Internet hacktivists who are upset at the lack of Australian Government support for Julian Assange, the head of Wikileaks, have said that they are set to start hitting the web sites of organisations who are trying to distance themselves from the Australian subject.
David Richards
Regus Crashes Hundreds Of Australian Businesses
Service office provider Regus, is learning the hard way that a cheap ISP provider can be a disaster after hundreds of their customers in Australia found that they had no Internet or phone services this morning.
The company that brags about their level of service has left hundreds of businesses including many IT and marketing companies without any means of operating their business due to the failure of their own internal network.
Regus staff are unable to explain why the company does not have a backup plan or whether they will compensate their clients for loss of business in Australia.
Online the company brags about their disaster recovery operation claiming Regus provides dedicated working environments, communications technology and support services to minimise the interruption to a business caused by facilities failure, workplace disturbance or building emergency.
Captured IPTV & NBN Usage Data To Change Advertising Forever
New IPTV services coupled with Nielsen consumer and search intelligence data is set to hurt free-to-air and pay-television networks in Australia, with advertisers set to be offered consumer information that will allow them to deliver targeted marketing on the new NBN network wrapped around IPTV content.
Among the organisations looking at this method of advertising delivery is Telstra for use with their Telstra TV service.
The new technology that links an IP address with a consumer allows advertising agencies to identify whether a house has a dog or a cat or how many children there are in a family. It also allows organisations to identify what devices are sitting on a home network from computers and tablets to Smartphones and IP enabled receivers or TVs to wireless enabled devices.
It will also allow vendors to sell goods direct to a consumer, for example if a consumer has an HTC Desire phone on a 24 month contract, a carrier at 22 months out can then start targeting that consumers with a new phone using TV advertising.
What is not known is whether the Federal Government will introduce legislation that controls the gathering, repackaging and trading of personal data in Australia by organisations like Google, Apple and Microsoft who are already building extensive consumer profiles on Australian consumers? These are the same organisations that are also moving to deliver IPTV content via the likes of Google and Apple TV.
Already one of Australia’s largest advertising groups, Starcom Media Vest, is testing targeted advertising. “We are finally at the tipping point,” said Laura Desmond, chief executive of Starcom Media Vest. “Advertisers’ biggest complaint so far has been that many tests of this service haven’t been big enough in terms of scale.
Currently Starcom is running tests in the USA with Direct TV who are already a 3D partner with Panasonic. The new Direct TV service targets individual homes with advertisements using third-party data providers.
Most large advertising agencies in Australia are reluctant to talk about the gathering and use of personal content data with several claiming that the role out of the NBN will see the introduction of new TV services from several providers that will deliver targeted advertising.
The National Broadband Network business plan, released yesterday, is banking heavily on a “build it and they will come” philosophy, with internet protocol television and video-on-demand expected to a key user of the network in the future.
What is currently being tested in the USA is that advertising is pre loaded onto a household’s DirecTV box and when it is time to run the ads, the box “votes” for the most appropriate commercial for that household from a spectrum of ads preloaded onto the box’s digital video recorder.
According to the Wall Street Journal DirecTV information used to target ads won’t include viewing habits. The technology DirecTV is using in its set-top boxes is from Invidi Technologies. Invidi offers a variety of targeting technologies, some of which have been used by other operators. These include targeting by age, gender or geography. Invidi makes inferences about the age and gender of the viewer based on Nielsen data on the viewership of the channels the set-top box has been tuned to.
A test conducted by cable-TV operator Comcast and Starcom last year reached 60,000 households in Baltimore showed that homes receiving targeted ads changed the channel 32% less of the time than homes that received nontargeted spots.
In 2008, Nielsen who supply a lot of consumer data in Australia to large corporations and advertising agencies started receiving second-by-second viewing data from cable-system operators in the USA recently, they then sold this data to several advertisers and media agencies.
Addressable ads will total $11.5 billion in the U.S. by 2015, according to projections from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We believe the U.S. television industry is finally on the cusp of transforming advanced advertising into meaningful reality,” wrote BOA analyst Jessica Reif Cohen in a note to investors”.
