12 BRAND JOURNEY
STEERING
OUT OF THE SKID It’s been a tricky few years for Vodafone. After customers staged a mass exodus and it aired one of the most controversial TVCs in recent times, things are finally starting to look up for the telco in Australia. Now it’s recorded its first mobile subscriber growth in almost two years – is the brand on its way back up?
A
fter the storm comes the rainbow. Vodafone Hutchinson Australia recently recorded its first mobile subscriber growth in almost two years. Back in 2010, the telco boasted 7.5 million mobile subscribers, but by November 2013 that figure had dropped to just under five million. (Compare that to the 15.3 million mobile customers of rival Telstra or the 9.4 million of Optus.) December marked the first period of positive growth for the company in almost two years – mostly due to a temporary promotion that doubled the amount of download data available to new customers, as well as a move to cut the cost of global roaming. The company now claims to have signed over a million customers to its 4G network and has added 40 percent more network coverage over the last 18 months. It’s network improvements such as these that have formed the core of Vodafone’s rebirth message.
MARKETING | APRIL/MAY 2014 | www.marketingmag.com.au
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MEDIA USAGE, METRICS & PRESSURES SINCE 1985 STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP HAS BEEN CONDUCTING ITS MEDIA FUTURES SURVEY, ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE PREDICTORS OF EXPECTED ADVERTISING BUDGET CHANGES. IT IS THE ONLY SURVEY OF ITS KIND OF NATIONAL ADVERTISERS AND KEY MEDIA EXECUTIVES AROUND THE COUNTRY. HERE WE PRESENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ADVERTISER SECTION: WHERE THEY EXPECT TO DIRECT SPEND, WHAT THEY USE, HOW THEY MEASURE AND WHAT MANAGEMENT IS PRESSURING THEM ABOUT. *
ABOVE THE LINE : PREDICTED BUDGET CHANGE
8%
9.3%
Futures Advertiser predicted budget change (%)
6.1%
6% 4%
Notes: Question: ‘By what percentage do you expect your total paid advertising spending in traditional ‘ATL’ activities to increase or decrease in 2014 compared to 2013?’ Projections are unweighted and do not take into account advertisers’ current media spend. Base: total advertiser sample excluding ‘don’t know’ responses and high/low extremes which would have skewed the results.
CPI city weighted percentage increase (% September QTR)
2.3% 2.6%
2% 0%
RMR consumer confidence rating (range shown is 100.2–126.7)
-2% 2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
-4%
2000
MEDIA FORTUNE TELLING 5 CENTS
10%
ABOVE THE LINE : USED IN 2013 VS EXPECTED IN 2014
OVERALL CHANGE IN BUDGET FOR PAID: +2.2%
Notes: This question indicates usage which may not align with spend. Questions: “Which of the following above the line media has your company used for advertising in 2013?” and “Which above the line media are you planning on using for your advertising in 2014?” Base: total advertiser sample.
7%
11% Media used in 2013 (%) Media expected to use in 2014 (%) Biggest expected growth
100% V/ PAY T
SUBS
CRIP
TV TION
80%
7%
60%
Media used in 2013 (%) Media expected to use in 2014 (%) Biggest expected growth
40% 20% 0% * Fieldwork was conducted from November 2012 through to January 2013. This year’s report includes an expanded channel list and has been redefined from simply above and below ‘the line’ to include questions about owned and earned media for the first time. Interviews were conducted using telephone and online methodologies, with the fieldwork and data provided by McNair Ingenuity Research.
EXPECTED BUDGET CHANGE BY MAJOR MEDIA 2014
TOTAL ONLINE BRANDING (DISPLAY/BANNER ADS) ONLINE VIDEO MOBILE SEARCH (AVERAGE) ORGANIC SEARCH/SEO PAID SEARCH/SEM ONLINE PERFORMANCE SOCIAL MEDIA ONLINE AFFILIATES FTA TV STV NEWSPAPERS
Notes: Question: “By what percentage do you expect your total above the line advertising spending to increase or decrease across all above the line media in 2014 compared to 2013?” Base: total advertiser sample.
MAGAZINES RADIO OOH CINEMA
-9%
-6%
-3%
0%
3%
6%
9%
12%
15%
MARKETING | APRIL/MAY 2014 | www.marketingmag.com.au
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Predictions, expectations…
and reality.
BELOW THE LINE : USED IN 2013 VS EXPECTED IN 2014
OVERALL CHANGE IN BUDGET FOR OWNED AND EARNED: +7.8%
Notes: This question indicates usage which may not align with spend. Questions: “What types of below the line activities has your company used to deliver your marketing communications or advertising in 2013?” and “Which below the line activities will you use for your marketing communications and advertising in 2014?” Base: total advertiser sample.
OWNED & EARNED: USED IN 2013 VS EXPECTED IN 2014
+4% Media used in 2013 (%) Media expected to use in 2014 (%) Biggest expected growth
+6% +5%
0%
20%
40%
60%
100%
ENERGY ALLOCATION
BRAND WEBSITE
SOCIAL CONTENT CONTRIBUTION PUBLIC RELATIONS +6%
SOCIAL CONVERSATION +8%
+7%
20 40 60 80 100%
10 0 20 30 40 50 50 60 60
%
2012
2013
89%
68%
90%
77%
81%
53%
86% 87%
71%
78%
Notes: Question: “In which of these areas are you expecting greater pressure from management during 2014” Base: total advertiser sample.
73% 65%
100%
2010
2011
2012
Market share Sales Consumer usage
2013
2014
80% 60% 40% 20% 0 MEETING COMPANY OBJECTIVES
RESULTS & EFFECTIVENESS
Infographic developed by Marketing (marketingmag.com.au) and Transmission (transmissiondesign.com.au). Data supplied by Starcom MediaVest Group (australia.starcomww.com) from its ‘Media Futures 2014 Forecast’.
