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From here to eternity…why brands need to keep their feet grounded when taking off into the metaverse

The metaverse is one of the most contentious topics facing forward-thinking brands and marketers today, with deep divisions on whether it’s a fantasy or, in a world where NFTs already exist, just around the [digital] corner. Indeed, for an industry based on articulating ideas, few seem to be able to even define what actually is the metaverse.

But what does the metaverse mean for marketers – should they be cynical and focus on what works now? And if the concept is all a far-flung dream, why are some of the biggest brands in the world chasing an abstract concept?

A panel of experts at Nine’s Big Ideas Store session, ‘Blurred Realities’ – hosted by Director of Powered Enterprise, Nicki Kenyon, with Wavemaker’s Chief Growth and Product Officer, James Hier, The Australian Financial Review technology journalist Jessica Sier and futurist Tom Goodwin – took on the hotly-debated subject.

Before marketers start planning for this new frontier, the world needs to reach consensus on what the metaverse is and how it affects consumers. According to journalist Jessica Sier, the metaverse is not a singular place, rather it’s a variety of collective, virtual shared spaces that rethink how people spend their time online.

“We do it through a screen but we’re in another place and we’re interacting in real-time with other people, doing real things,” says Sier. “The metaverse is evolving so there are things like commercial transactions, people are trading things, and buying and making money and that seems like a natural evolution and how companies are building it at the moment.”

“We’re not admonishing any clients because we’re all on this journey together. The CEO of Blackstone says it best: this journey will transform every Tom Goodwin is not as sold on the concept of the metaverse in its current state, telling Kenyon: “It’s a complete mess. Everybody’s talking about the metaverse but nobody remotely has any idea what it is. We all hold on to this vision in our head of whatever suits us individually.”

Outgoing Managing Editor of The Australian Financial Review Joanne Gray – who will soon be taking up a position at climate advisory and asset For James Hier, the metaverse is “just a vision”.

“A lot of people have been challenging it and calling it a ‘multiverse’ because none of it is actually connected,” he explains. “The metaverse is almost a collective noun for a collision of a whole lot of technologies like AI, VR crypto, NFTs with online interactions that we’re very familiar with, like social, commerce, gaming, entertainment, identity…”

So why are brands and marketers investing in something that is still “just a vision”? Microsoft recently invested $75 billion in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher Activision Blizzard – this is a lot of money to invest in something that doesn’t exist.

Jessica Sier said there needs to be a degree of scepticism around companies raising capital and ploughing money into metaverse with no real strategy. However, she doesn’t agree with the idea that the metaverse doesn’t exist.

“There are people spending time in these online places. They are buying and selling, there are commercial transactions taking place”, says Sier. “I would also argue that there is a technology breakthrough that means that a digital asset on the internet now, there’s only one of them. It’s got its own identity and can move around cyberspace.”

This is an interesting breakthrough because it means when people buy and sell digital assets on the internet, they’re not buying or selling something that can be copied and pasted thousands or millions of times, which has been a problem for brands for many decades now.

Ultimately, brands and marketers need to be where the eyeballs are and at the moment, that is online, inside these universes. So now, with this technology breakthrough, brands can issue digital assets as part of their product line.

Nike has already done this, releasing sneakers to dress skins for different characters online, and they can now make sure that for people buying these ‘digital sneakers’, there is only one version, which gives it a value.

“Whether or not you think the free market has taken this idea and gone a bit mental with NFTs – which is definitely what has happened – the technical breakthrough is quite sound,” says Sier.

“People are going to spend more and more time online in different virtual environments ‘doing stuff’. Now, we don’t know what the ‘stuff’ is yet, but people are in these games already… in Minecraft and Roblox, you’ve got kids already building their own portions of the metaverse with software.

“So if you’re going to look at a trend, look at what the young people are doing, and that’s what major brands are already doing. They’re pouring all this money in to try and capture a super young audience who’s got heaps of disposable income and who’s spending heaps of time in a game.

“If I’m a marketer then yeah, I want to make sure that Coke is in front of their eyeballs so that in their real lives they’ll buy Coke… I think it’s just an extension of people’s physical lives.”

While the metaverse is still in its infancy and may not have yet reached the ‘vision’ of Big Tech, the panel agrees that a range of online universes do exist and people are joining them in growing numbers. Smart brands are taking advantage of that, however a healthy dose of scepticism is warranted, as is a clear strategy for playing in this space as it continues to develop.

Brands must be part of the solution not the problem when it comes to climate action

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the challenges facing the world right now. Whether it’s tackling climate change, slavery, sustainable consumerism, gender equality or any of the other myriad of issues our society faces, the world’s ‘To Do List’ is getting dauntingly long.

But as the United Nations sets out 17 goals for Sustainable Developments, the time is ripe for brands to fill the void that governments are leaving, step up and engage, and be a part of the solution to make our world a better place.

In Nine’s recent State of the Nation Sustainability study, it was revealed tackling climate change was the top concern for most people surveyed, with an overwhelming amount of respondents expecting that brands take a position on the issue and use their power to help enact action.

In a Big Ideas Store panel discussion on ‘Australia’s To Do List’ featuring Michele O’Neill, Director of Powered Enterprise; Rose Herceg, President of WPP Australia and New Zealand; Louise Eyres, Chief Marketing Officer of Vanguard; Matt Jones co-founder of Four Pillars Gin and Joanne Gray, outgoing Managing Editor of The Australian Financial Review, the big topics of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), sustainability and climate change and the role brands play in this space were addressed.

The marketing and advertising industries are based on the mantra of consumption is growth, but in an era of companies pledging to be Net Zero, how do the worlds of advertising and marketing play its role in becoming part of the solution?

