Speaking Sensis

With the end of the year almost upon us, Sensis’ CEO, Bruce Akhurst, provides his first bi-monthly update.

Hi.

I thought it might be good to end the year by starting something… a regular report that I hope will give you a deeper insight into how Sensis is working to improve the value we offer all Australians.

New ways to help you find, buy and sell
Sensis is committed to helping you find, buy and sell. Our services help you find the suppliers you need right when you need them. In doing this, we help thousands of local businesses find their lifeblood – customers.

Our innovation programs reflect this commitment. How can we make our services simpler and more informative for buyers? And how can we build the value and simplicity of our advertiser services?

On this front, we’ve been particularly busy in the last few weeks. We launched the White Pages® app for iPhone recently. I was very happy to see that it reached the #1 free app in Apple’s App Store very quickly. This caps off an exciting quarter for our mobile sites, with usage growing off the scale. We launched White Pages® Mobile four months ago and it’s already delivering over 400,000 visits a month¹. At about the same time, we also launched the Yellow Pages® iPhone app. Since then, Yellow Pages® Mobile usage has more than doubled to over 650,000 visits a month²… in just a few months!  Clearly, Australians are connecting with these new generation mobile services and that’s great for advertisers. Our network strategy means that Yellow Pages® advertisers – print and online – can be searched through mobile and therefore can benefit from mobile usage growth.

We’ve also recently commenced delivery of the 2009 Yellow Pages®. This year’s book includes a more informative front cover and an expanded information section. Both of these enhancements were specific requests from Australians who participated in research we conducted earlier this year.

In Yellow Pages® Online, we’ve recently launched a new advertiser product – Purely Mobile Business, or PMB. PMB is designed for mobile businesses, like mobile mechanics, looking to reach out to customers in the areas they service.

We also recently launched Category Search, which is a new product that lets advertisers combine Voice, Whereis® and Citysearch® advertising into a single, easy to use product. Response has been strong, with hundreds of customers choosing Category Search in just a few weeks.

The Whereis® team has just released 3D City Maps for GPS to sat nav equipment manufacturers. 3D City Maps bring the Sydney and Melbourne CBD areas to life by providing a real-time 3D city-scape. 3D City Maps should be launched in popular GPS units shortly, and more cities will be ‘3D’d’ in the near future.

Finally, MediaSmart – our online and mobile display advertising business – has released new targeting capabilities. Working closely with Telstra, we’ve developed a segmentation capability that ensures mobile display advertising is more relevant and targeted for both mobile users and advertisers… like helping a major bank deliver specific branch manager contact details to customers mobile phones based on their location. This is a genuinely unique capability and I’m pleased to say the support from marketers has been fantastic.

In the field
Right now, our Yellow Pages® regional and local consultants are out talking to advertisers, as are our White Pages® consultants. We’ve been backing them up with new products, comprehensive training and a much stronger focus on engaging with local communities.

This local focus led to the opening of a new office in Penrith on November 10 (with offices in Ballina and Coffs Harbour also opening soon). We were really pleased to open Penrith by announcing a new community partnership with Great Community Transport. At the same time, we’ve been increasing our support for local businesses by regularly sponsoring and speaking at local events – over 80 in the last few months.

1.5 million calls… and counting
If you ever wanted proof of the value of Yellow Pages®, here it is. As you may know, we’ve been running a metered ad program for two years now. This program helps advertisers track the number of calls they receive from Yellow Pages® print.

In January, we began monitoring the phone calls delivered by Yellow Pages® print to a small cross-section of display ad customers (a sample of less than 1% of our total customer base). By early November, the number of calls delivered to these customers by Yellow Pages® print passed the 1.5 million threshold!

Imagine how many valuable phone calls Yellow Pages® is delivering to all our advertisers. Imagine how many more enquiries there are when you add people who are bypassing the phone and visiting the store or office. And imagine how that number could grow even further if you included all the other Sensis and third party online, mobile and voice services that form the Yellow Pages® network.

Interesting movements in the advertising market
Recently, we’ve seen some interesting movements in the media sector. The September quarter IAB report showed 3.3% growth in the online advertising market compared to the September quarter last year³. While this is a marked slowdown on last year, the results were really buoying for Sensis, as they show we are growing our share of the market.

Another interesting observation comes from our Adstream business. Adstream sits at the centre of the ad industry by helping marketers, agencies and media outlets, like TV, radio and newspaper publishers, manage and distribute their ad content. We’ve seen renewed growth in enquiries to Adstream recently. Could this mean the ad industry’s on its way back?

Our people have spoken
The other day, we received the results of our latest employee opinion survey. This is a global survey undertaken by Towers Perrin and it covers some of Australia’s, and the worlds, largest companies. In the latest survey, Sensis exceeded the Australian norm (the average of all Australian companies) in every category. Our results also benchmarked well among the world’s best employers, with results in a number of categories exceeding global norms. This is fantastic news. We work hard to ensure Sensis is a great place to work for our present and future employees. These results tell us we’re on the right track.

Sensis Sustainability Report
Finally, if you’d like to know more about Sensis’ strategy, operations, performance and impacts, I’d recommend you check out the 2008/9 Sensis Sustainability Report, which has just been launched. You can download it today from our newly upgraded corporate site.

Until next time
So that’s it for now. Have a happy, relaxing and safe Christmas and New Year. I’ll be back to you with a further update in February. In the meantime, thanks for all your support. You can rest assured we’ll be pulling out all stops to keep improving our value to you.

