Speaking Sensis

At an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon next week, Sensis CEO, Bruce Akhurst, will be talking about the challenges and opportunities Sensis has faced in evolving the Yellow Pages® from a print directory to a multi-channel, multi-brand network.

Thanks to digital media, we now live in a world of proliferating choice.

And, with their attention, people are telling us they want that choice. They’re demanding ubiquitous access to media – what they want, whenever and wherever they want it.

In this world, the challenge for media companies isn’t “how do I get advertisers online?” It’s “how do I get them everywhere”?

On Tuesday 1 June, Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst will be in Sydney talking at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon about “The Challenge of Choice”.

Bruce will discuss Yellow Pages®’ decade-long journey from a print directory to a multi-channel, multi-brand advertising network:  a journey that has challenged Sensis’ technology, product development and every other part of the business.

If you’d like to attend, you can find more information about the event, together with booking details, at the American Chamber of Commerce web site.

The revolution mobile technology is bringing to the way people find, buy and sell reminds me of the proverb “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.

What brought this to mind was a recent survey that found that maps are one of the most popular applications on mobile devices today. The comScore MobiLens survey identified an almost 70 per cent jump in the use of mobile mapping and direction services last year. In February this year, it found that more than 21 million people in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy used their phones for navigation.

If maps are such a useful and in demand application, it’s easy to understand why they are now a key selling feature for someone upgrading their handset.

No wonder Nokia is advertising free navigation on all of its new smartphones as a way of winning back market share lost to iPhone, Blackberry and phones with Google’s Android system.

In 1997, Sensis (then Pacific Access) kicked off market research into the concept of enhanced map routing from the static maps found on the Online White Pages® and Yellow Pages® sites.

The objective of this research was to understand how people planned journeys, used maps and their features, and what information would be required to provide a great experience. At the time this new technology was seen as a great feature to encourage usage of our online directories and also allowed us new page impressions on which to sell banner advertising.

The basics back then are much the same as today. People told us they wanted information about the best route and one that incorporated local knowledge. They told us that they wanted location specific information and really only needed help for parts of the journey they were not so familiar with.

But, with all the features from mapping, directions and turn by turn voiced navigation being provided free of charge, the subscription and advertising models of today are under pressure.

New ways of monetising the features will need to be developed. So we need to look back to see the future. Clues to what might be new advertising models might just lie in that 1997 research report on my desk.

Journeys aren’t just about getting from A to B, people want to do it safely, avoid incidents and have a smooth journey.

Features like real-time traffic and alternate routes can be sponsored, much the same as traffic reports are on the radio.

Users want to know information of value on their journey, such as fuel prices, where to eat, where to pick up some flowers or where to find an all night chemist.

Again, these features can be monetised through different advertising models.

Advertisers might pay to become navigation points on a map, just as our survey found13 years ago.

Special offers might encourage purchase along the journey, who wouldn’t stop at the convenience store for a cheap burger! If your planned travel is for a few hours drive, it’s likely you are going to want to eat at some stage.

Constant in all this change are our basic needs to complete a journey without fuss and bother. The tools to help us do this are getting more sophisticated and as a marketer, I am excited about the highly targeted opportunities we are going to be able to provide by knowing where an individual is, and where they are going, even the time of day they are travelling.

The chance to reach someone on the move and near your business seems much more exciting than someone with their feet up on the couch for the night.

By now you will have seen the headline figures from this year’s Commonwealth Budget and although billed as “boring” by it’s main author, Christena Singh tells us what was interesting for small businesses …

Now, I’ve been asked to write a bit about the good news in the Budget for small businesses. And, as you would probably already know, the term “small business” was not one that received a lot of attention on Budget night.

Probably the best bit of news for small businesses in the Budget this year was that the Australian economy turned out to be in a better position than anticipated as you will see from the attached chart.