“It is counter intuitive to talk about an industry that was created to get people to consume more, but we are re-engineering to get people to consume even better or less,” reveals Rose Herceg. “A great example of this is IKEA, who will have a circular economy by 2030; they will physically not have anything they can’t reuse by 2030. There will be no waste. They are changing their business model from selling to renting for some things.”

“We’re not admonishing any clients because we’re all on this journey together. The CEO of Blackstone says it best: this journey will transform every single business as we get to Net Zero. Of the top 50 clients we have, 32 have a rock solid ESG plan by 2025 to be Net Zero.”

Herceg also highlighted CommBank, who are empowering customers to turn their homes ‘green’ to be eligible for a green interest rate discount on mortgages.

Outgoing Managing Editor of The Australian Financial Review Joanne Gray – who will soon be taking up a position at climate advisory and asset management firm Pollination – says the issue of ‘nature risk’ will start coming to the fore.

With the Financial Review recently launching a weekly energy decarbonisation newsletter profiling how the Australian economy is transitioning to net zero, businesses will soon start to become scrutinised for their affect on the environment. A section within the newsletter, Hot Air, examines the pledges and promises of business leaders, companies and politicians and points out the shortcomings, hyperbole, and sometimes the straight-out lies.

“Nature risk will soon come into the equation which will ensure businesses will be scrutinised what damage they are doing to the environment overall,” says Gray. “Because as we know, businesses haven’t had to factor in the costs that the environment provides to us for free, like clean water, clean air, clean air or rich soil. There will be a push for nature positive business, with the filter being ‘are you making the environment worse or better’.”

Gray added that with the government pledging Net Zero, this has “unleashed the forces”.

“The speed is picking up in terms of pressure from investors, financiers, customers and employees on businesses to do the right thing,” she says. But action speaks louder than words, and brands who fail to follow through on bold promises may encounter heartache.

“There will be greater media scrutiny and customer expectation around pledges from companies who say they’re going net zero,” says Gray. “I think there will be a lot of focus on who’s saying they’re doing it and who is actually doing it. And that will be the issue for businesses that are making pledges – there will be quite a few businesses who have said they’re going to go net zero carbon but sure how they will get there.”

Louise Eyres, Chief Marketing Officer of investment firm Vanguard, agrees with the sentiment that there is a shift afoot in investments too. The lean towards sustainable and ESG investment in Australia has grown three-fold between 2017-2021 with over $40 billion sitting in investment.

“This figure represents approximately 3.8% of all investments in Australia but when we talk of making the progress, getting the momentum and there is a really strong trajectory that Australians are making towards their sustainable choices,” says Eyres.

Such is the public’s interest in wanting to know a company’s ESG plan, or demanding that superannuation funds invest in renewables, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has released a new fortnightly column in Money called Clean Capital that explores all things ESG to help combat greenwashing in the mutli-trillion-dollar responsible investment world. The column allows for brands to join the sustainability conversation.

Unpacking all things data, cookies, privacy and impending legislation change.

Powered Unpacked

Unpacking all things data, cookies, privacy and impending legislation change.

"Marketers need to 'test and invest' as cookie cull 'resets' digital ad industry, and privacy law overhaul goes further than we thought" - IAB CEO Gai Le Roy

Incoming privacy changes and Google’s moves to phase out cookies on the web and tracking across mobile devices will fundamentally change how digital marketing functions. IAB CEO Gai Le Roy, Resolution COO Phil Pollock and Nine commercial product & data chief Ben Campbell unpack what’s coming down the track, and what marketers need to do now as the age of hyper-targeting comes to an end.

Marketers need to "test and invest"

IAB CEO Gai Le Roy has urged marketers to quickly get their heads around alternatives to cookies ahead of a “reset” of the digital ad industry. Publishing and media agency execs also warn brands to prepare for major disruption to the way they plan ad campaigns, and incoming restrictions on how they collect and use consumer data.

Google’s phasing out of 3rd party cookies and announcements to later cull Android ad IDs follow Apple’s removal of its ID For Advertisers and make brands and publishers gain explicit consent to track people across 3rd party websites and apps.

The upshot is that advertisers have already lost a lot of the things they took for granted in terms of ad planning, targeting and attribution, with further changes coming as regulators globally and locally tighten data privacy laws.

Tracking, targeting: prepare for impact

Apple’s manoeuvres have had a “huge impact”, said IAB CEO Gai Le Roy, with brands finding the majority of people do not opt in to tracking, making it hard to track across apps.

She said marketers must now prepare for Google’s changes with third-party cookies set to be removed next year, and get to grips with alternatives – such as Topics, a way of audience segmentation via browsers, and FLEDGE, a solution for retargeting without cookies. Google is also working on new APIs for attribution.

“So there are lots of challenges for marketers to actually ascertain what's working, how they should be spending their money,” said Le Roy.

Marketers must “educate themselves and create a plan … they really need to formulate the impact in their own business,” urged Phil Pollock, Chief Operating Officer at Omnicom-owned Resolution Digital.

“Do a full audit, really understand all the different touch points [within their digital marketing supply chain], and the different ad tech vendors they're utilising,” he said. “And it is really important to communicate those impacts to all stakeholders internally. [Tell them] ‘This will have an impact on measurement, it will have an impact on the campaigns that we are running’ – that needs to be clearly articulated throughout the organisation.”

Is connected TV immune to upheaval?

While most digital channels are disrupted, connected TVs and BVOD don’t use cookies, and so are “largely immune” from the incoming changes, according to Nine Director of Advertising and Data Products, Ben Campbell.

“So a lot of the targeting that exists on connected TVs will likely continue into the future, for now at least,” he said.

While Google and Apple’s changes make cross-site and cross-app tracking harder, Campbell thinks Nine is in a “pretty unique position, because we own that first-party relationship with users when they come to our site”. Because first-party cookies will still be allowed, that means vertically integrated publishers like Nine “will still be able to track within our ecosystem”.