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74%
59%
71%
Market share/sales Brand awareness Ad awareness
EXPECTED INCREASES IN MANAGEMENT PRESSURES
55% 50%
PAID
2014 63%
Notes: Changes were made to definitions or added in 2014. Question: “What specific return on investment metrics are you likely to measure to inform you on any advertising or marketing campaigns?” Base: total advertiser sample who are likely to measure any ROI metrics.
32% 37%
OWNED
2010
62%
14% 13%
EARNED
Media used in 2013 (%) Media expected to use in 2014 (%) Biggest expected growth
2011
ROI: METRICS TO BE MEASURED
2013 2014
Notes: Questions: “What proportion of your time and effort was spent on each of the following media activities in 2013?” and “What proportion of your time and effort do you expect to spend on each of the following media activities in 2014?” Base: total advertiser sample.
BRANDED VIDEO CONTENT
CRM ACTIVITIES Notes: This question indicates usage which may not align with spend. IN STORE EVENTS/ACTIVITIES Questions: “What types of owned MOBILE PHONE/TABLET APPS assets and earned activities have your FAN VIDEOS/REVIEWS company used to deliver your marketing communications or advertising in 2013?” ON PACK EVENTS/PROMOTIONS and “Which owned assets and earned OTHER activities will you use for your marketing 0 communications and advertising in 2014?” Base: total advertiser sample.
80%
BUDGETS
ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE
MEDIA EXPENDITURE
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
STAFF NUMBERS
NONE
www.marketingmag.com.au | APRIL/MAY 2014 | MARKETING
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CASE STUDY
Prime-time branded content CAMPAIGN: AIR RESCUE DOCUMENTARY SERIES CLIENT: WESTPAC AGENCY: MEDIACOM BEYOND ADVERTISING, MAP AND PAGE, FREDBIRD PRODUCTIONS, DDB TRIBAL
OBJECTIVES Westpac’s objectives were to: › adequately recognise and showcase the essential, brave and free work undertaken by the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service › support the Service beyond sponsorship by driving fundraising via a direct call to action after each episode, and › entertain and engage consumers with the Westpac brand through genuinely interesting and compelling content.
STRATEGY
BACKGROUND In 2013 Westpac marked 40 years of partnership with the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service, making it one of the most iconic, long-standing sponsorships in Australian history. To truly convey the essential and brave work undertaken by the men and women of the Service, Westpac engaged MediaCom Beyond Advertising to produce Air Rescue, a six-part observational documentary series for Channel Seven. Air Rescue followed a core cast of rescuers from the Service as they entered
the lives of ordinary Australians in need, such as fishermen in trouble on the rocks, injured farmers, flood victims, motorbike riders and holidaymakers in the wrong place at the wrong time. Viewers were taken behind-the-scenes to witness the intense and dramatic world of the crew members and experience spectacular rescues first-hand, capturing the vast range of emotions felt by the crew. The series marked Westpac’s first foray into the branded content space, and made Westpac the first bank to have funded a prime-time television series.
To mark the 40th anniversary of Westpac’s partnership with the Service, an integrated communications strategy was developed that extended across multiple platforms including events, in-branch activity, above the line advertising, publicity outreach and social media integration. This milestone also offered Westpac the ideal opportunity to venture into branded content featuring the Service, and engaged MediaCom on making Air Rescue a reality. The sponsorship of the Service is also an iconic example of the bank’s brand position, ‘Australia, proudly supported by Westpac’. The dramatic and captivating stories highlight the remarkable and, quite literally, lifesaving work the Westpac Lifesaver
MARKETING | APRIL/MAY 2014 | www.marketingmag.com.au
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Rescue Helicopter Service performs in the community, making the production of Air Rescue a very natural extension of Westpac’s partnership with the Service.
EXECUTION Westpac worked closely with MediaCom, which has been the bank’s media agency since 2011, and MediaCom Beyond Advertising (MBA) to develop the brand-funded series. MBA engaged Fredbird Productions and followed a core ‘cast’ of crew members, capturing gripping rescues and the heightened emotions of the patients and their loved ones. Six 30-minute episodes were produced and presented to Channel Seven, which agreed to schedule the program to air in a prime-time slot at 8pm on a weekday. The series aired over six weeks in November and December 2013. In addition to the TV episodes, MBA produced 15 web-based episodes and MediaCom used promoted tweets,
AIR RESCUE BECAME THE FIRST AD-FUNDED SERIES TO AIR ON A FREE-TO-AIR CHANNEL IN PRIME TIME.
YouTube, TruView and promoted posts on Facebook to seed this content, and twominute teasers for episodes one and two. The show was also supported by an extensive publicity strategy implemented by Map and Page (MAP), Westpac’s PR agency, which worked alongside MBA in maximising the ‘storytelling’ opportunities beyond the show. Westpac also engaged DDB Tribal Melbourne to build the m-site Westpacrescue.com.au, which provided people with a place to share and read stories about the Service and rescues, as well as being a centralised location for
people to donate nationally. The site was promoted at the end of each episode as a call to action for donations.
RESULTS Air Rescue became the first ad-funded series to air on a free-to-air channel in prime time, and garnered an average audience of 1.4 million viewers per episode. › It was number one in its timeslot across regional audiences consistently across the six-week period, and achieved a total metro TV reach of 4.3 million viewers. › The publicity strategy implemented by MAP secured 230 pieces of coverage across print, online and broadcast, with a PR value of more than $2 million. › The six episodes delivered an ROI eight times greater than traditional advertising. › Westpacrescue.com.au saw $60,000 worth of donations delivered across the site in the first three months. M
www.marketingmag.com.au | APRIL/MAY 2014 | MARKETING
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