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Telstra Gets New Boss

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Telstra has a new marketin boss after Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo today announced that Bill Stewart, the company’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Strategic Marketing will leave the company at the end of the month, to return to his home and family in the United States. He wil be replaced by

Kate McKenzie.


Kate McKenzie, currently GMD, Telstra Wholesale will replace Mr Stewart, effective March 30.  Ms McKenzie’s replacement at Telstra Wholesale will be announced in the coming weeks.


Bill Stewart joined Telstra in 2005 to lead the newly formed Strategic Marketing group, which has responsibility for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, market-based management, pricing, brand management and advertising, and Telstra Asia.


“Under Bill’s leadership, Telstra has delivered increased customer satisfaction across all our business units and services,” Mr Trujillo said. “Bill and his team have helped deliver increases in market share, improved margins, lower churn and high strike rates for sales.


“Bill’s expertise in market-based management has given Telstra an unmatched depth of customer knowledge and has enabled us to provide high-value, competitively differentiated products and services to our customers.
Mr Stewart paid tribute to the accomplishments of the Strategic Marketing group.


“I am immensely proud of the people in Strategic Marketing for delivering this critical element of the transformation,” Mr Stewart said. “All of our achievements have been possible because of the commitment and professionalism of the Telstra team.”


Mr Trujillo said that Telstra was fortunate to have someone of Kate McKenzie’s calibre and experience to take on the role of GMD Strategic Marketing.

 


“Kate is a focussed and clear thinker with a wealth of experience across a range of industries in both the private and the public sector,” Mr Trujillo said. “Kate has done an exceptional job at Telstra Wholesale over the past four years and I am certain she will do an excellent job in her new cross-company role.”


Ms McKenzie will continue to report to the CEO and maintain her position on the CEO Leadership Team.
“I’m very excited to take on such a diverse and challenging role at a time of rapid change for the industry,” Ms McKenzie said.


“Over the past four years, the Strategic Marketing group has been integral to Telstra’s success through its brilliant customer research, management of the company’s brand, a series of timely acquisitions in Asia and the sale of non-core assets. I look forward to building on the terrific work the group has already done.


“I want to thank everyone in Telstra Wholesale who has worked with me since January 2006.   We can be immensely proud of our achievements in taking forward a $2.5 billion business in a challenging environment.  We have brought new products like ADSL2+ and Ethernet into the wholesale market and we consistently provide high quality, value adding products and services to our customers.”

Video Watching On Smartphones Set To Boom

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With more than 72% of in store shoppers in Australia using a digital device to research product information prior to buying or while in store, researchers are tipping a boom in video as a means to gain information.

ZenithOptimedia, claims that the rapid rise of smartphone and tablet penetration is the key driver for the uptake of online video

A recent Australian study by Deloitte reveals that Australians are adopting digital devices to research information ahead of Germany, The UK and The Netherlands. They said that 72% of consumers now walk into a store pre disposed to a brand or service after researching content online. 

Now a new study published in conjunction with Newcast, ZenithOptimedia Group’s global branded content network, the Online Video Forecasts report found that the average amount of time people will spend consuming online video each day will increase by 23.3% in 2015 and by a further 19.8% in 2016. 

The changes in consumer behaviour driven by the smartphone and tablet uptake are clear from the finding that mobile video consumption on devices is forecast to grow by 43.9% in 2015 and 34.8% in 2016.

 At the same time, video consumption on non-mobile devices will continue to grow, though at more moderate rates, increasing by 9.5% in 2015 and 6.5% in 2016.

The survey found that in 2012 mobile devices accounted for 22.9% of time spend watching online video worldwide; by 2014, this proportion had risen to 40.1%, and the company predicts it to reach 52.7% in 2016 and 58.1% in 2017.

Given these dynamics, ZenithOptimedia expects mobile to become the main platform for viewing online video by 2016 and predicts that the number of people regularly watching traditional, linear TV will peak this year, and will start to decline for the first time in 2016.

ZenithOptimedia regards the decline of linear TV viewing is in direct correlation with the increasing quantity and quality of content available online, both from short-form platforms like YouTube and long-form platforms like Netflix. It forecasts that the number of regular online video viewers will increase by 5.8% in 2015, 5.1% in 2016 and 5.3% in 2017.

“Consumers all around the world are rapidly embracing online video, because it offers them a near limitless array of engrossing content,” commented Newcast global managing director Mark Waugh. “Some of the keenest users are the young, affluent viewers who are hardest to reach on television. Brands are finding online video a particularly effective way to reach these valuable audiences, not just with advertising, but also with branded content; content that can inform or entertain consumers in a deeper and richer way than is possible with short, interruptive ads.”

