Speaking Sensis

Recently, there’s been a lot of strong talk about the future opportunities created by mobile technology.

The highly respected Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley recently said: “We believe more users may connect via mobile devices than desktop PCs within 5 years.” Eric Schmidt of Google was prompted to say: “If you want to understand the future of the internet, don’t think of it as pipes and tubes. Think of it broader as a mobile device.”

And Google Europe’s boss John Herlihy went a step further by saying: “In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant … In Japan, most research is done today on smart phones, not PCs.” While not everyone ascribes to Herlihy’s point of view, it does really underline the ‘mobile mania’ running through the industry at the moment.

So is this excitement justified? Simple answer - you bet!

First up, mobile Internet uptake has been extraordinary. The Sensis® eBusiness Report last year found that finding local products and businesses was the most popular use for mobiles with 41% searching for information on products and services and 36% searching for information on suppliers of products and services. By contrast, use for social networking is 40%.

And numbers are tipped to continue to grow and this will be borne out in the next Sensis® eBusiness Report, which will be out later this year. Usage of our mobile sites is also growing at a cracking pace. In 2009, usage of our mobile sites grew by 70% YoY.

 Mobiles – everyone has got one

Secondly, the headroom for growth is huge.

Globally there are currently about 3.2 billion mobile subscribers in the world and that number is expected to grow by at least a billion in the next few years. Today, mobile phones are more prevalent than cars (there’s about 800 million registered vehicles in the world) and credit cards (there’s only 1.4 billion of those). So significant has been there take up that fewer teens are now wearing watches because they use their phones to tell time. It could be safe to say that the mobile phone may be the most prolific consumer product to be invented.

Even in Australia there are more mobile services in operation than there are people!

Mobiles are evolving – rapidly

And thirdly, the mobile phones we have today are incredibly powerful, and getting moreso every month.

The first mobile internet connected device was launched in 1997.  The Synergy, launched by Philips, was the first smart phone on the market and while sales were poor, it paved the way for the smart phones of today.

And in 2000 Panasonic took things a step further with a converged gaming device and phone – a forerunner to the iPhone.  Again sales were poor and the phone was impossible to fit in your pocket, let alone the gaming console!  But these innovations helped shape where we are today.

The phones we use today are a totally different beast. In fact, behind all the cool applications is an engine that is probably ten times more powerful than the PC you had on your desk only 5 to 10 years ago.

And the whole mobile experience is just going to get better and better with new devices, new operating systems, like the Android and Apple’s OS4, and a never-ending stream of mobile apps.

The future …

But this is just the start. In fact, when you start to think about what’s coming in the coming five to ten years, the whole conversation starts to take on a distinctly Star Wars tone.

• Mobile internet will extend to new devices. Already we have seen the launch of iPad, NetBook, and Kindle – the next round of mobile connected devices will include in car Navigation systems;

• Solar powered phones – While there are already a few solar powered phones available today, we should expect to see them evolve quickly over the next 2 years with their primary goal to service third world countries and people who do not have access to electricity;

• Sixth Sense Technology – For me this is the most exciting mobile opportunity.  Imagine being able to project the content on your mobile phone onto a wall (or any surface for that matter) and use your hands to type emails, sort and share photos, read the newspaper and get shown the latest video content displayed onto the actual newspaper (yes the paper version)?  Oh and don’t forget that you’ll also be able to make phone calls, but they may change a little as well. Click here to look Sixth Sense Technology in action;

• Holographic screens – Do you remember in Star Wars when R2D2 mistakenly plays a holographic of Princess Leia saying: “Help me, Obi Wan. You’re my only hope”? Well we could expect that on our mobile devices in the next five to 10 years;

• Augmented reality – AR is live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment where elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery;

• Near Field Communications – the ability to scan your mobile at the point of sale to pay for goods; and

• Wearable technologies – like a mobile phone in your glasses. In fact, Apple just hired wearable technology expert, Richard DeVaul, as “Senior Prototype Engineer”.

So there’s definitely a lot of reason for the excitement about mobiles and its being driven by usage that’s now mainstream and technology that’s advancing at a rate of knots.

At the end of the day, the mobile phone will prove itself to be more than just another channel. It will be a game-change for the way businesses and consumers all over the world communicate.

We’re a pretty tech-savvy population, early adopters of innovation. We don’t treat our handsets as a device any more – it’s a resource, a personal medium. For many, it’s our diary, our music store, it stores all of our secrets – basically, it’s our best friend!

A growing number of advertisers are turning to mobile to supercharge traditional media by targeting campaigns to specific user groups, and adding a stronger response mechanism than they can achieve with any other medium. I’ve recently had the opportunity to speak to a number of industry peers and commentators about whether mobile really is the great marketing enabler, and I think there are three clear reasons why it is.