Hence Nine is working to enrich its first-party data to understand more about its audiences and expanding its single sign on strategy to capture more identity data – essentially, gathering more email addresses by asking people to log-in to stream video or read news. Brands can then match those emails with data from their own CRM systems. Nine now has upwards of 14 million unique IDs.

“That’s really important for us, to try and build up that identity data set so that we can help advertisers find more of their customers who might have signed into one of their services when they surface on Nine,” said Campbell.

Privacy changes "go further than we thought"

Australia’s privacy laws are under review, with major implications for advertisers in terms of the kind of data that can be collected and used. While “nothing is yet set in stone”, the Attorney-General’s proposals “took everyone by surprise by going a little bit further than we thought they were going to”, IAB’s Gai Le Roy said.

A key proposal is a “fair and reasonable” test for collection and use of data. “That’s quite a hard thing to do because [the definition of what is fair and reasonable] is quite subjective,” she said.

“We’re still working with the government to work out exactly what that looks like, making sure Australia can operate with other markets, that we’re not too different and that we can work in a global economy.

“There’s definitely a lot more power on the consumer side, which is great. The challenge for us as an industry is to articulate to consumers what we are doing with their data.”

Do data restrictions herald return of mass marketing?

Failure to win consumer trust will mean fewer people will agree to allow brands and publishers to use their data, and both Nine’s Ben Campbell and Resolution’s Phil Pollock think the privacy overhaul will put a stop to many current digital advertising practices.

“I think that the landscape is fundamentally going to change over the next two years,” said Pollock.

Campbell agreed there are “big implications” for how data can be used. The days of hoovering up every crumb of data about who and where people are, what they are looking at, what they like and dislike, is over, he suggested.

“Technology has evolved at such rapid pace that whenever there was a capability to go out and micro-target particular audiences, people just went ahead and did it, rather than taking a step back and asking, ‘should we do this’?”

The probable upshot is a swing back from hyper-targeting towards mass marketing, Campbell suggested, and a return to panels for attribution.

All of which means marketers must prepare to go back to a fast approaching future.

“It’s a bit of a reset moment,” said IAB’s Gai Le Roy. “It’s time to test [post-cookie, post-privacy approaches] and really invest in understanding what’s going on.”

View more marketing insights from Powered by Nine

Meet AFR Weekend’s Andrew Burke

Rethink Ink
Meet AFR Weekend Editor,
Andrew Burke

“We set out to provide worth to our readers every weekend." AFR Weekend’s Andrew Burke discusses how to give your readers what they need to know and what they want to read.

In B&T's ongoing Rethink Ink series, we chatted with AFR Weekend editor Andrew Burke. In his seven-year tenure, AFR Weekend has grown to be one of the most read newspapers in Australia, enjoying significant print and digital growth despite the pandemic. And As Burke reveals, its success isn't all about insider stock market tips.

We all know the AFR during the week, but is the weekend edition all for stock market addicts who can’t switch off? The “money never sleeps” brigade?

It’s interesting and it’s hard to measure this stuff. My impression, which comes from a lot of readership surveys we’ve done, is that people read the weekend edition of the AFR as much for the investment advice as the news and political analysis.

The weekend gives people more time to read things such as our news features section that they might not have time for during the week. We’ve also got the Weekend Fin down the back of the newspaper and it's a larger, colourful section that always comes back as people’s favourite thing to read.

People buy it for what they want to know, but also what they want to read. That’s one of the more critical differences about what we do and the Monday to Friday edition.

Who is the AFR Weekend reader?

I’m quite proud of the fact that with the AFR Weekend we have a position that’s in the middle of the market in terms of where more financial newspapers lie.

Sure, we believe in the markets, and we play in that centre right, but we’re in the middle of the market, as far as politics are concerned.

On a political level we want to be credible, and you never want a reader to know what they’re going to read before they get there. From that respect, I think that’s something our readers value in the product. There’s independent critical analysis that’s not necessarily coming from one side of politics or the other.

If the bookies are to be believed, Albo looks a shoo-in at the next election.
I can’t imagine AFR readers being too thrilled about that.

You’d be surprised, but our readership is only marginally more skewed to the Coalition, by a few percentage points. Our view at the AFR Weekend has always been to take each of the party’s polices on their merit and never necessarily from a political party view. We just report what’s happening and from that we draw our analysis. It’s not like we’re preordained, just because one party comes up with a policy. We’ve been very critical of the government over lots of things recently.

A criticism of the AFR would be that it feels quite “male” in its style and reporting. How do you respond to that?

We’re very conscious to ensure there’s a balance in who we are interviewing. I understand that business and politics is often deemed as a very male pursuit and so we are active in trying to write about women as much as we can, never just for the sake of it. The anecdotal evidence is that a lot more women now read the AFR Weekend.

This all makes for a prestige environment for advertisers.

Obviously on the weekend you’ve got a lot more time to engage with the reader. Something I’m quite proud of is that 70 per cent of our readers aren’t subscribers. That means they’re going down to their newsagent every Saturday morning to seek us out. You always want more subscribers, but I’m proud that our readers want to seek us out, and with that comes reward for the brands that form part of our product. There’s a value exchange for a product when a reader must pay for it.

We hear about the “death of print” all the time. But the AFR Weekend’s numbers certainly tell a different story, print sales remaining surprisingly strong.

It’s a fact of life that people are carrying a little computer around in their pocket all the time these days. News is instant. But all the stories in Saturday’s paper are online on Friday afternoon, albeit behind a paywall, and our readers are still quite happy to go into a newsagent the following morning and part with $4.50 for the printed copy. I also think we have entered a period where print is being celebrated again by brands and creatives for its ability to cut through the digital tsunami and offer consumers escapism and a focus away from the always-on digital world.

