year.”

Approximately 0.01 per cent of Shop A Docket’s 31 million receipt roll coupons are redeemed per day – 310,000, yet, although this number far outstrips its number of online coupon redemptions, it is clear that, with the phone app development, the company is actively engaging with the shift online.

McCord says that the percentage of online coupon redemption stands at around 35 per cent, whereas the printed receipt roll coupon redemptions are closer to 0.01 per cent. With these figures in mind, perhaps Shop A Docket is wise to hedge its bets with a digital and online presence.

Digital Quay's Kurt Reiter

There is no doubt direct marketing yields a great return, despite a significant investment, but nothing is worse than marketing to the wrong data, diluting your investment and costs. Kurt Reiter explains how you can get your clients and prospects to ‘scrub up’ and clean their own data for you.

Online marketing has a low cost of entry and investment, whereas targeted direct mailing is relatively expensive. Plus, the better the quality—of the data, the production values and the reach—the higher the costs will be. As a tremendous supporter of smart marketing investments, spending more per action rather than carpet-bombing mailboxes just because it’s cheaper, I don’t believe you should worry about the higher cost per transaction. That said—you should worry about the cleanliness of your mailing data because every piece of bad data is going to cost you.

Investing in clean data can also be quite costly. If your client base is easily maintained because you are a utility company with direct relationships that are contractually based, then there is fair chance your data is clean. In which case over investing in keeping it 100% accurate vs. 96% would be a poor use of your resources. But, most direct marketers are not dealing with mailing lists anywhere near as pure.

Data cleansing is incredibly costly, mainly because it involves human labour. Even if you use an outsourced overseas call centre to do the grunt work you will still be paying more than you would by sacrificing your ROI on your direct activity spend.

So—where do you draw the line? If 100% clean is the goal but unrealis­tically expensive to achieve, how do you find the balance? Mathematically, it’s possible to calculate this on a campaign-by-campaign basis but I think the democratisation processes flowing from social networking demonstrate where the cost effective solution can be found.

Rather than paying for your data to be cleansed at high cost or even spending time on calculating where the line exists for each activity, let your mailing list do the cleansing for you at minimal, if any at all.

Wouldn’t you like to know?

First, go online. Invest in getting email activity going first. If you blast tens of thousands and you lose 30% in unsubscribes—that provide powerful and cost effective intelligence about your list(s). Likewise, hard bounces will also paint a picture.

A multi-layered online campaign, the types now available with the growth and understanding of the XMPie world and other emerging technologies allow a huge amount of interaction to take place whereby your lists are in effect cleaning themselves. Moreover, they provide you live feedback as to degrees of interest. On the bell curve that appears, you can make targeted spend decisions as to what and where to invest. It is likely your investments will be different depending on the feedback coming in.

Then, you can start to ramp up your spend in the physical realm with greater confidence.

Cleanliness is next…

To my colleagues in IT who believe in purity of data, I say, that’s fine if you’re in charge of ANZ’s internet banking where your clients keep themselves known to you. But it’s not going to work when it comes to marketing to an unknown or never-contracted prospective client base. The costs to be as clean as you would like simply are not commercially viable. One has to accept a bit of mess. In the chaos of every day existence and human interaction we see that patterns often hold the truth.

Don’t be afraid to get a bit dirty and don’t be afraid to let your community of interest clean up for themselves. The way you interact with them will determine their level of willingness to do cleaning for you. The technologies exist, as do the skills, so choose your suppliers and agencies carefully. Be wary of print suppliers who have embraced the technologies but are yet to transform their revenue model away from print. The market leaders have already made the transition… and are loving it.

Get it right online first and your subsequent physical marketing spend will have a ROI that will blow your mind and keep your boss or client extremely satisfied.

Kurt Reiter is the managing director of Digital Quay, an expert consultancy and multi-solution provider of digital content management solutions and integration.
<kurt.reiter@digitalquay.com.au>

Salmat Digital CEO, Nick Spooner

OK, here’s a question… what does Salmat do?

No? Yes? Hands up all who said something about delivering catalogues. It may not be fair but it’s completely understandable if you find your hand in the air.

Yet it doesn’t tell the whole story, which is really about the difficulty of traditional media/marketing companies moving into the digital age.

Salmat is one of Australia’s largest customer communications solutions companies; it’s a leading marketing communications and outsourced business services company; it’s a ASX-listed company that has three divisions … Targeted Media Solutions (TMS), Customer Contact Solutions (CCS) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).

Last year it turned over $863 million, declared $36 million profit and had debt of $258.3 million. This latter is mainly due to the buying and funding of its digital investment. Over the past three years the company spent $100 million to buy digital businesses, mostly from the Photon Group.

On Monday night Salmat launched a new digital division at The Mint, Macquarie Street, Sydney, introducing Nick Spooner as its CEO. It announced it has 250 digital experts at a digital centre of excellence servicing online, mobile, social media, web development, data, email and SMS.

Now, in addition to its other descriptions, Salmat describes itself as Australia’s leading integrated digital and multichannel communications provider.

The new division will function inside the TMS division, which among other business activities such as shopping site Lasoo and interactive and data services, handles Salmat’s catalogue delivery. It was the only division that grew last year, increasing its revenue by 7.1% to $250.9 million.

Salmat is a large vigorous marketing services corporation that is making good money from its traditional businesses. It has made strategic investments to move into the digital future and undoubtedly these will produce good returns in time. It is focused on being a multi-channel provider to the fragmenting media channels, which it is very capable of doing.

Now all that’s left to do is make sure everyone knows what the brand, Salmat, actually stands for.

Because, if you search in Google you get;

1.     Salmat: The evolution of one to one communication, with subheads including Business Process Outsourcing and Targeted Media Solutions.

2.     Salmat – Deliver for dollars , a hiring site for door to door deliverers.

3.     Salmat Limited – Company Profile

4.     Salmat Media Force – experts in Targeted Media.

Magazine publishers under scrutiny

Small business owners will be trawling through the fine print of their print media advertising contracts after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accused four magazine publishers of allegedly coercing businesses into buying ad space and misrepresenting their titles’ circulation.

The consumer watchdog this week launched legal action against Andrew Clifford, sole owner of community magazine publishers Superior Publications, Elite Publishing Group, Wiltshire Publications, and Exclusive Media & Publishing. The publications are based in Queensland.

The ACCC accused Clifford of “misrepresentation and harassment” of customers, and alleged that he offered potential advertisers the chance to place advertisements in his magazines for around $500 while promising a distribution of 500 copies – which were never sent.

Additionally, Clifford has been accused of allegedly tricking customers into signing advertising contracts by misrepresenting them as documents offering the potential advertisers free copies of the magazines.

It is alleged that the publishing companies then used coercion and harassment in the attempted collection of the demanded payment of the signed contracts.

In a statement, the ACCC said that Clifford’s ‘unconscionable’ conduct included “threatening legal proceedings against the businesses if they did not pay or representing that legal action had already commenced when in fact it had not.”

Among the penalties the consumer watchdog is seeking is an order disqualifying Clifford from managing corporations, injunctions restraining him from engaging in similar conduct in the future and financial penalties.

The case is set for a Federal Court directions hearing on 18 October.

Minister for Privacy and Freedom of

Information, Brendan O'Connor

The Government’s proposed privacy legislation paper released last week ignores the real core of the privacy issue debate, says the Australian Direct Marketing Association.

On 23 September the Government released an issues paper discussing the Australian Law Reform Commission’s proposal for legislation to allow Australians to take civil legal action if their privacy has been ‘seriously invaded’.

However, ADMA believes the legislation changes discussed in the paper ignore the root of the privacy problem. A response posted on its website says that situations where personal information is leaked by a third party such as a hacker are not covered in the paper.

“Another serious concern,” says ADMA, “is that the right to sue for privacy entirely ignores what is often the root of the problem – i.e. that privacy breaches often occur as a result of a company being the victim of an illegal hacking by a third party.”

The marketing peak body cites the situation that Sony found itself in after its online Playstation network was hacked and gamers’ personal information was leaked into the public domain. The leak resulted in Sony being investigated for the privacy breach.

ADMA’s response also says that if an individual has the right to sue for what he or she might consider to be a serious invasion of privacy, it “raises an immediate question on what is considered a ‘serious’ breach and where the line should be drawn.”

The paper discusses whether there is a need for a statutory civil action for serious invasions of privacy and, if so, what defences and remedies should be made available to businesses and individuals. Among the suggestions is a $150,000 cap on compensation for non-economic losses that may occur as a result of a privacy leak.

Australia’s Minister for Privacy and Freedom of Information, Brendan O’Connor, says that the legislation discussed in the paper is designed to bring Australia up to speed with modern technology and industry.

“Rapid advances in technology have led to profound changes to the ways in which people store personal information, and how they share that information,” he says. “We need to make sure that our privacy laws and protections are keeping pace with the changes.”

The period of time the proposed legislation paper is open for comment has been extended by six weeks and will close on 4 November.

Bargains 4 Business director Mikel Kew

The competitive jostling of the online commercial group buying industry has seen some start-ups carving out a new niche in the market with dedicated business group buying websites.

However, even this new niche is beginning to look crowded with the launch this week of the Bargains 4 Business group buying site.

The introduction of the new site, launched on 26 September, comes only a few weeks after rival website BizBuys launched in the Australian marketplace – on 31 August.

The challenge is in finding a way to stand out from the crowd, says Bargains 4 Business director Mikel Kew, who claims to be adding value to partner businesses by focusing on, and tailoring, deals that will lead to long-term return on customer loyalty.

“It’s not really about just getting people through the door,” says Kew, “we’re doing everything we can to try and encourage customers to have and maintain an ongoing customer relationship. Ultimately we’ve got to provide deals that foster relationships with businesses.”

Ever since Groupon launched in the US, copycat group buying sites have popped up in markets around the world, including Australia with sites such as Cudo and Spreets.

Kew admits that the model is an easy one to emulate, but says that it takes some extra effort to copy it well – something he hopes to have achieved with Bargains 4 Business.

“It’s a bit of a risk [entering] any sector of the group buying market, but it take a lot more thought and investment to do a good copy of the [model],” he says. “There’s room in the B2B market for a couple of players to compete effectively – the better ones will come out on top.”

One tangible point of difference between Bargains 4 Business and its competitors is that the new site is running a monthly promotion to award a nominated struggling business with a free group buy deal of their choice.

“I wanted to have a charitable element to it,” says Kew. “I wanted to give back to the business community.”

Telstra CEO, David Thodey

Australian digital mobile device channel marketers will soon have access to new technical possibilities so expect a surge in online mobile up-take with the official launch of Australia’s first superfast 4G mobile network.

Telstra’s 4G network is the first of its kind to be rolled out in Australia and is currently available in capital city CBD areas, airports and some regional areas.

While Australia’s three mobile network operators have been planning to build 4G networks, Telstra has beaten the others to the punch with its September 27 launch of the superfast 4G LTE network. The network had been under construction since May.

Telstra claims the new network will allow download speeds up to 40 megabits per second (Mbps) – double the speed of its existing 3G network, and uploads speeds between 1Mbps to 10Mbps, which is three times faster than 3G.

“The superfast speeds mean consumers can download songs faster, get TV shows in minutes and do more things simultaneously,” says Telstra’s CEO, David Thodey.

While mobile web browsing is much faster on the new network, its coverage area is currently limited to a five-kilometre radius around central business districts and a handful of regional areas. However, Telstra claims the 4G network will be activated in 50 additional locations by the end of the year.

While the Apple iPhone 4 is 4G ready, many smartphones on the market have yet to catch up to the next mobile network generation.

“We know there is a huge appetite for 4G-powered smartphones and tablets,” says Thodey, “and Telstra is working with some of the world’s leading manufacturers to bring some of these devices to customers in the first half of 2012.”

To bolster its 4G offering, the telco is planning to sell a HTC 4G-enabled smartphone in early 2012.

Mail is the bedrock of direct marketing, a major channel for communicating with customers and prospects. At a time when media channels are proliferating, the postage stream still has strengths that attract savvy marketers with an eye on ROI. Integrating technology to bridge the gap between the analogue and digital world delivers enhanced results.

Let’s get one thing straight … mail is not cheap. Compared with sending email messages to millions of internet users the costs of a mail-based DM campaign or sending utility bills and statements by post are quite large. Which is part of the reason mail gets such a bad rap these days. Marketing and communication budgets are constrained, the internet has landed, so why spend on the derisorily termed snail mail?

Marketers have already voted to move communications online where the buzz and the fashionable future of marketing resides. No young hip marketing professional wants to be seen as an old analogue-folding fan. Better to be exploring options around social media, working on mobile apps that buzz when a consumer passes a store and devising ways of giving an email the necessary cut through to avoid it being dumped as spam.

Even the major users of essential mail are doing everything they can to shift online. Ask any of the telcos and the banks that are trying to move their essential customer communications away from mail mostly with the spurious claim that it will save trees. While the greenmail is transparently self-serving it plays towards lowering the cost of essential customer communication.

What is missing from the current criticism of the mail channel is any sober reflection on its relative effectiveness. Mail is the quintessential interrupt media. It lands in your letterbox and demands an interaction, even if that sometimes means simply tossing it into the garbage. It can be the most secure medium, registered as being delivered to its recipient. With design and high production values it is also the highest-level communication channel for valued customers.

Mail is its own matrix

Despite current fashion, mail is still an integral part of the communication mix. While volumes of granny mail continue to fall, business mail is holding its own, even growing in markets such as the USA. According to Ross Ingleton, Computershare, one of the largest essential mail senders in the country, the migration of essential mail to online has begun to flatline after an initial burst of activity.

“Whilst we have seen a real push over the last few years to online strategies, the reality is that it has flat lined a bit.  On average it’s around 20% with traditional mail 80%.  The telco industry probably claims the opposite with 80% online but they are not the norm,” said Ingleton.

The essential mail industry is the largest user of pre-sorted bulk mail, earning a reduced postage rate by lodging mail in accordance with Australia Post’s requirements. Pre-sorted mail can get down below 40 cents per letter as opposed to the granny mail cost of 60 cents. Even so, it is still an expensive way to communicate when compared with encouraging people to go online and check their accounts on a webpage.

Australia Post is not helping either with its ongoing thrust to increase the cost of both direct marketing – charity and acquisition – and essential or utility mail. Last year the monopoly, the reserved letter service, made a loss of $127 million, according to a Federal Government discussion paper. It follows a decline of 5.5 % in volume to 3.9 billion items. Now the Federal Government is considering allowing Australia Post to set its own prices without ACCC scrutiny for all mail apart from the 60 cent stamp.

Who you gonna trust?

Despite the cost and the fashion essential mail has a lot going for it compared to the travails of the internet. Computershare is one of the largest online share registry and commercial mail companies in the world and Ross Ingleton is unfazed by the current popularity of electronic communication.

“Email is not a trusted delivery channel.  Research in the US indicates that there are over 200 billion emails a day and 97% is spam.  It also shows 91% of consumers are opting out of emails because of concerns about security and relevancy. The reason take up isn’t greater is risk and legislation,” he said

The quandary of large corporations using an unreliable electronic medium “with risk written all over it” while Australia Post hikes its prices is perhaps unsolvable. Then there is the preference of consumers for paper communication, despite years of being lured away by greenmail. The relatively low take-up of electronic essential mail is a testament to the enduring power of the post.

“People prefer paper and do not trust email.  Consumers that turn off their paper statements do it because they are tech savy or believe that they are assisting the environment.  The trouble is, most then don’t read their electronic statement unless they think there is a discrepancy. Any electronic transpromotional pieces are generally wasted and the one chance a marketer has of effectively cross selling to their customer is gone,” said Ingleton.

Essential mail is a DM channel

Transpromotional marketing is not confined to electronic mail. It has its genesis and largest take up in paper-based mail. New printing technology now allows essential mail producers to target relevant offers to customers on their bank statements and utility bills. One-pass colour production has brought the costs down although some industry analysts raise the possibility that it may be too late to arrest the decline in mail.

“It is not too late – the response from marketers in Australia to the introduction of the InfoPrint colour production lines has been fantastic,” said Ingleton. “They have been stifled by boring essential communications of black laser on static pre-printed shells.  Until now marketers that wanted full colour did not have machines that offered quality at the right price.  People don’t want to pay more to produce their bills or statements.

“Research conducted in the US shows that the response uplift on a transpromotional piece printed in full colour compared to black is greater than 30%.  What marketer doesn’t want that sort of increase at no extra cost?”

Mail in the DM mix

If essential mail has it challenges, the popularity of mail for acquisition and charitable direct marketing is also under the gun. Volumes have fallen, run lengths and frequencies are in decline as marketers stretch finite budgets to cover the different media.

According to Paul Tannous, iGroup, one of the most active mail houses in the country, the ability of businesses to easily create and send their own email campaigns is contributing to the shift away from mail. “The entry point of EDMs is a lot easier now. Almost every CRM software package allows you to create your own EDM in three easy clicks. We do it ourselves. There’s no need to engage a third party and it’s cheap,” he said.

iGroup’s response to the changing mail stream is to develop more sophisticated, multi-channel campaigns, blending technology in a way that the average business cannot. “It’s all about value adding. You have to offer clients a solution that includes more than print and mail, such as adding on emails, building micro sites, collecting data. We have morphed into a lot more than mail.

“Everyone is wondering what is the best way to go. Young guys all want to jump onboard social media, but there is no real tracking of ROI in that space. The challenge is to integrate direct mail into social media, to link it to Facebook,” said Tannous.

Mail is the poor cousin

Experience has taught Tannous that mail will always be the first hit with new technology, but he is confident of its role in the face of social media. “Mail is always the poor cousin. It got jumped upon seven or eight years ago with the arrival of email. People came back to mail after that but it’s being jumped on again from social media, but not as much as it copped from email. Mail will always play a part even though the amount of mail will not be as much as it was,” he said.

He relates the power of multichannel marketing to a campign iGroup did for itself. Focusing on the Fundraising Conference in Melbourne it mailed a postcard to 300 delegates inviting them to activate a PURL in order to answer a few questions and play a game of skill. “We got a fantastic response with 80 people logging on. At the show we were texting them to come to our stand. The whole promotion, including stand and airfares cost us around $30k and we’ve closed close to $200,000 in business… and it’s still going.”

Mail is not cheap and even if the industry reckons Australia Post should be able to do more than simply raise the tariff to cover its costs, industry professionals are far from pessimistic about the future. In a multi-channel world mail is too important a medium to ignore, even if it is expensive.

For Ross Ingleton, mail’s combination of security and cut through ensures its future. “Electronic mail does not provide the cut through for promotion, be it cross selling or acquisition.  EDM is not trusted and whilst cheap to use it has poor returns – as I said before – 97% is considered spam.

“I see an absolute increase in commercial direct marketing mail – people prefer paper.”

The Wiggles invite you to perform with them via You Tube

As part of the marketing campaign to promote their current Australian tour, The Wiggles have launched a video-based competition inviting people to become the ‘fifth Wiggle’ for individual performances during the tour.

The competition was launched on 30 August with a You Tube video of The Wiggles inviting parents to submit a video of themselves performing the Wiggles’ song ‘Fruit Salad’. Entrants must have a You Tube account to be able to participate in the competition.

Entrants are judged partially on their ability to perform the song, and their friends can also vote on their submitted videos submitted videos. The winner of each show’s video competition will then be invited to perform the song live onstage with world-famous children’s entertainment group.

The ‘5th Wiggle’ competition is accompanied by a dedicated website including the invitation video, a video of the song and a link to submit videos, along with submission dates, terms and conditions.

The competition will run until submissions for the final show of the tour closes, on 25 November.

The Wiggles competition launch announcement video

‘Fruit Salad,’ the song to be performed on video and on stage

Fairfax Media CEO of Marketplaces, Nic Cola

In a move that appears to be a swing away from the online and back to the increasingly unpopular print medium, the Telstra-owned Trading Post online has partnered with Fairfax Media to allow classified advertisements to appear under both banners.

Under the agreement, general classified advertising packages for Fairfax customers will now include an online presence on Trading Post online, and the classifieds sections of the media group’s 180 regional and metropolitan publications will receive the Trading Post banner head.

The new partnership will see the online classified publisher feature ads from Fairfax on its site, but its online listings will not necessarily appear in print. The Trading Post presence will merely be offered to advertisers as an additional online option.

However, CEO of marketplaces at Fairfax Media, Nic Cola, says that the company is ultimately working towards featuring Trading Post online-generated ads in its publications. These classifieds would be geographically targeted according to region.

The agreement builds upon a classified advertising deal struck between Fairfax and APN News & Media last year that saw the latter feature Fairfax’s online classified advertisement brands Domain, Drive and MyCareer in over 90 APN regional Queensland publications.

The Trading Post has been out of the print market since October 2009 after experiencing diminishing advertising revenue, but the agreement with Fairfax will see it return to the medium it first entered four decades ago.

Cola says that the partnership with the iconic Trading Post brand will allow Fairfax Media’s customers utilize the online channel and have a much greater opportunity to sell their products.

“The deal is designed to add value to our large client base,” says Cola. “Our classified advertisers were asking for a simple online presence. A lot of our clients are after multi-platform solution, customers a more sophisticated now and ask for more than one medium.

“We have over 40,000 listing and we think it will help with our customer retention and attraction. It allows us to get our clients’ ads over a much larger audience.”

The Trading Post banner will be first incorporated into Fairfax’s regional publications and will be followed, over the coming months, by its metropolitan mastheads.

Michael Paddeb, Telstra’s head of advertising network, says “the partnership between Fairfax and tradingpost.com.au ensures classified advertisers will have the best of both worlds, with publications that engage with local communities combined with the extensive reach of Australia’s leading classified website.”

ADMA CEO Jodie Sangster

The Australian Direct Marketing Association has launched an online hub for the sharing of marketing information, trends, news and industry insights between member organisations.

The marketing peak body claims the new service, named ADMA Dialogue, is ‘the most accurate online single source for all multi-channel marketing information,’ and says the site will be updated with fresh industry information daily.

While existing ADMA members can register for full access to the site, non-members will be able to access some of its shared information.

The site, launched on 21 September, contains case studies, white papers, research papers, industry expert video interviews and webinars. The volume of information available on the digital hub is expected to grow as industry members contribute additional material.

ADMA CEO Jodie Sangster says that the information available on the hub comes from the organisation’s existing resources, and further content will be provided from the ADMA Councils and members. She believes the new service will fill a gap in the market.

“The reason [the hub] is important for the industry is two-fold,” says Sangster. “I went on to the internet to fond out what’s happening, and the information there is disparate; it highlighted a need for a central resource for marketers to go to.

“I wanted ADMA to provide day-in, day-out value for members, and I want them to be able to use us every day.”

In addition to launching the ADMA Dialogue tool, the association has also announced it will launch an online ‘who’s who directory’ providing a full listing of ADMA members to be used by the marketing community to research affiliate DM suppliers.

ADMA members will be able to obtain free access to the online tool if they register before October 30.

The USPS may cut over 30,000 jobs

The United States Postal Service has declared that its national infrastructure is no longer financially sustainable and it must cut over half of its processing facilities to survive.

With dwindling volumes of traditional mail passing through mail services globally, the USPS announcement, made last week, should be a wake-up call for other struggling mail markets including Australia and the UK.

The sweeping changes proposed are designed to save the USPS over $3 billion a year and will involve the reduction of mail processing equipment by as much as half, adjusting its workforce by as many as 35,000 positions, dramatically decreasing its nationwide transportation system and the review of nearly 250 processing facilities for possible closure or consolidation.

Reflecting the trend in many markets – including Australia – mail volume in the US has declined by over 43 billion pieces in the past five years and continues to dwindle. In fact, First-Class mail has dropped by 50 per cent over the last ten years.

“We are forced to face a new reality today,” says the US Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe. “With the dramatic decline in mail volume and the resulting excess capacity, maintaining a vast national infrastructure is no longer realistic.”

Under the proposed changes, First-Class mail would take longer to reach its destination, up to an extra two days over the current system, which was constructed to deliver mail within one to three days of postage.

This is not the first push by the USPS to downsize. It has been winding back its services for years in response to the general decline in letter volumes. Since 2006, it has closed 186 processing facilities, removed more than 1500 pieces of mail equipment, and cut employees by over 110,000.

The Obama administration’s $3 trillion deficit reduction package that was presented to Congress this week included a number of reforms to address the financial woes of the USPS.

While the package includes a short-term cash relief plan, it also backs the proposed downsizing of the USPS, approving of cutting Saturdays from the delivery service.

PayPal Australia's MD, Frerk-Malte Feller

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has released a revised electronic payments code designed to provide greater protection for consumers online.

The new ePayments Code replaces the existing Electronic Funds Transfer Code of Conduct and extends consumer protection to all online transaction in addition to offline electronic transactions.

Under the code, consumers will not bear any monetary loss for electronic payments made without their authorisation, and will not be liable for unauthorised transactions carried out on debit cards without a PIN or a signature.

The code also provides for consumers’ recovery of mistaken internet transactions – a problem that, until now, had lacked a uniform rectification process.

“Our new code sets out best practice in consumer protection. It will encourage consumers to have confidence in our epayment systems,” says ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft. “I encourage all providers of consumer payment products to demonstrate they put their customers first and subscribe to the code.”

In a move that should increase consumer confidence around online payment security, transaction giant PayPal has already accepted the code.