The mobile internet audience is available and ready.

Currently, over 8 million Australians use a mobile phone connected to a 3G network. New smart phones are precipitating the uptake of mobile usage. Retail analyst group, GFK reports that retail sales of smartphones in Australia grew by 604% in the June quarter while standard mobile handset sales fell by 30%.

The June 2009 Sensis® e-business Report based on a survey of 1,500 Australians revealed that 31% of male mobile users and 26% of female mobile users are accessing the web on their mobiles.

Almost half of all 20-29 year olds have now used mobile internet, while 47% of 14-17 year olds, 34% of 18 to 19 year olds, 33% of those in their 40s and 24% of 50-64 year olds are also surfing the web on their handsets.

As to what Australians are doing with the mobile web:

• 41% use it to look for information on products and services;
• 40% are accessing the mobile web to use social networking sites;
• 36% are using it to find suppliers of products and services;
• 27% are downloading video content;
• 25% are downloading games;
• 25% are doing their banking;
• 17% are watching TV; and
• 12% uploading video content.

The Australian Interactive Media Industry Association’s Mobile Lifestyle Index survey findings which were released this week validated that mobile web browsing is on the rise, with 21 per cent of the 3,710 respondents visiting websites on their mobile phones at least once a day. The report’s author, Dr Marisa Maio Mackay, said accessing the web, video, music and information on mobile phones was now well and truly mainstream, and that Australians are comfortable with mobile phone advertising. Our experience at Sensis certainly bears out these findings.

Mobile reaches buyers and browsers

Mobiles are conducive to search, being with you at all times when you’re out and about looking for products, services and places. This explains why usage of Sensis’ mobile sites including Yellow Pages® Mobile, White Pages® Mobile, Whereis® Mobile, Citysearch® Mobile and Sensis Search has double over the last 12 months to almost 2 million visits a month. When the Yellow Pages® application for iPhone was launched in August, it shot to the number one position in Apple’s Lifestyle category and the number two position in its top 25 free applications. This is people using their mobile actively searching for goods and services.

Mobile display ad campaigns have also far-exceeded many people’s expectations across a range of sectors. They allow advertisers to display information in a teaser format and to entice mobile browsers to click through to a specifically designed ad site to find out more about a product, service or offer, download a video or wallpaper or click to place an order. MediaSmart recently notched up 200 mobile display campaigns for advertisers in the auto, finance, FMCG and entertainment sectors. These campaigns are getting real results: the average interaction rate for mobile advertising is about 30 per cent – that’s 30 per cent of people clicking on an ad and going on to so something else, such as downloading a video, wallpaper or ring-tone, entering a competition, making a call or ordering a product. This is compared with a 3-4 per cent interaction rate which is commonly achieved for online.

Mobile is the glue that brings all the elements of a marketing campaign together

One of the really exciting aspects of mobile’s addition to the marketing mix is its ability to interact with other media, enabling advertisers to extend the reach of offline and online advertising. There are a range of other opportunities to integrate mobile with other media, for example:

• SMS shortcodes – eg. ‘text 19WIN’.
• Mobile codes – scan a code with your mobile camera to get access to content on your mobile
• Send to mobile – search online and take the result with you
• Coupons – present for redemption at a retail store
• Voice to mobile – call a voice service for information or directions and have the info sent direct to your mobile.

Mobile offers sophisticated targeting capabilities to the marketer

The mobile audience can be refined by age and gender, but also by location, household income, and time of day. Media Smart, 3 and Vodaphone have demonstrated similar targeting capabilities for the last year or so. At MediaSmart, we can currently target 1 million Telstra mobile customers, and this is set to increase. Consumer information is ascertained based on the billing address that they include in their mobile contract, which is then refined according to their Mosaic profile – a geodemographic classification that categorises people into 11 groups according to their ‘neighbourhoods’, which is more accurate than post code information. So a Bali holiday package could be marketed to 25-year old females in the ‘Young Ambition’ group and a Gold Coast fun park 40-somethings in the ‘Pushing the Boundaries’ group. And you could target the message to the target audience at the end of a hectic day, just when they’re wishing they could get away from it all.

The capability is also being developed to deliver advertising that is contextual to where a person is located at that very moment. Location-based solutions can allow retailers to send a mobile coupon or incentive when a prospect is just around the corner. For example, in the near future, you might make a video of a house for sale available when the user is in the area during inspection times.

A parting thought…

Mobile is not a marketing add on – it’s at the centre. And that’s because mobile is an essential part of the lives of most in the developed, developing and increasingly, the underdeveloped world!

As Henry Jenkins, Professor of Comparative Media at MIT recently said in a presentation to Tribal DDB in London, “the future of media and advertising is not about technology – it’s about emerging cultural practices”.