Obviously B&T’s core audience is adland. How difficult can it be to take a print product like the AFR and try and sell its merits to 20-somethings in a media agency?

People read the AFR in the office, even more so now that they are no longer working from home as much. On the weekend people are reading it in their homes, and at the same time they’re making a lot of purchasing decisions about things like investing, holidays or cars, whatever. Those sorts of decisions are made by couples and that’s where AFR Weekend comes in. People are engaged with it around the coffee table, they’re less likely to be on the phone, on the laptop, on the emails. I like to think our content goes across the demographic divide in the house, the husband or the female executive. And so you get more eyeballs on these pages.

For all of COVID’s faults, it’s been a boon for people seeking out media. TV and radio numbers are up markedly. How has that played out for the AFR Weekend readership?

Broadly speaking, we’ve had large increases in our digital paying subscribers and that’s enabled us to hire 20 new staff in the last couple of months. In terms of print, we’ve held up our readership really well. We saw a print readership spike of 54 per cent during the height of COVID. What we’ve been really conscious about is delivering news about the pandemic that is relevant to people. You don’t want to scare readers, you want to provide worth to your readers.

Find out how your brand can leverage the power of Nine's publishing assets to drive business outcomes. Request more information.

Content Marketing: Using the power of long-form content to tell a brand story

Powered Unpacked

Content Marketing: Using the power of long-form content to tell a brand story.

Reaching 12 million Australians with powerful tales of help and 978 different assets, IAG, Nine and Initiative amplified A Fire Inside to drive real-world action.

IAG didn’t set out to make a 90-minute feature film. But A Fire Inside became Australia’s number one documentary of last summer, with 850,000 views. In the process, NRMA, Nine and Initiative also created 978 different assets, according to Zara Curtis, Director of Content and Customer Engagement at IAG, to further fuel a story that she says is deeply connected with Australian culture. Telling Australia’s “raw, emotional” bushfire stories goes way beyond content marketing, and real-world results have left IAG “completely blown away”. More people are now talking about volunteering to fight fires and climate change, says Curtis, areas where Australia and its insurers can ill afford apathy.

Powerful stories drive change

The stories coming out of the Black Summer bushfires were raw, powerful, and struck at the core issues Australian society faces: a warming climate, a fragile ecosystem and a deep need to help each other though increasingly complex challenges.

Insurers are inherently risk experts. “Climate change isn’t going anywhere. As an insurer, we have seen that in Australia. Our statistics really talk to that,” says IAG’s Zara Curtis.

“Yet in Australia, volunteering is going down. So at the time when we need it most, people just aren’t leaning in to help.” Given that NRMA’s brand stands for help, she says, “What better way to show our brand purpose?” while driving concrete action to reverse that trend.

Using footage of the bushfires and the firefighters, NRMA made what some consider to be the most powerful advert of 2020, First Saturday, which was subsequently pulled after being judged to have breached advertising standards. It was unquestionably potent, perhaps too much, too soon for some.

But the “amazing, powerful and emotional stories” coming out of the Black Summer bushfires “about how people leaned in to help” needed to be told, says Curtis.

So IAG decided to take the vast trove of footage and imagery and, while treading carefully with production company Finch, approach Australians who had been hit by the fires.

“It was a very gentle approach, and very much their stories,” says Curtis. “We have hero firefighters like Nathan Barnden who saved people’s lives when he lost members of his own family, and so many others that leant in to help. Really powerful, really raw stories.”

The team filmed on and off for almost a year. “Every time we went back, mostly to the South Coast of NSW, a different story would unfold, so we tried to focus on the collective power of ‘help’, but with the message of volunteering to ask, ‘well, what can you do?’” adds Curtis.

Help to scale impact

After the film’s cinematic release, IAG and media agency Initiative sought to scale its impact. Initiative MD Sam Geer said Nine’s scale across broadcast TV and radio, as well as streaming and on-demand, plus news mastheads, is yet to be fully tapped for a single campaign by any brand.

“I don’t think any singular marketer has harnessed that power yet. Maybe in patches, using a combination of channels. But the cultural power that Nine holds across that suite of assets is something we looked at. Not only from a reach point of view, to get the message out and make sure people saw the film, but also to drive conversation,” says Geer. “We wanted people to take action.”

Driving people to take action – to volunteer, to recognise the risks to society presented by climate change – were key outcomes.

“So the content marketing piece is the start,” says Curtis. “But we have a three-year partnership with Minderoo Foundation and the Australian Resilience Corps, for whom fire and flood resilience are key initiatives. So the impact of the content lives on.”

Meanwhile, IAG’s Safer Communities team, which sits outside marketing, will drive further action for both of those partnerships, through staff and community engagement, Muster Days across Australia, and via partnerships with Nine.

“That's the impact piece,” says Curtis. “It's okay to do content, but our view is, what difference is it going to make?”

Real world results, more to come

“The promise of an integrated proposition very rarely meets the execution,” admits Initiative’s Geer. But working with Nine’s Powered team, plus producers and journalists across the business, “means this is one of the very rare cases where it has.”

“We’ve reached 12 million Australians and intricately planned messages to different audience groups across the suite of assets. The film has been seen by 150,000 people. It was the number one documentary last summer. And now we are seeing that translate into action through the Minderoo Foundation, which makes you very proud.”

Curtis said the insurer has been “completely blown away” by the film’s impact.

“Sixty-eight per cent of people who saw the film said they were having conversations around volunteering and climate change and 58 per cent knew it was made by NRMA, and that we stood for ‘help’, which is just brilliant for brand awareness. Consideration for people to actually impact and help shifted from 43 per cent to 72 per cent.