This chart actually builds on something the Head of Treasury, Dr Ken Henry, talked about after last year’s budget.  He was trying to forecast how Australia would come out of the recession this time round.  A year ago, the Australian Treasury was forecasting that we would actually head into technical recession, and it also had some gutsy predictions about the growth rates afterwards.  You may recall that some debate ensued …

But as you can see from the white line, we did not have a recession, and the economy is continuing to exhibit strong growth.  The Budget Deficit also exhibited strong growth this financial year, but that is another story …

However, it is important to remember that it is the businesses of Australia that are responsible at the end of the day for generating the positive economic results that are evident in this year’s Budget.  So apart from a growing economy, what was in the Budget for small businesses this year?  There were a few measures, but they won’t come in for a few years; so you won’t want to hold your breath. 

But in 2012-13 small businesses will get: 

• A two year head start on the new lower company tax rate – small companies will be able to access this from 2012-13, but note that this only applies to incorporated businesses; and

• The threshold under which small businesses can instantly write-off depreciable assets will increase from $1000 to $5000.

And another measure which may assist some businesses, particularly those that have had trouble finding staff, will be the $300 million that will be invested in skills. This includes $200 million for the Critical Skills Investment Fund, which will provide support for up to 90 per cent of training costs for small businesses. However, this will be allocated on a competitive basis, with firms having to apply for funding.

Tansel Ali in training for World Memory Championships

PR for Yellow Pages can be, I think it is fair to say, a challenging and even “tough gig” at times. This year we have been having some fun and the creative juices have been flowing – first with the Hidden Pizza Restaurant and now, with our walking talking human Yellow Pages.

In a world first, Australian Memory Champion, Tansel Ali is letting his mind do the walking by memorising all of the display advertisements, that is those the size of a standard business card and larger, in the Sydney Yellow Pages® Book. In training for the 2010 World Memory Championships in China later this year, Tansel has devoured over 2,306 pages, over 16,000 numbers and thousands of ads to recite any business name and phone number on request.

Tansel’s rigorous training regime allows him to store each advert in his memory after just 30 seconds of focus, by using a series of visual journey and recall techniques.

From the 13 – 16 May, Tansel will be at the Yellow Pages® stand at the HIA Sydney Home Show showcasing his skill. The public is invited to go down there and challenge him to recall and quote names and numbers from more than 2,000 home improvement or DIY business from the Sydney Yellow Pages® Book.

Hi again, and thanks for taking the time to find out more about how Sensis is bringing buyers and sellers together. In today’s update you can read about a tasty new way to demonstrate the value of Yellow® Pages; kicking off the 2010 metro canvass; more new innovations to make life easier for buyers and sellers; the phenomenal growth of mobile; and some more great news about our commitment to sustainability.


8,500 guys and girls and a pizza place
In April, Sensis ran a ground-breaking campaign that really brought the value of Yellow Pages® to life. The campaign worked a bit like this. Team up with well-known Melbourne pizza chef, Tony Fazio. Open a restaurant offering free pizza for two weeks. Don’t tell anyone the address or phone number. Instead tell them to “look it up the way you would any other business”. Then sit back and watch the dough fly.

And fly it did. Over the campaign’s two weeks, over 8,500 calls were made to Hidden Pizza, with over 70% of the callers saying they found Hidden Pizza through the print, online and mobile Yellow Pages®. That’s a lot of pizza… and a great testament to the ability of Yellow Pages® to bring buyers to your door.

Yellow Pages® Metro Canvass is up and running
Our people are now out and about talking to businesses as part of the 2010 Yellow Pages® metropolitan canvass. This must be one of the largest customer engagement programs in Australia, with consultants all over Australia contacting more than half a million businesses over the next few months.

This year, we’ve got some great new products for our customers. These include a Brisbane version of the popular Yellow Pages® In the Car book, Yellow Pages® Online Gold Plus, which is a new advertising solution for businesses without a web site, and enhanced accountability through our metered ad program.

But, perhaps the most exciting new step is a range of bundles that make it even easier for our customers to advertise right across our network. As I’ve talked about before, Yellow Pages® has evolved from a print directory to a diverse and sophisticated advertising network spanning print, online, voice and mobile. These bundles make it easier for businesses to profile themselves to potential buyers right across the network.

From the labs
Of course, we’ve been busy delivering for buyers – the people who use our products – as well.

Firstly, we’ve launched more new features to make our digital services easier to use.