“The release of the ePayments Code exemplifies ASIC’s commitment to protecting consumers in a time of significant technological change,” says PayPal Australia’s managing director, Frerk-Malte Feller. “The rapid adoption of smartphones and other internet enabled devices used to access banking and payments solutions requires a dynamic code of practice to ensure adequate consumer protection.

“It is imperative that positive advancements in Australia’s banking and financial infrastructure are not stifled; the ePayments code will assist in managing this delicate balance.”

Currently, 170 banks, credit unions and building societies that provide retail banking products subscribe to the EFT Code and ASIC hopes that all the players in the Australian marketplace will sign up to the new code.

Financial institutions have until March 20, 2013 to sign up to the revised code.

Wunderman Asia Pacific president Stephane Faggianelli

In a bid to keep up with the marketing industry’s increasing requirements for data analytics and optimisation, global marketing group Wunderman has launched digital marketing agency, ZAAZ, in the Asia Pacific region.

ZAAZ has been operating out of Seattle since 1998 and was launched in Singapore on 18 September with further markets to follow, including Australia.

John Farris, co-founder of ZAAZ, will relocate from the US to Sydney in November to oversee the development of the digital agency in the region. He says that Asia Pacific brands have shown a “great interest” in advanced analytics and optimization services.

President of Wunderman Asia Pacific, Stephane Faggianelli, says that the Singapore launch is the first step to a strategic development of the company’s network across the region.

“Our ambition is to scale fast, adding key markets such as Australia, China and Japan to our regional footprint,” he says. “It is a deep commitment to provide our clients with best-in-class performance marketing capabilities across the entire spectrum of tagging, analytics, data, CRM, social and mobile.”

The agency’s newly opened Singapore office is being headed up by Rajeev Ramachandran, who has held positions at OgilvyOne and Wunderman in India.

Peakbound CEO, Mike Adams

A new telephone contact centre service has taken on the role of financial adviser to middle and low-income Australians.

The contact centre, Peakbound, was launched in late August and provides financial institutions with a channel through which to offer customers targeted, tailored insurance products.

Recent changes in Australia’s financial industry legislation have made it difficult for financial advisers to claim a commission for the products they sell. Instead, they now must revert to a fee-for-service arrangement with customers.

The result of this change has left most middle and low income Australians without quality financial consultative services, as it is the socioeconomically high-end customers that remain profitable for financial planners.

Peakbound has entered this gap in the market with a service that is designed to match up customers with the most appropriate financial services on offer from the company’s partners, including Citibank and Westpac.

“Aside from high-net worth individuals, the Australian market will resist fee-for-service type of arrangement when they meet with their customers,” says Peakbound CEO, Mike Adams.

“A financial planner can’t sell to a consumer a high-end life insurance policy without having a comprehensive understanding of that particular customer’s needs,” he says. “That makes it a costly interaction for the financial planner, but for us that cost of interaction is much, much lower.”

Peakbound’s financial partners provide customer lists and details to the call centre along with a variety of insurance policies. Using data analytics, the best product is matched up with the most appropriate recipients, who are then contacted.

Adams says the call centre’s personnel are thoroughly trained up in the various policies provided, with additional training as new or variant policies are introduced.

The insurance products themselves are underwritten by the financial partners’ actuaries and refined to suit the telephone call centre channel.

“There’s a fairly extensive risk assessment done,” says Adams, “and the risk assessors play an overall role in the design process.”

Peakbound arose out of Sema’s Call Centres service, which provided some of the services the freshly branded Peakbound now specialises in.

With the rebranding has come a rapid expansion in the size of the business, which now employs over 70 phone staff conducting up to 10,000 calls weekly, many of them to individuals who might have otherwise gone without the financial advice offered.

ADMA group buying discussion panel

From L-R: Damien Donnelly, Salmat/Lasoo; Natasha Rawlings, Dealsta; Dean McEvoy, Spreets.

The online group buying phenomenon is still in its relative infancy in Australia when compared to saturated markets like in the US, and yet, already there is doubt that the current model will survive in the Australian market unless dramatic changes are made.

Dealsta director, Natasha Rawlings, raised concerns about the group buying industry in Australia at an ADMA council group buying discussion panel held in Sydney this week.

Among the issues raised by Rawlings was the growing number of jaded customers un-registering from group buying emails because of a lack of geographically targeted and personalised messaging.

“I believe it has to be hyper-local,” said Rawlings, who was one of the panellists in the discussion. “You need a greater level of localisation. I do think the current model will die within a year from now.

“In the States you’ve got jaded customers,” she said. “I don’t think it’s direct marketing, it’s a mass media disguising itself as a new media.”

Tony Melham, deputy chair of the Franchise Council of Australia and discussion panellist, agreed, saying that without localised content, businesses will not create the customer loyalty they need to survive in the long-term.

Among the many issues surrounding the group buying phenomenon, personalisation is one that is shared with almost all other digital direct marketing channels. Consumers across the board will un-register for marketing notifications if the content is either too general or too frequent.

Dean McEvoy, chief of Spreets – one of Australia’s most prominent group buying sites – said that, as with other direct marketing channels such as email and SMS, the industry is beginning to use data mining and analytics to create more personalised content.

“Spreets will geo-target you,” he said. “It’ll start to learn what you’re about. Relevancy and localisation…we’re all doing it. Our open rates are actually increasing.”

Concerns over the merchant benefits of group buying participation were also raised; with many first-time group buy deals netting almost no profit for merchants.

Rawlings noted that about half of businesses do not make money on their first group buy deal. “The majority of people who go in for the first time do not make money,” she said.

However, Living Social’s director Colin Fabig, said that 85 per cent of merchants want to re-run on the group buying website, and half of his merchant customers were repeat customers, suggesting that there is a benefit to merchants in the long-term.

BizBuys.com.au director, Scott Devereux

Australia’s first dedicated business to business group buying website has been launched in a bid to cut through Australia’s already crowded and increasingly competitive group buying industry.

The site, BizBuys.com.au, was launched on August 31 and differs from existing group buying sites as it does not target individual consumers, only businesses, with offers of services or products specifically for the business world.

Rather than employing the usual daily deal countdown method and impulse-driven buying triggers found on sites such as Spreets, BizBuys extends its group deals over a three-day period to allow users to make a considered decision before choosing a featured product or service from the site.

“We did some research and found that the daily deal site isn’t relevant to the business market,” says BizBuys’ director, Scott Devereux. “We felt that three days was a better time period. I think that it’s half impulse and half considered; customers can do the research to give them assurance of a product.”

Devereux believes that the longer lead-time for each deal also allows the company to pay greater attention to the advertising merchant’s wares, to seek out the best products and services while working out the best way to sell them.

“We look at what the supplier does and how it can be delivered,” he says. “We take the time to understand the merchant.”

The site’s launch has been accompanied not only by an online marketing campaign, but also a targeted offline campaign including outbound telemarketing. However, Devereux hopes that word of mouth will become one of the primary drivers in building a new customer base. So far, he has been pleased with the response.

“We’ve been in operation for less than two weeks and we’ve had 25 suppliers wanting to put a deal up,” he says. “We’ve been pretty happy with the response so far.”

State Farm September 11 commemorative commercial

US insurance giant State Farm has triggered polarised responses to a video advertisement that it released last week to commemorate the tenth anniversary of New York’s September 11 attacks and, more specifically, as a tribute to the firefighters who served in the aftermath.

The advertisement, which was directed by the award-winning Spike Lee, features 150 school children singing the hit song, ‘Empire State of Mind (Part II),’ to a group of New York firefighters.

While many commentators have embraced the TVC as a fitting and genuine tribute, there have also been detractors, suggesting that State Farm has used a national tragedy for commercial ends.

In fact, one respondent on the State Farm Youtube channel’s post of the video writes that, “State Farm is essentially using a national tragedy to try and sell insurance. It’s extremely disrespectful and it’s a damn shame that a company would do such a thing for profit.”

The varied nature of the response to the video has highlighted the fine line that advertisers and marketers often straddle when tapping into greater social or community issues.

State Farm has not been alone in using the September 11 anniversary as its theme with beer label Budweiser, and telco Verizon, also releasing ads – both of them re-worked from existing advertisement footage.

These two videos have come under greater scrutiny than the State Farm commercial, and have received at least some accusations of profiteering.

Charlotte Gorham, Encyclomedia chief

International outdoor marketing agency, Encyclomedia, has launched in the Australian marketplace to provide ‘out of home’ messaging solutions for advertisers that echo a bygone era of the industry.

The agency, which first entered the Australian market two years ago with marketing specialist Media Tag acting as local agent, specialises in back-to-basics messaging solutions including walking boards – poster boards carried on the backs of walkers, mobile billboards and bike ads.

Although walking boards – otherwise known as sandwich boards – might seem to be have been superseded by the tide of digital marketing channels now available, Encyclomedia chief, Charlotte Gorham, believes that the approach is still relevant as part of a consistent, multi-channel marketing strategy.

She says the outdoor and ambient messaging on offer is more than just a poster or a board. “It’s bigger than that,” she says, “It’s putting it into a context of the bigger campaign picture. You can extend your campaign to really get engagement on a personal level.”

In addition to its traditional offerings, Encyclomedia also engages in guerrilla tactics that represent a new twist on an old theme: stencilling. One of the agency’s services involves taking a high-pressure water hose and applying it to a metal stencil over concrete or pavers. This can leave a clean imprint of a brand or message on footpaths and other surfaces.

Another of the company’s new treatments of old themes is a digital screen that sits above a walker, and features changing messaging or imagery.

Encyclomedia’s focus on these particular traditional and outdoor messaging techniques highlights a sometimes-overlooked channel for marketers to utilize and, unlike newer mediums, a channel that consumers often cannot avoid.

“There’s a trend towards social media,” says Gorham, “but I think that with ‘out of home’ bookings, you can’t switch it off, you can’t channel surf. It’s there and it’s a valid area.”

Encyclomedia was launched on September 12.

Nikki Bannatyne from Sensis (L), and Mark Bergin (R), Mobile Awards director

Sensis was the clear winner at this year’s Australian Mobile Awards, with three of its mobile device apps and services picking up wins in four separate categories.

The awards, held in Sydney on September 8, showcased the country’s most popular and effective mobile applications and mobile industry innovations.

Among the category winners was an educational app, Monkey Mayhem by Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, designed to engage the public with the zoo and its services, and a competitive 3D racing game called Lexus CT City Challenge, developed by The White Agency.

Sensis dominated the awards ceremony, winning awards for its Yellow Pages iPad app, the Whereis iPhone app, and its White Pages iPad site – which won in two categories.

Sensis’ dominance of the awards reflects the search and digital marketing giant’s push to shift its directories services online and a winding down of its print formats.

“Mobile is an integral part of our growing portfolio of digital marketing products and services we develop to help our advertisers connect with customers,” says Sensis executive general manager of product, Carl Rigoni.

“The mobile industry is booming globally and to receive four awards at the ‘Mobies’ shows we’re on the right track in terms of our product innovation in the mobile space,” he says.

Among the other apps that stood out from the crowd was Domain.com.au with its app for buying, selling and renting property. It won the ‘Best Audience Migration to Mobile Technology’ category – with over 550,000 downloads.

Norman Koslowski, director brand engagement, etouchme marketing

The increasing number of super-sized cruise ships visiting Australia shows our love of the surf is now transferring to the open seas. After a decade of sustained growth, cruising is riding a wave of success, in no small part due to a re-imagining of the cruising experience and an active embrace of social media. Norman Koslowski takes a stroll around the deck.

In 2012 Australia will welcome its first locally based mega-cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Sea. The massive 311m monster will host 3,114 passengers, 50 percent more than the current largest vessel. Once on board passengers will be indulged with a plethora of recreational and culinary experiences; multiple restaurants, cafes and bars, nine-hole mini golf course, beach pool with waterslide, rock climbing wall, full-sized basketball court, 3D movie theatre, a 1,4002m day spa and fitness centre and an ice skating rink that doubles as a stage for ice spectaculars!

Something has clearly changed in the cruising world from its earlier Love Boat persona. In 2002, just over 100,000 Australians took a cruise. Last year passenger numbers increased by that number in a single year to nearly half a million. Today cruising is Australia’s number one ‘off-shore’ holiday destination, enticing 2.1 percent of the population and projected to double by 2020.

While the cruising sector has seen growth globally, the relative increases for Australia and New Zealand dwarf the rest of the world. According to Gavin Smith, ICCA chairman, Australia’s increasing appetite for cruising is reflected in the number of ships sailing in local waters. And while capacity has expanded, it is not simply a case of build them and they will come. Something else is luring increasing numbers of Australians out to sea.

Welcome aboard

Marketing for a cruise involves direct engagement with a series of segmented audiences. Each is approached via a customized mix of one-to-one direct marketing, along with digital and traditional above the line channels.

Part of this segmented market strategy involves targeting the holiday resort and weekend escape markets. On board the blowtorch of experiential marketing has been applied to the old model to provide something for every demographic.

Carnival’s flagship brand, P&O, promotes short three-day food and wine themed escape breaks. According to Simon Cheng, apart from attacking the weekend escape market with a product that offers easy access and instant gratification, “our three-day cruises offer those new to cruising a low-cost opportunity to put a toe in the water.” The strategy appears to be paying off. “Over the past three years we have seen our short package passengers quadruple in numbers,” he said.

Susan Kurosawa, travel editor of The Australian, dined out on the opening of celebrity chef Luke Mangan’s Salt Grill restaurant aboard the Pacific Jewel. In an award winning travel article heralding it as a sea change for the P&O brand, she regaled readers effusively about the trip experience as a cruise into gourmet oblivion.  At first glance this themed cruise package offers an uninspiring three-night winter voyage up the NSW coast and back, but to those on board this is immaterial as all the excitement is below deck in epicurean heaven. This sophisticated offering extends to wine lectures and coffee appreciation courses. There is even the chance to participate in an art auction to come home with the ultimate travel memento!

According to Cheng “For many of our passengers the cruise ship itself has now become the destination ­– to the extent that, when our seven-night cruise ships stop at a port of call, many passengers choose to stay on board!”

Social media below decks

It is one thing to offer a series of new cruise experiences. It is another to effectively engage and share these with a series of finely tuned market segments.

According to Andrew Millmore, deputy chairman membership and marketing of ICCA, the Cruise Council has boosted its profile with the Australian public in the past few years by broadening its communication channels, especially in social media and engaging with cruise enthusiasts across all demographics.

“Facebook is a great social community – you only have to look at the vast number of people who follow cruise lines on Facebook to see that it’s a natural fit with our industry,” Millmore said. “We think this is a great way to spread the word about cruising in Australia”.

Cheng takes it further. “Cruises really are a micro community where people make long standing friendships and keep in contact and Facebook keeps people connected on shore. Our cruise ship communities have now, in effect, become Facebook afloat. We have 40,000 Facebook fans. Apart from Qantas that’s the largest in the tourism industry. But what makes this so exciting is that our fans are not passive engagers. Over 50 percent use Facebook to highly recommend cruising to their friends. Two thirds engage with us regularly, some counting down the days until their cruise!” he said.

Cheng is a firm believer in the power of social media for all forms of customer engagement. Cruise cancellations, mechanical problems, delays, alternative cruises or money back offers are shared on Facebook. “Basically, we see that our job is to keep communication wide open and to be transparent and Facebook is a great tool to do that,” Cheng said. “Facebook has moved to become a significant, channel rather than previously just being a supporting one.”

P&O also uses Facebook to set up events for passengers’ itineraries, share news, competition announcements, special offers, viral marketing and to create micro communities.

To Cheng, online marketing is no longer about who has the best website. It is about an integrated matrix of website and social media including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter plus external forums and external blogs. “It’s really a case of horses for courses and each digital channel needs to be approached with a custom strategy”.

Carnival Australia uses ships blogs for engaging those who want to know more about life on board; Facebook for engaging those about to cruise; Twitter for engaging those who want news, and YouTube for engaging those who want to know about cruising. “Wherever our passengers are active online we will follow”, Cheng admits. “Video is very popular and provides a chance for those new to cruising to get a sense of the experience beforehand”. The end result is a vibrant and connected clientele.

While enthusiastic, Cheng provides a fundamental proviso for social media success. “It can only be achieved if a digital culture is ingrained in your organization and the brand experience is extended to all customer touch points. Within the Carnival Group micro blogging is encouraged and marketing, customer service, PR and sales teams all work very closely”.

Norman Koslowski is director brand engagement at etouchme marketing.

All the upcoming industry events and courses for direct marketers

27-28 October

The Internet Show

Australia’s internet business conference & exhibition

Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour

The Internet Show will allow you to access the people, ideas and companies that will enable you to harness the power of the Internet. This includes over 40 exhibitors, and a free educational seminar programme led by industry experts.

The Internet Show has crammed as much value into two days as possible. Make sure you are there for the most productive and helpful two days of your year.

To book, click here

3 November 2011

The Tablet Advertising Forum

KPMG Auditorium, Sydney

AIMIA and Oomph present The Tablet Advertising Forum,’ examining new opportunities for brand engagement, advertising models and how to position and market your brand on a tablet.

To book, click here

8 November 2011

Fuji Xerox Ne[x]twork event

Westin, Sydney

Fuji Xerox Australia hosts this latest instalment in its Ne[x]work series of events. What will the workplace of tomorrow look like? We know people will change the way we they work – but how? Join the world’s leading futurists at the ne[x]twork event to explore the workplace of the future.

To find out more, click here

10 November – ADMA Digital Day Brisbane

14 November – ADMA Digital Day Melbourne

16 November – ADMA Digital Day Sydney

Digital Day brings you some of the world’s most successful digital marketers from leading brands to help you improve marketing efficiency and effectiveness through deeper insights, enhanced capability and the implementation of new platforms and technologies.

To book, click here

28-30 November 2011,

Digital Pharma, Marketing World Australia 2011

Swissotel, Sydney

This event investigates and showcases digital marketing for pharmaceutical companies, physicians and pharmacists. Learn best practice in e-detailing, social media and e-marketing implementation from major pharmaceutical companies including Roche, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline.

To book, click here

5 December – Multi-Channel Acquisition Seminar Brisbane

7 December – Multi-Channel Acquisition Seminar Sydney

8 December – Multi-Channel Acquisition Seminar Melbourne

ADMA takes its multi-channel acquisition seminar on the road, with the event being held in three capital cities over three days.

Designed specifically to focus on improving your acquisition marketing strategies, ADMA’s inaugural Multi-channel Acquisition event is designed specifically for marketers who are focused on acquisition.  This half-day seminar will showcase how you can better acquire prospective customers, generate new leads and increase conversions to improve bottom line revenue.

To book, click here

PMP Schmart Marketing Conference 2012

21 February, 2012 – Melbourne

23 February, 2012 – Sydney

PMP hosts the Schmart Marketing Conference in February 2012. The 2012 Schmart Marketing Conference is aimed at business and marketing professionals who want to build powerful customer relationships by bridging the gap between social and traditional media.

The conference speakers include: Jeffrey Hayzlett – Best Selling Author & Global Business Celebrity, Scott Stratten – President & Author of UnMarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging, Dan Gregory – Founder & CEO, The Impossible Institute

To book, click here

ADMA Certificate Courses

Digital Marketing Certificate

Brisbane: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Melbourne: Daytime, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Perth: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Sydney: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

To book, click here

Digital Marketing Certificate

Adelaide: Intensive, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Hobart: Intensive, 9-10 September, 7-8 October, 4 November

To book, click here

DM Creative School

Sydney & Melbourne: Monday & Thursday evenings from 21 July (10 weeks)

Creative School is a challenging combination of agency-based lectures and tutorials that provide a balance of theory and practice sought after in direct marketing creatives.

To book, click here

Multi-Channel Direct Marketing Certificate

This course challenges you to think strategically about how you approach marketing and gives you the nuts-and-bolts of how to do it effectively.

Brisbane & Perth: Weekly, 31 August to 30 November

Sydney: Weekly, 31 August to 30 November or daytime sessions from 9 September

Melbourne: Daytime sessions from 9 September

To book, click here

Suit School

Suit School is an initiative by Recruit Direct and ADMA aimed at giving you the skills you need to be an effective account manager.

Sydney: Weekly evening classes from 13 July ongoing

To book, click here

The Royal Mail in the UK has launched the second stage of a campaign encouraging marketers to use direct mail.

The campaign features a direct mail piece designed to guide recipients to a microsite that outlines the benefits of the direct mail channel for marketers. It is aimed squarely at businesses thinking about getting into direct mail for the first time.

Among the benefits listed is the 92 per cent open rate that mail enjoys, a 48 per cent action rate among those who have opened mail – equating to 21.9 million people in the last year in the UK – and a campaign ROI boost of 20 per cent if it includes a direct mail component.

Additionally, the site offers first time users a 25 per cent postage credit and lists its lowest per-item price for bulk marketing mail.

The Royal Mail campaign is in line with other international postal promotion campaigns, including the US Mail’s Money Back Guarantee for first time DM users.

Local mail users complain that in contrast Australia Post’s approach to its bulk mail services is to increase the charges without any significant promotion of the channel.

While the Royal Mail’s strategy to increase its revenue through business and commercial mail is clearly designed to get marketers onside, Australia Post’s approach has so far pitted marketers and advertisers against its service, and has driven a wedge between itself and its high-volume customers.

With over 80 advertisers already having taken advantage of the Royal Mail’s advertising mail promotion since its launch, sending over 14 million items in the incentive’s first three weeks, it seems clear the approach is working well.

“This campaign hinges on highlighting the tangible impact adding direct mail into the mix can have on a brand’s bottom line,” says Royal Mail’s head of market development, Antony Miller. “It drives a direct return not just on financial investment, but the time marketers spend on planning and managing campaigns.”

Natasha Rawlings, CEO of Dealsta

The Australian retail sector has been struggling against a sluggish market and a customer drain to online sales, often from web-based sellers overseas.

As a result, many Australian retailers have shifted part of their businesses online to help combat the sales drain, but with website sales conversion rates far below those of physical stores, some retailers have started to think about other strategies to get customers into stores.

With grocery giant Woolworths this week launching a Google Android version of its popular shopping app, it seems that smartphone apps may be the way to go for retailers.

“I think retailers have to start experimenting with new technology, and by that I mean mobile apps,” says Natasha Rawlings, CEO of Dealsta, a location-based shopping app due to be released in October. “Shoppers have moved to social media, but in the commercial world we haven’t worked out how to make it work yet. However, unlike social media, you can actually realise dollars as a result of a mobile app.”

Woolworths and Coles, Australia’s largest grocery rivals, have been competing for pole position within the market for years. Each has developed smartphone apps to help guide shoppers to products and sales in-store and, in each case consumer take-up has been swift.

However, companies need to be cautious and careful to ensure their apps are appropriate to the business. Rawlings says that, although apps are “probably” more accountable than social media, there is currently no hard evidence that in-store retail apps deliver marked returns from shoppers.

Even the international fashion house Zara copped bad press when it first launched its shopping app for customers. Primary concerns of users were the lack of pricing information – or any information about featured garments other than their images.

Similar complaints have already been raised over the Woolworths app, which although it will direct customers to products and sales, does not list everyday prices – an issue that has been echoed by Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn, who believes that it should at least be able to list prices of basic items.

Despite the potential drawbacks of app development for retailers, Rawlings says that, with over a third of Australians now using smartphones, the room for expansion in the mobile channel is large and should be exploited.

“If you’re not considering it, you’re missing out on a great opportunity,” she says. “If you have an ability to do it, that’s where you need to move your focus and budget.”

Salmat Digital chief, Nick Spooner

Multi-channel marketing communications group, Salmat, has announced it will officially launch its digital division on 26 September.

Salmat Digital will expand the company’s multi-channel reach with a full complement of digital services, including online, mobile, social media, web development and SMS messaging.

Nick Spooner, previously from Channel 10, was hired in August to head up the new digital arm of the business that is to act as an umbrella entity for the company’s existing digital departments. He believes the new Salmat division will greater enable marketers to create effective messaging in an increasingly fragmented industry.

“The marketing industry is fragmented and businesses currently have to deal with multiple agencies, consultants and media buyers,” he says. “We make that process considerably easier by bringing these digital capabilities under the one roof.”

The new division claims to have over 250 digital experts working over a broad range of digital channels.

Spooner says that Salmat Digital “will offer businesses a way to navigate through the fast pace of technological change as consumers demand choice when it comes to how brands engage with them.”

The launch announcement was made to industry insiders, somewhat ironically, by way of a traditional mailed envelope, containing a flyer and card with QR barcode. The QR code links to an online microsite containing the new division’s launch details and a short video covering its services.

Michelle Sherwood, Sensis executive general manager strategic planning

Yellow Pages has launched an interactive game designed to demonstrate the selection of mobile and online devices the service is available on.

The game, called Yellovator, developed by Clemenger Proximity, can be played online or as an app, using a mouse or a mobile phone as the controller. Players are required to solve an everyday problem by dropping a mobile phone from the top of a building with the solution to a character on the street below.

“Yellovator is an engaging campaign that builds awareness and educates people about the different ways they can search the Yellow Pages,” says Sensis executive general manager strategic planning, Michelle Sherwood. “Our aim is to get more people thinking differently about the Yellow Pages, so they use [it] differently the next time they need to solve a problem.”