“So we are in a really good place at the start of this journey.”

Meet Sunday Lifes Pat Ingram

Rethink Ink
Meet Sunday Life Editorial Director,
Pat Ingram

"Our Philosophy has always been to celebrate women & their achievements."

Pat Ingram, Editorial Director of Sunday Life, is arguably one of the best-known names in the history of Australian magazine publishing, up there with the likes of Ita Buttrose, Kerry Packer and Nene King.

Now “a million years after those heady days”, Ingram’s words, not ours, when the Paper Giants ruled the roost, Ingram admits she still loves being back on the tools editing a single title.

For women of all ages

What makes Sunday Life readers unique is that they are a broad demographic – young women in their 20s to women 60-plus, from singles to those in relationships, mothers and grandmothers, high-income earners and the more budget-conscious. But what they have in common is a shared love of reading fascinating profiles, thought-provoking content about love and life, and keeping across the latest trends in fashion, beauty, health, home, food and travel.

Competition in publishing is everywhere these days, Ingram says, even more so as we ease out of the pandemic. But with that competition comes discipline and the need to make bold, fast decisions.

Redefining me-time reading

Sunday Life has made significant changes to its content during the pandemic.

Ingram says: “We have retained all our editorial pillars, such as fashion, beauty, food home and health and the like, but we tailored them to fit the climate and the changing lifestyles of readers. For example, we focused our food pages more on easy family meals, our home pages on ways to update and accommodate working from home, and how to refresh the home environment.”

Similarly, Ingram says the magazine has skewed its health offering to focus more on mental health and exercise, and the beauty pages to at-home treatments.

“We encouraged our big band of high-profile regular columnists such as Jo Stanley, Brooke Boney, Dr Susan Carland, Kerri Sackville and Kathy Lette to share their pandemic experiences. And we have reinforced our commitment to being a me-time treat for our readers,” Ingram points out.

It would appear that Sunday Life’s changes have been resonating. Great readership growth across the last two quarters saw the title hit 510,000 in the latest Roy Morgan numbers.

With digital drivers keeping society obsessed with the next new thing, how has weekend publishing remained exciting after all these years?

“It’s still the thrill of producing a tactile experience,” says Ingram. “We have a sophisticated readership, and the feel of the magazine is very important. We have also upped our number of regular columnists, so readers keep getting fresh voices, while mixing up the comfort of familiarity with seasonal themed issues.

“For example, we introduced new special themed issues such as Winter Reading where we showcase leading fiction writers. We have teamed up with Good Food to produce a monthly special food section, which runs the first Sunday of every month with Sunday Life. And we’ve made our beauty and home-style pages more product-focused in line with the online shopping boom.

“As we celebrate 25 years of publishing in 2022, more special issues will mark this milestone, offering brands great go-slow content that can be leveraged to tap into our readers’ Sunday state of mind.”

Closing the loop: From tactile experience to digital driver

“Last year we had some exciting and successful executions in conjunction with our advertising partners such as Mecca and Blackmores. Travel is another area where we expect to see greater involvement as the industry strengthens post-pandemic,” says Ingram.

“We will also innovate the way in which we help to connect the offline experience with the digital world. At last year’s Nine Upfront event, Sunday Life announced the launch of ‘shop the page’, using the simplicity of the QR code to enable instant access to retail outlets from the magazine spreads to drive retail dollars.”

A Cover Star Tells and Sells a magazine

One thing that has never changed since newsstands dictated what people choose to read is the power of the cover star. The Sunday Life cover philosophy has always been to celebrate women and their achievements.

Ingram says: “We have broadened the range over time to reveal more women in the arts, film, literature, opera and ballet, as well as sport and politics. From Julie Bishop, Alice Pung and Deborah Mailman to Ajak Deng, we put women of all ages on the cover. From young achievers to older women. It’s about striking the right balance on who is going to intrigue, excite and garner the reader’s attention. What worked one month won’t necessarily work the next. It’s all about timing.”

With Pat Ingram at the helm, and a quarter of a century under its belt, perhaps Sunday Life’s greatest work is yet to come.

Find out how your brand can leverage the power of Nine's publishing assets to drive business outcomes: Request more information

Powered Predicts 2022

To kick off the year, Powered by Nine brings you Powered Predicts, showcasing 12 emerging trends in media, marketing and advertising helping you step into 2022 with a little more confidence.

INTRODUCTION

Powered Predicts is the result of a year-long trend-tracking project, led by the Strategy & Insights team from Powered by Nine. Showcasing emerging trends from the world of media, marketing and advertising, Powered Predicts was created to help brands and their agencies explore the future without the need for a crystal ball. To curate the list, the Powered team have immersed themselves in cultural insights, scrutinised client objectives and creative trends, monitored demographic shifts and closely followed category disruption and innovation across Australia and beyond our shores. And with an industry that loves innovation as much as ours, there are always plenty of trends to track – so to refine the long list to a streamlined “12 trends for 2022,” select members of the Powered team have each championed a prediction, adding their own expert perspective. We’ve all learned to live with a little uncertainty in life, but Powered Predicts should help you step into 2022 with a little more confidence.

Request presentation

Toby Boon

Director of Strategy and Insights, Powered

INTRODUCTION

Request presentation

Toby Boon

Director of Strategy and Insights, Powered

GREATER EXPECTATIONS

PICTURE IMPERFECT

BEYOND THE BLINDSPOT

THE CONVENIENT TRUTH

GENDER RECALIBRATED

ME TIME

BRAND TOGETHER

BLURRED REALITIES

DATA ETHICS

FAMILIAR FAVOURITES

ATTENTION SEEKERS

ROOTS REDISCOVERED

Watch episode 9 of Powered Unpacked, or stream the podcast below:

Liana Dubois

Director of Powered

LOOKING FORWARD

We understand that marketers are always on the lookout for the next big thing – the next trend, innovation or big idea that will make their brand famous and propel their business forward.