Tony Abbott Leader of the Federal Opposition said yesterday “It’s pretty obvious that the main usage for the NBN is going to be internet-based television, video entertainment and gaming,” the Opposition Leader said.
Plans to enable television distribution via the NBN will be among the network’s second round of product releases after it has bedded down basic high-speed broadband and telephone services starting from April.
New Pro Canon Video Camera For Advanced Amataeurs
If you fancy yourself as a budding film maker, Canon has launched its smallest professional digital video camera ever, the XA10 however pricing has not been announced.
CE & IT Retailers Set To Be Stripped Of Customers
Consumer electronics and high end Hi Fi retailers who don’t have online shopping operations are in for a tough 2011, according to new research which reveals that Internet shopping is set to double this year.
Research conducted by SmartHouse reveals that 68% of consumers are more likely to shop for Hi Fi and consumer electronic goods from overseas sites this year because of the “heightened” awareness given to online shopping by the recent media campaign initiated by retailers in Australia, who want the Federal Government to impose a 10% GST on goods purchased from overseas web sites.
45% said that they had never purchased online but were prepared to “try It” in 2011.
Of those that had shopped online 84% said that they would continue shopping online via overseas web sites because of “price differences” and “good service” offered by overseas web sites.
Forrester Research said recently that online shopping in Australia via Australian web sites is set to grow from $16.5 Billion in 2010 to $33 Billion by 2015.
Forrester Analyst Steven Noble believes that online shopping is “inevitable” in Australia and that consumer will not necessarily stay loyal to major brand stores.
He believes that online presents opportunities for smaller retailers who are able to offer service and support to their Australian customers.
Noble said that traditional retailers would benefit more from upgrading or investing in new online operations.
Earlier this month I walked into a Banana Republic store in the USA, when I presented my Australian credit card the assistant said: “Mr Richards we have your details on record. Do you realise that we are now shipping to Australia. I am sending to your email address, a link for several deals we are doing this month that can be shipped to Australia.”
Not only was I impressed with their marketing the deals they offered were excellent.
In Australia big retailers like Dick Smith, BigW, JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman are failing to capture consumer data when they shop unlike US and UK stores who go out of their way to capture data even if it is only an email address.
Forrester Research claims that 20% of all Internet purchases in Australia in 2011 were for consumer electronics, 32% books & music and the rest clothes and accessories.
Noble said that it was “inevitable over time” that large vendors like Sony would move to offering goods online in competition with mass retailers. He also said that the introduction of the NBN broadband network would also take business away from retailers in particular department stores as more consumers moved online to shop.
Len Wallis of Len Wallis Audio in Sydney is currently scoping a new transaction web site that will allow him to compete with the mass retailers. “We have an excellent brand name and a reputation for service. We believe this is critical when offering a service online. We are currently working with our online designers to deliver an online trading capability”.
New Sparkie Range Rover Does 1,100 Kilometres To A Tank
Range Rover is set to reveal a new four wheel drive that keeps giving itself an electric shock which propels it along for 32 kilometres without the need for liquid fuel.
By adding the extra bit of spark the new Range Rover Sport with its 3.0-liter TDV6 power plant, is capable of going a whopping 1,100 kilometres, which is from Sydney to the Gold Coast on one tank of fuel.
 Click to enlarge |
Land Rover said that they are working on multiple versions of the new technology and that the new eRange Rover prototype will be shown at the Generva Motor Show.
Borders Set To Go Belly Up As Bankruptcy Looms
Book store company Borders, is facing an uncertain future as they struggle to compete with the likes of Amazon who are selling hard copy books and eBooks in the millions to consumers around the world including Australia.
At the weekend Borders, which has struggled with the long-term shift towards digital sales admitted that they are poised to declare themselves bankrupt after failing to reach a deal with bankers over liabilities of more than $1bn.
Shares in Borders dived 32% on Wall Street on Friday as reports emerged of a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The group that has 674 US stores employing 19,500 people comes 14 months after Borders’ UK arm went bust, with a loss of 1,100 jobs.
It is not known whether Border’s Australian operations will be affected.