The game comes amid a forceful push by Sensis to wind down its print products and ramp up its online presence, which last week saw the release of the company’s White Pages iPad app in addition to its existing iPhone app.

Yellow Pages is promoting the game at five outdoor locations in Melbourne and Sydney, where it can be played for the next two weeks. Locations include Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station and Sydney’s Circular Quay.

Central to Sensis’ decision to develop the game is its drive to reposition its services as online entities, with Sherwood saying that, “Yellow Pages is a digitally led business which means we have to think differently about our marketing strategies.”

Group account director at Clemenger Proximity, Chris Howartson, says that the game is an “entry point into the brand for younger segments [of the market] who may not rely on Yellow Pages, or for digital natives who may have historically thought different around the brand.”

Sharon Williams, founder of Taurus Marketing

With the increasing amount of products and services available to consumers today, one thing hasn’t changed: the need to stand out in order to survive. The way you market your company, your product and your brand sets you apart. Glossy advertisements and publicity stunts alone will not give your brand longevity and the times when the biggest budget won is long gone. Now it’s about clever and relevant ideas that win. Taurus Marketing’s Sharon Williams is convinced continually engaging with your audiences is what keeps a brand evolving.

As always, your campaign should start with hard facts not perception – even if we think we know the answers. Who is your audience? What do they like? What can you offer that no one else does? In order to sell successfully you need to know your market inside and out. Entering a market blindly is dangerous. Research your market; find out what people want from your product or service. Having insight into your target audience will provide a basis to formulate your key messages and objectives. It will also give you a situational analysis from which results can be measured. 

The next thing you need to get to know is your competition. Why? Because they have made good and bad choices you can learn from. A competitor analysis will provide you with a clear outline of what has worked, and is yet to be achieved.

Set clear objectives and goals

You wouldn’t go on a bushwalk without a map or purpose. The same goes for a sales and marketing campaign.  Set short and long-term objectives that can be clearly measured and are consistent with the vision you see for your company or service. At the end of your campaign you need to be able to clearly see what has been completed and whether you have got where you were heading.

Intertwined with your brand and unique selling points, your key messages are the arrows that define your brand and your company. In your campaign, make sure your key messages are succinct and streamlined. Too many messages dilute the impact of your marketing effort and confuse your audience. Key messages shape your collateral and public presence including website, social media, stationery, case studies, office and media releases.

One of the downsides to having such a variety of media to deliver your message is that it is easy to become fragmented. Keep your messages simple and straight to the point. Be authentic; if you are unrealistic could be caught out. Everything you do or say reflects your brand. And everything your employees do and say directly reflects on your company brand.

Feedback: The good and the bad

The internet has made it easier for marketing managers to measure the results of a campaign by using landing pages connected to the promotional material and other means. These days, social media makes getting honest, open customer feedback more cost effective so invite honest feedback and be prepared to take the good with the bad. Some organisations shy away from using social media in case it invites negative backlash, but negative comments on social media offer your company a great opportunity to address and respond on the same online platform and resolve issues. This gains you respect from your online audience and your company has the opportunity to benefit from their suggested improvements.

Having a good idea is exciting but without a proper strategy to market it, your idea could be lost in a market place already full of good ideas. When an organisation approaches my agency for counselling, my first and most important step is to establish strategic objectives. My first question is; what does success look like? And how will we know when get there? Don’t make the mistake of labelling PR and marketing as fluffy or unmeasurable. An effective marketing campaign will shape your customers’ image of your company or brand in a positive way.

So, be brave and dare to pursue new markets, be prepared to experiment with new ideas, thoughts and technologies. Step outside your comfort zone and into your customers’ shoes. Speak to them in a language they understand. Marketing is not rocket science but it does take discipline, perseverance, careful strategic thought and an eye for detail. While it needs to be measured and strategic, it should also be fun and creative – it’s all about finding different ways to engage with your stakeholders. Common sense goes a long way.

Sharon Williams established Taurus Marketing, an integrated marketing, PR, social media and creative agency in 1995. She is also a public speaker, trainer, media commentator and international marketer. Taurus Marketing is now recognised as one of Australia’s highest profile agencies.

Horseplay: The Australian Turf Club online racing game

Following the success of its first foray into gamification earlier this year for the Autumn racing season, the Australian Turf Club has released a revamped version of its online horse racing game, designed to promote the 2011 Sydney Spring Carnival.

The game allows players to race a virtual horse on either Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens or Royal Randwick tracks, and keeps tabs on high scoring ‘riders’ for weekly rankings.

The first version of the game, which was promoted on social media, news websites and on racing stakeholder sites, attracted over 17,000 visitors to the online site each spending an average of over five minutes on the site.

The Australian Turf Club (ATC) hopes the next instalment of the game will draw in younger punters and those new to the racing scene.

“We believe that [the game] will certainly appeal to our younger race goers, a market that the ATC is actively pursuing with a variety of marketing strategies like this,” says Melinda Madigan, executive general manager of marketing for the ATC.

Both versions of the racing game were created and developed by digital agency, The Byte Channel, whose CEO Stephen Schwalger says the aim of the project was to develop marketing messaging outside of the traditional streams.

“Our objective with this game is to start talking directly to the next generation of racegoers, who are much more likely to be spending time on Facebook, Twitter and online than watching TV or reading newspapers,” he says.

David Krupp, head of Nuffnang Australia

Australia’s largest blogging network, Nuffnang, has launched a service for public relations and media agencies to connect with, and provide product information through, thousands of bloggers around the country.

Nuffnang currently works with over 3,500 Australian bloggers, and enables them to review products for companies and their brands in return for money. The blogging network’s new service, called Product Talk, was launched on 5 September, and allows bloggers to seek out and choose which brands they would like to work with.

“Insead of us handpicking bloggers, we let the bloggers come to us,” says Nuffnang’s country manager, David Krupp. “We send out messages to our 3,500 bloggers and those who are interested will put up their hand.

“It provides PR and social media agencies access to a very big pool of bloggers. In the past it’s taken them a long time to get a blogger database, but Nuffnang has a relationship with bloggers and can match them up with businesses very quickly.”

The Australian Centre for Retail Studies has shown that about 50 per cent of people will research their next purchase online before buying a product or service, so it’s no surprise that businesses are beginning to move into the blogosphere.

However, like forums and social media spaces – online areas under the control of users, not brands – the blogosphere was once a domain that was viewed as sacrosanct with independent, and thus, valuable commentary. With Nuffnang’s unique service, that independence seems to be falling by the wayside, opening up a divide between unpaid and paid bloggers.

“There are some bloggers who don’t agree with sponsored content,” concedes Krupp, who adds that although the company has a content approval process in place, its bloggers retain the freedom to be honest in their blogs. Despite this, the advertising businesses have a final say over whether a blog will go live.

Krupp says that, although there is commercial sponsorship, Nuffnang’s model maintains the blogger’s integrity.

“We have a strict process in place in terms of how the content is written,” he says, “we don’t allow clients to change blogs, except in the case of factual corrections. The integrity is kept within the bloggosphere. It’s important we make sure to preserve that integrity.”

To alert blog readers of any sponsored content, Nuffnang enforces a mandatory rule that requires a blog to say at the beginning if it has been sponsored, along with a link that takes readers to an explanation of what sponsorship means. In this way, Nuffnang hopes to keep bloggers honest and readers interested.

Accompanying the launch of the app is a video featuring a mobile app developer discussing its features and how to use them.

“You can check in to a bar, and everyone will know you’re there,” says the developer. “You can find out which venues other fans have checked in to. And, find the best bar to watch your game. And, by using it you have the chance to win two Rugby World Cup finals tickets.”

A Facebook app idea to transform virtual flowers into a real bouquet birthday gift is showcased on the social network’s studio site.

The Facebook community page is set up for marketers to share inspiration for social media methods. The app design for 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was conceived by Miami Ad School Students.

Australian Marketing Institute chief, Mark Crowe

Collaboration was the theme at this year’s AMI Marketing Week in Adelaide, and the growing necessity for collaboration between old and new technology in the marketing world was central to many of the week’s events.

With so much marketing content shifting into online channels, it might seem like the end of traditional channel use is approaching. However, one of the standout features of last week’s event was the continued relevance of all channels, with online and digital technology enabling a more targeted approach, no matter what the medium.

“The use of traditional media is still relevant and can still be used effectively,” says the Australian Marketing Institute’s CEO, Mark Crowe. “Just because we’re seeing intense interest in new media, it shouldn’t be seen as simply a move away from traditional media, it’s just an additional channel.”

Burgeoning online data gathering and analysis is not only providing mechanisms for marketers to create directed, personalised digital messaging, but also for channels such as direct mail to become highly targeted and more cost-effectively employed. This greater accuracy and integration results in a greater tendency for businesses to utilize all channels.

“In looking at marketing channel choice, the good marketers are agnostic about it, they don’t have a preference and they’re looking at all channels,” says Crowe.

Although there was a heavy presence of digital and online representatives from organisations such as Exact Target and Microsoft, a recurring theme was how data analysis has allowed for greater messaging accuracy and integration among all marketing channels – not just online. Collaboration, suggests Crowe, is the key to this integration and, as such, was the perfect theme for Marketing Week.

“The theme was a good one: come together and collaborate. Marketing in the new media environment is now about collaboration and communication, it is two-way now,” he says.

Cooperation between the different channels was not the only example of collaboration on display during Marketing Week, with members of some of Australia’s other peak marketing bodies speaking at the event. Most notable, perhaps, was ADMA chief, Jodie Sangster, with her presentation on the critical issues facing marketers in the digital age.

“We had other associations who contributed to Marketing Week,” says Crowe. “They helped promote the event and helped within the program.”

Also speaking during Marketing Week was ADMA chairman and Quantium partner, Tony Davis, executive general manager of Tourism Australia, Nick Baker and Adelaide’s Lord Mayor, Stephen Yarwood.

Crowe says that, with over 850 attendees, numbers for Marketing Week were up on last year’s. The event featured presentations and workshops by over 30 experts in the industry.

Dave Hudson, NM Incite global CEO

The massive body of social media chatter across blogs, forums, social networks and message boards almost defies analysis.

Companies know that somewhere in the deafening static there are reputational insights to be gleaned … if only they could get to them. Now market research giant Nielsen and business consultancy group McKinsey, have launched NM Incite to deliver what they term social media intelligence.

Australia is the 25th global market region to host NM Incite, the active social media and online forum monitoring business. First launched in the US in June last year, NM Incite is designed to enable businesses to monitor and respond to social network chatter about their brand or products in real-time.

NM Incite uses what the companies’ term as in-market analyst and client service teams,  to provide analysis and insights.

The service NM Incite provides sits among a growing number of monitoring and real-time response mechanism that have become necessary in the marketplace. Users control online spaces, not businesses, and for companies to manage brand association and avoid adverse consumer commentary snowballing they need to actively interact and participate in the online chatter.

“We’re seeing a dramatic shift in the marketplace where social media is rapidly becoming the default vehicle for brands to engage directly with consumers and build brand loyalty,” says Dave Hudson, NM Incite global CEO.

With NM Incite’s launch into the Australian market comes the company’s BuzzMetrics Exchange service, which will be slowly rolled out over the coming months.

The new platform, which was added to NM Incite’s US business in August, will allow companies to not only monitor consumer chatter, but also immediately respond with comments or messaging in the social space.

“The addition of BuzzMetrics Exchange to our product portfolio provides a one-stop platform for real time listening and engagement, deepening our clients’ ability to establish authentic relationships with their customers,” says Hudson.

NM Incite was launched in Australia on September 1, and is being run locally by Nielsen Australia executive Stuart Pike. NM Incite is the first joint venture between the two companies, with Nielsen the larger shareholder in the business.

Laura Carniato, Habitat for Humanity Australia, and David Easton from Reborn

In a marketing channel otherwise untapped by the Australian not-for-profit sector, Habitat for Humanity Australia is launching a social media game called Habitatland, which will go live on September 5.

The game will be launched on social media platform, Facebook, and will allow players to buy property, build houses and interact with friends, all while donating to Habitat for Humanity Australia by buying online credits which can be used to add digital renovations to houses, buy pets and landscape yards within the game.

Habitatland was designed and developed by digital agency, Reborn, who offered its services to the housing charity pro bono, and was inspired by the globally popular social network game Farmville.

“We were inspired by some of the game mechanics of Farmville, but it’s a very different beast,” says Reborn co-founder, David Easton. “It has been a massive undertaking for the agency but we wanted to dedicate as much as we could to it.

“It’s integrated socially so people can connect with their friends. You can reserve plots for your Facebook friends and invite them to housewarming parties.”

Gamification as a marketing tool has been adopted by many larger commercial brands and businesses, but its presence among Australia’s charities remains minimal.

In a quest to stretch its donation-driven marketing dollar as far as possible, Habitat for Humanity jumped at the chance employ the social media game strategy and incorporate it into its 1000 Homes for Hope campaign.

“For not-for-profits it can be challenging to find new ways to get people engaged,” says Laura Carniato, Habitat for Humanity Australia’s marketing and fundraising manager. “Our main avenue in the past has been direct mail, so how can we develop something and leverage it across every channel? Then Reborn came up with the digital online game and digital marketing around it.

“It added marketing cost value I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to offer, and the game is a fundraising and social awareness thing.”

Carniato hopes the game will not only help drive up donation rates online, but also increase the public recognition of Habitat for Humanity within Australia.

Mass social movements in Egypt and the UK, among others, have highlighted how effectively social media can be used to get a message out to large numbers of people in short time frames.

This strategy may work for grassroots and community-based movements, but social media users understandably shy away from messaging if it is associated with a brand name or business. For a message to be taken up by the public and re-distributed through social channels to mass audiences, it needs to be personal, says Digby Richards, co-founder of AJF Partnership.

“You can activate silent majorities when you get personal about something,” says Richards, who spoke at this year’s AMI Marketing Week in Adelaide. “When you’re trying to get people to donate to a charity, don’t talk in statistics. Talk about a person who’s been affected by it.”

In his presentation on marketing collaboration, Richards paid particular attention to the Facebook page that helped topple the Mubarak government in Egypt.

Google marketing executive, Wael Ghonim, created the ‘We are all Khaled Said’ Facebook page after Egyptian security forces beat to death the 28-year-old Khaled Saeed. The Saeed memorial quickly became Egypt’s biggest dissident Facebook page and played a major role in mobilizing the Egyptian public’s protests of the government. Within only a few weeks, the page had over a hundred thousand fans and continues to grow.

“Social movements can collaborate very quickly when there’s a personal movement involved,” says Richards, who also cited the example of the community clean up crews that took to the streets in mass numbers following the riots in the UK as a result of social media communications.

Social wildfire will pick up when there is a genuinely personal element in the message, but for brands and businesses it is not so easy. The challenge is in finding a message that is worthwhile and suitably personal to encourage the community to not only sit up and take notice, but also to tell all their friends about it.

The trick, according to Richards, is to take an existing core value of an organisation, amplify it, and then stick to it.

“The key is for companies to have a strong point of view and stick to it, every day,” he says. “A brand is a summary of action. If a brand is going to demonstrate a movement it has to do it from the get-go. You’ve got to start inside companies with these ideas. It’s not about creating something, it’s about something that lies within the company.”

In his presentation, Digby also warned of the over use of committee-style decision-making and the importance of internal communications within businesses to create clear company principles across all contact points.

Gavin Heaton, director of social media, SAP

Ever since Facebook became the holy grail of online marketing, businesses have been asking themselves how to best measure the true value of social activity. The challenge of pinning down accurate ROI figures from social media campaigns has called into question whether there is any real value for brands.

Gavin Heaton, director of social media for SAP has a simple response if a boardroom question about return on social media investment cannot be answered: Perhaps it is the wrong question that is being asked.

Heaton, who hosted a social media master-class at last week’s AMI Marketing Week in Adelaide, suggests that rather than focusing solely on ROI from social media spend, company executives should instead be looking at the overall brand or business associations that occur when a company is active in the social space.

“We have a fundamental mismatch over what ROI is,” says Heaton. “One of the biggest problems we have is that people have been conditioned to numbers around the benefit from marketing. We have a mismatch between what is happening in the business and the marketing objective.”

If the bottom line is taken out of the social media equation, businesses are left with the influence their presence in the social space has on consumers. The social presence is vital to help foster multi-touch point driven sales and positive brand association, which in most cases will return investment over time – although this cannot often be tracked in dollar values.

“It just so happens we have a channel to drive people through to conversion,” says Heaton. “People do their research online before they go into a shop, and how do you track that?”

Most importantly in user-controlled domains such as social media, businesses need to view the public not as consumers but as allies who hold a stake in the company. By doing this and removing the ROI question, Heaton believes that businesses can build genuine, and beneficial public rapport with a brand.

“Try and map the way people behave to see where your friends and allies are,” says Heaton, “then you can concentrate on those areas where messaging will shift behaviours. Understand your user base not just as consumers but also as stakeholders and partners, otherwise you won’t end up with the results you want.”

Heaton suggests that by using this approach, social media will allow businesses to come full circle from the personal touch of the traditional corner store.

“Everything old is new again, we’re just shifting it online,” he says, “just like the corner store only it’s a global footprint.”

Eric Prugh, Exact Target solutions consulting director

When the glut of information drawn from online consumer activity becomes too confusing or unwieldy to use intelligently, it is best to take a step back and simply ask people directly what they want.

With the explosion of online activity around the social media phenomenon, it is easier than ever to gather information from consumer’s digital footprints, but according to Exact Target’s Eric Prugh, the hard part is in the analysis of the data load.

If marketers can’t make intelligent use of the information, says Pugh, who spoke at last week’s AMI Marketing Week in Adelaide, it is okay to reach out and ask consumers what they want. In fact, with so many online spaces now under the control of users, consumers have started to welcome the attention.

“One of the first things we do is recommend that you ask people for information to use,” says Prugh, whose Marketing Week presentation focused on what consumers wanted from interactive marketers. “People are most responsive when they get the impression that businesses care about their likes and dislikes, trying to find out who they are,” he says. “Consumers have got to a point where they have the expectation that the information they’ve given businesses is going to be used.”

Not only should marketers openly ask consumers what they want, they should be sending fewer, not more emails. One of the primary reasons people unsubscribe from email lists or leave social network groups is because they receive too many, non-relevant messages. As a result, consumers are often keen to share relevant information about their likes and dislikes.

The increasingly high rates of online social media use has led to a consumer public that interacts across multiple digital channels and is receptive to lifecycle, timed marketing messaging. When shared consumer information is coupled with well-used data, effective lifecycle marketing can be attained.

“People expect information to be communicated cross-channel. They want a consistent but unique experience across all channels. People want to buy from the brand they are engaging with,” says Prugh. “They interact on their own schedule. They’ll buy it when they want to buy it. Consumers want to know that you care about them.”

The explosion in media channels means marketers are unable to access mass marketers except through old-fashioned print distribution.

According to Chris Thomas, Chairman and CEO Asia BBDO, the sole remaining channel to a complete demographic is through the disrupt medium of print. The proliferation of other media and the explosion of connectivity from SMS, Twitter, Facebook and other social media ensures people are segmented to such a degree they are unavailable to mass marketing. Only print-based DM can still hope to deliver blanket coverage.

As keynote speaker at this week’s Dscoop Forum in Singapore, Thomas reaffirmed his belief in the power of creativity as the main leverage for effective marketing. Speaking to 1300 digital service providers at the HP users group meeting, he was unrelenting in driving home the way the market has fragmented and destroyed the traditional models of advertising.

In detailing the leverage through which marketers can add value to campaigns he nominated that production efficiencies can gain 5%, media buying 25% and media planning 300%. These can all be measured and drive accountability. But the greatest contribution marketers can add is in the creative, which is by far the most dominant contribution to overall effectiveness of a campaign – up to 4000%.

In Thomas’ world, effectiveness is the goal, creativity is the strategy.

Through an energising presentation at the Dscoop Forum, he detailed his belief that consumers do not buy what you do but rather, why you do it. A few choice examples made his point.

• “We don’t fill bellies, we fill souls,” Howard Schultz, Starbucks.
• “Everything we do we believe in challenging the status quo,” Steve Jobs, Apple.
• “We are not in the printing business, we are in the content consumption business,” Vyomesh Joshi, Hewlett-Packard.

Thomas maintains that acts not ads are the way of the future, that marketers must develop events that engage consumers rather than simply creating advertising aimed at them. “Social media has abolished the traditional linear purchase model to the archives,” he said.

The most important consideration in predicting buying behaviour is that consumers like the brand. And the most powerful creative strategy is employing fame, i.e. associating the brand with famous people, and getting them in on the act.

In the end, it all comes down to the creative destructiveness of the internet and social media in reshaping connectivity, community and scale of behaviour. “The role of social media must be understood and a new model developed to harness it,” said Thomas.

All the upcoming industry events and courses for direct marketers

21 September 2011

The Shift to Inbound Marketing

Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane

What would it be like if your marketing was pulling your ideal clients to your door, rather than having to go find them? Panellists from Reload Media and Grand Brands, among others, will be discussing how to integrate all your marketing channels, and how shifting your marketing paradigm can result in improvements to your return.

Book at:

http://networxevents.com.au/brisbane/events-tickets-networking/view/89

22 September 2011,

ADMA event – Being socially direct: how direct strategy drives social media

Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Perth

Phil Smith, director of Apparent, is the event’s guest speaker. His presentation will cover how direct strategy drives social media, how to use social media as a DM tool, and how to apply DM principles to social media.

Book at: http://www.adma.com.au/events/upcoming-events/2011/09/03/being-socially-direct—how-direct-strategy-drives-social-media/

12 October 2011,

B&T event – The ‘C’ Word: How to put the ‘content’ into marketing

L’Aqua, Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney

B&T in association with custom content company Edge is hosting a free breakfast to demystify how brands can get into the content game, why it works and what it means for your marketing approach.

Book at:

http://www.bandt.com.au/bt-events.aspx

24-26 October 2011,

AIMIA Digital Summit

Sydney Harbour Marriot

The seventh annual Digital Summit will gather the leading experts in digital industry, forward thinking executives wanting to keep up to date wit the latest trends in the digital world and hear about the most insightful case studies across the country.

Book at: http://www.aimiadigitalsummit.com.au/

ADMA Certificate Courses

Digital Marketing Certificate

Brisbane: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Melbourne: Daytime, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Perth: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Sydney: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/digital-marketing-certificate/

Digital Marketing Certificate

Adelaide: Intensive, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Hobart: Intensive, 9-10 September, 7-8 October, 4 November

http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/digital-marketing-certificate-adelaide-hobart/

DM Creative School

Sydney & Melbourne: Monday & Thursday evenings from 21 July (10 weeks)

Creative School is a challenging combination of agency-based lectures and tutorials that provide a balance of theory and practice sought after in direct marketing creatives.

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/dm-creative-school/

Multi-Channel Direct Marketing Certificate

This course challenges you to think strategically about how you approach marketing and gives you the nuts-and-bolts of how to do it effectively.

Brisbane & Perth: Weekly, 31 August to 30 November

Sydney: Weekly, 31 August to 30 November or daytime sessions from 9 September

Melbourne: Daytime sessions from 9 September

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/multi-channel-direct-marketing-certificate/

Suit School

Suit School is an initiative by Recruit Direct and ADMA aimed at giving you the skills you need to be an effective account manager.

Sydney: Weekly evening classes from 13 July ongoing

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/suit-school/

Torah Bright springboards the HP ePrint social media campaign through a video series on a You Tube Channel and shared through Twitter and Facebook. The Australian Gold medal winner is followed onto the ski trails and half-pipes across the globe to showcase how ePrint technology can print, like a Bright’s 360 trick, from anywhere in the world via email.

A $30,000 ‘Ski Chaser’ ski trip competition is part of the promotion.

PMP Limited CEO, Richard Allely

Floods, earthquakes and tsunamis have been blamed for playing a role in PMP Group’s $11.3 million net loss over the last financial year.

The publishing and direct marketing giant recorded pre-tax earnings of $56.7m, or 8.5 per cent more than last year’s earnings. However, due in part to environmental factors, closures and soft markets in areas such as book retailing, the company has recorded a net loss of $11.3m – in stark contrast to its $20.6m profit the previous year.

PMP CEO Richard Allely says that, given the disruptions the business has faced over the last year, he is pleased with the 2011 financial results. Central to the disruptions cited were some of the year’s worst natural disasters in the region.

“The floods in Queensland knocked out one of our paper warehouses,” said Allely in the company’s fiscal report, “the Christchurch earthquake closed down our plant there for four days, and the tsunami in Japan disrupted production at a major paper supplier, forcing us to turn to European suppliers at a higher cost.”

However, the economic disruptions that faced the company over the last year seem to have taken the greater toll on its bottom line, not least the softness of the book retail market, which lead to the closure of book distributor, Scribo.

The Scribo closure cost the company $25.7m and came after continued poor performance following the GFC and bookstore-chain owner, the Red Group, going into administration – further tightening Australia’s book supplier industry.

Instead, PMP has decided to shift its focus to its digital distribution over a ‘bricks and mortar’ model. The resulting investment and restructuring costs have contributed to the company’s losses. Altogether, PMP’s one-off restructuring costs for the fiscal year came to $26.5m, but the company expects to see a healthy return on those investments within the year.