Recently, we reconfigured the Yellow Pages® Online search experience. To begin with, we’ve dropped the ‘business name’ and ‘business type’ radio buttons in favour of a more intuitive search. Now, you can search for a business name, like ‘Sensis’ without having to click a ‘business name’ search button. Instead Yellow Pages® Online will drop down suggested listings relating to Sensis for you to choose from. We’ve also re-built the business profile pages to give buyers easier access to more content. The results of this have been pretty immediate, with a significant reduction in nil result searches and a big rise in interaction: most notably in the number of business profile readers clicking on email links and image galleries.

We’ve also added a series of new features to the White Pages® Online site. White Pages® is all about finding people and businesses you already know, so it’s a fair bet that you’ll be wanting to find your White Pages® contacts over and over again. Recently, we made this easier with the ability to save your contacts to a new ‘My List’ feature on White Pages® Online. We also launched send to mobile, which lets you send your listing from White Pages® Online straight to your mobile to save in your contacts.  In May, we’ll be taking this a step further by launching a new ‘save and share’ feature. With save and share, you’ll be able to save your White Pages® contacts to your pages on Facebook and a wide range of other social networks.

Secondly, we’ve made our services easier to access with new additions to our network.

As you may know, Telstra recently released the home phone of the future, the T-Hub. This is great for buyers and sellers using our services because White Pages®, Yellow Pages® and 1234 (with Whereis® coming soon) are all easily accessible right where your phone is. Just one touch of the console and you’re searching. And when you find the result in Yellow Pages®, you don’t even have to dial… just click to call.

The Yellow Pages® enhanced location search on Whereis.com I mentioned last time is also delivering results. Yellow Pages advertisers are now being profiled on Whereis.com more than 8 million times a month: a number that’s been boosted by about 2 million since we launched the enhanced location feature . This is fantastic for both buyers and sellers. It means Whereis is playing a growing role in bringing buyers and sellers together, while improving the ROI we can offer Yellow Pages® advertisers.

Finally, we’ve also been busy in the mobile space.

We launched a new CitySearch® Mobile site, with an improved look and feel, expanded TV and Movies content, a new ‘Bars’ vertical and improved mapping functionality. And we also launched new Yellow Pages® and White Pages® apps for Android devices to complement the incredibly successful launch of our iPhone apps.

Mobile coming up trumps
On that note, mobile has been an incredible success story for the buyers and sellers who rely on our services. As I’ve mentioned before, mobile usage is growing at a rate of knots. Average monthly Yellow Pages® Mobile visits for the March quarter have doubled YoY yet again. When you look across our entire network, mobile now accounts for over 13% of our total digital (online and mobile) usage.

And smart phone apps are playing an enormous role in this exciting growth. iPhone apps account for something like half of our total Yellow Pages® Mobile and White Pages® Mobile usage and these two apps still sit in the lifestyle category Top 10 in Apple’s App Store … months after they were launched.

More great news on the sustainability front
As I mentioned last month, I’m really proud of the positive contribution being made by our sustainability initiatives; such as our directory recycling program and the decision to offset our carbon emissions through Greenhouse Friendly™ accredited providers and projects in Australia.

Now, we’ve taken this a step further with the release of a new book: Small Business, Big Opportunity: Sustainable Growth. This free book, which is a complement to our highly successful advertising guide, provides practical information on how businesses can reduce their impact on the environment and save money as well.

Small Business, Big Opportunity: Sustainable Growth has been written by Jon Dee, who is the Founder and Managing Director of the not-for-profit action group, Do Something, and the NSW Australian of the Year 2010. If you’d like to order a copy, just check out the Small Business section on our corporate web site.

And finally, in more good news on the sustainability front, I’m pleased to say that our efforts to support a more sustainable future are being acknowledged. Last year we joined the global Corporate Responsibility Index program for the first time. This program is run in Australia by the St James Ethics Centre and we were incredibly proud to achieve a ‘Bronze’ rating and Best New Entry Award in our first year. Since then, we’ve put a lot more work into our sustainability commitments and, as a result, I’m told we have lifted our result even higher this year. More on that next time, when the results are out.