That is where Powered comes in, with a mission to realise big ideas that ultimately deliver big outcomes for brands. We curate the most effective assets from the marketing platform built by Nine.

From brand strategy to content integration; creative ideation to digital design; cultural insights to measuring attention, we deliver partnerships that work. That's what matters.

You can find out more about our work at nineforbrands.com.au/powered-by-nine and if you want to explore the Powered Predicts trends further, reach out to your Nine Sales team.

So, my prediction for what lies ahead in 2022? Whether personal or professional; cultural or environmental; your own business or the broader economy, 2022 is the year of growth and we should tackle that together.

LOOKING FORWARD

We understand that marketers are always on the lookout for the next big thing – the next trend, innovation or big idea that will make their brand famous and propel their business forward.

That is where Powered comes in, with a mission to realise big ideas that ultimately deliver big outcomes for brands. We curate the most effective assets from the marketing platform built by Nine.

From brand strategy to content integration; creative ideation to digital design; cultural insights to measuring attention, we deliver partnerships that work. That's what matters.

You can find out more about our work at nineforbrands.com.au/powered-by-nine and if you want to explore the Powered Predicts trends further, reach out to your Nine Sales team.

Liana Dubois

Director of Powered

To explore the future together, and delve deeper into these trends, please request a tailored presentation by completing this form.

Nine is Australia’s No.1 Summer Network

With the 2022 official ratings survey period commencing yesterday, the 9Network heads into the year as Australia’s No. 1 summer network.

Spearheaded by Australia’s No. 1 summer sport - the Australian Open - the 9Network wraps the summer non-ratings period as the No. 1 network with all key demos and Total People.

The combination of the Women’s Final and the Men’s Doubles Final on Saturday, January 29 gave the 9Network the highest primetime commercial shares in OzTAM history with People 25-54 (81.2%), 16-39 (84.9%) and Total People (78.6%).

9Now is also Australia’s No. 1 BVOD player with all key demos and Total People.

9Network Summer Highlights

LINEAR TELEVISION - NETWORK COMMERCIAL SHARES
6PM TO MIDNIGHT - 2021/2022 SUMMER

18:00-MN
P25-54	40.9%	33.2%	25.9%
P16-39	40.2%	34.5%	25.3%
GS+CH	41.3%	33.8%	24.9%
Total People	41.0%	36.7%	22.3%

Source: OzTAM Metro 5 City, Summer Survey Weeks 28/11/2021 – 05/02/2022, 18:00 – 23:59, Network Nine, Network Seven, Network 10, Key Demos + Total People, Commercial Share, Consolidated 28 as at 06/02/2022

BROADCAST VIDEO ON DEMAND: COMMERCIAL SHARES
2021/2022 SUMMER

LIVE + VOD
Total People	52.6%	31.0%	16.4%
People 25-54	53.3%	30.6%	16.1%
People 18-39	55.5%	29.0%	15.4%

Source: OzTAM Live + VOD VPM, CFTA Only, 28/11/21 – 5/2/22, metric minutes, duration 0+, includes coviewing on connected tv devices

In one of the greatest Australian Open tournaments in living memory, the No. 1 summer sport takes out all five of the Top 5 highest rating summer programs. The Women’s Final ranks as the highest rating Women’s Final of all time. And the Men’s Doubles Final is the highest rating Doubles match of all time.

The Australian Open also broke streaming records on 9Now, recording the highest live minutes of the Australian Open tournament ever (657 Million - up 171% year-on-year). The Women's Final achieved the highest ever BVOD audience of the Australian Open.

Hamish Turner, Director 9Now & Programming, said:
"The Australian Open spearheaded our Summer slate delivering some truly memorable moments and the perfect platform to drive momentum into the ratings year. "

		Total TV Average Audience	5 City Metro Average Audience	Regional Average Audience	BVOD Average Audience
2022 Australian Open D13 - Women's Final - Presentation	29/01/22	4.127M	2.844M	1.038M	246K
2022 Australian Open D13 - Women's Final - Barty v Collins	29/01/22	3.836M	2.591M	1.002M	243K
2022 Australian Open D13 - Men's Doubles Final	29/01/22	2.483M	1.735M	580K	168K
2022 Australian Open D14 - Men's Final	30/01/22	2.344M	1.620M	485K	238K
2022 Australian Open D11 - Night	27/01/22	2.178M	1.506M	557K	115K

Loved by Aussies
Made for Brands

From Married at First Sight, Celebrity Apprentice Australia and much more still to come, there’s plenty of opportunity available to harness the power of great Australian content in 2022 with Nine.

Explore More

For further information, please contact:
Terry Stuart - Nine Communications Manager
tstuart@nine.com.au

