After coffee and eats, Mark Ottaway, Managing Director for Nielsen//NetRatings New Zealand spoke to the topic of Internet metrics and trends.

Key ideas for the session: we all like free stuff. Where are we kiwis at? Where is the younger kiwi generation leading us? What to focus on? The state of the online marketplace. There will be ideas that are relevant to both commercial and non-commercial organisation.

Let’s Stop Calling It New Media
Why is it called “new media”?

• The Web has been around since 1989, and the Internet for decades before then. Eg, other things that happened in 1989 are no longer considered “new” (Company 386 was the top computer, Cabbage Patch dolls, no Sunday trading/shopping, Simpsons started).
• Internet access is widespread; most of NZers have access to the Internet, although a smaller proportion have broadband access (we’re behind the curve in broadband access). Children are a key driver for broadband uptake / adoption.
• Research shows that homes with an Internet connection experience 25% less TV viewing than those without.
• TV remains a very dominant medium across all age ranges. Internet is the third most important, with music/radio as #2.
• Rapid evolution of media channels. Very difficult to get reliable information on blogs and RSS. Digital video and audio are very important.
• A quote from a Nielsen//NetRatings report … “Children / youngsters are better at adapting to the notions of community, connectedness and real-time communications. Parents are more colder and have more distant associations”.
• Children are bringing habits of media usage and consumption, eg, IM usage, into organizations. Unprompted, 77% of children expresssed interest in various new technologies. 58% of adults expressed no interest in any new technologies.
• Increased adoption of the Internet as a first-place-of-call when making purchasing decisions. Of those that go on to purchase, 50% purchase online.
• Better brand awareness from online advertising efforts.
• Share of online advertising … UK 2006 12.9%, Sweden 10.5%, Globally 5.7%. Expectations for New Zealand ranged from 3.2% to 8%; 4% would be a good middle ground according to Mark. However you cut it, here in NZ we’re behind. We have a smaller market. We’re slower in embracing new things.

Consumers have been very clear that they are embracing online, taking action online, interacting with others, and interacting with organizations. Are organizations doing enough? They need to …

• Constantly analyse website activities and performance.
• Analysing online just like they do other key business channels.
• Realise that online insights can be an offline goldmine.
• Realise that online is no longer an independent medium … it’s another core communications medium and is a critical part of modern business planning.

Need to constantly measure and assess. Outside measures are very important. Eg, New York Times, Marketers Demanding Better Count of the Clicks.

Need to align organization-wide KPIs both online and offline. They shouldn’t be different. We shouldn’t treat the areas as separate.

What’s important to know?

• What is the website’s contribution to your organization?
• Are you attracting the right people to your site?
• Are you able to guide the right users to the right places?
• Are users able to complete tasks easily?
• What are the objectives for the Website? What does “wild success” look like? What will prevent us from reaching these goals? Map out the reasons why people come, how they arrive, and what they use.

Conclusion
Online is cool, but it’s not “special”. It should just be another part of the standard business mix.

Q&A
Q1. In our target market of 25-40 year olds, should we aim for traditional advertising vs. online advertising?
Here in NZ, the combination of traditional and a complementary approach online is really powerful. Use the traditional to point to online, for the things you can’t do in a direct mail piece.

Reflections on Mark’s Presentation
I haven’t paid much attention to this area, but man, this guy was passionate about numbers and measurements. He just loved numbers, and it showed through. He did a great job of threading his passion through what could have been a very dry and boring topic.