Products & Services

Telecom NZ in three degrees of separation

The Australian
Page: 23 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Cath Hart

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Telecom New Zealand (TNZ) was granted permission to split into three businesses on 31 March 2008. TNZ's share price fell $A0.04 on the news to $A3.29, although CEO Paul Reynolds said the move represents a significant milestone. Reynolds said the company's retail business will begin offering new products and services but will retain its customer focus. The company will be split into retail, network and wholesale operations

E-Business

BPay user numbers start to level off

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 36 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Julian Bajkowski

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

BPay has announced a two per cent rise in the number of people paying bills online. The result may signal the maturing of the internet payments market, which has enjoyed a sustained surge since its establishment a decade ago. According BPay's annual consumer usage and attitudes survey, 80 per cent of bill payers used online methods in 2007. BPay GM, Andrew Arnott, said the company's 2007 annual payment result was around $A156 billion, with an average of 8.2 bills being generated per person per month

Ninemsn backs off CPA pricing

Ad News
Page: 7 : 21 March 2008
Original article by Mark Chenery

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Ninemsn will not offer cost-per action (CPA) pricing deals on their own to advertisers from March 2008. The Australian group will offer CPA pricing action, but only in conjunction with cost-per-click (CPC) pricing. Its stance is seen as perhaps going against the general trend. CPA pricing has become extremely popular with advertisers as it ensures a return on investment for all moneys spent. Tony Faure, the CEO of ninemsn, said the firm does not really like being involved in advertising campaigns where it takes all the risks

Marketing Strategy

Bing Lee likes consistency

Ad News
Page: 3 : 21 March 2008
Original article by John Davidson

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

Bing Lee, the electrical goods retailer, is planning to spend up to 20 per cent of its marketing budget online in the near future. This is according to Matt Chapman, of Total Advertising & Communications, Bing Lee's media buying and planning agency. Bing Lee, which has 36 stores in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, spent $A15.1 million on main media marketing in 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research. The figure does not include internet spending

Point-of-purchase sector booming

Retail World
Page: 16 : 17 March 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

There is very little new in point-of-purchase (POP) or point-of-sales (POS) displays, according to Amcor's Eric Bond. Nonetheless, the global POP/POS sector is generally considered to be booming, as research continues to show that consumers are highly influenced by POS and POP displays. Bond notes that studies have indicated that 68 per cent of all consumers are potentially impulse buyers, but that the product in question needs to be good and the display attractive

Consumer Behaviour

Why women keep the economy going

The Australian
Page: 22 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Peter Switzer

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

A survey released by MYOB on 31 March 2008 suggests that 57 per cent of Australian small businesses operators expect a recession before 2011. The survey found that just over 50 per cent of respondents expect the economy to perform worse in 2008 than it did in 2007. A similar survey by The Executive Connection found that 71 per cent of CEOs expect revenue to increase in 2008, although only 55 per cent believe profits will rise. According to some economists, women account for a proportionally larger percentage of consumption spending in Australia and are in large part responsible for its continued economic growth

Bitter rate medicine starts to work

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 23 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Jessica Irvine and Clancy Yeates

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Higher interest rates are doing their job, according to a Reserve Bank of Australia household debt report. The report, which was released on 31 March 2008, suggests that growth in borrowing for housing investment reached an all-time low in March, after the central bank's February interest rate rise. A separate report released by the Melbourne Institute and TD Securities shows that the annual inflation rate reached four per cent in February

Retail braces for higher energy costs

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 21 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Stephen Wisenthal

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The way consumers shop for food will be affected by increased energy costs. On 31 March 2008, Roger Corbett, a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and a director of Wal-Mart, said at a business leaders' conference in Queensland that changes in packaging and automobiles created supermarkets but changing global energy needs will change the food shopping process. The telling factor in these changes is how businesses react and anticipate the change. Corbett said the global economy will also change as the populations of India and China strive for a Western standard of living

New generation finds small is beautiful

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 62 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Julie-Anne Sprague

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Western Australian builders are responding to demand for smaller dwellings, by building an increasing number of two and three bedroom houses. Lifestyle choices and affordability are said to be the driving forces behind the trend, with the Vision design houses from BGC available for $A150,000. In an effort to limit costs, developers have been purchasing multiple lots in order to build a number of homes at a time outside of Perth

An extreme road to the good life

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 66 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Fiona Smith

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The benefits of living far out of the city may be plentiful, but the financial and personal costs are high. More and more Sydneysiders are making the choice to move out, with some spending up to four hours a day commuting. The opportunity to have a sprawling family home surrounded by nature has its appeals, but the early morning departures and late-night returns take their toll. One study has found that for every 10 minutes spent commuting, individuals have 10% less time with family and the community

BPay user numbers start to level off

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 36 : 1 April 2008
Original article by Julian Bajkowski

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

BPay has announced a two per cent rise in the number of people paying bills online. The result may signal the maturing of the internet payments market, which has enjoyed a sustained surge since its establishment a decade ago. According BPay's annual consumer usage and attitudes survey, 80 per cent of bill payers used online methods in 2007. BPay GM, Andrew Arnott, said the company's 2007 annual payment result was around $A156 billion, with an average of 8.2 bills being generated per person per month

TV: has it entered its third golden age?

Ad News
Page: 11 : 21 March 2008
Original article by Lee Stephens

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Despite suggestions to the contrary, Australians still like to watch television. Australians watched an average three hours and seven minutes per day of television per day in 2007, up from two hours and forty five minutes in 1999. However, some of this increased viewing is the result of the emergence of pay television. The television sector needs to develop a new pricing model for advertisers, as the current one is clearly out of date

Green motoring skids to a halt online

Ad News
Page: 12 : 21 March 2008
Original article by Ben Phillips

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

There was a 16 per cent increase in the use of the term "sustainability" on internet blogs between July 2006 and 2007, according to Nielsen Buzzmetrics. However, this increase has not made its way into the motoring community, judging by a study of Australian car blogs. The word "skid" was mentioned 25 times as much as "ethanol" in the blogs, while "burnout" was referred to ten times as much as "emissions". Although car makers are making much of their products' green credentials, the average motorists does not seem to be that interested

Step on board the economic rollercoaster

Ad News
Page: 22-23 : 21 March 2008
Original article by James Parkinson

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Seventy five per cent of Australians with loans are worried about their level of debt, according to a March 2008 survey by Veda Advantage. Veda also found that 1.8 million Australians are spending 40 per cent of their income on loans. This means that any further increase in interest rates could lead to a decline in consumer spending. Such a decline will pose problems for a number of sectors, not the least being the advertising and media industry. Companies in that industry that can react quickest to any changes will be the ones to prosper