Source: TOP REGULAR SPORT EVENTS: OzTAM Metro (5 City Metro) & Regional TAM Regional (Combined Agg Mkts), 01/01/21- 23/11/21, FTA primary & multi channels + affils, AUD (ranked on Metro + Regional), Genre: Sports/Special Sports Event/Other Sports Event, excludes "TOKYO 2020"/PRESENTATION/ON THE GROUND/PRE MATCH/POST MATCH/ENTERTAINMENT/TEA/MOUNTING YEAR/PRE GAME/POST GAME/ENCORE/RPT/(R), Total People, consolidated 28 data (as at 24/11/21)
REALITY TELEVISION SERIES: OzTAM Metro (5 City Metro) & Regional TAM Regional (Combined Aggregate Markets), 01/01/21-23/11/21 consolidated 28 data (at 24/11/21), Genre: Reality Television, Programs grouped based on primary description- excludes: encore/rpt/r/masterclass/M-, Total Individuals, FTA Primary & Multi Channels, AUD (ranked on Metro + Regional)
LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SERIES: OzTAM Metro (5 City Metro) & Regional TAM Regional (Combined Aggregate Markets), 01/01/21-23/11/21 consolidated 28 data (at 24/11/21) Genre: Light Entertainment, Programs grouped based on primary description- excludes: encore/rpt/r/celebrity special/record breakers/masterclass/kids special/road to glory/M-, Total Individuals, FTA Primary & Multi Channels, AUD (ranked on Metro + Regional)
MEDICAL DOCUMENTARY: OzTAM Metro (5 City Metro) & Regional TAM Regional (Combined Aggregate Markets), 01/01/21-23/11/21 consolidated 28 data (at 24/11/21), Genre: Documentary/Health & Medical, Programs grouped on name- excludes: encore/rpt/r, Total Individuals, FTA Primary & Multi Channels, AUD (ranked on Metro + Regional)
NEWS : OzTAM Metro (5 City Metro) & Regional TAM Regional (Combined Aggregate Markets), 01/01/21-23/11/21 consolidated 28 data (at 24/11/21), Genre: News/Current Affairs, Programs grouped on name- excludes: encore/rpt/r, Total Individuals, FTA Primary & Multi Channels, AUD (ranked on Metro + Regional)
OVERALL NON SPORT PROGRAM: OzTAM Metro (5 City Metro) & Regional TAM Regional (Combined Aggregate Markets), 01/01/21-23/11/21 consolidated 28 data (at 24/11/21), excludes Genre: Sports Event/Special Sports Event/Other Sports, Programs grouped on name- excludes: encore/rpt/r/M-/Holey Moley Australia -Celebrity Special & Kids Special & Road to Glory/ANW -Record Breakers/Masterchef Australia -Masterclass/Love Island Australia Afterparty/Saving Candice-Late/60 Minutes-Late, Total Individuals, FTA Primary & Multi Channels, AUD (ranked on Metro + Regional), event count 1+

Contact us for more information on how your brand can leverage the power of premium content on Nine to deliver real business outcomes.

Australian Ninja Warrior will be super-human in 2022

Australian Ninja Warrior will be super-human in 2022

In 2022 Australian Ninja Warrior contestants were faced with the toughest course we’ve ever constructed. A new crop of fast, light fearless Ninjas, this time competing with our Legends on the same course - head to head - when one of the most entertaining programs on TV, Ninja returned for another season.

And in an exciting development for season six of the turbo-charged program, this year we welcomed an all new presenting line-up. Four-time grand slam champion tennis legend - Ninja obsessed Jim Courier, alongside Nine’s Leila McKinnon on hosting duties. While national radio superstars from KIIS FM, Will and Woody, injected their unique brand of humour as they made their debut as sideline commentators on a show they’ve always loved.

Check out some highlights from this season of Australian Ninja Warrior...

Everyday athletes once again put their bodies on the line to tame the world’s most difficult obstacle course and to see if they have what it took to conquer the awesome Mt Midoriyama and win the coveted Ninja title.

To find out what your brand can achieve with an Australian Ninja Warrior partnership, request a tailored response to help realise your marketing objectives.

Request presentation

Nine is Australia's media company. We shine a light on Aussies far and wide across this great country and hear their stories. Australian Ninja Warrior is the bridge that enables us to do this. It's a show for everyone, with the most unlikely people taking part.

With stories of empowerment, resilience, tenacity and motivation, our Ninjas come from every corner of Australia. As we know from our recent Neighborhood Watch research, these local home grown hero stories are the kinds of stories Australians want to hear.

This is a global format that engages with our community on a local level, and is quintessentially Australian in the way we bring it to audiences.

Australia Ninja Warrior is the bridge to brand success.

Let's take a look at how Ninja connects.

The bridge to everyday Australians you need to reach most

want to see brands that demonstrate they are connected to local communities

40%

want to see local talent in brand communications

Regional viewers were Grocery Buyers

Source: Nine’s Proprietary Research | Neighbourhood Watch. Regional TAM (CAM), 20 Jun - 6 Jul 2022, "AUSTRALIAN NINJA WARRIOR" excl encores (Nine Affils), Total People/GBs, Reach & Profile %, consolidated 7 data

The bridge to Heartland Australia

Regional viewers per episode in 2022

24%

of minutes were viewed by Regional Australia in 2022 on 9Now

+17.3 million

Total Minutes viewed by Regional Australia in 2022

Source: Regional TAM (CAM), 20 Jun - 6 Jul 2022, "AUSTRALIAN NINJA WARRIOR" excl encores (Nine Affils), Total People/GBs, Reach & Profile %, consolidated 7 data. OzTAM Live + VOD VPM, Rolling 7 Cume, Australian Ninja Warrior, 20/06/2022 - 18/7/2022, includes coviewing on connected tv devices

Australian Ninja Warrior Season 6 will be a celebration of all the best bits

10x Episodes

4x Heats

3x Semi finals

2x Grand finals

1x Record breaker special

Exciting new format beats

Exhilarating new obstacles

Branded Asset Opportunities

Creating BIG brand moments

Big ideas make brands famous.

And with the help of Powered by Nine, we have a big idea for every budget, underpinned by Australia's best content.

Explore Powered Studios

To find out more about what your brand can achieve with an Australian Ninja Warrior partnership, request a tailored response to help realise your marketing objectives.

Transform your brand with Beauty and the Geek

Geek out and fall in love when Australia's most heartfelt series returns

This series was once again hosted by Sophie Monk and we saw 10 new beauties and 10 new geeks find surprising connections as two very different worlds collided in this uplifting series of heartfelt self-discovery.