“We don’t see growth coming from our traditional product markets in printing and distribution,” said Allely. “Whilst we think those businesses will continue to produce good earnings for some time to come, the real growth opportunities lie in our digital business where we already have a good product footprint but very little market share.

“Next year we expect to see a further uplift to the business as the benefits continue to come through from the transformation plan,” he said.

Paul Rawlings, head of 1 to 1 marketing at Commonwealth Bank

For effective messaging in the multi-channel digital space, marketers need to follow consumer chatter and engage where most activity takes place, says Commonwealth Bank’s Paul Rawlings.

With so many digital messaging channels available, marketers can find themselves trying to utilize all of them, sometimes to the detriment of the message being sent. However, the key to success is using fewer – not more – channels, and being selective about where in each channel messaging should be displayed and how consumers should be engaged.

Where marketing budgets are stretched thin, being selective about when and where to spend resources can make a big difference in the reach and influence of a campaign, especially in the social and digital realm.

“Conversations are really complex. They’re happening all around us and we need to know they’re happening and we need to engage with that,” says Paul Rawlings, head of 1 to 1 marketing at Commonwealth Bank. “Engage where there’s most chatter, because you can’t engage everywhere.”

Social media has transformed the marketing landscape into a space where the consumer has the control, and businesses need to actively engage such spaces to maintain positive brand recognition. This also means that to effectively zero-in on consumers, businesses must send out larger numbers of lower volume campaigns. Fortunately, with good data and analysis, businesses can pinpoint areas of activity.

“We’ve got more data than every before, vast amounts. The way we use that info is critical,” says Rawlings. “Find out where your customers are active and choose those areas to interact.”

Rawlings warns against becoming overwhelmed and paralysed by large volumes of data, but says that with the right mix of data and analysis, businesses can approach consumers in their own areas of social activity and present their marketing messages under the guise of customer service.

“Lots of data means it’s easy to draw conclusions, but there are sometimes more than one conclusion, so be quick with decisions and analysis but make sure you’re accurate,” says Rawlings, “because great marketing feels like great customer service when you get it right.”

Responsys Asia Pacific vice president, Simon O'Day

The number of direct marketing campaigns carried out in Australia incorporating social media elements increased by 1,000 per cent in only one year, according to a report by digital messaging firm, Responsys.

The company’s ‘Big Australian Report’ also found that, despite the ten-fold increase over the last financial year in social usage, only 42 per cent of the marketing campaigns surveyed incorporated social media elements, leaving plenty of room for growth in the social space.

Of the 350 enterprise marketers surveyed, over three-quarters employed social components in their campaigns, while all of them used high volumes of email messaging.

The report also found that, while there was a 33 per cent increase of email messaging last year, the number of email campaigns ballooned by 115 per cent. This increase reflects the use of data by marketers to create individualised and targeted digital messaging allowing a smaller volume of campaigns to be sent more frequently.

In fact, for the first time in Australia, the majority – 62 per cent – of marketers are tailoring their campaigns and messages according to preferences or behaviours of their customers.

“People are targeting customers, they’re being relevant and reducing the volumes [of emails] down. They’re saying let’s use data let’s be targeted,” says Responsys’ Asia Pacific vice president, Simon O’Day. “We’re getting away from the batch methodology and into more of an automated system with programs.”

The report found that, although there was a 300 per cent increase in messaging to mobile devices, only about a third of marketers were sending SMS/MMS messaging to consumers. Mobile devices, however, expanded the reach of social and email messaging.

Although the report indicated that email volume and open rates are highest on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the click-through rate dropped off towards the end of the working week. O’Day suggests that, rather than choosing specific days for optimal email responses, marketers should be using information and data to create automated, lifecycle messaging systems.

“There are no best days,” says O’Day, “it comes down to your customer database and constant testing, and the great thing is, Australians can now test more than ever before.”

Lee Hawksley, Asia Pacific senior director, Exact Target

Marketers using vast quantities of data to create email messaging that is overly personalised to individuals run the risk of becoming ‘creepy’ to consumers, according to Exact Target’s Lee Hawksley.

Data analytics has allowed marketers to produce highly tailored and targeted messaging to consumers. Most in the industry agree that it is essential to use masses of available data for personalised variable messaging to maximise ROI and avoid churn.

However, Hawksley – Exact Target’s Asia Pacific senior director – warns that the use of too much data for highly personalised and targeted emails can seem creepy to recipients and create a negative brand association.

“At what point does the data that you know about someone and aggregate get to the point where you shouldn’t use it? I think that’s a balancing act for everybody,” says Hawksley. “I think all marketers have to deal with the creepiness factor.”

The volumes of data available from digital channels such as email, mobile, websites and social media, can provide an invaluable mix of information about individual consumers. In many cases this can lead to a better experience for consumers, with fewer inappropriate messages and less wastage of communications resources. However, using data for real-time, emailed responses to consumer’s online activity can turn people off those brands that send them.

Just because the technology exists, says Hawksley, it doesn’t mean you should use it.

“We’ve got technology that sends you an email if you go online and abandon a shopping cart, within a second it sends you an email saying don’t go to that next site, please come back, and I think that crosses the line of creepiness,” he says.

On the whole, Hawksley claims the digital messaging company advises its clients against such activity, but he admits he has at least one client who comes close – Vodafone – with an email follow-up system in place for cart abandonment on their website. However, he stresses that some consumer demographics respond more positively to this sort of tactic than others.

“It’s a judgement call really, because every brand’s different and every brand’s consumers expect to be treated in a different way,” he says. “In some fast-moving highly dynamic environments, getting an email a second after you abandon a shopping cart is not so creepy but in others maybe it is.”

Whether or not the creepiness factor of highly targeted and personal emails negatively affects small parts of the market or the whole, there is clearly a fine line between a well-timed and tasteful life-cycle email messaging campaign and a downright invasive one. There are a few things marketers can do to stay on the right side of that line.

“Providing you’re aggregating consumer data from bona fide sources, and you use that data in a way that’s honourable – honour the subscriber – then I don’t believe there’s a great deal to worry about,” says Hawksley.

Salmat CEO Grant Harrod

Acquisitions and one-off costs have dragged Salmat’s profits down by more than 25 per cent for the full financial year.

The direct marketing company’s sales revenue for the year was $863m – 1.8 per cent down on last year’s figures. Due to investment spend, acquisitions and closures, Salmat’s profits for the year were down by 26.8 per cent on last year’s to $36m.

The company has pointed to acquisition transaction and integration costs, restructuring and contract closure costs, and site relocations as being partially to blame for the profit drop.

Salmat’s Business Process Outsourcing unit, which produces print and mail work for large clients, not only received a 6.3 per cent dip in revenue for the year to $318.5 m, but also took a hit in pre-tax earnings to $41.8m – down 4.3 per cent. Perhaps the hardest hit was the company’s Customer Contact Solutions unit, which had a 20 per cent drop in pre-tax earnings for the year to $16m.

The company said in its financial report that the drop in its CCS unit was “impacted by the closure of contracts and costs relating to these contracts. Costs were also incurred to restructure and revitalise the Direct Sales, e-learning and Speech Solutions businesses.”

The four digital marketing companies Salmat bought from Photon Group in December last year have been folded into its digital arm, Targeted Media Solutions, which had a 4.3 per cent surge in pre-tax earnings, despite the companies underperforming their predicted targets.

In light of the company’s slide over the financial year, Salmat has published its senior executives’ remuneration with its 2010-11 accounts, many of which have dropped in line with its profits. Salmat CEO, Grant Harrod’s pay was cut by 10 percent to $1.47m. Harrod has stressed that the company’s figures reflect a larger investment strategy that he hopes will come to fruition during the coming year.

“It’s been a year of investments for Salmat,” says Harrod. “We’ve invested in strengthening our traditional businesses as well as building out our digital communication strategy.”

ADMA CEO, Jodie Sangster, at this year's ADMA Forum

With more communication channels to use than ever before – many of them fragmented – direct marketers face an increasing challenge in managing information and applying the most effective strategies to the most relevant channels.

Key to success, according to ADMA CEO Jodie Sangster, is the swift adoption of new technologies. In her welcome speech at this year’s ADMA Forum, held this week in Sydney, Sangster made it clear she believes the industry is shifting heavily to an online and customer-centric model and that marketers will fall behind the pack if they don’t embrace the new technology.

“There are now more channels today than ever,” said Sangster. “There’s more access to data and access to technology. We have to embrace technology or we’re going to get left behind.”

Although declaring new technology vital to any marketer, Sangster voiced concern over social media – the bandwagon of the industry. She warned that we still don’t know how to measure the effectiveness of social media such as Facebook or Twitter.

Businesses might be able to follow chatter about them and their products and gauge public sentiment, but they still do not really know how social media strategies affect their bottom lines.

One of the overarching themes that arose during the Forum was the tension between new technologies and their potential, and the correct usage of those technologies. The warning to use technologies such as data analysis and social media carefully was reiterated by several speakers over the two-day Forum.

Brands have found themselves in the firing line as a result of careless social media strategy, said Wunderman Australia’s creative director Matt Batten in his presentation. He cited examples of brand giants such as Dr. Pepper, Skittles and Toyota, who each bore the brunt of public backlashes after their social media campaigns spiralled out of their control.

Commonwealth Bank’s head of 1 to 1 marketing, Paul Rawlings, said in his presentation that too much data can have a paralysing effect on marketing strategies, and stressed the importance of accuracy when it comes to analysing data.

The industry has seen a shift over the last five years to a more customer-centric marketing model. Partly as a result of social media and new data technologies, the customer now controls much of the new marketing space.

“One of the main changes we’ve seen in the last five years is the change in the customer,” said Sangster. “We’re now customer-centric.”

She said it was important for ADMA to evolve to meet the changes taking place in the industry and added that it was an exciting time for the industry as it moves forward into an “unknown world.”

Data analysis has become vital in today’s marketing world. With more and more direct communications with consumers happening in the digital and online space, it is necessary to use data to pinpoint targeted strategies. The question, however, is how much data to use, how best to use it, and does it really provide an accurate picture of target demographics.

Mike Chuter, founding partner of Cubed Communications, believes that too much data will lead you nowhere and that the best way to use data effectively is simply to use less, but more refined, data.

“There is so much information we could collect,” said Chuter in his presentation at the ADMA Forum this week. “We can try and analyse everything but we receive no insights. Only collect the data you use and use all the data you collect.”

By using smaller batches of information, valuable customers can be specifically targeted for marketing material, both online and traditional.

“A small volume of customers deliver a disproportionate value to the business. Those are the ones you want to look for more of,” said Chuter.

In his presentation, Chuter said that the use of smaller amounts of valuable data allows analysts to build up macro models of target consumer groups. Marketers should be able to break those models down, he said, and draw up a ‘pen portrait’ – a detailed life-cycle portrait of an individual within a macro group. This approach is designed, in part, to help marketers choose which stream to communicate through.

“You can pick up different macro groups and apply the best channel for marketing to them,” he said. “Consumers consume media differently. It’s about understanding groups and it’s about understanding individuals within the group. Deliver relevant communication along the most efficient channels.”

Whether macro modelling from refined data can, in fact, provide detailed portraits of individual consumers is a question that will have to be answered by the results of macro-derived campaigns, but Chuter certainly believes his approach is effective in targeting individuals.

“It gives you better colour for what they might be interested in,” he said, “and you can tailor communications to them.”

Graham Plant

Message consistency through every channel is vital to making the most out multi-channel marketing, says PMP executive GM, Graham Plant.

Plant, whose company sponsored the Exploring a New World of Digital Opportunities stream on day two of this year’s ADMA Forum, said that only through consistent messaging through every touch-point in all channels could marketers lead consumers along a journey to a particular product or service.

“You’ve got to get your content consistently the same across every channel to make sure there is no discrepancy between the messages getting to the consumer,” said Plant during his presentation at the forum.

With the barrage of marketing messages that hit consumers daily, marketers might think the challenge is making one name or brand stand out from the others. However, Plant believes exactly the opposite is true because consumers cannot properly absorb the many thousands of messages they are subject to each day.

If marketers ensure that multiple touch-points across all channels communicate a consistent message, they can lead consumers on a journey to the target product or service on offer.

“Every time a customer touches your brand, your product, it is leading them down a path, and that’s what the different channels are all working together to do,” Plant said. “Every channel is connecting, everyone’s looking at the brand, everyone’s looking at offers and products, and each time a customer touches one of those points it has an impact on their ability or their decision on whether they’ll buy it.”

Just because Plant advocates consistent messaging across all channel touch-points, however, does not mean he believes in a scatter-shot approach to multi-channel marketing. Plant suggests that, despite being notoriously difficult to gauge, channel response measurement is also key to effective channel usage.

“The knowledge around the customer is critically important in discerning which channels to use, the mix of them, how they work together, and how get the creative content to bring them all together,” Plant said. “Analytics – measuring what matters is probably the key part to marketing attribution.”

Matt Batten, creative director, Wunderman Australia

Social media is a vital part of most multi-channel marketing strategies with more businesses jumping on the social bandwagon all the time. Despite the medium’s great potential, however, careless use of the social space can lead to negative brand association and damaging public sentiment, according to Wunderman Australia’s creative director, Matt Batten.

“Brands have to engage in social media,” said Batten at the ADMA Forum this week, “[but] it’s dangerous for the agencies that think they can play in this space if they don’t know how to do it properly.”

The incredible potential of social media marketing is frequently offset by the dangers of operating in, essentially, a user-controlled space. People enjoy using social media because they have the ability to tell everyone their opinions and thoughts. This can be a blessing or a curse for brands, where one negative review of a product or service can potentially reach millions of people.

“The average Facebook user has 210 friends, so if they recommend your product they’re recommending it to 210 people,” said Batten.

Brand giants such as Dr Pepper and Skittles have even come up against negative public backlash as a result of carelessly implemented social media campaigns.

Batten suggests that to avoid negative social media results, businesses must actively engage with social media users. By engaging in a real-time environment, companies can influence and guide public discussion about their brands.

“Consumers are controlling the conversations about brands,” said Batten. “Brands actually have to engage. They’ve got to approach it from a dialogue, not a monologue.

“We must listen. We have to learn what people are saying about us. We must always remember it’s a dialogue.”

Despite the dangers of social strategies, Batten was quick to point out that a brand’s social presence will create a comfortable brand association with consumers.

“If you’re existing in social media people will feel more connected to the brand. People are more comfortable engaging with a brand on a social level than any other.”

B.J. Fogg, director of Stanford University's Behaviour design Lab and keynote speaker at ADMA Forum

Nurturing and building habit-forming behaviour is key to successful social media marketing campaigns, according to ADMA Forum keynote speaker, B.J. Fogg.

Most direct marketing strategies now include at least some social media components – some rely solely on social – but, with so much noise in the digital space, it can be difficult to create an online campaign that will stand out from the crowd.

According to B.J. Fogg, director of the Behaviour Design Lab at Stanford University in the US, to truly engage social media users, an online campaign needs to use habit-forming activities as one of its core features.

“We are lazy – that’s how we’re wired. If you’re designing a system that makes people work too hard, it’s not going to happen,” he said in his keynote presentation at the ADMA Forum. “We’re creatures of habit, we do things again and again. Habits are in some ways the holy grail of behaviour.”

Several of Fogg’s students at Stanford have created social media sites and networks that have successfully used habit-forming triggers to build enormous numbers of users in short time-frames. One such site, friend.ly, grew from almost zero users to over six million in only three months.

In fact, Fogg cites Facebook as one of the online entities that uses habit-building triggers most effectively and attributes its success to the habits it has nurtured among its users.

Fear and anxiety around new behaviour is one of the primary reasons why people might not take up a social-based campaign. Fogg suggests starting small and building up new habits in users incrementally.

“There are three steps to new habits,” said Fogg. “Make an introductory habit very small, train the cycle to begin on a small scale. Plant a tiny habit in the right spot and it will grow and bear a larger habit. Then grow the habit, increase the habit.”

One of the common features of all of Fogg’s students’ social sites is that they all assure users that whatever habit-forming activity they need to carry out to use the site will be easy, fun and social.

Fogg suggests that this process can be applied to all marketing techniques that require interaction and engagement of consumers. In his model, ease of use is the first step in getting people interested. This is at odds with the traditional approach where the product is intended as the primary motivation tool.

“Ease of use, then motivate,” said Fogg. “This is an inverse approach, not motivation first. The recipe that’s working quite well is, simple, social, fun. It’s working again and again.”

Ogilvy One Worldwide CEO and Chairman, Brian Fetherstonhaugh

Beware of so-called integrated marketing campaigns that are not actually what they appear to be, warns Ogilvy One Worldwide CEO, Brian Fetherstonhaugh.

Speaking at the 2011 ADMA Forum this week, Fetherstonhaugh said that while many multi-channel marketing campaigns might appear to be truly integrated, most are not.

“Most so-called integrated marketing simply isn’t,” he said in his keynote presentation. “There’s a veneer of integration that doesn’t move the business on but is just painted on.”

Marketing agencies habitually use the word ‘integration’ like a perfume, spraying a surface layer of it over a campaign, but not necessarily employing it effectively, said Fetherstonhaugh.

“Most integration isn’t like a perfume, it’s like a muscle,” he said.

The technology exists for the marketing industry to create properly integrated multi-channel campaigns, but with the explosion of digital and social channels, many businesses fall into the trap of employing a scattershot approach to a campaign, pushing out matched messaging along as many channels as they can with the available budget.

“Too many people get on a roller coaster, look for something shiny,” said Fetherstonhaugh. “Do not do random innovation despite the pressures, because you’ll end back in the same place. You want purposeful innovation that leads you somewhere. Pick one and stick with it. Test and optimise, then move forward.”

The data is available to generate properly targeted and genuinely integrated campaigns, but you need to look for it, suggested Fetherstonhaugh. With the right information a marketer can choose the right channel and the right timing for a campaign. Good timing is key to an integrated approach.

“If it’s a truly integrated marketing campaign you’ll see a timed series of marketing actions,” he said. “If it’s really integrated you’ll see a series in a calendar that deploys the most intelligent recipe of channels.

“You need to read digital body language. There are billions of pieces of information about what’s on consumer’s minds. They’re giving us the answers. We don’t have to guess what’s on their minds any more. You can’t do a 360˚ campaign without the stats.”

New beer label, Good Head Beer, will be the recipient of over $5,000 worth of marketing services after winning DIRECT magazine’s marketing hamper competition at the 2011 ADMA Forum expo.

Brendan Radford, managing director of Good Head Beer was the winner of DIRECT’s competition, which included the generous contribution of corporate headshot and $1000 worth of list rental by PMP, FusioPro software by Databasics, and $1000 worth of stationary printing and direct mail campaign assistance from Prografica – among other prizes supplied by Digital Quay, IncNet, The Marketing Campus and Digital Press.

The swag of free marketing services couldn’t have come at a better time for Radford, who will be launching his new beer label in only a few weeks’ time.

“This is the perfect timing because we’re launching a new beer brand in the Australian market,” said Radford when told he had won the competition, “and we can make use of the services provided in the hamper. I stepped away from a huge corporate company to create my own company and any assistance at this stage is going to be of great benefit.”

The competition, which was run from Direct’s stall at the ADMA Forum expo, came as a surprise to Radford who said he, “never wins anything, I don’t have kind of luck.”

Now that he has the opportunity to make use of the prize’s services he says he just wants to put it into action.

Eye tracking technology claims to read users’ minds – from what they’re looking for online, to their feelings about a film trailer.

Emotional Response Analysis combined with (EEG) – the science of measuring brainwave patterns – shows a user looking to post a Christmas package. Their periods of frustration struggling with the Post Office’s terminology and website design on the last postage day are revealed.

See the neuromarketing eye-tracking study – what users choose to look at and ignore on the BBC News online site:

Australia Post puts its video where its beliefs are. Rebecca Poutney makes the case for direct marketers to use direct mail in this ‘How to… ‘ video.

Take a few moments, well two minutes and 20 seconds to be precise and learn how direct mail can engage the five senses and see some fine examples of creative direct mail campaigns.

The US Postal Service is bleeding cash and will not be able to meet its debts to the US Government in September.

The service reported a loss of US$3.1 billion for the third quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. It said that “absent substantial legislative change” it will default on payments owed to the federal government.

“We are experiencing a severe cash crisis and are unable to continue to maintain the aggressive prepayment schedule. Without changes in the law, the Postal Service will be unable to make the $5.5 billion mandated prepayment due in September,” said Joseph Corbett, CFO and EVP of the USPS.

The troubled postal operator’s operating revenue dipped 2% compared with the prior year to $15.8 billion. Revenue from mailing services, which generated 86% of the agency’s total revenue for the quarter, fell by 3% year-over-year to $13.6 billion. Revenue from shipping services rose by 7% to $2.2 billion.

The USPS moved 39.5 billion pieces of mail in the quarter, a 3% decline from the prior year First class mail was the worst hit, down 6% to 17.7 billion articles. Standard mail actually lifted in volume but 1% to 19.8 billion while magazines stayed the same ay 1.8 billion.

Diminishing marketing budgets are the cause for the rise in importance of ROI and the industry’s shift to a reliance on digital and data analytics, according to ADMA events GM, Matthew Dean.

This year’s ADMA Forum Expo, with players such as Digital Alchemy and Acxiom, highlights the trend to data analytics. The technology is hard to ignore as it now permeates much of the marketing industry’s landscape, ostensibly allowing for a more economical slicing and dicing of marketing budgets between channels where ROI is king.

“A lot of businesses have diminishing budgets and there’s more noise in the digital space. Everyone wants more targeted strategies to deliver messages that are relevant and to get the necessary ROI,” says Dean (pictured). “With all the tools to help you measure offline and online performance and those tools are readily available, ROI is in the spotlight because things are more available than before.”

The presence of big digital players such as Google at this year’s expo reflects a shift in the industry to online and social media technologies, data analysis and online-based strategies.

“We’ve noted a shift in people looking for ways to integrate their campaign and using insights through all offline and online channels through business analytics tools,” says Dean. “This year, there’s a more diverse array of technology providers.”

The expo, which will feature a host of data specialists including Alterian and Exact Target, is shaping up to become a wealth of free information for those who don’t want to pay the bucks to see the forum’s keynote speakers in person or attend the pre- and post-conference workshops.

ADMA expo visitors will not only be introduced to the latest cutting-edge technology on show by the exhibitors, they will also be given a taster of what’s going on behind the curtains, with a series of live excerpts taken from the keynote speakers’ presentations piped through to television sets in the expo space.

However, expo goers won’t be restricted to the screens as there will also be free education theatres and workshops on offer. Google will host a series of short seminars outlining strategies to get more from search and display marketing and website analytics.

Exact Target will host a free exhibition workshop designed to provide a step-by-step approach to maximising digital performance, while Pitney Bowes will be featuring some of the brightest marketing minds in the industry to share its insights at the Insights Knowledge Centre.

It is testament to the competitiveness of the Australian direct sales industry that mail catalogue producer NZ-based EziBuy has recruited PMP to help it expand in the Australian market on a multi-channel footing. The three-year contract is an “eight-figure” deal according to PMP’s general manager, Andrew Williams, although he could not disclose the exact value.

The magazine-style catalogue producer is already a big player in the Australian market, but with PMP’s help is looking to expand by utilising multi-channel strategies.

“Australia’s a very important market for us where we see growth opportunities. This partnership will help us capture as many of those opportunities as we can,” says Steve Mackay, EziBuy’s GM for commercial.

EziBuy has chosen to focus heavily on its Australian growth because market growth has slowed in its home country New Zealand. This shift in market attention will see the company incorporating some different strategies than in its home market.

“There will be different processes [in Australia]. New Zealand is a more mature market,” says Mackay.

Australia may be more competitive, he says, but there are more people here, so one of the key goals is to increase our presence in Australia, and the new strategy is to support that.”

EziBuy has chosen to side with PMP, in part, because of the company’s multi-channel reach. Although Mackay will not go into the details of the catalogue mailer’s proposed strategy, he does say that PMP’s integrated technologies will be something EziBuy utilize.

“PMP is an integrated business,” he says. “There’s a lot of things they can offer more than print. In a marketing sense we get a bit more out of their offerings…there are some add-ons we can use.”

“We look forward to collaborating closely with EziBuy and delivering high quality print and publishing solutions to help strengthen the EziBuy brand in the Australian market,” aid Andrew Williams, GM of print and distribution at PMP.

The proliferation of online forum space and social media sites has provided consumers with an exhaustive supply of user-generated review networks where prospective buyers can find reviews about almost anything.

Far from being illuminating, however, the problem with such a plethora of information is that it can be difficult to weed out reviews that are not genuine. Plenty of companies – usually the larger ones – post anonymous reviews in favour of their products and it can often be hard to spot them among the crowd.

A new partnership between Sensis’ Yellow Pages online and US-based review network, Yelp, is hoping to tackle the problem of review quality. The integration of the Yelp review system and Yellow Pages is designed to match up business search results with  corresponding genuine reviews.

“When you get a large corporate amassing a big volume of reviews you don’t get the same quality of reviews,” says Simon Betschel, Sensis group manager of emerging business and innovation (pictured). “There’s a stark difference between corporate businesses trying to tack reviews on to their own sites, to Yelp, which is an organic grassroots forum.”

