There’s been an explosion of transport apps in the New Zealand market in the last 18 months, and many in the industry are saying the time for traditional taxi companies to get on board is now, before they find themselves on a long journey into oblivion with the meter running. So how has the taxi market changed? And will technology bring the industry kicking and screaming into the modern world?
Mobile content aggregator Snakk Media plans to tap into social conversations to build a sense of how to sell at the right time, to the right people.
References to the rapid growth of online and mobile ad spend in the industry have been so ubiquitous in recent months that they’ve become something of a media cliché. And with this growth in revenue has come an inevitable attempt on the part of online media owners to get a piece of this burgeoning pie. And nowhere is this more evident than in the online radio market, which, despite its relative infancy in the local market, is starting to catch the attention of Kiwi advertisers due to its resonance with the mobile-hungry youth market. So, given that there have been some interesting moves made by the major players, StopPress decided to take a look at what they’re doing to get in on the action.
Since its launch only two years ago, Wellington-based tech start-up Showcase Workshop has grown quickly, picking up major Kiwi clients such as Spark, NZTE, Z Energy and The Warehouse, and now the company is expanding into Europe after winning a new client in Vodafone UK.
Pandora’s commercial director for New Zealand Melanie Reece says there’s currently a lacuna in the law when it comes to the rules of mobile advertising. And this makes it important for mobile media owners to discuss the issue and share their insights, in the hope of forming a framework that benefits all the players in the industry.
Mobile development company Sush Mobile kicked off in 2008 and quickly gained a solid reputation for its various apps and solutions. And just six years later it has been bought by Asia Pacific financial tech company Finzsoft for $1.9 million.
Whether it’s TV, taxis, travel or titillation, the world is becoming increasingly ondemand. And Flossie.com is aiming to tap into that trend with a new smartphone app aimed at the hair and beauty industry that connects willing buyers with willing sellers.
Banking is becoming increasingly mobile, with all the major banks offering apps and a whole range of different ways to pay, from Bump to Facebook to NFC-enabled stickers. And now The Co-Operative bank has joined the fray, albeit slightly belatedly, with what it’s calling “a ground-breaking new mobile banking app”.
The classic Mac vs PC campaign was a master-class in comparative advertising and helped cement the impression of Apple as a brand suited to those striving to be cool and Microsoft as a brand suited to those who wore cardigans. But Microsoft is fighting back with a bit of comparative advertising of its own and showing that its Cortana system is smarter than Siri.
As a study by Trademob in late 2012 showed, around 40 percent of mobile ad clicks are either fraudulent or accidental, with more than half of them a result of ‘fat-finger syndrome’. That’s obviously bad for conversions and one major reason why advertisers pay less for mobile impressions (Google added another click into the mix to ensure users really wanted to visit a site). But Y&R, MEC and mobile advertising sales agency Mobile Embrace are trying to fight unintentional clicks another way: by making slightly more interesting mobile ads.
Despite the fact that more Kiwis are buying online—and buying with their mobile devices—many Kiwi businesses aren’t taking that into account when it comes to their websites. And that’s costing them dearly, says a report from direct marketing and digital agency Twenty. It says bad user experience cost Kiwi businesses over $1 billion in sales to overseas websites last year, a big chunk of the total $2.3 billion spent online by Kiwis for the year in total. And it might be worse this year, with the jump in online spending since last year twice as high for offshore than for local.
Saatchi & Saatchi NZ’s communications director sat down for a chat with Tom Eslinger, Saatchi Worldwide’s director of digital and social, author of “Mobile Magic” and inaugural jury president of the mobile lions at Cannes.
ZenithOptimedia (ZO) has released its June 2014 Global Ad Expenditure Forecast, and it predicts that over the next two years the online channel will overtake TV as the medium where advertisers spend the most money. In addition to this, the report also analyses of how the Kiwi market is likely to compare internationally.
Snakk Media’s preliminary financial results released last week showed a 92 percent year-on-year increase, shifting up from $3.6 million recorded between March 2012 and March 2013 to $7 million in the most recent results. Add to this the fact that the company has just announced plans to open a Singapore office in addition to those in Australia and New Zealand, and it seems that Snakk Media’s new chief executive Mark Ryan has a lot to smile about less than a year into his job. But a recent drop in the company’s share price and the fact that it continues to operate at a loss means the company’s evolution has had its fair share of ups and downs.