In Australia several bookstores are struggling as consumers move to eBook readers such as Amazon’s Kindle or the iPad. This year at least 40 new tablets that offer eBook reading capability are set to be launched with Amazon recently reporting that eBooks are already outstri8ppingt hardback book sales.
Borders, founded in 1971 by two Michigan brothers, Tom and Louis Borders, has missed payments to landlords and publishers. Under the oversight of a bankruptcy judge, it will try to renegotiate its debts. But the company is tipped to shut at least 150 of its stores. Big potential losers include prominent Wall Street hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital is one of the chain’s top investors.
Bing, Can Someone Find Us An Ad Agency
Microsoft Australi,a who has under 8% of the search market in Australia but growing marketshare for their Bing search engine in the USA, is looking for a local advertising agency in an effort to increase their share up against Google who have the lions share of the Australian market.
The US company has asked five competing agencies to handle creative and strategic duties, with a decision expected by the end of the month.
Bing was launched locally in 2009 as part of a joint venture between Microsoft and Ninemsn after the software giant rebranded its MSN and Live Search search engine as Bing.
Last month saw the biggest month-over-month increase in its share of the Internet search market in the USA with Bing climbing to 13.1% of the U.S. search market in January.
According to Comscore the increase in market share appeared to come at the expense of Google which saw its share decline to 65.6% in January from 66.6% at December 2010.
Ninemsn marketing manager Kurt Fulepp told AdNews: “This will mark the company’s first major marketing push.” Additional funds will be allocated to Bing, and there will be a big marketing focus for the search engine in 2011.
Airlines Operating Into OZ Forced To Change Online Pricing
Eight major airlines operating into Australia have been forced to change the way that they advertise airfares following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Qantas is not one of them.
The ACCC said that under section 48 of Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA)*, businesses that choose to advertise a part of the price of a particular product or service must also prominently specify a single total price.
During a review of airlines for compliance with these obligations, the ACCC identified several websites that did not display airfare prices inclusive of all taxes, duties, fees and other mandatory charges.
The airlines identified in the review included:
Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd;
Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd / Tiger Singapore Pte Ltd;
Air Asia X Sdn Bhd;
Malaysia Airlines System Berhad;
Air New Zealand Limited;
LAN Airlines SA;
American Airlines Inc; and
Etihad Airways PJSC.
The ACCC notified each airline that it considered prices displayed on their website were a breach of section 48 of Schedule 2 of the CCA, insisting on prompt action to make their website compliant.
The non-compliant airlines each responded by changing their websites to display all-inclusive prices for all available international airfares departing Australia.
One of the airlines, American Airlines Inc, had also failed to display all-inclusive airfares for its domestic travel in Australia, which has now been rectified.
This review followed a significant guidance program conducted by the ACCC across various industries, including the travel industry, helping businesses better understand their compliance obligations.
“This ACCC action means that consumers now have accurate price information, and airlines have a more level playing field on price representations in this fiercely competitive industry where consumers are price sensitive,” ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.
“All airlines carrying on a business in Australia must advertise airfares that include all applicable fees and taxes.”
“The ACCC will not tolerate further non-compliance. These pricing requirements have been in place since 25 May 2009.”
“Non-compliance is likely to attract strong enforcement action to stop similar conduct in the future.”
“All businesses are reminded that they must comply or face possible court action with civil penalties or the issuing of infringement notices over such practices.’
* On 1 January 2011, the Trade Practices Act 1974 was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as part of Australian Consumer Law amendments. Section 48 of Schedule 2 replaced section 53C of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
Daily Deals Group Hits $760M In Revenue
Group-buying daily deals Web site Groupon says revenue in 2010 hit US$760 million, up from $33 million in 2009 – a 2300 percent increase. More than a third of the latest year’s sales came from outside the US.
Group-buying daily deals Web site Groupon says revenue in 2010 hit US$760 million, up from $33 million in 2009 – a 2300 percent increase. More than a third of the latest year’s sales came from outside the US.
Groupon last month launched an Australian operation dubbed StarDeals.
The 2010 figures were revealed in an e-mail to staff from CEO Andrew Mason who added that that he hopes to achieve “billions in revenue” in 2011.
Groupon also says it is partnering with Chinese Internet giant Tencent to create a group-buying website in China.