AUSTRALIA’S MOST POWERFUL STORYTELLING ECOSYSTEM: UNDERPINNED BY WORLD-CLASS CONTENT, INNOVATION, DATA AND TECHNOLOGY

Nine officially unveiled the new-look nine.com.au and digital brand framework to advertisers today at Sydney’s Telstra Experience Centre, ahead of the flagship digital network rebranding from ninemsn on June 29.

The presentation talked Australia’s biggest advertisers and agencies through the brand evolution Nine has embarked on over the past 12 months, realigning its broadcast and now digital brands under the Nine dots to create Australia’s most identifiable and connected brand ecosystem.

“When it comes to evolving a media brand for the future, engaging audiences across all platforms with world-class content and reinvesting for success, Nine is truly delivering on all fronts,” Nine’s CEO, Hugh Marks, said.

“Today marks a milestone for Nine as we unite our brands under one cohesive network like never before, bringing together a family of brands which consumers know and trust to deliver the content they love.”

Commenting on the launch of nine.com.au, Alex Parsons, Nine’s Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, said: “This launch is not just about a logo change, it’s about us totally reimagining the role our flagship digital network plays within the Nine family and how we distribute trusted, premium content, be it breaking news, sport, entertainment or lifestyle, in the most accessible format.

“This launch will strengthen our position as the gateway to the biggest broadcast and digital news network in Australia, reaching more than 11.5 million Australians cross-platform each month.”

The audience of 300 media buyers, clients and journalists heard from Alex Parsons, Emma Chamberlain, Editor of Nine.com.au, Michael Stephenson, Chief Sales Officer, and Hugh Marks about investments Nine is making across three key pillars: World-Class Content, Technology and Data, and Ad Innovation.

World-Class Content
The presentation showcased Nine’s commitment to drive investment in expanding its footprint across news, sport, entertainment and lifestyle content through nine.com.au, while continuing to invest in new content verticals, including a new digital food brand, 9Kitchen, which will officially launch in July.

The presentation concluded with CEO Hugh Marks outlining Nine’s plan to roll out its biggest ever locally produced video content offering.

“We will generate more than 500 hours of local entertainment and over 30 hours of Aussie drama into Nine and 9Now’s peak, live-streaming and catch-up schedule in the next 12 months,” Mr Marks said. “This, alongside our investment in new digital brands such as 9Kitchen, will be one of our biggest investments to date when it comes to delivering local content and stories that matter most to Australian consumers.”

Technology and Data
Nine has reinforced the rich data capabilities that can be leveraged through its digital network. Reaching more than 15 million unique users every month, Nine provides advertisers with a deeper insight into consumers via explicit profile data through Microsoft products, combined with online activity across the Nine digital network and offline census data through Experian.

As the media landscape and viewing consumption continues to evolve, Nine is reinforcing its commitment to reimagine the possibilities of advertising across its multi-platform portfolio, delivering advertisers audiences at scale, agnostically across all channels, in an automated fashion supported by deep data.

“The reality is closer than you think. Right now, 85 per cent of our online inventory is traded programmatically and I expect that will be 100 per cent in 12 months’ time,” Mr Stephenson said.

“That is only one part of the story though. We will be trading linear television programmatically in February 2017 with new investment models that deliver guaranteed results to clients with no shortfalls and no wastage, and trading video, agnostic of platform, by the end of 2017. Our goal is to deliver audiences regardless of how and where users are interacting with our content.”

Ad Innovation
Nine also announced a raft of new content innovations, maintaining its lead as Australia’s top premium video content publisher, exploring opportunities within virtual reality and growing its suite of mobile-first advertising solutions.

“As a business we generate in excess of 30 million video streams per month, and the long-form video results we are experiencing through 9Now continue to dispel any belief that mobile is just a snack-able platform,” Alex Parsons, Nine’s Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, said.

In the month of May, Nine recorded 155 per cent month-on-month growth across its long-form inventory, with consumers streamlining on average 17 videos per month.

“With Microsoft, Samsung and Sony all creating virtual reality products, we will be the first publisher to create unbelievable virtual reality experiences for mass audiences and for brands. We believe that virtual reality represents the next frontier of storytelling, and as a content creator we play a pivotal role in sparking consumer inspiration with this new medium,” Mr Stephenson said.

Nine showcased a virtual reality experience captured during Wednesday night’s State of Origin II match, which will in the near future allow consumers to relive every try and get closer to the action like never before. Further plans are being explored across entertainment and lifestyle verticals.

Nine also demonstrated its mobile ad product innovation through the launch of a raft of new mobile ad formats including the Super Skin, Side Push, Top and Tail and Cinema to better target the six million Australians who access Nine’s sites on smartphones every month.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

For further information:
Nine Publicity
02 9965 2727