Mana Magazine, which has been in circulation since 1993, will from issue 118 be relaunched by Kowhai Media, the current publisher of New Zealand Geographic. Until now, the bi-monthly magazine has been published by Mana Productions, a company owned and operated by Derek Fox and, according to a release on the Mana website, this move will see Fox’s responsibilities limited to only providing editorial contributions.
Since first launching 4G connectivity last year, Vodafone’s network has stretched to over 47 regions throughout the nation. And now, in an effort to take this a step further, the red telco is adding a little international flavour to its offering by extending this service to several international destinations. Speaking at a conference held this morning at the Air New Zealand Customer Innovation and Collaboration Centre, Vodafone’s chief executive Russell Stanners and consumer director Matt Williams announced that the telecommunications company was launching two new initiatives: daily roaming packages in 17 countries throughout the world; and 4G connectivity in five countries. PLUS: see the new TVC.
E-commerce is booming—and it’s becoming increasingly mobile. So domestic retailers will need to invest in this area if they hope to compete with international retailers, writes Geri Ellis.
The wait for mobile viewing is over for Sky subscribers who don’t own iPads, as the broadcaster has just announced the launch of a new version of the Sky Go app that’s compatible on certain versions of Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Since launching in December last year, the Sky Go app has only been available to subscribers via Apple’s products—and the popularity of this initial release has led Sky to increase the inclusivity of its offering. Updated with statistics from Nielsen and with comments from TVNZ’s general manager of on-demand Jason Foden.
BKA Interactive kicked off when HTML was newfangled and Webmonkey was the only way to search the net for how to code. Now CEO Barbara Anderson, creative director Maak Bow and the team are mining their diverse base of work for nuggets to turn into products that could be used across industries, companies and the globe. We take a look behind the concrete curtain at this innovative company.
According to Telecom’s annual report, an average smartphone user reaches for their phone 150 times per day. For some, including Banksy, whose latest piece is a commentary on the scourge of mobile addiction, that’s a bit sad. But that level of interest makes it an appealing place to be for advertisers, so local start-up Postr is hoping to get brands into consumers’ pockets by serving ads on their smartphone homescreens.
Trade Me-owned site Holiday Houses is moving with the shift to mobile, getting a new version that caters for changing traffic trends. Visits to the site from tablets have jumped 75 percent since this time last year while smartphone visits have more than doubled in that time.
Kiwi households with more than five, and even as many as 10, screens are becoming the norm, according to MediaWorks’ Lifestyle Survey for 2013. Mobile device ownership is growing exponentially in parallel with increasing social media use and online purchasing.
Facebook remains our dominant social network when it comes to user numbers and engagement, but it’s betting its future on an increasing array of options for users from what it’s brought into the stable and in-house development of standalone apps with mobile at their heart. And it touts itself as the logical partner as data-centric decisions become more central to personalised marketing off the desktop.
The cards have been printed, the stationery has arrived, the team is now in place and the doors to the new office in The Generator in Auckland’s CBD have been opened. And to celebrate Pandora NZ’s launch—and its first commercial partner, Sonos Wireless—it is offering a Sonos prize pack worth over $3,800 to one lucky StopPress reader.
Telecom continues to search for ways to reach a mobile-savvy audience beyond the traditional landline. Hard on the heels of announcing a name change to Spark and its planned internet TV and movie service ShowmeTV, it’s partnering with Spotify to offer the Premium version on certain mobile plans.
Local mobile advertising spend made the biggest leap among the categories the IAB reports on in its quarterly figures and this time it achieved a 73 percent jump. However, mobile remains a small part of the overall spending mix.
Mobile marketing agency Mobile Embrace is set to enable another campaign that makes the most of banners on hand-held devices, this time with a trailer for the movie I Frankenstein.
Telecom is catering for growing data use as Kiwis report live from big summer events and hotspots. And they find uploads and downloads are growing in parallel, with faster networks allowing the trade of richer content.
Sky launched Sky Go, the long-awaited update to its online and catch-up service iSky, in October last year. And, after a fair bit of social media activity to promote the new website and mobile apps, it’s now launched a print and TV campaign via DDB that shows how easy—and potentially perilous—it is for subscribers to ‘Watch On’.
Mobile advertising company Snakk Media has notched $3.02 million revenue for the six months to 30 September, its first unaudited half year result since since listing on the alternative exchange in March. The amount is 83 percent of the revenue it posted for the last full reporting year and a 147 percent jump on the previous half year.