Until then, all the best,

Is traditional media bowing before the online juggernaut? Don’t you believe it.

Well, trounce me with a tablet and tell me I’m a technophobe.

In contrast with the armies of ‘gurus’ claiming an increasingly irrelevant traditional media is on its knees begging for sweet mercy from the digerati, out come the following two reports.

In February, The Nielsen Company’s Australian Internet and Technology Report 2009 – 2010  found that “the continued increase in time spent online amongst Internet users has, overall, not been at the expense of other media.”

Nielsen found that, while, time spent online grew by over an hour in 2009, consumption of traditional media (like TV, radio and newspapers) actually grew as well.

Go figure!

In fact, Nielsen’s results over several years suggest that, while Internet users tend to spend less (but still substantial) time consuming traditional media than non Internet users, the actual time they spend with traditional media has remained pretty well flat for quite a few years now.

In other words, while time spent online has risen massively, time spent offline hasn’t fallen in response.

Then in March, way over the other side of the world, KPMG UK reported a similar kind of trend.

Their Media and Entertainment Barometer for March found that while time spent online grew by 74 minutes in the six months to March, traditional media consumption ALSO grew by 33 minutes.

So what?

I can’t help thinking there’s a really simple, but really important, message in this data.

That traditional and digital together is far more powerful than digital alone.

Digital media is a massive part of our lives today and will play an even bigger role in the future.

But it won’t be alone, because people want choice. They want a paper in their hands and on their mobiles. They want TV in their lounge and on their iPad.

And the more choice people get, the more media they consume.

In short, the future is everywhere, not just online.

Maybe we should put an end to these phoney media wars and start realising we’re all in this together.

Because, clearly, that’s what consumers (and advertisers) want.

Today, I’m exceptionally pleased to be blogging about the official launch of our brand new, hot off the press, ‘Small Business, Big Opportunity: Sustainable Growth’ book.

It’s a new and free resource for small and medium businesses in Australia with information and tips on how to operate more efficiently, save money and reduce impacts on the environment.

Now. Before you start accusing me of being a geek for being so excited, I’ll ask you to hold on for just a moment. Let me present my case and then, if you should still feel the need, the name-calling can begin.

This 230+ page resource has been authored by renowned environmentalist and 2010 NSW Australian of the Year, Jon Dee.

As Jon says in his introduction to the book: “For the modern and efficient business it’s not a case of having a successful company OR a healthy environment. In a truly sustainable world, you must have both”. I reckon this sums up the benefits of the book (and my excitement), very nicely indeed.

First and foremost, this book has been designed to help small and medium businesses save money by being more efficient in their operations. And by being more efficient, they can also reduce their impact on the environment.

Small (less than 20 employees) and medium (20-199 employees) sized businesses in Australia account for around 70% of actively trading businesses in Australia, employing around 40% of total employed people in Australia and contributing almost half of the value of Australia’s GDPⁱ.

So the SME sector is incredibly important to the Australian economy. With more than 2 million SMEs in Australia, this sector has the potential to make some significant changes to the impact they have on the environment.

If there’s an opportunity to save money, it’s something we all want to do. But what if the environment isn’t your thing? While it’s not popular to admit, you secretly just don’t care – you don’t have time. You’re not into hugging trees and you certainly don’t want to pay extra for some flash-harry light, you’ll be right with an incandescent, thanks very much.

The simple fact is, regardless on whether you believe in climate change or not, the global population is growing – 2.55 billion in 1950, 6.8 billion today and an estimated 7.6 billion by 2020ⁱⁱ. The fact is, we’re using more resources than our planet can generate and we need to start working out how to do more with less.

So, how do we address the challenge of a growing population and shrinking supply of natural resources? What can you do? You can green up your operations. Not only could you be saving yourself some cold hard cash, but you’ll be playing your part in ensuring a sustainable future.

Pretty exciting, yes? A free resource with information on how to save money and do your bit. You can order or download your free copy of the book here: http://about.sensis.com.au/small-business/free-sustainable-growth-book/

Yours in proud geekiness,

Jess

• ^i’SME trends and achievements’, Prepared for Telstra Business by CRA International

• ⁱⁱSee www.census.gov