The government’s announcement of an $11Bn deal with Telstra and the simultaneous launch of a national campaign about the benefits of the National Broadband Network (NBN) is probably more than just a mysterious coincidence. Despite the smell of a 2010 election in the air, the really interesting issue lies in the content of the highly polished 30 second spots.  Every application of the NBN within the advertisement, without exception, relates to real time video conferencing. In other words, the key selling benefit is that the NBN will give Australians the opportunity to see, hear and experience each other in a way that enriches our lives and the lives of our children. Fantastic! Except it won’t work that way and history has shown us why.

Hutchison’s launch strategy and advertisements for 3 Mobile in Australia, nearly 10 years ago, were almost an exact copy of today’s NBN campaign. Happy people with perfect teeth talking to other happy people with great suntans, all rendered perfectly through the communications revolution. The future was here!  Even taking into account the limitations of the 3 Mobile service at the time, the take-up rate was abysmal. It was not that people were trialling the service and opting out, they weren’t interested at all. 3 Mobile learnt a $500M lesson when they found out that the vast majority of our conversations at home and at work are short, unplanned and transactional. Almost all of us have video conferencing facilities at the office, and sometimes they even work. The vast majority of us use them sporadically at best.

The real benefits of the NBN are yet to be fully explored and go hand in hand with the wireless revolution taking place in our homes.  There is a silent explosion of wireless devices, powered by Apple’s interconnectivity and Google’s integrated Android platform that is populating the corners of our homes. From iPhones and iPads, to Android phones that share content with your Google TV platform. It is these devices and the content they call upon that will drive Australia’s NBN ambitions, not mid-afternoon calls to granny.
And this is where the conversation gets tricky for NBN management. If third party content is likely to be the main driver of our high speed broadband revolution, how do they make sure it is legally obtained and used? IINet’s recent victory against copyright infringement claims represents a legal victory for a company that does not have a moral obligation to censor the behaviour of its subscribers. How does that work for subscribers of the government run NBN network? After all, Australia is a signatory to all international copyright and intellectual property protection treaties. If IINet wins an expected appeal by the world’s major music and production studios, the NBN will be legally protected, but not politically protected. Australians will not subscribe to a service that is monitored or censored if there are alternatives to the NBN such as IINet that takes no responsibility for its subscriber’s behaviour.

The NBN is a good thing for Australia and the government has been brave to take the initiative. The 8 year timetable is ambitious and is now possible with the co-operation of Telstra. Over the next few years NBN management will realise that there is more to managing the NBN assets than rolling out cable.  The challenges will lie in the myriad of content, copyright protection and fair access deals that will need to be struck to deliver what consumers really want from the NBN. The question is whether these agreements can be both profitable and in the national interest.

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Since the release of the IAB’s most recent Ad Effectiveness study last year agencies in Australia have re-awoken to the power of third party measurement studies to evaluate campaign success. The aim of driving further spend from traditional media into the digital space by offering bespoke research studies of this kind is a sound one.  Using methods and metrics that clients have typically used to evaluate offline media gives them confidence in the digital results and the insights themselves are often compelling (sometimes surprising) reading.

It’s also been an opportunity to redefine campaign KPIs for digital media.  While clicks, reach and the like remain an absolute necessity in evaluating campaign success, new measurement was needed to determine the impact of digital media on objectives that have not been so accountable.  Examples such as digitals ability to drive footfall and ultimately conversion in-store for FMCG clients (research that was carried out in the UK back in 2006) and lifts in brand awareness for products that are indirectly advertised to consumers (such as some pharmaceutical products) are required. 

Ad Effectiveness studies of this kind are nothing new.  A quick Google search shows that the IABs first study in this market was as far back as 2001. However the recent wave of studies, which from discussions with publishers are becoming increasingly requested by digital planners, are uncovering trends which advertisers can use to their advantage.

One such trend is time targeting. The ability to target creative by time of day is not new either but recent research has enabled us to understand how to use the technology to most effectively reach consumers with the right messaging.  For example another IAB sponsored study in the UK (report published in April 09) showed that consumers pay more attention to advertising on the web after 6pm (awareness of ads increases by almost 52%) whilst lunch times, which has been seen as a key time to buy media, actually has one of the lowest ad awareness levels (an average of 11% paid attention to ads between 12 – 2pm).  This suggests that consumers are in a different mindset at lunch and a different message is required. 

The research also noticed that awareness levels changed by age group suggesting planners should add a demographic targeting filter on top of time targeting where possible to maximise campaign efficiencies.  Recent campaigns where this has been implemented have seen increases in response rates across clients in the finance and retail verticals.

The next step is to integrate brand research more seamlessly across media channels – and even across digital channels.  This is being carried out by various providers perhaps most notably by Google which showed how lifts in brand awareness from digital display impacted search conversions, but more research is required.

Nielsen are currently the main provider of the ad effectiveness reports although other players have come into the Australian market in recent months which highlights the important role that digital is playing.  This leads to clients re-evaluating their perception of online media and its role as part of an integrated campaign platform.

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