Sensis hopes to drive more consumers to the Yellow Pages service by offering Yelp as a trustworthy review site. Yelp’s US operation has been working on a vetting process for over six years and claims to ensure user-based reviews – despite the open nature of the service, where anyone is able to write a review.

“People become quite protective of their persona, it’s a real pride thing,” says Betschel of the review forum community. “It’s because [Yelp] genuinely engages down at that grassroots level.”

The effectiveness of this system will have to wait till the end of the year to be tested, when the Yellow Pages/Yelp partnership will be rolled out.

Sensis approached Yelp when the company realised there was a gap in the market. According to its own data, 30 percent of consumers use social, yet only 14 percent of businesses employ that technology. Big business aside, Sensis believes the value of the Yelp service will benefit the smaller players in the market.

“There really is no dominant review space for Australia, and this a way for us to introduce one,” says Betschel. “It’s [value] is strong when you’re talking about small mum and pop stores and local businesses.”

If Yelp’s review forum can, indeed, separate the wheat from the chaff, then it will be good news for consumers, as businesses will need to shape up and provide top services across the board, or risk the negative feedback that will be associated with their Yellow Pages listings.

Mobile messaging provider SMS Global and its director, Carl Krumins, have been handed an $85,000 penalty and a corporate compliance program until 2014 for a false claim of government endorsement.

The Federal Court in Melbourne imposed the ruling after the SMS gateway company falsely claimed on its website and at a trade fair that it was endorsed by the government and used government logo branding without permission. It falsely claimed it was an “Australian Government Endorsed supplier.”

SMS Global, which provides SMS and MMS messaging technology for marketing purposes, has also received an injunction restraining the company from using the government’s ESA logo in the future.

“The size of the penalty imposed for false claims of government endorsement is a clear signal that such conduct is viewed seriously by the court,” says ACCC chairman Rod Sims (pictured). “SMS Global and Mr Krumins were being, at least to a degree, deliberately misleading.”

The declarations the court made in relation to SMS Global and Krumins not only related to the false government endorsement but also to false industry experience representations.

The company has been ordered to publish a corrective notice on its website which is to remain there for a period of 90 days.

The government’s move to put a new privacy legislation proposal up for public review following the phone-tapping scandal in the UK could lead to serious financial losses for the entire business community, according to ADMA chief, Jodie Sangster.

The privacy law review was announced by the Minister for Privacy, Brendan O’Connor, and has been brought up for review sooner than initially intended amid the News of the World phone hacking scandal in the UK.

“Right now there is no general right to privacy in Australia, and that means there’s no certainty for anyone wanting to sue for an invasion of their privacy. The News of the World scandal and other recent mass breaches of privacy, both at home and abroad, have put the spotlight on whether there should be such a right,” said O’Connor. “I’m keen to hear from everyone with a stake in the privacy debate – that includes individuals, businesses and of course the media.”

Sangster believes that such a law would have far-reaching implications and would adversely affect more industries than just the media. “Bear in mind that [the law] applies across the board and to businesses generally – to a huge range of organisations so any change in the law will affect the wider community.”

The concern is that businesses will find themselves at the mercy of private individuals launching privacy cases over inadvertent information breaches or hacked data, leading to financial losses through settlement payments and legal fees.

“There are a number of situations where data can be breached, hacking or when a company can do something inadvertently. I think business needs some certainty around what those limits are. For companies it could lead to a compliance risk, that’s cost and all of these things need to be balanced between industry and consumer.”

The public issues paper on the potential law will be issued in August, and would include privacy laws in addition to the pre-existing laws that deal with criminal offenses related to privacy breaches, such as the telecommunications Act, which outlaws phone tapping and other misuse of communications services.

“Our position is that the [existing] privacy law has adequate protection. It’s a balanced privacy law that places an obligation on the companies to do the right thing and we believe that’s an appropriate mechanism.”

The media heat following the News of the World scandal has the potential to skew the outcome of the review.

“When people enter the debate they will associate malpractices within the media with it,” says Sangster. “This debate shouldn’t be slanted because it’s come from such a high-profile event.”

ADMA will monitor the review and work with its members to build an industry position on the proposal, and lobby the government.

The explosion of data collection is not only a driving force in the direct marketing industry but it can also be a roadblock to effective communication.

Having too much data is proving to be a problem when it comes to creating effective campaigns. Where does a profile become defined when you have demographic, geographic, socioeconomic and consumer history all vying for attention in the data?

Far from giving a clear picture, things can become fuzzy and confusing. Even incoming Acxiom global CEO Scott Howe says he’s confused by the online landscape despite being in it for over 13 years, according to Acxiom local chief, Warren Billington who believes that the growth of the data-laden online marketing landscape is outstripping the knowledge and technology companies can employ to utilize it.

If Howe can be confused after years of working for Microsoft and aQuantive, it leaves little hope for the rest of us. Billington openly agrees that data is a problem.

“The growth of data and its complexity…is now outpacing companies who want to know what to do with that information,” he says. “The online landscape is complex and confused. I think people in the online space find it confusing.”

This outlook paints a grim picture for those marketers out there trying to squeeze the most out of digital to increase ROI. However, if the newly appointed Howe gets his way with Acxiom, there may be hope yet. With his background in online and data, Howe has declared he wants to focus on lifting Acxiom’s credentials in the digital world.

As for Acxiom’s Australian arm, Billington is among those who hope the digital landscape will become clearer with Acxiom’s new direction under Howe. He believes that Howe’s arrival will enable Acxiom to develop into a company who can guide businesses through the confusion of data in the online world.

“As we get access to more digital data, we become a partner for our clients here to cut through and be a trusted guide through the massive complexity,” he says. “The company’s in the position to help solve a big data problem.”

This is not Acxiom’s first foray into online data management. Additionally to the company’s offline data tools, it has steadily been building up its online technologies, but this has been a slow progression. Howe’s influence is expected to give the online data development a much-needed jump-start

“We’ve been adding digital capacities to our offline capabilities. This appointment continues that evolution, but more aggressively,” says Billington. “I can say that we think this appointment of a real heavyweight in the digital media space has been warmly received and accelerates where we’re going in the digital space.”

How this impending transformation of Acxiom will affect the company’s customers is yet to be seen, but Billington expects to see Acxiom’s existing clients move towards more online activity in a quest to optimise ROI, and hopes to win over some new customers with the company’s increased expansion into digital and online technologies.

“We’ve got a loyal long-standing client base. They’ve got an offline presence they’re eager to apply to the digital world,” he says, adding that Howe’s digital push will “open up new client opportunities as well as grow and develop those existing accounts.”

Australian bank aims to lure home buyers in with game bait. The CommBank 3D Reader app transforms a printed ad into an augmented reality experience.

The virtual Cherryford Hill is explored to entice users to download the home buying tool – Property Guide iPhone app. The app includes real data on real estate prices, calculators and videos offering the home buyer a way to search for property hi and low from the palm of their hand.

Australia Post should be able to set its discount letter prices without ACCC scrutiny, say the Post Office Agents.

In the first ever issue of its industry newsletter, Post Haste, released this month the Post Office Agents Association says it supports the proposal to pull ACCC scrutiny from Post’s discount letter pricing decisions. “If Australia Post is to remain viable it needs to respond promptly to opportunities that the market presents,” the newsletter reports. “This includes bundling services in an effective cost package and tailoring services of Australia Post.”

POAAL CEO Ian Kerr (pictured) says that now the inquiry has closed and an announcement will take “a little while” to be made, he “doubts anything controversial will come out of it.”

Among the other topics covered in the newsletter was the detrimental impact the carbon tax could have on Licensed Post Offices, and the POAAL’s stance on the new $100 annual fee that Australia Post has introduced to corporate account customers for payment by cheque – which it is against.

“POAAL is against this move. Australia Post should instead align its account policies to those of other commercial suppliers. It is a bit of a sticking point,” says Kerr, of the response by Post’s business customers to the fee. “There’s been negative feedback from some of Australia Post corporate account holders.”

The Post Haste newsletter is distributed in addition to POAAL’s existing member’s journal Postal News, and is directed to businesses and professionals with a vested interest in the post industry.

“This is something for people outside of the association,” says Kerr. “It’s a new leaflet for people who are interested in the post sector. It’s an external stakeholder-aimed [leaflet].”

Although the regularity of Post Haste has not been confirmed, Kerr says it will most likely be a bi-monthly release and will feature current industry news and discussions, which Kerr says will be covered in a succinct and easily read style.

“External industry stakeholders…need to have something they can easily digest,” says Kerr. “We don’t want something that’s mired in industry jargon.”

The Salvos Shops branch of the Salvation Army has launched its newly refurbished website with a wave of social media campaigning.

Electronic bumper stickers, cash prizes and daily specials are just some of the social media strategies that have been incorporated along with traditional advertising streams to drive traffic to the new Salvos Shops website and generate renewed interest in the Salvo Shop chain.

Rachel Violi, advertising marketing director of DGM, the online marketing agency behind the revamped website and campaign says that, “as well as the website we’ve launched a campaign called I Love Salvos Stores – it is being promoted via outdoor, radio and online, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as television in regional areas.”

Violi adds that the agency will be broadening the social media side of the campaign over the next few weeks. The Salvos Shops Facebook campaign has already kicked off with a digital bumper sticker that can be reposted on users’ pages. The ‘sticker’ is an image of a bumper sticker that reads: ‘I ª Salvos Stores,’ and is a digital copy of the physical sticker that will be available in Salvation Army shops for a limited time.

In conjunction with the online social media campaign is a competition for users to be in the running to win $100 if they post the bumper sticker image as Facebook page update or as a Twitpic. Violi hopes the new campaign strategy will “impact people’s perception [of Salvos Shops] as a brand which will encourage people to get into the stores.”

The new website features weekly offer alerts such as pensioner 20 percent discount days and will eventually include an eBay link where people can bid on Salvos Shops merchandise.

Salvos Stores’ CEO, Allen Dewhirst, says that he is “hoping the new website and the links to social media will better engage our customers and help them get through the door into stores. Salvos Stores sees the new website as the next step in becoming an even more professional retail organisation.”

Wellington-based printer Baseline has installed New Zealand’s first MacroPro mail finishing machine.

This boon to the direct mailing industry is able to take a single A3 sheet of paper, slice and fold it into a double-side printed envelope with insert, eliminating the possibility of mismatch and slashing production times compared to traditional mailers, as it cuts out several processing steps.

Andrea Thompson, director of Baseline, says that the new technology “opens up opportunities for creating higher impact and interest in a direct mail piece.”

In addition to the reduced production time, the machine also allows for the entire front and inside of the envelope to be used as a printable surface. MacroPro refers to this added space as a ‘micro billboard’.

“We’re confident this unique new technology is the way of the future,” says Baseline’s director, Andrea Thompson. “It opens up opportunities for creating higher impact and interest in a direct mail piece.”

Thompson says that Baseline has had plenty of interest in the new services the machine has enabled them to provide, to the point of hiring a DM specialist to explain its full potential to customers.

“Several of our existing clients are scheduling jobs for the new machine and our new DM specialist is available to explain the potential advantages to anyone for whom direct mail is an important part of their communication mix,” Thompson says.

ADMA Forum and Expo

Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre

ADMA Forum is the largest multi-channel marketing event in Australia. As well as providing a stimulating environment for the exchange of innovative and exciting ideas, it is an opportunity to mix with a range of high-level marketing professionals from the Australian and international marketing arena.

Book at: http://www.admaforum.com.au/

August 15-17

PR3.0 Forum

Sheraton on the Park, Sydney

For anyone in direct marketing, PR or advertising who has ever wondered where online technology is heading and how to not only keep up with it, but tap into its full potential, the upcoming PR 3.0 Forum is the place to be.

Book at: http://www.ibrc.com.au/event/pr-30–pr-and-communications-web-30-and-the-future-of-social-media-forum-2011_93

Thursday August 18

B&T Digital Bootcamp Melbourne

Park Hyatt, Melbourne

B&T Digital Bootcamps provide the latest information, trends and case studies about the rapidly changing world of digital media and marketing.

Book at: http://www.bandt.com.au/BootCamp-2011.aspx

August 22-26

AMI Marketing Week

Hotel Grand Chancellor, Adelaide

Collaboration will be at the heart of this year’s AMI Marketing Week, with industry leaders like Matt Batten, creative director at Wunderman, Tim Burrowes, editor of Mumbrella, and John Hartigan, CEO of News Limited talking about how big data is changing business, critical issues facing marketers in a digital age, true customer collaboration, and how to create a social media newsroom.

Book at: http://www.marketingweek.com.au/site2011/

Thursday September 8

B&T Bootcamp Sydney

Luna park, Sydney

B&T Digital Bootcamps provide the latest information, trends and case studies about the rapidly changing world of digital media and marketing.

Book at: http://www.bandt.com.au/BootCamp-2011.aspx

ADMA Certificate Courses

Digital Marketing Certificate

Brisbane: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Melbourne: Daytime, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Perth: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Sydney: Weekly, 31 August – 30 November

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/digital-marketing-certificate/

Digital Marketing Certificate

Adelaide: Intensive, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Hobart: Intensive, 9-10 September, 7-8 October, 4 November

http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/digital-marketing-certificate-adelaide-hobart/

DM Creative School

Sydney & Melbourne: Monday & Thursday evenings from 21 July (10 weeks)

Creative School is a challenging combination of agency-based lectures and tutorials that provide a balance of theory and practice sought after in direct marketing creatives.

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/dm-creative-school/

Multi-channel Direct Marketing Certificate

Brisbane & Perth: Wednesdays, 31 August – 30 November

Melbourne: Daytime, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November

Sydney: Wednesdays, 31 August – 30 November and daytime, 9 & 23 September, 14 & 28 October, 18 November.

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/multi-channel-direct-marketing-certificate/

Suit School

Sydney: Wednesday evenings, from 13 July (7 weeks)

Suit School is a initiative by Recruit Direct and ADMA aimed at giving you the skills you need to be an effective account manager. Aimed at entry or budding suit level the course is designed to address the blend of skills and knowledge necessary for you to effectively manage multi-channel marketing campaigns and clients.

Book: http://www.adma.com.au/education/certificates/suit-school/

• Excellent Marketing Opportunity
• Sydney Location
• Retail and Business Banking

Do you have a strong sense of creativity and thrive on developing and delivering powerful and insightful direct marketing campaigns? Are you a confident and organised person who has a track record in stakeholder negotiations and project management? If so, this is your chance to be part of an exciting opportunity to join the Westpac Retail and Business Banking (RBB) Marketing team.

This new opportunity exists for a highly motivated individual looking for a role that provides a variety of exciting challenges in the areas of data analysis, strategic innovation, marketing and communications, project management and stakeholder engagement. This empowered role requires an individual with a track record of demonstrated high competence in innovative thinking, strategy execution, attention to detail, interpersonal negotiation and delivering customer centric communications.

Major Accountabilities of Position:

• Design innovative solutions to drive relevant and targeted Direct Marketing communications
• To be a key Direct Marketing lead representative across Bank Wide projects and Marketing programs
• To be a key Direct Marketing lead representative across all RBB Product Portfolios (including Mortgages, Transaction & Savings Accounts, Personal Loans, Insurance and Wealth)
• Design and deliver data driven customer solutions
• Manage the design and delivery of centrally delivered direct marketing campaigns
• Leading direct marketing creative through from conception to the final production process
• Design innovative solutions to drive relevant and targeted Direct Marketing communications
• Design and deliver data driven customer solutions

Required Knowledge and Attributes:

• Minimum 7-10 years experience in Direct Marketing
• Experience in running complex and integrated BTL campaigns
• Ability to work in fast paced environment
• Strong creative skills
• Strong analytical skills including extensive experience in campaign test & learn design and results analysis – both initial and downstream
• Practised project management skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Strategic thinker
• Experience in operating in a complex data environment
• Qualifications in marketing or a related discipline
• Ability to integrate BTL programs into wider integrated marketing campaigns
• Competent with larger data sets and leveraging to develop customer led insights and communications
• Previous people management experience

In return we offer a great work environment where you’ll feel respected and valued. And you’ll be rewarded with a competitive salary and benefits package and a great deal of personal satisfaction.

Your attitude and passion are as important to us as your experience.

Westpac is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from men and women of all ages, including people with a disability and indigenous Australians. For a confidential discussion please contact Sarah Boland on 02-8219-8379

Please apply online at www.westpac.com.au/careers to reference number SYD15048.

Business Development Executive – Direct Mail

Blue Star DM is part of the Blue Star Group with print & mail operations in Melbourne, Sydney & Canberra. Our focus is customized Direct Mail. We are rapidly expanding our Melbourne mail operation and require a Business Development Executive.

This is an exciting opportunity to grow with a dynamic business, reporting direct to the General Manager. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, a proven success in sales of at least 3 years and an understanding of mail house operations. Print knowledge will also be well regarded.

Responsibilities will include:

• Qualify & develop new business opportunities
• Prepare business proposals and quotations
• Provide weekly/monthly sales and new business reports

The Blue Star Group is an employer of choice in the Australasian print & mail industry. Our operations are well resourced with the latest equipment and housed in modern facilities. This is a unique opportunity for a self motivated sales professional looking for a well rewarded sales career.

Salary: Package will be generous & negotiable upon experience.

Please mail or email your resume including details of your previous sales experience to:

John Taylor

General Manager – Victoria

Blue Star DM

Unit 1 / 3 Nursery Avenue, Clayton Business Park, Clayton, Vic 3168

Email: john.taylor@bluestargroup.com.au

National Direct Response Manager

Join a leading national charity and help improve the lives of people with blood cancers

Opportunity to assist the Leukaemia Foundation in its Vision to Cure, Mission to Care

• Newly created full time role
• Adelaide based
• Competitive salary with packaging benefits

The Leukaemia Foundation is seeking a direct marketing specialist for a newly created national role, based at our office in Findon, South Australia. The National Direct Response Manager will work alongside the National Fundraising Manager to establish and manage an integrated direct response fundraising program.

Key responsibilities include:

• Establish and manage an integrated direct response fundraising program using multiple media including mail, email, mobile technology and social media
• Implement and manage the direct response fundraising calendar including donor acquisition, migration, renewal and upgrade appeals, in-memoriam giving and bequest prospecting.
• Build, implement and evaluate direct response test strategies.

The ideal applicant will possess:

• 3+ years in consumer direct marketing
• Demonstrated experience in managing an integrated direct marketing program utilising new technologies
• Proven ability to manage multiple campaigns concurrently
• Strong strategic data skills and experience using Customer Relationship Management databases and MS Office
• A degree in Marketing or related field will be highly regarded.

For a copy of the position description and selection criteria, please email: nvial@leukaemia.org.au

Applications addressing the selection criteria should be sent via email to nvial@leukaemia.org.au or mailed to Leukaemia Foundation, GPO Box 9954, Adelaide SA 5001.

Applications close 5pm Friday, 4 July.

The Leukaemia Foundation is the only national not for profit organisation dedicated to the care and cure of patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders.

Direct Marketing Manager

12-month Maternity Leave Contract.

We seek to employ on a 12-month full-time basis a highly motivated professional with direct marketing experience to manage our subscriber acquisition & retention functions.

As Direct Marketing Manager you will be responsible for developing integrated direct marketing initiatives to increase and retain subscribers for Advertiser Newspapers.

You will have sound marketing and strategic planning skills, be able to demonstrate strong project management experience in dealing with customer acquisition and retention/loyalty programs, and be able to showcase your strengths in direct marketing, including EDM.

With previous CRM and database experience, and strong analytical skills, you will be working with key internal stakeholders and external data agencies. You will evaluate initiatives, analyse retention strategies and mine your subscriber database for new opportunities and develop predictive models.

These skills will be complimented by a strong commercial acumen in developing and managing campaign budgets, reporting and analysis. Proven experience in a similar role will be beneficial.

Advertiser Newspapers is the leading news media company in Adelaide and a subsidiary of News Limited, the multi-national news, sport and entertainment business. With leading publications such as The Advertiser, the Sunday Mail and AdelaideNow, our brands are household names.

Based in a modern green star office in the Adelaide CBD, we encourage initiative, ownership and confidence. In this vibrant workplace, we also have a gym and a café!

To apply submit a proposal that demonstrates your direct marketing experience and that spikes our interest, succinctly telling us why we should employ you. Don’t forget to attach your resume and send it by email citing ‘DMM and your name’ in the subject header to: resumes@adv.newsltd.com.au.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 17 JUNE 2011

This company is an equal opportunity employer. This company respects your privacy in investigating opportunities for employment. This company may collect information about you. In making application for this position you accept these terms.

CRM Database and Online Projects Coordinator

Sydney CBD location.

Permanent full time role.

Professional Services Firm.

The opportunity:

Allens Arthur Robinson is an international law firm with more than 1,500 employees across 14 offices in Australia, South East Asia and China. An exciting new opportunity exists in our Sydney office to join our passionate and progressive Marketing and Client Services department as a CRM Database and Online Projects Coordinator.

Reporting to the Marketing Infrastructure Manager, this role is responsible for the maintenance and coordination of data within the firm’s CRM database, and implementation of key firm activities that depend on CRM data.

The main responsibilities of this role include:

• liaising with secretaries, partners, business development managers, clients and other resources to ensure that data is entered into the CRM as required;
• supporting marketing users in their use of the CRM database;
• maintaining CRM data accuracy by running regular data reports and carrying out necessary updates;
• reporting against metrics to measure CRM database use and quality;
• extracting and analysing CRM data to respond to ad hoc report requests;
• other CRM database maintenance tasks as required; and
• coordinating strategic projects utilising CRM data.

The best person for the role:

This role is ideally suited to someone who has:

• previous experience in CRM database use and maintenance. Familiarity with InterAction is desirable but it is not a pre-requisite;
• experience coordinating direct marketing campaigns;
• exceptional computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, database querying tools and online survey tools;
• ability to transfer existing computer skills to new online survey software;
• excellent attention to detail;
• great organisational skills and initiative;
• interest in marketing, specifically market research, direct marketing and CRM; and
• ability to think analytically and put forward new ideas

No formal qualifications are required for this position, however a certificate in an IT or Direct Marketing related course will be advantageous. This is a new opportunity within the firm, so you will gain the opportunity to grow and develop this area of the business.

If this role sounds like you, please click here to apply to Penelope Samios, People & Development Coordinator. For more information please call Penelope on (02) 9230 4758, in complete confidence, to discuss taking the next step in your career.

Mature Donor Manager – Fundraising (Sydney, CBD)

Bring your direct response expertise, with solid experience across offline and online channels, and make a difference in lives via one of Australia’s Leading Not for Profit organisations.

Mission Australia is one of Australia’s leading not for profit organisations and still growing! With over 3,200 staff nationally, providing over 550 different services, Mission Australia is an empowering and compassionate organisation that has been helping to transform the lives of Australians in need for more than 150 years. We are innovative, collaborative and values driven. Sound like a team you want to be part of?

As the ‘right hand’ to the National Manager – Donor Acquisition & Retention, you will be responsible for developing and facilitating strategies to acquire, retain and develop donors aged 25-55. Utilising your exceptional strategic planning and relationship management skills you will drive the Mature Donor fundraising strategy and execution, including regular giving, acquisition and donor retention and appeals management.

You will be driven, determined and adaptable. As an experienced marketer, capable of influencing both external suppliers and internal stakeholders, you will enjoy working in a team to achieve group and individual KPIs. This is a great role to be innovative and leave your leagacy!

We want you to succeed in growing Mission Australia’s donor base, increasing the financial support for Mission Australia, which then goes back to helping those in our communities!

For further information and to apply on line, please visit our Mission Australia website Enquiries can directed to Bridget Mudford (02) 92171016.

Applications close COB Monday 30th May.

We support closing the gap in living standards and opportunities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples and other Australians. Full details of Mission Australian’s Reconciliation Action Plan can be locaton on our Mission Australian Website by clicking here

Administration & Marketing Manager

• Flexible permanent part time position;
• Sydney CBD location and working from home flexibility;
• Opportunity to use your marketing ideas and creativity.

BusinessMinds is a boutique data strategy and analytics business that works with large corporate and non-profits to help them use data for business strategy, marketing, finance and fraud detection.

We are looking for a self motivated and creative person to develop our marketing strategy and perform some administration functions.

Working closely with management your role will be able to:

• Work with directors to develop marketing ideas and strategies;
• Create a marketing plan and help execute it;
• Use graphic design skills to develop marketing materials and presentations;
• Plan and organise meetings and events;
• Supervise part-time marketing students in their tasks.

The successful candidate will have:

• The ability to coordinate and prioritise multiple tasks;
• Previous marketing and graphic design experience;
• A strong work ethic and ‘can do’ attitude;
• Good written communication skills with an eye for detail;
• Comprehensive experience with Microsoft packages/databases.

We are open to interviewing people who want permanent part time work. The role will be flexible and can also involve working from home.

Tertiary/industry qualifications are not essential. Salary package (base plus super) and days/hours per week to be negotiated with successful applicant.

For more information about our company please visit our website

If you are interested in this position, please email your CV to Laura Prophet : laura.prophet@businessminds.com.

Marketing Serivces Manager – Digital

Imagine the feeling you’ve made a difference. Create it with us.

At Lend Lease, we pride ourselves on the development of projects that meet the needs of the community and contribute to a sense of ownership and belonging about the space in which people live.