1: Omiture Site Catalyst, November 2009;
2: ibid
3: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Internet Advertising Bureau Online Advertising Expenditure Report, quarter ended September 2009.

Now you can sign into Facebook on Citysearch and become a trusted reviewer for us and all your friends!

We’re changing the way we do things on Citysearch by working a little closer with Facebook.

Thanks to Facebook Connect, you can now login to Facebook via Citysearch when you post a user review. Once you’ve logged in, your Facebook avatar (that’s your profile pic) will appear on Citysearch next to your comment. At the same time, you will be given the option to publish a note to your newsfeed that you’ve commented.

For example, say you’ve commented on our ‘Hey Hey’ article, you also have the option to tell your friends to read what you’ve said – ie, “Anyone who thinks the Hey Hey Skit was fine is so far from reality that they probably think Graham Kennedy still hosts a show with Bert – and that’s just for starters! Click thru to read my comments in full!” Once you’ve commented on your newsfeed your friends can ‘Like’, ‘Comment’ or click-thru to read your review. It’s all about the conversation!

With statistics* claiming that 78% of people trust the recommendations of consumers foremost, (that’s you), never before have your opinions carried so much weight or mattered so much. Given it’s our mission to recommend the best entertainment and lifestyle options on offer in Australia, we think opening things up to our users to add their voice  – whether they agree or disagree- is pretty important, and adding to our credibility.

And once you’ve posted your review, whether it’s your insight into good-value restaurants, hard-to-find bars, new wave clubs, must-see movie blockbusters, intelligent TV, emerging and dinosaur bands on tour or cutting edge arts and cultural events (and we use that term loosely to include AFL and NRL and plenty more), all your friends can agree or disagree – or is that agree to disagree?

These changes are great news for Facebook users who are getting a little tired of sending hugs and pokes or completing What species of bird are you? quizzes by providing you with real content to talk about. And it’s good for us because we get to hear it like it really is, and best of all, we all get to participate in the conversation across a very big audience.

So if you’re the next Margaret or David, Molly Meldrum or maybe even a Richard Wilkins (see, there’s a whole world of opportunity out there for some fresh opinions and talent), say it on Citysearch, boost your profile and kick start your reviewing career today!

* Nielsen ‘Trust in Advertising’ Report October, 2007

In a bid to connect more advertisers with consumers who are looking for products and services online, Sensis announced a helpful new service last week. The launch of ‘category search’ on www.whereis.com and www.citysearch.com.au means Sensis advertisers can now access priority advertising across these two online sites.

So what does this actually mean for you or I? Well it means when the millions of people who use the Whereis.com or Citysearch.com.au sites each month and they search for a business either on a map or while they’re browsing entertainment information at Citysearch, a list of ‘priority advertisers’ relevant to what they are looking for will appear at the top of the search results. Top advertisers in whereis.com will also open up automatically on the map to create a seamless one-click experience for those looking for a business. Advertisers on citysearch.com.au receive richer profile pages and reviews from the public about their product or service.

If you want to check out an example of this on www.whereis.com search for ‘florist’ in ‘Camberwell’.

To view an example of this on www.citysearch.com.au type ‘restaurant’ in the search box on the home page.

Ok, Citysearch® – Australia’s leading entertainment and lifestyle website- wants your opinion! Be it your favourite place for a Sunday Session or the most romantic restaurant in town, Citysearch® is on a mission to uncover and award Australia’s favourite city hot spots via a campaign called the Citysearch® Best in the City Awards. Check it out at Citysearch.com.au/awards.

The Best in the City Awards has Citysearch® turning the tables on city urbanites and asking them what they think are the best places in town. Unlike countless industry awards that have been done to death, these awards are ‘the people’s choice’ awards – local categories, local picks, voted by local people – people who know and love their city.

So it could be the incredible view from the roof-top bar, the barista who is a master of latte art, the talented street performer in your local strip or the waiter who knows exactly how you like your steak. Citysearch® believes successful city entertainment is built on an ability to offer a unique experience and make it a memorable moment in time. So now it’s time to give Australia’s savvy public a voice and a chance to tell us what they love most about their city.

Until 12 September 2009 nominations are open. Monday 21 September 2009 will see the finalists announced and the public will be invited to vote.

Voting closes 23 October and the inaugural Citysearch® Best in the City Award winners will be announced 2 November 2009.

The awards are running in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The ten award categories represent the best entertainment options in town, from ‘Best Friday night drinks’ to ‘Best vegie fare’ with the winner in each category taking home the prestigious Eye-Con trophy and the kudos that comes with being voted number one.

So tell us what’s hot in your city and nominate your favourite entertainment options for the title of Citysearch® Best in the City, visit www.Citysearch.com.au/awards.

AWARD CATEGORIES

• Best vegie fare
• Best service to make you smile
• Best Sunday session
• Best place for a first date
• Best Bathroom
• Best Friday night drinks
• Best Place to Watch the Game
• Best Cheap and Cheerful
• Best Street Performance
• Best in the kid-friendly stakes

Gangs of thugs roaming the streets with razors. Open brawls over drugs and booze. Ruthless criminals who murder at the drop of a hat.

More reasons to stay indoors and watch Masterchef?

No.

Welcome to Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s: when the grog was sly, the fights were for keeps and even a visit to the barbers was a death-defying experience.

In this look at a fascinating part of our history, Citysearch® interviews Nerida Campbell about Sydney’s early 20th century criminal underbelly and the women that ruled the roost – women like Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine.

Nerida is curator of the Femme Fatale exhibition, which is running at the Sydney’s Justice and Police Museum until April 2010.