Ninemsn's View

Big data together with technology hold the potential for a new age of transparency, efficiency and impact for digital advertising.

To deliver on this we have invested heavily in our data strategy, products and capabilities. Over the coming months we will be bringing to market insight driven campaign planning, return on investment validated targeting and the ability to measure, respond and optimize campaigns in real time.

Over the past few months, I’ve shared with you our vision for the future of media, through articles and various industry events. The rebrand of our company to Mi9 signals our dedication to this future.

This is so much more than a rebrand. We are expanding beyond publishing to offer our clients more in digital media products, data, insights and advertising technology.

In June 2012, Matt James will join Mi9 as the Managing Director of Mi9 Media, bringing with him 21 years of global media communications experience.

Matt will move from the UK for the role, where since 2010 he has been in the role of MD at Starcom Mediavest Group (Publicis).

Prior to that he was MD of Omnicom Media Group’s flagship international operation, OMD International London for a 12 year stint - during which, at age 27, he was named one of the youngest managing directors of a UK top ten media agency.

In part one, of this two part series, we started to look at what 2012 looks like for ninemsn and our advertisers. We looked at trends including, Context is King, New Horizons for TV, Virtual Togetherness and Regulators Narrow Their Focus as Consumers Pay the Price. Part two will look at a Seamless, Multiscreen World, Connect the Dots, Share Wars, and Real Time Bidding and Automation.

I recently spoke at the IAB/AIMIA 9th Annual Future of Digital Advertising Event. The event gave me a chance to organise my thoughts around what 2012 really looks like for ninemsn and our advertisers. I want to highlight some of these thoughts with you in this two part series.

There are parts of the Federal Government’s Converged Media Review that I find deeply scary. And what’s just as concerning is the fact that some very influential people in our industry don’t seem to be following it closely.

The interim report released in December says new digital media operators should face the same regulatory framework as traditional media outlets, and suggests introducing a new “super-regulator” and Australian content quotas.

The review has been slanted as an attempt to bring the regulatory regime up to speed with the technological advances in the digital industry, and addressing the overlap between different types of media. As a ‘converged media outlet’ by definition, the review is something ninemsn believes to be vitally important.

Over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time tracking how shoppers journey from the research phase through to post-purchase. But there’s been less focus on uncovering why consumers behave the way they do during the shopper journey. So, we decided to work with IPSOS OTX to dig a little deeper. We wanted to chart the decisions that drive consumers’ behavior as they travel along the purchase path and then uncover the emotional and functional triggers driving these decisions. What we found: Brands can use digital channels to respond to these triggers and actually shift decisions at key moments in the journey.

Recently there was a headline in an industry magazine that accidentally quoted me as saying "Digital is too hyped".

At this year's Digital Marketing Summit, ninemsn officially launched the Microsoft Advertising Exchange, the first premium, real-time bidding enabled (RTB) advertising exchange in Australia. The arrival of the Microsoft Advertising Exchange will put the control into the hands of marketers and be a game changer in the Australian media industry. With the introduction of RTB, data-driven marketing is at a point where an advertiser can for the first time deliver their target audience; the right message, at the right time, in a brand safe premium environment.