Lend Lease Communities is known nationally as a cutting edge organisation that prides itself on challenging convention in providing sustainable and highly desirable communities to Australians, and we currently have a newly created, national role available in our team.

Collaborating with the Digital Manager, this position will work across all community products to invigorate our digital marketing across Lend Lease communities. You will fully utilise your strong digital marketing and business background as you take responsibility for the development and maintenance of technology solutions relating to sales and marketing operations. This role will see you indentifying and investigating opportunities to improve system processes and training methods as well as reporting requirements and online strategies.

To be successful, you will need to be strong both with online marketing and analysis, and also with communication and customer relationship management. Experience in HTML email design, creation and execution will be essential, as will a background encompassing HTML and graphics software and CRM systems. A demonstrated high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office and Adobe software including the Creative Suite will also be key.

Innovation is critical to the creation and development of our business. We foster an inclusive, caring environment where safety, support and a sense of belonging ensure that innovation can thrive. We want your career with us to have a positive impact on your life, so that we can all make a genuine difference to people’s lives.

Be part of our success. To apply online now, visit jobopportunities.lendlease.com.au/adma or for further information on this or any other role, please call Ciara on (02) 9237 5893.

General Manager

• Growing membership association serving the privacy profession in Australia and New Zealand
• Excellent leadership & entrepreneurial opportunity
• Flexible working conditions and location

The Board of Directors is looking for a General Manager (p/t) to grow the association. Significant opportunities exist to expand the role as the association thrives. This is a senior management role reporting to the Board of Directors, through the President.

In this fantastic role you will be required to:

• Manage a profitable annual conference and sponsors;
• Grow membership base and raise sponsorship dollars;
• Manage member facing benefits, such as seminars and other events that may be run (expect approximately 9 per year in major capital cities;
• Liaise with professional association management service (PAMS) in relation to member renewals and other functions managed by PAMS;
• Communicate and develop marketing materials to promote the association;
• Update association’s website as directed;
• Manage training/certification.

You will need:

• Ability to professionally represent the association and match its needs to member interests;
• Event & relationship management skills and experience;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Ability to work autonomously and report to a Board of Directors;
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, reliable and highly organised;
• Some knowledge of privacy or the privacy industry desirable.

The ideal person for this role will be entrepreneurial and be a champion for customer service. You need to be comfortable reporting to a Board of Directors, be an approachable individual and have a commitment to continuous improvement and the ability to build and maintain rapport with members and stakeholders.

Contact: Please send your resume to the Vice-President of the Association at annelies@iappanz.org or call 02 9514 4930.

Senior Account Manager

Senior Account Manager needed to join busy Automotive team in CBD Agency. Work as an extension of client team in this award winning agency.If you have been a SAM for a year and are looking for an opportunity and have a passion for car accounts then this is the role for you.

In this fantastic role you will be required to:

• Working across various on and offline projects including eNewsletters, eDM’s, Direct mail packs as well as some website maintenance;
• Reporting to a highly regarded AD and manage an AM and AE;
• We’re looking for a candidate that will work hard and play hard and work in a tight-knit team;
• Up to $80k for the right candidate.

Experience needed:

• Have run Direct Mail, EDM, web site projects from brief through to results, attention to detail and being process oriented is a must for this role;
• Prospect and Customer Communications including trigger based eDMs, eNewsletters, Data cleanses, Promotions and third-party partnerships;
• Have the ability to think strategically about campaigns and projects, and look to for new opportunities to grow the account;
• Fleet communications (B2B);
• Have a can-do attitude and be a team player;
• Be a creative thinker and have an innovative attitude;
• 4 years experience in a direct and digital Agency as minimum.

The Agency:

• Largely recognised as the best independent Direct Agency in town;
• CBD location;
• Great culture and focus on training.

To apply please send your CV to jane@recruit-direct.com.au.

CRM Executive

• Highly valued position within growing marketing team;
• Varied responsibilities with an opportunity to work with a range of key executives, dealership personnel and third party suppliers;
• Outstanding career opportunity.

Our client is one of the world’s leading prestige automotive brands with an outstanding reputation for design, engineering and customer engagement. The company is now looking for an experienced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Executive to oversee its customer experience program in Australia. Reporting to the General Manager – Communications, this role will be based in the national headquarters in South Sydney.

The overall responsibility of this position is to manage the national CRM program in a way that maximises customer retention and brand loyalty. Some specific responsibilities of the position include:

• Regular input into the company’s direct marketing strategy and communications plan;
• Ongoing development of targeted CRM campaigns and analysis of the impact of those campaigns;
• Development of processes for effective customer database management;
• Regular liaison with internal managers and third party providers.

To be considered for this position, you will have:

• 3 – 4 years experience in a similar role;
• Proven skills in database management and statistics;
• Strong people management and interpersonal skills;
• Exceptional organisational skills and process management.

For more information, please call Amanda Lintott on (02) 9699 3144 or email alintott@careerdriven.com.au.

Direct Marketing Campaign Manager – Charity

• Excellent benefits and work environment;
• Loads of opportunity;
• 6 month contract.

Is it your passion to work for a non-profit organisation, with excellent benefits, loads of opportunity and in a fulfilling work environment? Well, if you are an experienced and talented direct marketing campaign manager with solid direct mail, eDM and charity experience – then this is the opportunity for you.

This is a contract role for 6 months in which time you will be working across an extensive Donor Marketing Program including acquisition, retention, bequests, In Mem and Trusts and Foundations.

The responsibilities of this role include:

• Assisting in the development of sustainable revenue by increasing the number of new donors, retention of existing donors and improving the income generation by developing and implementing other ways to give;
• Providing strategic input to Marketing plans(including acquisition, retention, bequest, major gifts, and In mem as required);
• Developing, implementing and managing the day-to-day running of the program across all marketing campaigns and campaign project management;
• Communicating with divisional fundraising staff on strategies within the marketing team and provide guidance and direction on divisional implementation and management of these strategies;
• Managing budgets and implement control measures to ensure project cost effectiveness;
• Developing and building key internal and external stakeholder relationships;
• Monitoring and reporting on campaign performance.

This position reports to and works closely with the National Direct Marketing Manager and liaises with the Data and Fundraising teams locally and nationally.

Being a non-profit organisation there are excellent income tax incentives, but there is also the opportunity to work in a fulfilling work environment and contribute, directly and indirectly, to the process of helping improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

To apply for this exciting and rewarding opportunity, eamil your CV today to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or calling on 02 9965 7255.

Data Account Manager

• Excellent client list & great $;
• Fantastic working environment;
• Opportunity to grow your career.

Our client is an established industry specialist in data driven marketing. They have an excellent client base across a number of industry sectors including financial services, entertainment and utilities.

The Key Accounts Manager role is focused providing direct marketing solutions to key clients through comprehensive data provision, data processing and email marketing. This exciting opportunity also requires someone who is excellent at building existing client business and revenue streams, servicing key accounts to meet every day requirements and proactively building account plans.

The role:

• Provide written proposals for each client activity;
• Briefing internal and external operations teams with regards to data provision, data processing and quotes required;
• Working with the sales co-ordinator to raise order forms for all projects;
• Liaising with production to ensure data and solutions are sent to the client within the correct timeframes and to ensure that the output is correct;
• Liaising with and sourcing information from all suppliers;
• Managing client campaigns and expectations;
• Addressing the day-to-day requirements of all clients promptly and professionally;
• Building account plans, including data strategies, for each account and progressing accounts to annual purchase agreements;
• Establishing client goals through consultative dialogue and matching these to appropriate data opportunities;
• Maintaining an accurate forecast of client activity and profitability;
• Continually developing and growing strong supplier relationships to ensure high service levels;
• Administration responsibilities including reporting and invoicing.

Required skills and experience:

• 3 – 5 years of data account management;
• Experience managing relationships and understand data driven marketing solutions;
• A good understanding of analytical data solutions;
• Experience managing blue chip clients with data spends in excess of $300,000 per year;
• Great customer service skills;
• Excellent relationship management skills;
• Good project management and administration skills;
• Good attention to detail;
• Strong organisational skills;
• Proactive and solutions focused;
• Excellent communication skills;
• A great attitude;
• A great sense of humour.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a successful business with a great working environment, to work with a supportive and experienced manager who is dedicated to developing their staff and helping them grow their careers.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, apply today by emailing Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct on emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or by calling 02 9965 7255.

Marketing Communications Specialist – Investments

• Opportunity to work on online product launch;
• Work closely with agency partners;
• High profile online bank.

This contract role is with an exciting, fast paced, high profile online bank working on investment and managed fund products. This is an opportunity to be part of an established and dedicated digital and direct marketing team. This role is a real opportunity to strengthen and perfect your significant digital and direct marketing communication skills.

This fantastic role is a 6 month contract, in which you will be required to:

• Write web content, provide input to digital team for website content page design and delivery for product launch;
• Brief design agency where required for design elements to support web content;
• Develop and liaise with agency on customer automated emails – including content, design and delivery;
• Prepare customer Marketing Communications Plan for product launch cross sell;
• Develop and implement customer marcoms to support product launch and exciting product cross sell campaigns;
• Produce copy and content as required to support the campaigns;
• Work closely with Digital team to review current web content and IA in view of an existing strategy, devise the way forward and implement, new managed funds and investor centre areas of the website;
• Rewrite copy or deliver new content where required to meet requirements of the original website interaction specifications for these areas;
• Ensure key project milestones are met;
• Create timeline and action plan for delivery of all elements;
• Provide weekly updates on progress against timelines to Marketing Manager;
• Cross train marketing team members to empower them to continue with the cross and up sell implementation.

For this role you will need to be a very experienced digital marketer and have a proven track record in delivering digital and direct campaign for investment and managed fund products. You will be someone who is skilled at managing agency relationships, managing stakeholder expectations, process oriented and deadline focused.

This is a fantastic opportunity with an excellent organisation and is exactly the type of role you have been waiting for – apply today. Email your resume to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au, or call 02 9965 7255 – hurry, this role will not be around for long.

Senior Marketing Analyst

• Australia’s Leading Behavioural Marketing Agency;
• North Shore Location – close to rail;
• Excellent Working Environment – loads of variety.

Our client is a leading behavioural marketing company that provides best practice data analytics across a number of high profile brands.

The work is varied and very interesting, the client categories include leisure, fitness, automotive, retail, motoring clubs and fashion.

They have a cutting edge Data Insight team and are growing fast. They are looking for someone who has approximately 5 years relevant experience, the ability to take the lead with clients, has excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, data literate with a logical approach and is highly detailed focused.

This role also requires:

• Leadership and team management/mentoring experience;
• Develop promotional programs in line with a predetermined customer contact strategy;
• Proven understanding and experience of database marketing, modelling and statistical tools;
• Demonstrated capability to deliver marketing data/communications strategies;
• Experience in executing statical analysis techniques, data manipulation, profiling, segmentation and using database marketing/CRM systems;
• Ability to design and execute multi-channel marketing campaigns;
• Experience in testing and measurement of data-oriented marketing activities;
• Proven understanding and experience of database interrogation using a range of software tools including SQL, Business Objects, Unica, Cognos, Alterian;
• Email marketing experience;
• Continued review of financial results to develop improved customer contacts and CVP;
• Previous experience of geodemographic classifications (MOSAIC/GeoSmart).

If you are excited by this role, email your resume to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct today, emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or call on 02 9965 7255.

Online Acquisition Specialist

• Manage digital campaigns for online bank;
• SEO & strong understanding of analytics;
• Opportunity to work closely with agency.

This is a 6 month contract role and is your opportunity to work with a leading online bank. You will report into the Digital Marketing Manager and will run online marketing campaigns with involvement in technical areas, including acquisitions, media marketing campaigns, direct marketing, agency liaison, SEO, SEM and ongoing maintenance of public websites.

The role:

• Maintain/update websites including optimisation improvements;
• Reporting and analysis of online campaigns and website analytics;
• Have an aptitude for creative interest and contribute to the successful development, implementation, and monitoring of marketing campaigns;
• Technical problem solving across all technical areas, including CMS, creative, tools, testing and website management;
• Provide campaign and website reports, analysis and recommendations;
• With the search agency, report SEO results and recommendations;
• $85K plus Super.

Experience needed:

• Sound knowledge and understanding all digital marketing disciplines including acquisition campaigns, website optimisation, search, CRM;
• Can manage digital and media agency relationships at the campaign development and implementation level;
• Can problem solve at both a technical and tactical level, including being able to fix html/xml coding;
• Understand and implement improvements to the path to purchase online;
• Web analytics, e.g. Google Analytics, WebTrends;
• Familiarity with blogs, social media sites and tools – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc and related third-party applications – and their use in consumer marketing, particularly in the finance industry;
• Strong attention to detail and organisational skills;
• Experience on the client side or experience on the agency side working directly with developers.

The company:

• Centrally located CBD;
• Fantastic benefits including discounted mortgage;
• Bonus scheme linked to results;
• International Bank.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, you should apply for today, email your resume to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct, or call 02 9965 7255 – hurry, this role will not be around for long.

Direct Marketing Specialist

Get going from the get-go in a role that will see you flexing Direct Marketing muscle and delivering brand-leading ad campaigns from day one.

A team player with CRM smarts and ‘big picture’ passion, you’ll be providing specialist expertise across all stages of the Direct Marketing campaign execution process from briefing to reviewing, performance tracking and PIR. Your ability to build productive rapport with agencies and customers will enable you to deftly acquire new customers and maximise present relationships.

With a constant focus on ongoing customer cycle campaigns, we need an analytical and experienced marketer who can think on their feet, keep eyes on the prize and drive forward emerging direct marketing creative and data targeting.

Ideal candidates will posses the following:

• Significant Direct Marketing experience, including managing stakeholders;
• Attention to detail and Multi-tasking with multiple campaigns;
• Experience with data and analysis as well as creative and execution;
• ADMA in Digital or Direct Marketing;
• A degree in Business, Marketing or Communication.

In exchange for the above, you will be provided with:

• Opportunities for career progression with one of Australia’s largest insurers;
• Continued learning & development, including nationally recognised courses;
• Committed, outgoing team with solid work ethic;
• Great Sydney CBD location.

If you are interested, please apply today! If you require further information, you can contact Peter Coates on 02 9292 9751.

Marketing Analyst

• Do you want to work for a global, fast growing customer-driven insight and data business?
• Are you analytical with strong problem solving skills?
• Do you enjoy working with numbers and thrive when analysing data?

THE COMPANY:

LMG Insight & Communication, a customer-driven insight and data analytics business offering worldwide services to retailers and their suppliers, is owned by Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a leading international loyalty management corporation.

LMG Insight & Communication have developed a partnership with Coles to provide unparalleled insight into consumers’ shopping trends, for the purpose of conducting targeted marketing campaigns through a variety of channels including direct mail, email and in-store.

THE POSITION:

Employed by LMG as their Marketing Analyst you will be responsible for the analytical development & evaluation of Coles and FMCG supplier marketing campaigns which increase loyalty, improve category spend and drive/short-term trade volume. The job holder will be required to use a blend of knowledge in the retail and FMCG sectors along with their technical expertise to deliver high quality insight & expertise to Coles and FMCG suppliers.

As Marketing Analyst your responsibilities will include:

• Optimise the customer selections for marketing campaigns to ensure that campaign objectives are met. They will include increasing sales / loyalty / profitability whilst managing costs & minimising customer complaints;
• Deliver data selections to ensure that campaign deadlines are met optimising the campaign delivery efficiency;
• Effective stakeholder management, communicating campaign targeting & performance across Loyalty, Marketing, Customer division & rest of the business where relevant;
• Robustly analyse campaign performance managing the business expectations & ensure that learning is identified & driven into campaign strategy as well as marketing spend efficiency;
• Conduct project based analytics delivering valuable and actionable marketing insights to support strategic decisions across the business;
• Accurately record marketing campaigns performance for historic performance tracking.

THE PERSON:

Your strong analytical skills coupled with your excellent interpersonal skills will see you achieve great results in this position.

In addition you will:

• A University graduate in a numerate or analytical discipline (e.g. Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering);
• A minimum of 3 years experience in data analysis using large consumer databases;
• Experience in the development and execution of marketing campaigns;
• Ability to write, interrogate and interpret database code (SAS, SQL).

For further information please contact Brooke on 0430 550 081 or alternatively email your resume to info@intergreat.com.au.

Senior Account Manager

• Do you want to work for a global, fast growing customer-driven marketing and data business?
• Are you commercial with strong client management skills?
• Do you enjoy working in a fast moving environment and thrive in a sales focussed role?

THE COMPANY:

LMG Insight & Communication, a customer-driven insight and data analytics business offering worldwide services to retailers and their suppliers, is owned by Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a leading international loyalty management corporation.

LMG Insight & Communication have developed a partnership with Coles to provide unparalleled insight into consumers’ shopping trends, for the purpose of conducting targeted marketing campaigns through a variety of channels including direct mail, email and in-store.

THE POSITION:

Employed by LMG as their Senior Account Manager you will be responsible for the sales, management and successful delivery of data-driven communication campaigns for FMCG suppliers of Coles.

You will be based within the heart of Coles organisation at their store support centre. You will leverage the range of targeted communication channels within Coles to deliver high impact campaigns to Coles FMCG suppliers.

The Senior Account Managers strategic accountabilities are:

• Manage activity for your FMCG Suppliers and deliver against budget and timelines, working with (and managing where appropriate) key contacts at Coles (creative development) and FlyBuys (print/production);
• Responsible for the delivery of an individual sales target as part of the LMG commercial team;
• Provide support to Account Director, specifically focusing on the sale and execution of Communication campaigns;
• Develop your knowledge of the LMG business, database marketing and Coles and Suppliers’ businesses to educate and present Insight led Communication benefits & features;
• Utilize appropriate processes and document templates to ensure that all parties are briefed correctly to facilitate efficient project management;
• Ensure that results are communicated to FMCG Suppliers at appropriate times, meeting the individual requirements of each brief;
• To manage the launch of new propositions within allocated client base;
• Research/monitor industry trends and related competitive threats, assess new market opportunities as appropriate to the I&C business and its key FMCG Suppliers.

THE PERSON:

You will believe in rising to a challenge, delivering excellent service. You will be energetic in your approach and passionate about the execution of your ideas.

Experience level and technical requirements:

• University degree – ideally marketing major preferred or equivalent business experience;
• Significant (3 years+) postgraduate experience, to include solid client-related marketing experience, ideally in retail or FMCG;
• Ability to manage suppliers at all levels; proven sales and negotiation skills, articulate and confident;
• Experience of Insight tools & services, targeting communications (with focus on retail accounts);
• Excellent project management/communication/presentation skills, well organised and detail orientated;
• Self motivated with an understanding of analytics and the creative development process;
• High energy, proactive and a team player.

For further information please contact Brooke on 0430 550 081 or alternatively email your resume to info@intergreat.com.au.

The use of data mining and analytics by marketers will lead to a more responsible and effective industry, says Wunderman Melbourne’s new general manager, Meena Kumar.

Kumar, who has taken over from Chris Jeffares, is a big fan of using the mail channel for targeted campaigns. “Some people may say that a letter box drop is a nuisance, but I’ve had huge success in my past [marketing] life – a more than eight hundred percent incremental response on a targeted response on a letterbox drop,” says Kumar. “Incremental response: you measure what the base demand is…and then see what sells during the campaign period.”

“The medium is irrelevant, it’s all got to fit into the overall insight-led communications,” she says.

The new Melbourne office GM brings to the role a history of data analytics and believes that the marketing industry as a whole will become more responsible through the use of data and insight led marketing.

“It’s more responsible marketing,” says Kumar, referring to how the use of data analytics has impacted the industry. “It’s actually [about] targeting the message at the right time. We know when someone’s in the market to buy a certain product because we understand the behaviour.

“Direct marketing used to be seen as direct mail,” says Kumar, but adds that in today’s industry, “it’s about intelligent marketing. We now have everyone realising the importance of data and analytics to drive the right message.”

Kumar points out that businesses are now able to more accurately calculate their returns on investment through the use of data analysis, and this has changed the industry for the better in recent years.

“Marketers are getting more and more responsible because they have to demonstrate ROI against the marketing dollar,” she says. “They’re getting more responsible about where they put their money.”

One of the primary methods marketers should be using to properly gauge their ROIs is by using incremental response data to determine campaign effectiveness, says Kumar. She stresses that this approach can be used effectively for all channels of marketing.

Kumar plans to use her background in data and analytics to help keep Wunderman at the head of the pack, and maybe give the company a nudge in the right direction.

“I just want to beef it up,” says Kumar, “my job is to take it to the next level, and make a presence in analytics and data mining in order to deliver the correct message digitally or otherwis”

The high-powered membership campaign by the Australian Marketing Institute has focused attention on the industry and its plethora of associations.

In a time of fluctuating marketing budgets membership of associations is under pressure. The AMI is aiming to boost its membership base by more than 40 percent over the next three years, while generating equally strong growth in its professional development programs.

The Australian Marketing Industry’s chief, Mark Crowe, stresses that the AMI’s expansion drive is not intended to be in competition with Australia’s many other marketing bodies like ADMA, but as a way to increase its own members’ services and to complement the other industry players.

“We all have our particular focus and that lets us concentrate on a few things well,” says Crowe, and adds that in the AMI’s case it is, “professional development, to promote marketing as a profession. The promotion…of how marketing relates to business is a cornerstone of what we do.”

The expansion has been prompted, in part, by the last year’s surge in marketing spending. “It reflects an upturn in marketing spend and confidence,” says Crowe. However, he adds that the surge has highlighted the emergence of a “two-speed economy” in the market.

Marketing budgets are on the rise, but not for the retail sector, says Crowe.

“There is some volatility in marketing budgets, and that reflects what is referred to as a two-speed economy,” says Crowe. “There are challenges in the retail sector, and [marketing] budgets are impacted by that.”

This is a trend Crowe expects will continue into the next year. “I think you’ll be seeing some caution, and continued high levels of variance between various industries.”

Among the programs Crowe hopes to see blossom with the institute’s expansion is one he calls the ‘marketing boardroom.’

Crowe believes that marketers do not always have a presence among senior managers and boards, and this leads to a lack of appreciation by businesses to the value of marketing as a whole. This program, he says, is to encourage executive arms of companies to incorporate marketing input from the top down, at all levels of the business.

“If you’re investing in marketing you need to be satisfied as to the effectiveness of that marketing,” says Crowe, “you [need to be] equipped with the appropriate information to make considered decisions. We can assist boards and CEOs in defining questions for marketing performance – ensuring that the level of information is sufficient.”

ADMA chief Jodie Sangster outlined the grim outlook for businesses that do not adapt to the market’s changing media behaviour, saying that in the future there will be two types of companies – those that are agile and adapt, and those that go out of business, in a talk she delivered at the Acxiom What’s Now What’s Next Breakfast, Sydney.

Sangster focused on the global marketing trends around the importance of customer-centric strategies for her presentation at the breakfast and made particular reference to the importance of adopting a customer-centric approach to marketing.

Acxiom CEO Warren Billington agreed, saying that marketers will fail if they do not incorporate customer-centric strategies into their multi-channel campaigns.

The inaugural breakfast was designed to introduce marketing companies to the changing face of the industry and the importance of customer-centric strategies through the use of sophisticated data analytics.

“It was encouraging to see that the leading industry body was stressing so much importance on the requirement to have strong customer intelligence and applying that to the success of your organisation,” said Billington.

Billington cautioned marketers that in the US, $112 billion (US) worth of advertising and 80 percent of online advertising is wasted annually because businesses are not properly incorporating customer data into truly multi-channel, customer-centric campaign strategies.

“Most business is still structured in silos; in operational and organisational silos that [don’t] lend themselves to effective customer integration,” said Billington. They…are not taking into account the entire customer journey, and to be successful with a customer-centric strategy, you need to have 360˚ view of your customers and be able to track and understand that behaviour across every channel.”

One of the key areas for discussion during the breakfast was the changing face of marketing ‘in the era of customer-centricity.’ “Marketers need to adapt to a new marketing environment,” said Billington. “There is a significant transformation taking place in marketing, and brands need to take a more customer-centric approach.”

While Billington conceded that the technology behind data analytics and management can seem confusing, he stressed that for businesses to properly tap into the huge potential lurking behind the available customer data, the have to “look at restructuring more effectively so they can understand how to impact on the entire customer life-cycle process.”

Currently, said Billington, many marketers are adopting traditional marketing methodology while not taking into account this marketing transformation, and the changes in consumer engagement. He added that “there are a number of stumbling blocks that are restricting marketers from turning data into insights: the complexity of the amount of data that is around, cross-channel, and the complexity of integrating that into a business operation. Lots of businesses are clearly still not operationalising their data effectively.”

Fortunately, according to Billington, with Acxiom’s help businesses can make immediate changes to their marketing strategies.

“It’s important to take a step back and say what can I do today?” said Billington. “This shouldn’t be considered as a long-term vision requiring a huge investment. Most of our clients will develop a roadmap to take them on that journey from 12 to 36 months.”

Good customers are hard to find and even harder to keep, according to Virgin Mobile Australia’s head of customer experience, Amanda O’Donnell.

The telco guru talked of how the company treats its customers like gold. “We’ve taken the time to quantify the life-cycle value of our customers,” said O’Donnell, “[because] we really need to hold on to our existing customers and treat them like gold.”