Beauty and the Geek is Australia’s most loveable reality show, warming the hearts of viewers on an uplifting journey as our stunning beauties and adorable geeks inspire each other to step out of their comfort zone and find inner confidence.

Paired together by Sophie, they overcame hurdles, found deep connections and discoverd if opposites really do attract, whether by forming a romantic connection or a lifelong friendship.

Request presentation

Beauty and the Geek is a modern day romantic comedy, but it's real....

With an open mind and an open heart, Beauty and the Geek is full of emotion, laughter, fun and is a truly transformational experience. An experience that inspires inner beauty, personal growth and lifelong friendships.

The numbers from season 1 were beauties

+3.3

Australians reached

of viewers tuned in every week

+1.2

viewers every episode

Overnight & Time Shift to 7

+3.2

Live + VOD streams

Regional viewers reached per episode

Source: OzTAM Metro Total TV + Regional TAM Regional FTA+WA. Overnight/Time shift to 7/Consolidated 7 (encores only). 11/07/21 - 04/08/21, “BEAUTY AND THE GEEK". Total Individuals, Nine/Nine Content Affiliates. 5 City Metro & Combined Agg Markets. AUD & Total AUD (encores),

A journey of self discovery and lifelong friendship...

Shining a light on the bridging of the divide, the 2022 season of Beauty and the Geek smashed through the preconceptions of traditional stereotypes.

The beauties and geeks worked together through a series of real-life challenges in the search to find a romantic spark or a lifelong friendship. Surprising connections were made as two very different worlds collided and strong partnerships bloomed in the most unlikely and sometimes hilarious circumstances.

Break the stereotypes and think differently...

Beauty and the Geek in 2022 offered brands marketing solutions that were distributed at scale and amplified across the entire Nine ecosystem. From broadcast, digital, print and radio – the opportunity to harness the power of premium content to deliver brands real, measurable results were endless.

The beauty of a program fit for every category

likely to fly domestically in the next 6 months

more likely to intend to buy a car in the next 3-6 months

Over

would pay extra for well-known brands

more likely to order food home delivery several times a week

seek advice from professionals when investing money

more likely to be profligate spenders

like to experiment with different beauty products/brands

Source: Nielsen Consumer & Media View, National Online S06 2021, “must see/always try to watch – Reality Television [Nine]”

The beauty of a program fit for every category

likely to fly domestically in the next 6 months

more likely to intend to buy a car in the next 3-6 months

would pay extra for well-known brands

more likely to order food home delivery several times a week

seek advice from professionals when investing money

more likely to be profligate spenders

like to experiment with different beauty products/brands

Source: Nielsen Consumer & Media View, National Online S06 2021, “must see/always try to watch – Reality Television [Nine]”

When it feels like home, it feels like you.

The Beauties and Geeks had a FANTASTIC time.

Challenge
Nine were tasked to support Fantastic Furniture in finding new and exciting ways to bring the “When it feels like home, you feel like you” creative territory to life beyond just creative assets.

Solution
Fantastic Furniture leveraged the newly rejuvenated Beauty and the Geek platform to drive awareness of their new creative territory through a bespoke Partnership showcasing in program integration and bespoke commercial assets.

Execution
In-show integration saw both our beauties and geeks ‘making nests’ - putting together Fantastic Furniture products. This included close up shots of both the branding and of the website, alongside verbal mentions.

Break Engagers elevated the ‘When it feels like home, it feels like you’ message, leveraging key moments within the show where the beauties and geeks celebrated their individuality.

Results
Through tailored integration entitlements we aimed to both create and editorially align Fantastic Furniture with moments that resonated with the idea of how feeling comfortable in one's surroundings to bring out the best in people. A perfect alignment with Fantastic Furnitures new creative territory.

To find out more about what your brand can achieve with a Beauty and the Geek partnership, request a tailored response to help realise your marketing objectives.

Find out how your brand can leverage the power of Nine's publishing assets to drive business outcomes. Request more information.

Find out how your brand can leverage the power of Nine's publishing assets to drive business outcomes: Request more information

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

LOOKING FORWARD

LOOKING FORWARD

Source: OzTAM Metro 5 City, Summer Survey Weeks 28/11/2021 – 05/02/2022, 18:00 – 23:59, Network Nine, Network Seven, Network 10, Key Demos + Total People, Commercial Share, Consolidated 28 as at 06/02/2022

Source: OzTAM Live + VOD VPM, CFTA Only, 28/11/21 – 5/2/22, metric minutes, duration 0+, includes coviewing on connected tv devices

want to see brands that demonstrate they are connected to local communities

40%

want to see local talent in brand communications

Regional viewers were Grocery Buyers

Regional viewers per episode in 2022

24%

of minutes were viewed by Regional Australia in 2022 on 9Now

+17.3 million

Total Minutes viewed by Regional Australia in 2022

Australian Ninja Warrior Season 6 will be a celebration of all the best bits

+3.3

Australians reached

of viewers tuned in every week

+1.2

viewers every episode

Overnight & Time Shift to 7

+3.2

Live + VOD streams

Regional viewers reached per episode

likely to fly domestically in the next 6 months

more likely to intend to buy a car in the next 3-6 months

Over

would pay extra for well-known brands

more likely to order food home delivery several times a week

more likely to be profligate spenders

Source: Nielsen Consumer & Media View, National Online S06 2021, “must see/always try to watch – Reality Television [Nine]”

likely to fly domestically in the next 6 months

more likely to intend to buy a car in the next 3-6 months

would pay extra for well-known brands

more likely to order food home delivery several times a week

more likely to be profligate spenders

Source: Nielsen Consumer & Media View, National Online S06 2021, “must see/always try to watch – Reality Television [Nine]”

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