Whereis® is now offering Australians three new ways to find their way around town – Whereis® fuel savings, Whereis® Navigator turn by turn instructions from the 1234 voice service and Whereis® Traffic.

Whereis® fuel savings
When it goes live on 17 August, Whereis® Fuel will take the guesswork out of finding cheap fuel.

The simple, new mobile application uses GPS data to help find the cheapest fuel nearby from Australia’s best source of fuel price information, MotorMouth.com.au. The fuel service adds to the existing suite of rich content already available through Whereis® Navigator which includes weather forecasts, traffic incident alerts and business searches via Yellow Pages®.

Mario Davoli, General Manager, Telstra Mobile Applications, said the Whereis® Navigator functionality means users can then opt to receive turn-by-turn, spoken directions from any location to help find the nearest and cheapest fuel supplier listed.

Sign up for a free, 7-day trial of Whereis® Navigator on compatible handsets* to take advantage of the full suite of GPS functions.

Easy as 1234
Dial 1234 on a Whereis® Navigator enabled handset and you can now receive turn-by turn spoken directions to Yellow™ and White Pages® listings anywhere across Australia.

Whereis® Navigator customers can now enjoy all the benefits of an in-car GPS via the new integrated mobile service.

Whereis® Navigator, Commercial Manager, Fred Curtis regards 1234 integration as a significant step towards seamless mobile navigation technology.

“The fact that it now only takes a quick phone call and single click on an SMS link for a Whereis® Navigator customer to be guided via spoken directions to one of thousands of locations across the country is a really exciting development,” he said

An added ‘send to a friend’ function allows for simple sharing of direction data via SMS.

Whereis® Traffic
Avoiding serious traffic jams and finding your way around major traffic incidents just got easier, with launch of Whereis® Navigator Traffic in Adelaide, Canberra and Perth.

The new feature launched initially in March in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane helps drivers choose the best route to their destination by re-directing them around high-impact traffic incidents.

Whereis® Navigator is available on a range of mobile handsets including a selection of Blackberry, iMate, Palm Treo, Samsung, HTC, Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices. For further information, customers can visit their local Telstra shop or dealer, www.telstra.com/navigator or call 13 22 00.

Well, it’s that time of the year again. The 14th annual Sensis® e-Business Report has hit the shelves. The report continues to track the technological journey of Australia’s small businesses, while providing some insight into consumer adoption of technology as well.

This year, we’ve extend our coverage of mobiles and, I have to say, the results are really interesting.

Check out these resources:

An overview of the latest report from report author, Christena Singh. Includes video if you’re a fan of the moving picture.

A look at the rapid growth of the mobile internet. Can you believe that half of Australia’s young adults have already used it?

For a free copy of the latest report, it will be live here during the day on 20 August.

Sensis has been releasing an annual e-Business Report since 1995 looking at how businesses and now consumers utilise technology.  With the 2009 report just released, report author Christena Singh tells us how things have changed …

I don’t know about you, but I find it pretty mind-boggling to go back to our 1995 report and see that 48 per cent of businesses had no intention of getting on to the internet, mostly because they saw no business use for it!

Back in 1995 Sensis released its first “Special Report into Technology” which looked at how Australia’s small and medium businesses were using computers and the like.  Actually, it was pretty much just computers, and a bit of internet.  There was no talk of e-business in those days.  “The Internet” had a capital “I”, because it was kind of special, and maybe a bit intimidating!

Move forward to 2009… the internet doesn’t get a capital these days!  Now we see 97 per cent of Australia’s SMEs with computers, and despite what they might have thought back in 1995, 95 per cent of them are on the internet.  Of those, 96 per cent have a broadband connection.

And businesses certainly have found a use for it – many in fact!  While e-mail remains the number one use for businesses at 97 per cent, other top uses include looking for information on products and services (92 per cent), getting reference information and research data (91 per cent), internet banking (86 per cent) and access online directories, such as our beloved Yellow Pages® Online (83 per cent).

Now we see some 74 per cent of SMEs using the internet to buy goods and services, and 56 per cent using it to sell their products and services – with both of these applications growing further over the past year.

But for me the most interesting finding this year for businesses is that 26 per cent of Australian consumers are now accessing the internet on their mobile phones.  If you look at the top three mobile internet uses – looking for information on products and services, using social networking sites and looking for suppliers of products and services – it is interesting to note that two of these top three are commercial-based activities.  Definitely something for businesses to be thinking about when planning their business strategies for 2009 – and beyond!

According to the Sensis® e-Business Report – one of Australia’s longest running and most respected digital media surveys – the mobile generation has arrived.

For years there’ve been promises. Now the proof is well and truly in the pudding. According to the 14th Sensis e-Business Report, Australians and their mobiles have really clicked.