The telco has centralised its eight customer knowledge systems into a single database in the cloud and uses the resulting data analysis for improved online, mobile and social media communications strategies, she said.

O’Donnell made the comments at the launch of customer experience management company, RightNow Technologies’ Customer Experience Report in Sydney this week.

The report indicated that there has been a focus by businesses on increased customer retention. This is a marked shift from last year’s survey, where in some cases half the number of those surveyed reported that companies attempted to win back their business.

Brett Waters, president of RightNow’s Asia Pacific – South division, suggested that this is where businesses can utilize the burgeoning web-enabled mobile technology.

“With the uses of mobile devices on the rise, the study suggests that companies need to begin planning to mobilise their customer support efforts or risk being left behind,” said Waters. He points out that businesses are facing the challenge of maintaining traditional communications channels while also needing to implement strategies that employ the strengths and flexibility of emerging channels such as mobile devices and social media.

“People are trying to win back business,” said Waters, adding that, “up to 35 percent of [our client’s] brand traffic is coming from mobile devices.”

Neil Stollznow, of Stollznow Research, which conducted the report’s survey, agreed, adding that the trend “is a sea change, this has not happened before.”

A particular point of interest for the report was the telecommunications sector, which Stollznow said deals with more customers than any of the other sectors researched. He cautioned that, “it doesn’t matter which ones [telcos] you’re talking about, you can lose half or more of your customers due to poor service.”

People talk, said Waters, and this is where he sees the value in RightNow’s technology when applied to online mobile and social media strategies, and the scope it allows for marketers’ and businesses’ communications to consumers.

The use of web-enabled mobile devices by consumers to communicate with businesses had far exceeded expectations according to the report.

The report indicated that over 40 percent of consumers surveyed used their web-enabled mobile devices on a daily basis for Internet search functions, and a over a third of consumers used their mobile devices to buy products and services online.

“I really didn’t think we were going to see that,” said Stollznow. “Mobile computing is a real growth area with unique challenges and unique possibilities.”

Talking about the company’s planned next round of surveys, Stollznow adds that, “when we get back to the research, mobile computing will have grown enormously, [although] next time we do this study we’ll ask them what the hell they’ve been buying.”

Of the potential for online retail, Stollznow said it is “the sleeping giant out there. This is an incredible area for growth and it will change the way businesses will deal with their customers.”

Increase your company’s profits by giving away products for free. The authors of Oh My God What Happened launched their book by pioneering the world’s first social payment system.

The writers offered free downloads of the new-media marketing manual in exchange for only a Tweet or a Facebook post about their product. Over 170,000 copies of the book have been paid with a Tweet and thousands sold on Amazon for good, old-fashioned cash.

So far more than 400,000 people have paid for something with the value of their social network. Check out the video of the Cannes Cyber Lion Grand Prix award winner below:

• Excellent Marketing Opportunity
• Sydney Location
• Retail and Business Banking

Do you have a strong sense of creativity and thrive on developing and delivering powerful and insightful direct marketing campaigns? Are you a confident and organised person who has a track record in stakeholder negotiations and project management? If so, this is your chance to be part of an exciting opportunity to join the Westpac Retail and Business Banking (RBB) Marketing team.

This new opportunity exists for a highly motivated individual looking for a role that provides a variety of exciting challenges in the areas of data analysis, strategic innovation, marketing and communications, project management and stakeholder engagement. This empowered role requires an individual with a track record of demonstrated high competence in innovative thinking, strategy execution, attention to detail, interpersonal negotiation and delivering customer centric communications.

Major Accountabilities of Position:

• Design innovative solutions to drive relevant and targeted Direct Marketing communications
• To be a key Direct Marketing lead representative across Bank Wide projects and Marketing programs
• To be a key Direct Marketing lead representative across all RBB Product Portfolios (including Mortgages, Transaction & Savings Accounts, Personal Loans, Insurance and Wealth)
• Design and deliver data driven customer solutions
• Manage the design and delivery of centrally delivered direct marketing campaigns
• Leading direct marketing creative through from conception to the final production process
• Design innovative solutions to drive relevant and targeted Direct Marketing communications
• Design and deliver data driven customer solutions

Required Knowledge and Attributes:

• Minimum 7-10 years experience in Direct Marketing
• Experience in running complex and integrated BTL campaigns
• Ability to work in fast paced environment
• Strong creative skills
• Strong analytical skills including extensive experience in campaign test & learn design and results analysis – both initial and downstream
• Practised project management skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Strategic thinker
• Experience in operating in a complex data environment
• Qualifications in marketing or a related discipline
• Ability to integrate BTL programs into wider integrated marketing campaigns
• Competent with larger data sets and leveraging to develop customer led insights and communications
• Previous people management experience

In return we offer a great work environment where you’ll feel respected and valued. And you’ll be rewarded with a competitive salary and benefits package and a great deal of personal satisfaction.

Your attitude and passion are as important to us as your experience.

Westpac is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from men and women of all ages, including people with a disability and indigenous Australians. For a confidential discussion please contact Sarah Boland on 02-8219-8379

Please apply online at www.westpac.com.au/careers to reference number SYD15048.

Business Development Executive – Direct Mail

Blue Star DM is part of the Blue Star Group with print & mail operations in Melbourne, Sydney & Canberra. Our focus is customized Direct Mail. We are rapidly expanding our Melbourne mail operation and require a Business Development Executive.

This is an exciting opportunity to grow with a dynamic business, reporting direct to the General Manager. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, a proven success in sales of at least 3 years and an understanding of mail house operations. Print knowledge will also be well regarded.

Responsibilities will include:

• Qualify & develop new business opportunities
• Prepare business proposals and quotations
• Provide weekly/monthly sales and new business reports

The Blue Star Group is an employer of choice in the Australasian print & mail industry. Our operations are well resourced with the latest equipment and housed in modern facilities. This is a unique opportunity for a self motivated sales professional looking for a well rewarded sales career.

Salary: Package will be generous & negotiable upon experience.

Please mail or email your resume including details of your previous sales experience to:

John Taylor

General Manager – Victoria

Blue Star DM

Unit 1 / 3 Nursery Avenue, Clayton Business Park, Clayton, Vic 3168

Email: john.taylor@bluestargroup.com.au

National Direct Response Manager

Join a leading national charity and help improve the lives of people with blood cancers

Opportunity to assist the Leukaemia Foundation in its Vision to Cure, Mission to Care

• Newly created full time role
• Adelaide based
• Competitive salary with packaging benefits

The Leukaemia Foundation is seeking a direct marketing specialist for a newly created national role, based at our office in Findon, South Australia. The National Direct Response Manager will work alongside the National Fundraising Manager to establish and manage an integrated direct response fundraising program.

Key responsibilities include:

• Establish and manage an integrated direct response fundraising program using multiple media including mail, email, mobile technology and social media
• Implement and manage the direct response fundraising calendar including donor acquisition, migration, renewal and upgrade appeals, in-memoriam giving and bequest prospecting.
• Build, implement and evaluate direct response test strategies.

The ideal applicant will possess:

• 3+ years in consumer direct marketing
• Demonstrated experience in managing an integrated direct marketing program utilising new technologies
• Proven ability to manage multiple campaigns concurrently
• Strong strategic data skills and experience using Customer Relationship Management databases and MS Office
• A degree in Marketing or related field will be highly regarded.

For a copy of the position description and selection criteria, please email: nvial@leukaemia.org.au

Applications addressing the selection criteria should be sent via email to nvial@leukaemia.org.au or mailed to Leukaemia Foundation, GPO Box 9954, Adelaide SA 5001.

Applications close 5pm Friday, 4 July.

The Leukaemia Foundation is the only national not for profit organisation dedicated to the care and cure of patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders.

Direct Marketing Manager

12-month Maternity Leave Contract.

We seek to employ on a 12-month full-time basis a highly motivated professional with direct marketing experience to manage our subscriber acquisition & retention functions.

As Direct Marketing Manager you will be responsible for developing integrated direct marketing initiatives to increase and retain subscribers for Advertiser Newspapers.

You will have sound marketing and strategic planning skills, be able to demonstrate strong project management experience in dealing with customer acquisition and retention/loyalty programs, and be able to showcase your strengths in direct marketing, including EDM.

With previous CRM and database experience, and strong analytical skills, you will be working with key internal stakeholders and external data agencies. You will evaluate initiatives, analyse retention strategies and mine your subscriber database for new opportunities and develop predictive models.

These skills will be complimented by a strong commercial acumen in developing and managing campaign budgets, reporting and analysis. Proven experience in a similar role will be beneficial.

Advertiser Newspapers is the leading news media company in Adelaide and a subsidiary of News Limited, the multi-national news, sport and entertainment business. With leading publications such as The Advertiser, the Sunday Mail and AdelaideNow, our brands are household names.

Based in a modern green star office in the Adelaide CBD, we encourage initiative, ownership and confidence. In this vibrant workplace, we also have a gym and a café!

To apply submit a proposal that demonstrates your direct marketing experience and that spikes our interest, succinctly telling us why we should employ you. Don’t forget to attach your resume and send it by email citing ‘DMM and your name’ in the subject header to: resumes@adv.newsltd.com.au.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 17 JUNE 2011

This company is an equal opportunity employer. This company respects your privacy in investigating opportunities for employment. This company may collect information about you. In making application for this position you accept these terms.

CRM Database and Online Projects Coordinator

Sydney CBD location.

Permanent full time role.

Professional Services Firm.

The opportunity:

Allens Arthur Robinson is an international law firm with more than 1,500 employees across 14 offices in Australia, South East Asia and China. An exciting new opportunity exists in our Sydney office to join our passionate and progressive Marketing and Client Services department as a CRM Database and Online Projects Coordinator.

Reporting to the Marketing Infrastructure Manager, this role is responsible for the maintenance and coordination of data within the firm’s CRM database, and implementation of key firm activities that depend on CRM data.

The main responsibilities of this role include:

• liaising with secretaries, partners, business development managers, clients and other resources to ensure that data is entered into the CRM as required;
• supporting marketing users in their use of the CRM database;
• maintaining CRM data accuracy by running regular data reports and carrying out necessary updates;
• reporting against metrics to measure CRM database use and quality;
• extracting and analysing CRM data to respond to ad hoc report requests;
• other CRM database maintenance tasks as required; and
• coordinating strategic projects utilising CRM data.

The best person for the role:

This role is ideally suited to someone who has:

• previous experience in CRM database use and maintenance. Familiarity with InterAction is desirable but it is not a pre-requisite;
• experience coordinating direct marketing campaigns;
• exceptional computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, database querying tools and online survey tools;
• ability to transfer existing computer skills to new online survey software;
• excellent attention to detail;
• great organisational skills and initiative;
• interest in marketing, specifically market research, direct marketing and CRM; and
• ability to think analytically and put forward new ideas

No formal qualifications are required for this position, however a certificate in an IT or Direct Marketing related course will be advantageous. This is a new opportunity within the firm, so you will gain the opportunity to grow and develop this area of the business.

If this role sounds like you, please click here to apply to Penelope Samios, People & Development Coordinator. For more information please call Penelope on (02) 9230 4758, in complete confidence, to discuss taking the next step in your career.

Mature Donor Manager – Fundraising (Sydney, CBD)

Bring your direct response expertise, with solid experience across offline and online channels, and make a difference in lives via one of Australia’s Leading Not for Profit organisations.

Mission Australia is one of Australia’s leading not for profit organisations and still growing! With over 3,200 staff nationally, providing over 550 different services, Mission Australia is an empowering and compassionate organisation that has been helping to transform the lives of Australians in need for more than 150 years. We are innovative, collaborative and values driven. Sound like a team you want to be part of?

As the ‘right hand’ to the National Manager – Donor Acquisition & Retention, you will be responsible for developing and facilitating strategies to acquire, retain and develop donors aged 25-55. Utilising your exceptional strategic planning and relationship management skills you will drive the Mature Donor fundraising strategy and execution, including regular giving, acquisition and donor retention and appeals management.

You will be driven, determined and adaptable. As an experienced marketer, capable of influencing both external suppliers and internal stakeholders, you will enjoy working in a team to achieve group and individual KPIs. This is a great role to be innovative and leave your leagacy!

We want you to succeed in growing Mission Australia’s donor base, increasing the financial support for Mission Australia, which then goes back to helping those in our communities!

For further information and to apply on line, please visit our Mission Australia website Enquiries can directed to Bridget Mudford (02) 92171016.

Applications close COB Monday 30th May.

We support closing the gap in living standards and opportunities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples and other Australians. Full details of Mission Australian’s Reconciliation Action Plan can be locaton on our Mission Australian Website by clicking here

Administration & Marketing Manager

• Flexible permanent part time position;
• Sydney CBD location and working from home flexibility;
• Opportunity to use your marketing ideas and creativity.

BusinessMinds is a boutique data strategy and analytics business that works with large corporate and non-profits to help them use data for business strategy, marketing, finance and fraud detection.

We are looking for a self motivated and creative person to develop our marketing strategy and perform some administration functions.

Working closely with management your role will be able to:

• Work with directors to develop marketing ideas and strategies;
• Create a marketing plan and help execute it;
• Use graphic design skills to develop marketing materials and presentations;
• Plan and organise meetings and events;
• Supervise part-time marketing students in their tasks.

The successful candidate will have:

• The ability to coordinate and prioritise multiple tasks;
• Previous marketing and graphic design experience;
• A strong work ethic and ‘can do’ attitude;
• Good written communication skills with an eye for detail;
• Comprehensive experience with Microsoft packages/databases.

We are open to interviewing people who want permanent part time work. The role will be flexible and can also involve working from home.

Tertiary/industry qualifications are not essential. Salary package (base plus super) and days/hours per week to be negotiated with successful applicant.

For more information about our company please visit our website

If you are interested in this position, please email your CV to Laura Prophet : laura.prophet@businessminds.com.

Marketing Serivces Manager – Digital

Imagine the feeling you’ve made a difference. Create it with us.

At Lend Lease, we pride ourselves on the development of projects that meet the needs of the community and contribute to a sense of ownership and belonging about the space in which people live.

Lend Lease Communities is known nationally as a cutting edge organisation that prides itself on challenging convention in providing sustainable and highly desirable communities to Australians, and we currently have a newly created, national role available in our team.

Collaborating with the Digital Manager, this position will work across all community products to invigorate our digital marketing across Lend Lease communities. You will fully utilise your strong digital marketing and business background as you take responsibility for the development and maintenance of technology solutions relating to sales and marketing operations. This role will see you indentifying and investigating opportunities to improve system processes and training methods as well as reporting requirements and online strategies.

To be successful, you will need to be strong both with online marketing and analysis, and also with communication and customer relationship management. Experience in HTML email design, creation and execution will be essential, as will a background encompassing HTML and graphics software and CRM systems. A demonstrated high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office and Adobe software including the Creative Suite will also be key.

Innovation is critical to the creation and development of our business. We foster an inclusive, caring environment where safety, support and a sense of belonging ensure that innovation can thrive. We want your career with us to have a positive impact on your life, so that we can all make a genuine difference to people’s lives.

Be part of our success. To apply online now, visit jobopportunities.lendlease.com.au/adma or for further information on this or any other role, please call Ciara on (02) 9237 5893.

General Manager

• Growing membership association serving the privacy profession in Australia and New Zealand
• Excellent leadership & entrepreneurial opportunity
• Flexible working conditions and location

The Board of Directors is looking for a General Manager (p/t) to grow the association. Significant opportunities exist to expand the role as the association thrives. This is a senior management role reporting to the Board of Directors, through the President.

In this fantastic role you will be required to:

• Manage a profitable annual conference and sponsors;
• Grow membership base and raise sponsorship dollars;
• Manage member facing benefits, such as seminars and other events that may be run (expect approximately 9 per year in major capital cities;
• Liaise with professional association management service (PAMS) in relation to member renewals and other functions managed by PAMS;
• Communicate and develop marketing materials to promote the association;
• Update association’s website as directed;
• Manage training/certification.

You will need:

• Ability to professionally represent the association and match its needs to member interests;
• Event & relationship management skills and experience;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Ability to work autonomously and report to a Board of Directors;
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, reliable and highly organised;
• Some knowledge of privacy or the privacy industry desirable.

The ideal person for this role will be entrepreneurial and be a champion for customer service. You need to be comfortable reporting to a Board of Directors, be an approachable individual and have a commitment to continuous improvement and the ability to build and maintain rapport with members and stakeholders.

Contact: Please send your resume to the Vice-President of the Association at annelies@iappanz.org or call 02 9514 4930.

Senior Account Manager

Senior Account Manager needed to join busy Automotive team in CBD Agency. Work as an extension of client team in this award winning agency.If you have been a SAM for a year and are looking for an opportunity and have a passion for car accounts then this is the role for you.

In this fantastic role you will be required to:

• Working across various on and offline projects including eNewsletters, eDM’s, Direct mail packs as well as some website maintenance;
• Reporting to a highly regarded AD and manage an AM and AE;
• We’re looking for a candidate that will work hard and play hard and work in a tight-knit team;
• Up to $80k for the right candidate.

Experience needed:

• Have run Direct Mail, EDM, web site projects from brief through to results, attention to detail and being process oriented is a must for this role;
• Prospect and Customer Communications including trigger based eDMs, eNewsletters, Data cleanses, Promotions and third-party partnerships;
• Have the ability to think strategically about campaigns and projects, and look to for new opportunities to grow the account;
• Fleet communications (B2B);
• Have a can-do attitude and be a team player;
• Be a creative thinker and have an innovative attitude;
• 4 years experience in a direct and digital Agency as minimum.

The Agency:

• Largely recognised as the best independent Direct Agency in town;
• CBD location;
• Great culture and focus on training.

To apply please send your CV to jane@recruit-direct.com.au.

CRM Executive

• Highly valued position within growing marketing team;
• Varied responsibilities with an opportunity to work with a range of key executives, dealership personnel and third party suppliers;
• Outstanding career opportunity.

Our client is one of the world’s leading prestige automotive brands with an outstanding reputation for design, engineering and customer engagement. The company is now looking for an experienced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Executive to oversee its customer experience program in Australia. Reporting to the General Manager – Communications, this role will be based in the national headquarters in South Sydney.

The overall responsibility of this position is to manage the national CRM program in a way that maximises customer retention and brand loyalty. Some specific responsibilities of the position include:

• Regular input into the company’s direct marketing strategy and communications plan;
• Ongoing development of targeted CRM campaigns and analysis of the impact of those campaigns;
• Development of processes for effective customer database management;
• Regular liaison with internal managers and third party providers.

To be considered for this position, you will have:

• 3 – 4 years experience in a similar role;
• Proven skills in database management and statistics;
• Strong people management and interpersonal skills;
• Exceptional organisational skills and process management.

For more information, please call Amanda Lintott on (02) 9699 3144 or email alintott@careerdriven.com.au.

Direct Marketing Campaign Manager – Charity

• Excellent benefits and work environment;
• Loads of opportunity;
• 6 month contract.

Is it your passion to work for a non-profit organisation, with excellent benefits, loads of opportunity and in a fulfilling work environment? Well, if you are an experienced and talented direct marketing campaign manager with solid direct mail, eDM and charity experience – then this is the opportunity for you.

This is a contract role for 6 months in which time you will be working across an extensive Donor Marketing Program including acquisition, retention, bequests, In Mem and Trusts and Foundations.

The responsibilities of this role include:

• Assisting in the development of sustainable revenue by increasing the number of new donors, retention of existing donors and improving the income generation by developing and implementing other ways to give;
• Providing strategic input to Marketing plans(including acquisition, retention, bequest, major gifts, and In mem as required);
• Developing, implementing and managing the day-to-day running of the program across all marketing campaigns and campaign project management;
• Communicating with divisional fundraising staff on strategies within the marketing team and provide guidance and direction on divisional implementation and management of these strategies;
• Managing budgets and implement control measures to ensure project cost effectiveness;
• Developing and building key internal and external stakeholder relationships;
• Monitoring and reporting on campaign performance.

This position reports to and works closely with the National Direct Marketing Manager and liaises with the Data and Fundraising teams locally and nationally.

Being a non-profit organisation there are excellent income tax incentives, but there is also the opportunity to work in a fulfilling work environment and contribute, directly and indirectly, to the process of helping improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

To apply for this exciting and rewarding opportunity, eamil your CV today to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or calling on 02 9965 7255.

Data Account Manager

• Excellent client list & great $;
• Fantastic working environment;
• Opportunity to grow your career.

Our client is an established industry specialist in data driven marketing. They have an excellent client base across a number of industry sectors including financial services, entertainment and utilities.

The Key Accounts Manager role is focused providing direct marketing solutions to key clients through comprehensive data provision, data processing and email marketing. This exciting opportunity also requires someone who is excellent at building existing client business and revenue streams, servicing key accounts to meet every day requirements and proactively building account plans.

The role:

• Provide written proposals for each client activity;
• Briefing internal and external operations teams with regards to data provision, data processing and quotes required;
• Working with the sales co-ordinator to raise order forms for all projects;
• Liaising with production to ensure data and solutions are sent to the client within the correct timeframes and to ensure that the output is correct;
• Liaising with and sourcing information from all suppliers;
• Managing client campaigns and expectations;
• Addressing the day-to-day requirements of all clients promptly and professionally;
• Building account plans, including data strategies, for each account and progressing accounts to annual purchase agreements;
• Establishing client goals through consultative dialogue and matching these to appropriate data opportunities;
• Maintaining an accurate forecast of client activity and profitability;
• Continually developing and growing strong supplier relationships to ensure high service levels;
• Administration responsibilities including reporting and invoicing.

Required skills and experience:

• 3 – 5 years of data account management;
• Experience managing relationships and understand data driven marketing solutions;
• A good understanding of analytical data solutions;
• Experience managing blue chip clients with data spends in excess of $300,000 per year;
• Great customer service skills;
• Excellent relationship management skills;
• Good project management and administration skills;
• Good attention to detail;
• Strong organisational skills;
• Proactive and solutions focused;
• Excellent communication skills;
• A great attitude;
• A great sense of humour.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a successful business with a great working environment, to work with a supportive and experienced manager who is dedicated to developing their staff and helping them grow their careers.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, apply today by emailing Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct on emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or by calling 02 9965 7255.

Marketing Communications Specialist – Investments

• Opportunity to work on online product launch;
• Work closely with agency partners;
• High profile online bank.

This contract role is with an exciting, fast paced, high profile online bank working on investment and managed fund products. This is an opportunity to be part of an established and dedicated digital and direct marketing team. This role is a real opportunity to strengthen and perfect your significant digital and direct marketing communication skills.

This fantastic role is a 6 month contract, in which you will be required to:

• Write web content, provide input to digital team for website content page design and delivery for product launch;
• Brief design agency where required for design elements to support web content;
• Develop and liaise with agency on customer automated emails – including content, design and delivery;
• Prepare customer Marketing Communications Plan for product launch cross sell;
• Develop and implement customer marcoms to support product launch and exciting product cross sell campaigns;
• Produce copy and content as required to support the campaigns;
• Work closely with Digital team to review current web content and IA in view of an existing strategy, devise the way forward and implement, new managed funds and investor centre areas of the website;
• Rewrite copy or deliver new content where required to meet requirements of the original website interaction specifications for these areas;
• Ensure key project milestones are met;
• Create timeline and action plan for delivery of all elements;
• Provide weekly updates on progress against timelines to Marketing Manager;
• Cross train marketing team members to empower them to continue with the cross and up sell implementation.

For this role you will need to be a very experienced digital marketer and have a proven track record in delivering digital and direct campaign for investment and managed fund products. You will be someone who is skilled at managing agency relationships, managing stakeholder expectations, process oriented and deadline focused.

This is a fantastic opportunity with an excellent organisation and is exactly the type of role you have been waiting for – apply today. Email your resume to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au, or call 02 9965 7255 – hurry, this role will not be around for long.

Senior Marketing Analyst

• Australia’s Leading Behavioural Marketing Agency;
• North Shore Location – close to rail;
• Excellent Working Environment – loads of variety.

Our client is a leading behavioural marketing company that provides best practice data analytics across a number of high profile brands.

The work is varied and very interesting, the client categories include leisure, fitness, automotive, retail, motoring clubs and fashion.

They have a cutting edge Data Insight team and are growing fast. They are looking for someone who has approximately 5 years relevant experience, the ability to take the lead with clients, has excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, data literate with a logical approach and is highly detailed focused.

This role also requires:

• Leadership and team management/mentoring experience;
• Develop promotional programs in line with a predetermined customer contact strategy;
• Proven understanding and experience of database marketing, modelling and statistical tools;
• Demonstrated capability to deliver marketing data/communications strategies;
• Experience in executing statical analysis techniques, data manipulation, profiling, segmentation and using database marketing/CRM systems;
• Ability to design and execute multi-channel marketing campaigns;
• Experience in testing and measurement of data-oriented marketing activities;
• Proven understanding and experience of database interrogation using a range of software tools including SQL, Business Objects, Unica, Cognos, Alterian;
• Email marketing experience;
• Continued review of financial results to develop improved customer contacts and CVP;
• Previous experience of geodemographic classifications (MOSAIC/GeoSmart).

If you are excited by this role, email your resume to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct today, emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or call on 02 9965 7255.