The survey also noted that online video’s share of global digital ad-spend is rising rapidly: it was 8.8% in 2012 and 10.2% in 2014; the survey projects that it will increase to 12.8% by 2017, an eighth of all Internet ad-spend. 

Online video was found to be the fastest-growing category of Internet advertising: ZenithOptimedia forecasts it to grow by 28.9% to $16.1 billion worldwide by the end of 2015, followed by 22.5% growth in 2016 and 19.7% growth in 2017, when it will total $23.7 billion.

Dont Blow It GFK Warns CE Retailers

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The penetration of flat panel TVs in Australian households is increasing at a rapid rate claims GFK, with analysts claiming that the industry could get a big boost running into Xmas from the release of billions of dollars in funding by the Federal Government.


Several retailers including Clive Peeters, Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi claim that they also expecting big sales between Boxing Day and the New Year. However retailers have been warned to not “Overdo the offers or incentives”.
GFK data shows that 1-in-7 Australians now own an LCD TV, with 1-in-13 owning a Plasma TV. They are also investing in home theatre systems and other attach devices claims the research Company.


 Evidence of this they claim is 1 in 5 now owns a DVD player. 1 in 9 a DVD recorder and 1 in 3 a games console.
 GFK claim that DVD players have the largest penetration of Australian households despite DVD recorders being the newer technology. However Games Consoles are, by far, the fastest growing of these three major component categories.
In the first six months of 2008, Games Consoles recorded sales of a$224 million, an increase of 45% on the first half of the previous year. In contrast, DVD players and DVD recorders registered decreases of 16% and 8% respectively for the same period.


In response to the demand for TV components, some retailers and manufacturers have been giving them away for free as part of the sale of a TV, in an attempt to attract flat panel consumers and this has proved very popular they claim.
However, when it comes to these offers influencing the actual decisions made by flat panel buyers, the effect is far from predictable.


Recent data from GFK’s Australia ConsumerScope study shows, that although many people are influenced by giveaway promotions, around 40% would have made the same purchase decision without the incentive. This does not suggest that such promotions are failing, but it is clear that they are not all equally as persuasive says the researcher.

 

They say that the consumer response to giveaways is category-sensitive and also depends on the free product. Some giveaways tend to steer a consumer towards alternative models within a selected brand’s range, whereas others are powerful enough to instigate a brand switch.

 
At least one trend, however, appears to be consistent across product categories: as the price of the “paid for” item increases, giveaway promotions become more effective at switching consumers to a different model within a preferred brand’s range, and less effective at switching consumers to a completely different brand. Although a select few giveaway promotions are able to contradict this trend, the overall implication is, that compared with lower-end consumers, big spending consumers are less likely to switch brands because of a giveaway.


These high spending consumers are more inclined to respond to giveaway promotions by being up-sold to another model within their favourite brand’s range. Retailers and manufacturers have already begun unveiling their latest promotions designed to encourage cautious consumers to celebrate Christmas as usual and, in an uncertain economic environment, it will be more critical than ever to select and target such promotions accurately.

Myer Profits Increase 40% Expanded CE range

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Department store group Myer who have cranked up their consumer electronic offerings of like to compete head on with the likes of Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi have delivered a 40% increase in net profits.

Department store group Myer who have cranked up their consumer electronic offerings of like to compete head on with the likes of Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi have delivered a 40% increase in net profits.

The group has also forecast improved profitability by mid-2010. In their latest report My have net profits for fiscal 2008 of $93.579 million, up from $73.432 million in the prior year.

The profit increase comes despite a downturn in revenue from $3.002 billion last year to $2.94 billion this financial year. However the cost of doing business fell 2.8 per cent to $1.057 billion .

Myer claim that despite  tough market conditions they would continue, with good profits in 2009 due to cost cutting and better buying procedures and that they are “on track to deliver improved profitability with (earnings before interest and tax) of seven cents in the dollar by mid-2010”.


According to AAP Myer Group executive chairman, Bill Wavish, said the company considered its financial performance as “solid”.”Cash flow and profitability have both improved, providing us with a stronger platform for capital investment in the business,” Mr Wavish said. “Debt has also reduced, with our next repayment four years away. “Despite current difficult retail trading conditions, we are on track to achieve the economic performance to underpin long term sustainable investment and growth.