Almost half of all 20 – 29 year old Australians have now accessed the mobile internet. And teenagers aren’t far behind them, with 47% of 14-17 year olds and 34% of 18 – 19 year olds also surfing the web from the comfort of their phones.

In fact, all up, over a quarter of all Australians over the age of 14 have now accessed the mobile internet.

But the size and growth of the mobile generation is only part of the story. The other exciting bit is how Australians are using the mobile internet.

Unlike their dot.com boom predecessors, today’s mobile generation know exactly what the internet is about. And they’re getting straight down to business – in a big way.

41% of mobile internet users are looking for information on products and services, making it the number one mobile activity. And number three, at 36%, is looking for suppliers of products or services.

According to Mark Shaw, GM of Sensis’ digital advertising business MediaSmart, “this interest in product and service information is well and truly hitting the mobile usage numbers. Usage of Yellow Pages® Mobile has almost tripled in just one year¹”.

But the mobile generation isn’t just searching. They’re buying as well. 25% have purchased a ringtone, 25% have undertaken mobile banking, 19% have made a credit card purchase, 12% have ordered goods and services, and 10% have bought or sold through an auction site.

Clearly, this is an audience with a penchant for buying. And that’s gotta bring a smile to any advertiser’s face.

Of course, people aren’t just using their mobiles for business. They’re getting social as well.

40% of the mobile generation have used their mobile to access a social networking site. 27% have read a blog (while 12% have written one) and 7% have used Twitter from their mobiles.

And, not surprisingly, the mobile generation is tech-savvy to boot; getting stuck right into the most cutting edge rich media and applications.

Like the 27% who’ve downloaded video, the 25% who’ve downloaded games, the 17% who’ve watched mobile TV and the 12% who’ve scanned a mobile or QR code.

It’s now beyond doubt. A new revolution has begun. And it’s all happening right there in your pocket.

Yet another improvement hit your handset this week, as a new look and functionality upgrade was added to Yellow Pages® Mobile.

Yellow Pages® Mobile has had a fantastic year so far. People have been using the service more than twice as often as last year¹, and smart phone owners have been turning to it in droves. In fact, Apple iPhone users now make up 14% of all Yellow Pages® Mobile usage.

The latest upgrade includes not only look and feel improvements, but:

• The introduction of ‘Popular Searches’ to replace the browse heading section, which will give people a much simpler user experience
• An updated ‘Business Details’ page which brings advertiser listings to the top of the page
• Improvements to the ‘click to call’ function, which means a more seamless experience with fewer page loads
• Upgraded location maps to the latest version of Whereis® maps.

If you haven’t tried Yellow Pages® Mobile, why not give it a try today? You can find Yellow Pages® Mobile:

• At the top of the BigPond browser;
• Via the ‘Get it now’ feature at http://yellow.onyourmobile.com.au, or;
• By texting “MOBILE’ to 0429 YELLOW (935569).

These days Whereis® maps can be found online, on your mobile, in your car and Sensis will now send them to your mobile when you call 1234 or 12456! But for more than 10 years you’ve probably been accessing Whereis® maps on your portable GPS device. So it was great to see a recent review of top Australian GPS devices identify and praise Whereis® as the digital map provider powering the top seven ranked GPS units in Australia.

The Choice Magazine review – a trusted information source for Australian consumers – looked at 17 of the leading GPS devices in Australia and tested them for their May publication. The extensive review benchmarked leading brands such as TomTom, Garmin, Navman, Uniden, Mio and the recent ALDI model.

The testing involved selecting and routing to six random destinations in Sydney – a railway station, an airport, a university, a medical centre, a golf course and a sports complex – all starting from the same point. Travel times and distances were also measured between all 17 systems.

The review found Whereis® demonstrated superior quality in terms of mapping accuracy (notably in regional Australia) and was the data powering each of the first seven ranked devices.

So make sure you know who’s powering your GPS device before you buy one – maps do make a big difference.

Today, Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst spoke at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon on what he describes as The Age of Engagement.

Digital media isn’t merely cannibalising traditional media. It’s giving marketers new tools to work with and the ability to build deep, valuable relationships with customers.

The first presentation in this series looks at how local search is helping marketers support consumer purchase decisions in exciting new ways. And how the next generation of local search is being driven by the mobile phone.

The second presentation looks at social media. Be sure to check back as this presentation will be uploaded shortly.

Times might be tough in the media sector today, but there’s a lot about the future to be excited about.

This week, Bruce Akhurst, the CEO of Sensis, will be sharing his thoughts on the future in a two-part presentation: The Age of Engagement.

The first part of his speech – covering the rise of local search – will be delivered at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Sydney this Thursday, 23 April.

And, in a departure from the norm, part two of this presentation, which covers the rise of social media will be delivered using – what else – social media!

So, pop back to the Speaking Sensis blog this Friday, 24 April. You’ll be able to view both of Bruce’s speeches.