Online Acquisition Specialist

• Manage digital campaigns for online bank;
• SEO & strong understanding of analytics;
• Opportunity to work closely with agency.

This is a 6 month contract role and is your opportunity to work with a leading online bank. You will report into the Digital Marketing Manager and will run online marketing campaigns with involvement in technical areas, including acquisitions, media marketing campaigns, direct marketing, agency liaison, SEO, SEM and ongoing maintenance of public websites.

The role:

• Maintain/update websites including optimisation improvements;
• Reporting and analysis of online campaigns and website analytics;
• Have an aptitude for creative interest and contribute to the successful development, implementation, and monitoring of marketing campaigns;
• Technical problem solving across all technical areas, including CMS, creative, tools, testing and website management;
• Provide campaign and website reports, analysis and recommendations;
• With the search agency, report SEO results and recommendations;
• $85K plus Super.

Experience needed:

• Sound knowledge and understanding all digital marketing disciplines including acquisition campaigns, website optimisation, search, CRM;
• Can manage digital and media agency relationships at the campaign development and implementation level;
• Can problem solve at both a technical and tactical level, including being able to fix html/xml coding;
• Understand and implement improvements to the path to purchase online;
• Web analytics, e.g. Google Analytics, WebTrends;
• Familiarity with blogs, social media sites and tools – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc and related third-party applications – and their use in consumer marketing, particularly in the finance industry;
• Strong attention to detail and organisational skills;
• Experience on the client side or experience on the agency side working directly with developers.

The company:

• Centrally located CBD;
• Fantastic benefits including discounted mortgage;
• Bonus scheme linked to results;
• International Bank.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, you should apply for today, email your resume to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct, or call 02 9965 7255 – hurry, this role will not be around for long.

Direct Marketing Specialist

Get going from the get-go in a role that will see you flexing Direct Marketing muscle and delivering brand-leading ad campaigns from day one.

A team player with CRM smarts and ‘big picture’ passion, you’ll be providing specialist expertise across all stages of the Direct Marketing campaign execution process from briefing to reviewing, performance tracking and PIR. Your ability to build productive rapport with agencies and customers will enable you to deftly acquire new customers and maximise present relationships.

With a constant focus on ongoing customer cycle campaigns, we need an analytical and experienced marketer who can think on their feet, keep eyes on the prize and drive forward emerging direct marketing creative and data targeting.

Ideal candidates will posses the following:

• Significant Direct Marketing experience, including managing stakeholders;
• Attention to detail and Multi-tasking with multiple campaigns;
• Experience with data and analysis as well as creative and execution;
• ADMA in Digital or Direct Marketing;
• A degree in Business, Marketing or Communication.

In exchange for the above, you will be provided with:

• Opportunities for career progression with one of Australia’s largest insurers;
• Continued learning & development, including nationally recognised courses;
• Committed, outgoing team with solid work ethic;
• Great Sydney CBD location.

If you are interested, please apply today! If you require further information, you can contact Peter Coates on 02 9292 9751.

Marketing Analyst

• Do you want to work for a global, fast growing customer-driven insight and data business?
• Are you analytical with strong problem solving skills?
• Do you enjoy working with numbers and thrive when analysing data?

THE COMPANY:

LMG Insight & Communication, a customer-driven insight and data analytics business offering worldwide services to retailers and their suppliers, is owned by Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a leading international loyalty management corporation.

LMG Insight & Communication have developed a partnership with Coles to provide unparalleled insight into consumers’ shopping trends, for the purpose of conducting targeted marketing campaigns through a variety of channels including direct mail, email and in-store.

THE POSITION:

Employed by LMG as their Marketing Analyst you will be responsible for the analytical development & evaluation of Coles and FMCG supplier marketing campaigns which increase loyalty, improve category spend and drive/short-term trade volume. The job holder will be required to use a blend of knowledge in the retail and FMCG sectors along with their technical expertise to deliver high quality insight & expertise to Coles and FMCG suppliers.

As Marketing Analyst your responsibilities will include:

• Optimise the customer selections for marketing campaigns to ensure that campaign objectives are met. They will include increasing sales / loyalty / profitability whilst managing costs & minimising customer complaints;
• Deliver data selections to ensure that campaign deadlines are met optimising the campaign delivery efficiency;
• Effective stakeholder management, communicating campaign targeting & performance across Loyalty, Marketing, Customer division & rest of the business where relevant;
• Robustly analyse campaign performance managing the business expectations & ensure that learning is identified & driven into campaign strategy as well as marketing spend efficiency;
• Conduct project based analytics delivering valuable and actionable marketing insights to support strategic decisions across the business;
• Accurately record marketing campaigns performance for historic performance tracking.

THE PERSON:

Your strong analytical skills coupled with your excellent interpersonal skills will see you achieve great results in this position.

In addition you will:

• A University graduate in a numerate or analytical discipline (e.g. Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering);
• A minimum of 3 years experience in data analysis using large consumer databases;
• Experience in the development and execution of marketing campaigns;
• Ability to write, interrogate and interpret database code (SAS, SQL).

For further information please contact Brooke on 0430 550 081 or alternatively email your resume to info@intergreat.com.au.

Senior Account Manager

• Do you want to work for a global, fast growing customer-driven marketing and data business?
• Are you commercial with strong client management skills?
• Do you enjoy working in a fast moving environment and thrive in a sales focussed role?

THE COMPANY:

LMG Insight & Communication, a customer-driven insight and data analytics business offering worldwide services to retailers and their suppliers, is owned by Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a leading international loyalty management corporation.

LMG Insight & Communication have developed a partnership with Coles to provide unparalleled insight into consumers’ shopping trends, for the purpose of conducting targeted marketing campaigns through a variety of channels including direct mail, email and in-store.

THE POSITION:

Employed by LMG as their Senior Account Manager you will be responsible for the sales, management and successful delivery of data-driven communication campaigns for FMCG suppliers of Coles.

You will be based within the heart of Coles organisation at their store support centre. You will leverage the range of targeted communication channels within Coles to deliver high impact campaigns to Coles FMCG suppliers.

The Senior Account Managers strategic accountabilities are:

• Manage activity for your FMCG Suppliers and deliver against budget and timelines, working with (and managing where appropriate) key contacts at Coles (creative development) and FlyBuys (print/production);
• Responsible for the delivery of an individual sales target as part of the LMG commercial team;
• Provide support to Account Director, specifically focusing on the sale and execution of Communication campaigns;
• Develop your knowledge of the LMG business, database marketing and Coles and Suppliers’ businesses to educate and present Insight led Communication benefits & features;
• Utilize appropriate processes and document templates to ensure that all parties are briefed correctly to facilitate efficient project management;
• Ensure that results are communicated to FMCG Suppliers at appropriate times, meeting the individual requirements of each brief;
• To manage the launch of new propositions within allocated client base;
• Research/monitor industry trends and related competitive threats, assess new market opportunities as appropriate to the I&C business and its key FMCG Suppliers.

THE PERSON:

You will believe in rising to a challenge, delivering excellent service. You will be energetic in your approach and passionate about the execution of your ideas.

Experience level and technical requirements:

• University degree – ideally marketing major preferred or equivalent business experience;
• Significant (3 years+) postgraduate experience, to include solid client-related marketing experience, ideally in retail or FMCG;
• Ability to manage suppliers at all levels; proven sales and negotiation skills, articulate and confident;
• Experience of Insight tools & services, targeting communications (with focus on retail accounts);
• Excellent project management/communication/presentation skills, well organised and detail orientated;
• Self motivated with an understanding of analytics and the creative development process;
• High energy, proactive and a team player.

For further information please contact Brooke on 0430 550 081 or alternatively email your resume to info@intergreat.com.au.

The Google Streetview of where the viewer grew up and a letter to their younger self features in the 2011 Cannes,  Cyber Lions, Grand Prix winner – The Wilderness Downtown.

The objective of the case study was to connect users with modern browsers such as Google Chrome. The Arcade Fire  video clip was the first music experience developed entirely in HTML 5. It is personalised, geo-targeted and interactive to show what the modern web looks like and how it can make us feel. Check out the award winning video below:

The Australian branch of Ogilvy 360° Digital Influence, the social networking arm of the Ogilvy company, announced this week that it hired an additional seven employees to its team on the back of significant growth and demand for social media expertise, practically doubling its number of employees.

Graham White, managing director of Ogilvy 360° Digital Influence in Australia, believes that, despite the industry’s interest and activities in social media-based marketing, traditional channels remain relevant and just as popular as ever.

However, as far as the future of direct marketing is concerned, White is pragmatic but also realistic. “The days of collateral falling through your letterbox must have a shelf life of a few years,” says White. “Having said that I’m sure that, depending on online habits, there’s still a large slice of the Australian population there reaching in through printed material put through the letterbox is still an effective channel. Not everyone in Australia is online, or if they are online, they’re not online as much as others. But it’s got to evolve, in an effective and credible way.

“We’re seeing different disciplines becoming more integrated together,” says White. “I’m certainly not seeing social media revenue being taken from public relations revenue, because PR is so important, but what we are seeing is that part of those campaigns that we develop, there tends to be a social media component…I think it’s very healthy and I’m certainly not seeing or hearing that social media is at the detriment to another discipline. They’re just putting social media into the mix.”

Despite White’s affirmation that investment by businesses in social media technology is not draining funding away from traditional marketing channels, he does suggest that a shift in resources is occurring, but stresses that it’s merely a portion of a larger campaign budget. “I think our clients are finding revenue as a part of their marketing budget that they are spending on social media,” he says.

The company reported a revenue growth of 440% since 2009, and expects to hire yet another two experts in the field by the end of August.

Blue Star DM is part of the Blue Star Group with print & mail operations in Melbourne, Sydney & Canberra. Our focus is customized Direct Mail. We are rapidly expanding our Melbourne mail operation and require a Business Development Executive.

This is an exciting opportunity to grow with a dynamic business, reporting direct to the General Manager. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, a proven success in sales of at least 3 years and an understanding of mail house operations. Print knowledge will also be well regarded.

Responsibilities will include:

• Qualify & develop new business opportunities
• Prepare business proposals and quotations
• Provide weekly/monthly sales and new business reports

The Blue Star Group is an employer of choice in the Australasian print & mail industry. Our operations are well resourced with the latest equipment and housed in modern facilities. This is a unique opportunity for a self motivated sales professional looking for a well rewarded sales career.

Salary: Package will be generous & negotiable upon experience.

Please mail or email your resume including details of your previous sales experience to:

John Taylor

General Manager – Victoria

Blue Star DM

Unit 1 / 3 Nursery Avenue, Clayton Business Park, Clayton, Vic 3168

Email: john.taylor@bluestargroup.com.au

National Direct Response Manager

Join a leading national charity and help improve the lives of people with blood cancers

Opportunity to assist the Leukaemia Foundation in its Vision to Cure, Mission to Care

• Newly created full time role
• Adelaide based
• Competitive salary with packaging benefits

The Leukaemia Foundation is seeking a direct marketing specialist for a newly created national role, based at our office in Findon, South Australia. The National Direct Response Manager will work alongside the National Fundraising Manager to establish and manage an integrated direct response fundraising program.

Key responsibilities include:

• Establish and manage an integrated direct response fundraising program using multiple media including mail, email, mobile technology and social media
• Implement and manage the direct response fundraising calendar including donor acquisition, migration, renewal and upgrade appeals, in-memoriam giving and bequest prospecting.
• Build, implement and evaluate direct response test strategies.

The ideal applicant will possess:

• 3+ years in consumer direct marketing
• Demonstrated experience in managing an integrated direct marketing program utilising new technologies
• Proven ability to manage multiple campaigns concurrently
• Strong strategic data skills and experience using Customer Relationship Management databases and MS Office
• A degree in Marketing or related field will be highly regarded.

For a copy of the position description and selection criteria, please email: nvial@leukaemia.org.au

Applications addressing the selection criteria should be sent via email to nvial@leukaemia.org.au or mailed to Leukaemia Foundation, GPO Box 9954, Adelaide SA 5001.

Applications close 5pm Friday, 4 July.

The Leukaemia Foundation is the only national not for profit organisation dedicated to the care and cure of patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders.

Direct Marketing Manager

12-month Maternity Leave Contract.

We seek to employ on a 12-month full-time basis a highly motivated professional with direct marketing experience to manage our subscriber acquisition & retention functions.

As Direct Marketing Manager you will be responsible for developing integrated direct marketing initiatives to increase and retain subscribers for Advertiser Newspapers.

You will have sound marketing and strategic planning skills, be able to demonstrate strong project management experience in dealing with customer acquisition and retention/loyalty programs, and be able to showcase your strengths in direct marketing, including EDM.

With previous CRM and database experience, and strong analytical skills, you will be working with key internal stakeholders and external data agencies. You will evaluate initiatives, analyse retention strategies and mine your subscriber database for new opportunities and develop predictive models.

These skills will be complimented by a strong commercial acumen in developing and managing campaign budgets, reporting and analysis. Proven experience in a similar role will be beneficial.

Advertiser Newspapers is the leading news media company in Adelaide and a subsidiary of News Limited, the multi-national news, sport and entertainment business. With leading publications such as The Advertiser, the Sunday Mail and AdelaideNow, our brands are household names.

Based in a modern green star office in the Adelaide CBD, we encourage initiative, ownership and confidence. In this vibrant workplace, we also have a gym and a café!

To apply submit a proposal that demonstrates your direct marketing experience and that spikes our interest, succinctly telling us why we should employ you. Don’t forget to attach your resume and send it by email citing ‘DMM and your name’ in the subject header to: resumes@adv.newsltd.com.au.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 17 JUNE 2011

This company is an equal opportunity employer. This company respects your privacy in investigating opportunities for employment. This company may collect information about you. In making application for this position you accept these terms.

CRM Database and Online Projects Coordinator

Sydney CBD location.

Permanent full time role.

Professional Services Firm.

The opportunity:

Allens Arthur Robinson is an international law firm with more than 1,500 employees across 14 offices in Australia, South East Asia and China. An exciting new opportunity exists in our Sydney office to join our passionate and progressive Marketing and Client Services department as a CRM Database and Online Projects Coordinator.

Reporting to the Marketing Infrastructure Manager, this role is responsible for the maintenance and coordination of data within the firm’s CRM database, and implementation of key firm activities that depend on CRM data.

The main responsibilities of this role include:

• liaising with secretaries, partners, business development managers, clients and other resources to ensure that data is entered into the CRM as required;
• supporting marketing users in their use of the CRM database;
• maintaining CRM data accuracy by running regular data reports and carrying out necessary updates;
• reporting against metrics to measure CRM database use and quality;
• extracting and analysing CRM data to respond to ad hoc report requests;
• other CRM database maintenance tasks as required; and
• coordinating strategic projects utilising CRM data.

The best person for the role:

This role is ideally suited to someone who has:

• previous experience in CRM database use and maintenance. Familiarity with InterAction is desirable but it is not a pre-requisite;
• experience coordinating direct marketing campaigns;
• exceptional computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, database querying tools and online survey tools;
• ability to transfer existing computer skills to new online survey software;
• excellent attention to detail;
• great organisational skills and initiative;
• interest in marketing, specifically market research, direct marketing and CRM; and
• ability to think analytically and put forward new ideas

No formal qualifications are required for this position, however a certificate in an IT or Direct Marketing related course will be advantageous. This is a new opportunity within the firm, so you will gain the opportunity to grow and develop this area of the business.

If this role sounds like you, please click here to apply to Penelope Samios, People & Development Coordinator. For more information please call Penelope on (02) 9230 4758, in complete confidence, to discuss taking the next step in your career.

Mature Donor Manager – Fundraising (Sydney, CBD)

Bring your direct response expertise, with solid experience across offline and online channels, and make a difference in lives via one of Australia’s Leading Not for Profit organisations.

Mission Australia is one of Australia’s leading not for profit organisations and still growing! With over 3,200 staff nationally, providing over 550 different services, Mission Australia is an empowering and compassionate organisation that has been helping to transform the lives of Australians in need for more than 150 years. We are innovative, collaborative and values driven. Sound like a team you want to be part of?

As the ‘right hand’ to the National Manager – Donor Acquisition & Retention, you will be responsible for developing and facilitating strategies to acquire, retain and develop donors aged 25-55. Utilising your exceptional strategic planning and relationship management skills you will drive the Mature Donor fundraising strategy and execution, including regular giving, acquisition and donor retention and appeals management.

You will be driven, determined and adaptable. As an experienced marketer, capable of influencing both external suppliers and internal stakeholders, you will enjoy working in a team to achieve group and individual KPIs. This is a great role to be innovative and leave your leagacy!

We want you to succeed in growing Mission Australia’s donor base, increasing the financial support for Mission Australia, which then goes back to helping those in our communities!

For further information and to apply on line, please visit our Mission Australia website Enquiries can directed to Bridget Mudford (02) 92171016.

Applications close COB Monday 30th May.

We support closing the gap in living standards and opportunities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples and other Australians. Full details of Mission Australian’s Reconciliation Action Plan can be locaton on our Mission Australian Website by clicking here

Administration & Marketing Manager

• Flexible permanent part time position;
• Sydney CBD location and working from home flexibility;
• Opportunity to use your marketing ideas and creativity.

BusinessMinds is a boutique data strategy and analytics business that works with large corporate and non-profits to help them use data for business strategy, marketing, finance and fraud detection.

We are looking for a self motivated and creative person to develop our marketing strategy and perform some administration functions.

Working closely with management your role will be able to:

• Work with directors to develop marketing ideas and strategies;
• Create a marketing plan and help execute it;
• Use graphic design skills to develop marketing materials and presentations;
• Plan and organise meetings and events;
• Supervise part-time marketing students in their tasks.

The successful candidate will have:

• The ability to coordinate and prioritise multiple tasks;
• Previous marketing and graphic design experience;
• A strong work ethic and ‘can do’ attitude;
• Good written communication skills with an eye for detail;
• Comprehensive experience with Microsoft packages/databases.

We are open to interviewing people who want permanent part time work. The role will be flexible and can also involve working from home.

Tertiary/industry qualifications are not essential. Salary package (base plus super) and days/hours per week to be negotiated with successful applicant.

For more information about our company please visit our website

If you are interested in this position, please email your CV to Laura Prophet : laura.prophet@businessminds.com.

Marketing Serivces Manager – Digital

Imagine the feeling you’ve made a difference. Create it with us.

At Lend Lease, we pride ourselves on the development of projects that meet the needs of the community and contribute to a sense of ownership and belonging about the space in which people live.

Lend Lease Communities is known nationally as a cutting edge organisation that prides itself on challenging convention in providing sustainable and highly desirable communities to Australians, and we currently have a newly created, national role available in our team.

Collaborating with the Digital Manager, this position will work across all community products to invigorate our digital marketing across Lend Lease communities. You will fully utilise your strong digital marketing and business background as you take responsibility for the development and maintenance of technology solutions relating to sales and marketing operations. This role will see you indentifying and investigating opportunities to improve system processes and training methods as well as reporting requirements and online strategies.

To be successful, you will need to be strong both with online marketing and analysis, and also with communication and customer relationship management. Experience in HTML email design, creation and execution will be essential, as will a background encompassing HTML and graphics software and CRM systems. A demonstrated high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office and Adobe software including the Creative Suite will also be key.

Innovation is critical to the creation and development of our business. We foster an inclusive, caring environment where safety, support and a sense of belonging ensure that innovation can thrive. We want your career with us to have a positive impact on your life, so that we can all make a genuine difference to people’s lives.

Be part of our success. To apply online now, visit jobopportunities.lendlease.com.au/adma or for further information on this or any other role, please call Ciara on (02) 9237 5893.

General Manager

• Growing membership association serving the privacy profession in Australia and New Zealand
• Excellent leadership & entrepreneurial opportunity
• Flexible working conditions and location

The Board of Directors is looking for a General Manager (p/t) to grow the association. Significant opportunities exist to expand the role as the association thrives. This is a senior management role reporting to the Board of Directors, through the President.

In this fantastic role you will be required to:

• Manage a profitable annual conference and sponsors;
• Grow membership base and raise sponsorship dollars;
• Manage member facing benefits, such as seminars and other events that may be run (expect approximately 9 per year in major capital cities;
• Liaise with professional association management service (PAMS) in relation to member renewals and other functions managed by PAMS;
• Communicate and develop marketing materials to promote the association;
• Update association’s website as directed;
• Manage training/certification.

You will need:

• Ability to professionally represent the association and match its needs to member interests;
• Event & relationship management skills and experience;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Ability to work autonomously and report to a Board of Directors;
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic, reliable and highly organised;
• Some knowledge of privacy or the privacy industry desirable.

The ideal person for this role will be entrepreneurial and be a champion for customer service. You need to be comfortable reporting to a Board of Directors, be an approachable individual and have a commitment to continuous improvement and the ability to build and maintain rapport with members and stakeholders.

Contact: Please send your resume to the Vice-President of the Association at annelies@iappanz.org or call 02 9514 4930.

Senior Account Manager

Senior Account Manager needed to join busy Automotive team in CBD Agency. Work as an extension of client team in this award winning agency.If you have been a SAM for a year and are looking for an opportunity and have a passion for car accounts then this is the role for you.

In this fantastic role you will be required to:

• Working across various on and offline projects including eNewsletters, eDM’s, Direct mail packs as well as some website maintenance;
• Reporting to a highly regarded AD and manage an AM and AE;
• We’re looking for a candidate that will work hard and play hard and work in a tight-knit team;
• Up to $80k for the right candidate.

Experience needed:

• Have run Direct Mail, EDM, web site projects from brief through to results, attention to detail and being process oriented is a must for this role;
• Prospect and Customer Communications including trigger based eDMs, eNewsletters, Data cleanses, Promotions and third-party partnerships;
• Have the ability to think strategically about campaigns and projects, and look to for new opportunities to grow the account;
• Fleet communications (B2B);
• Have a can-do attitude and be a team player;
• Be a creative thinker and have an innovative attitude;
• 4 years experience in a direct and digital Agency as minimum.

The Agency:

• Largely recognised as the best independent Direct Agency in town;
• CBD location;
• Great culture and focus on training.

To apply please send your CV to jane@recruit-direct.com.au.

CRM Executive

• Highly valued position within growing marketing team;
• Varied responsibilities with an opportunity to work with a range of key executives, dealership personnel and third party suppliers;
• Outstanding career opportunity.

Our client is one of the world’s leading prestige automotive brands with an outstanding reputation for design, engineering and customer engagement. The company is now looking for an experienced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Executive to oversee its customer experience program in Australia. Reporting to the General Manager – Communications, this role will be based in the national headquarters in South Sydney.

The overall responsibility of this position is to manage the national CRM program in a way that maximises customer retention and brand loyalty. Some specific responsibilities of the position include:

• Regular input into the company’s direct marketing strategy and communications plan;
• Ongoing development of targeted CRM campaigns and analysis of the impact of those campaigns;
• Development of processes for effective customer database management;
• Regular liaison with internal managers and third party providers.

To be considered for this position, you will have:

• 3 – 4 years experience in a similar role;
• Proven skills in database management and statistics;
• Strong people management and interpersonal skills;
• Exceptional organisational skills and process management.

For more information, please call Amanda Lintott on (02) 9699 3144 or email alintott@careerdriven.com.au.

Direct Marketing Campaign Manager – Charity

• Excellent benefits and work environment;
• Loads of opportunity;
• 6 month contract.

Is it your passion to work for a non-profit organisation, with excellent benefits, loads of opportunity and in a fulfilling work environment? Well, if you are an experienced and talented direct marketing campaign manager with solid direct mail, eDM and charity experience – then this is the opportunity for you.

This is a contract role for 6 months in which time you will be working across an extensive Donor Marketing Program including acquisition, retention, bequests, In Mem and Trusts and Foundations.

The responsibilities of this role include:

• Assisting in the development of sustainable revenue by increasing the number of new donors, retention of existing donors and improving the income generation by developing and implementing other ways to give;
• Providing strategic input to Marketing plans(including acquisition, retention, bequest, major gifts, and In mem as required);
• Developing, implementing and managing the day-to-day running of the program across all marketing campaigns and campaign project management;
• Communicating with divisional fundraising staff on strategies within the marketing team and provide guidance and direction on divisional implementation and management of these strategies;
• Managing budgets and implement control measures to ensure project cost effectiveness;
• Developing and building key internal and external stakeholder relationships;
• Monitoring and reporting on campaign performance.

This position reports to and works closely with the National Direct Marketing Manager and liaises with the Data and Fundraising teams locally and nationally.

Being a non-profit organisation there are excellent income tax incentives, but there is also the opportunity to work in a fulfilling work environment and contribute, directly and indirectly, to the process of helping improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

To apply for this exciting and rewarding opportunity, eamil your CV today to Emma-Jane Toscan at Recruit Direct emmajane@recruit-direct.com.au or calling on 02 9965 7255.

Data Account Manager

• Excellent client list & great $;
• Fantastic working environment;
• Opportunity to grow your career.

Our client is an established industry specialist in data driven marketing. They have an excellent client base across a number of industry sectors including financial services, entertainment and utilities.

The Key Accounts Manager role is focused providing direct marketing solutions to key clients through comprehensive data provision, data processing and email marketing. This exciting opportunity also requires someone who is excellent at building existing client business and revenue streams, servicing key accounts to meet every day requirements and proactively building account plans.