“By mid 2010, the end of the Turnaround Phase and the beginning of the Growth Phase, we would expect to be earning over seven cents in the dollar.” He added “Given the prevailing economic conditions and the impact on earnings of current refurbishments, our expectation that fiscal 2008 profits can be maintained in fiscal 2009 reflects our confidence in the underlying business, including our ability to continue to drive business improvements.”

Qantas Bans Mile High Porn Thrills

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Qantas been sucked into an American airlines porn row with the Aussie icon now banning live internet access on their A380 planes.

Qantas been sucked into an American airlines porn row with the Aussie icon now banning live internet access on their A380 planes.

Instead Qantas will deliver a cached service after it was revealed that customers on American Airlines were accessing porn sites much to the angst of flight attendants and other American airline passengers.

American Airlines, started offering passengers full in-flight broadband internet access on its Boeing 767-200 planes for $US12.95 a flight in August and within days the log files revealed that one of the hottest categories accessed was porn sites.

According to the SMH a Qantas spokeswoman said the internet plans had been paired back due to “logistical and regulatory issues” encountered by its connectivity provider, OnAir. The airline said the full internet service was now scheduled to be available “later in 2009”.

Qantas has also said that they will launch new technology on its domestic fleet which allows customers to access in-flight SMS and email from their mobile phones. International Qantas customers will also able to book their seat and issue a boarding pass from their office or home.

Hotel Industry Buying Up HD TVs And Control4

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Hotels are installing thousands of display screen and in room automation systems in an effort to improve guest comforts lower operating costs and beat the phasing out of traditional CRT analogue TVs. Among the industries benefitting are the display industry and Companies like Control4.

In the latest move LG Electronics and automation Company Control4 have joined forces to develop an automation system for hotels, which will allow guests to control all aspects of their room experience, including lighting, room temperature, and in-room entertainment systems. 

Control4 is currently talking to several hotel and motel groups in Australia according to Nick Libertone the Managing Director of Convergent Technologies the Australian distributor of Control4.

During the past 12 months Control4 Suite Systems has gained tremendous traction in the hotel industry with the recent introduction into the City Center Project in Las Vegas, Mandarin Oriental and Trump SOHO.
Control4 was previously focused on the residential marketplace but recently entered into hospitality marketplace. Jim Gist, VP of development, believes that its value proposition is focused on three key areas: the guest experience utilizing the TV as a portal, the green concept – focused on LEED certification and energy savings and construction cost savings – wireless initiative requires less infrastructure.

By establishing relationships with a number of key in-room technology providers Control4 has already partnered with companies such as Axxess Industries and Saflok to integrate their technology into an overall system. And from their experience in the residential marketplace, Control4 is well positioned to integrate its product lines in mixed use facilities that offer both residential and commercial applications.

“With the inroads Control4 has made in the hotel industry, we believe this is the right time to collaborate on an integrated solution that will deliver a superior guest experience, with more features and convenience than a set-top box approach,” LG’s senior vice president of technology for R&D, Richard Lewis, said. “We look forward to working with Control4 to extend the use and functionality of flat-panel HDTVs beyond entertainment into control and automation for hotel guests.”

 

A leading research Company also claims that hotels and motels are a major buyer of flat panel HD TV’s with rising occupancy and increased travel rates among both business executives and consumers driving the global hotel industry to upgrade the old CRT-TVs in guest rooms to flat-panel sets, causing hotel TV sales to this segment to rise by nearly a factor of 11% from 2007 to 2012, according to iSuppli.


In Australia many hotels are faced with thousands of TV’s becoming obsolete as soon as the Federal Governments digital TV service mandate comes into effect in February 2013.  iSuppli expects to see more hoteliers-including lower-end motels-to adopt HD service and flat-panel displays.

The global hotel industry has been on an upswing for the past three years, said Sanju Khatri, principal analyst for projection and large-screen displays at iSuppli. Despite the economic downturn in the United States, worldwide macroeconomic fundamentals suggest that the hotel market will remain on a growth path for the next few years.

While iSuppli’s forecast of global hotel TV shipments will grow to 9.7 million units by 2012, managing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 61.5% from 894,527 units in 2007, the revenue growth also is expected to reach US$2.3 billion by 2012, up from US$1.1 billion in 2007.

Long a staple of the CRT-TV market, hotels are switching to Flat Panel Display (FPD) TVs, paralleling the shift that is occurring among consumers, Khatri said, hoteliers are noting that their guests desire more than just the standard hospitality elements that satisfied them in the past, like CRT-TVs.

iSuppli say that the Asia/Pacific region which includes Australia will generate the highest percentage growth for hotel TV shipments over the next few years. Shipments are expected to rise to 1.3 million units in 2012, increasing at a CAGR of 90% from 52,031 units in 2007.

 

Hoteliers claim that business guests are increasingly bringing their partners or families along with them as they travel, creating mini-vacations by extending their business stays by a few days. Because of this, hoteliers are adjusting their approach to suit entertainment and leisure interests rather than simply catering to a business mindset.


Most luxury and mid-scale hotels now are offering guests a variety of in-room entertainment options, such as High-Definition Television (HDTV), Video on Demand (VOD) and video games, Khatri said.


By offering these types of quality in-room entertainment services, they are hoping to capture more in-room entertainment revenue, differentiate their brands and ensure greater guest satisfaction, which has prompted hoteliers to turn to larger-sized displays with higher resolutions to provide a theatre-like experience inside their hotel rooms.

Thieves Swoop On Dockets At Aldi Store Claims Manager

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Aldi the supermarket chain has a security issue claims a store manager at their North Sydney store. She claims that consumers are picking up discarded checkout dockets from the floor and then entering the main area of the supermarket to steal items among their electrical goods.

The manager who offered to show ChannelNews CCTV footage of the thefts but did not want to be named said “We now have consumers with returns come to the front of the store where the till area is located opposed to entering the supermarket area. This is because we have a theft problem. People are picking up discarded dockets and then using them to steal goods” she said.

In some cases thieves are watching what a consumer has purchased and whether a docket is discarded before they strike.


Aldi who are selling small appliances, computers and tools have a policy of not putting computers or memory for digital cameras on display instead they use images and catalogues to promote their higher priced items like their new PC Workstation and the Aldi Medion notebook.

Senior OZ Executives & Government Officals Targeted By Hackers

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Australian Government officals and senior business executives are being targeted by hackers with security experts claiming that the attacks could be the work of foreign Governments.

The scam, known as spear phishing, was used in a bid to get passwords of Gmail accounts so they could be monitored. The targeted attack was also used by hackers to compromise e-mail accounts of top US officials.

Dan Kaminsky, chief scientist at security firm DKH, said:”What is happening more and more is the targeting of a couple of high value individuals with the one goal of acquiring valuable information and valuable data,” said

He told the BBC that via a small number of customised messages it tries to trick people into visiting a web page that looks genuine so users type in login names.

Such attacks are often aimed at top government officials or chief executives of top 100 Companies.

Such attacks are not new, he claims, but they are becoming more commonplace.

“The most interesting information is concentrated in the accounts of a few people,” he said. “Attackers using information to impersonate the users is at epidemic proportions and why computer security is in the state it is in.”

In March, security firm RSA was hit by a sophisticated spear-phishing attack that succeeded despite only two attacking e-mails being sent. The phishing e-mail had the subject line “2011 Recruitment Plan” and contained a booby-trapped spreadsheet.

Total access
Google said it uncovered the deception through a combination of cloud based security measures, abuse detections systems and user reports. It also cited work done by a website called contagio dump.

The founder of the site is technologist and researcher Mila Parkour who said the method used in this attack was “far from being new or sophisticated”.

The RSA attack involved two e-mails sent to a small group of high-value individuals.

She told the BBC she was first alerted to the problem by one individual back in February. She would not reveal their name or position.

Google said that among those targeted were senior government officials, military personnel, journalists, Chinese political activists and officials in several Asia Pacific countries.

100Gb BluRay Soon

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While Sony’s PlayStation 3 might well be the first Blu-ray device most consumers see, industry supporters of the technology are setting their sights much higher with the possibility of a 100GB disc being available soon.

TDK, one of the key supporters of the next-generation DVD formats say  that it will be making a major play for the storage sector, both through direct sales and via the network of specialist storage resellers and value-add resellers. “Our target markets are the authoring and pre-mastering sectors,” said Jean-Paul Eekhout, corporate strategy director at TDK, and vice chairman of the European Blu-ray PR committee.

“Data storage is going to be key, and maybe jukebox systems. There’s also an underestimated market for video enthusiasts getting into high definition recording.”

TDK already has 50GB Blu-ray discs in production and has built engineering samples of 100GB discs, although these are not expected to go into production until 2007. Early prices for the media are high, however. Eekhout estimated that 25GB recordable discs would cost around $75, and 50GB recordable discs will initially be around $100 at launch in October 2006.

But prices for Blu-ray media would drop to within 10 per cent of current DVD costs once TDK reached full production, according to Eekhout.Initially five companies will be launching PC Blu-ray burners, including Samsung, Sony and Philips. Current write speeds are limited to 2x, but Eekhout predicted that this would rise to 8x and beyond in the future.