Uber’s ads business is starting to scale and its New York-based boss Michael Akkerman says Australia – one of its best performing markets, with a rapidly growing sales operation – will see the next wave of new formats first. He’s touting retail media meets “mobility media” and a collapsed funnel “brand-formance” model – brand and performance marketing in a single execution. A younger, richer set exposed to an Uber Ride brand ad is driving hard sales via Uber Eats with verified “closed loop” attribution.Akkerman was in Sydney last week wooing “hundreds” of agency execs and rattling off big numbers. Coke’s gamified ads in the ride business got a tonne of new customers and orders via Eats. Absolute Vodka got a 28 per cent sales increase, HSBC likewise a major uplift – and they are coming back for more.Akkerman says the delineation of brand and performance is a false construct. The purpose of brand is ultimately to drive longer-term sales, but put a call to action – a performance element on a brand ad – and a percentage of people will immediately go and buy. People don’t think ‘brand versus demand’, he says, only marketers. But Akkerman reckons that is shifting rapidly in a fast fulfilment world. Just don’t ask Uber for “cheap eyeballs” and rock-bottom rates: “We can seek affordability … but to me it is about return on ad spend.” Whether procurement departments agree remains to be seen. But Akkerman suggests advertisers get what they pay for. He’s claiming Uber ads deliver much higher click through rates, circa 3 per cent versus the “0.000x per cent” brands would be “lucky” to get on other platforms, and is fraud free, because “bots don’t hail cars”. Meanwhile it’s privacy compliant – because everyone has signed up and linked their credit cards. Plus advertisers are connected with “actual humans, not digital representations.” Hence why Uber’s bullish on hitting a billion dollar ad business very soon – if it hasn’t already.
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Hipages is transforming from marketplace into a SaaS business that provides CRM and ERP capabilities for tradies, says CEO Roby Sharon-Zipser
Tradie marketplace Hipages, which competes in a $50bn subsegment of the $131bn trade services market, has reached an inflection point, and is now spending circa $9-10m a year developing CRM and ERP-like services for its core audience of tradespeople. In 2025, it will begin development of new capabilities for homeowners as well. It’s all part of a plan to grow profitability and market share in the notoriously fragmented tradie ecosystem. On the marketing front, Hipages is back for a sixth year sponsoring Nine’s The Block, and it has also taken a Platinum sponsorship of rival Seven’s Dream Home, due for launch mid-year.
Coles CEO Leah Weckert challenged on customer value, supplier fairness and business efficiency in senate Supermarket inquiry
Following the contempt of court threats that pervaded the morning of the current Senate Inquiry into Supermarket Prices against Woolworths CEO, Brad Banducci, for his failed attempt to answer the first question on the return on equity, it was a slightly less heated but lengthy 3-hour grilling of Coles CEO, Leah Weckert yesterday afternoon.
Tumbleturn sets up fractional CMO practice to tackle marketing burnout, skillset gaps; cites supply and demand need for new model as remits explode, resources shrink
Growing complexity of the CMO role and the realisation of the dream of having a seat at the boardroom table has brought with it a growing remit and demanding role that requires ever-more support. It’s also generating plenty of burnout and skills gaps. Enter Tumbleturn’s new fractional CMO service, capitalising on an increasingly popular construct and resource modelling approach with a specific focus on providing a 2IC to existing CMOs or a strategically-minded marketing resource to cash-strapped CEOs and executive teams.
Bank of Queensland reports $151m net profit amidst customer headwinds
Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has reflected a solid $151 million net profit in its latest half-yearly results, but flagged a $1bn dip in customer deposits along with increased numbers of customers moving to variable rate mortgages in a bid to reduce overall interest expense in the current economic environment.
Pepsi unveils AI-driven capsule collection in collaboration with Australian designer
Pepsi has launched an AI-first capsule collection, the ‘Pepsi Pulse Collection’, in partnership with emerging Australian designer Jackson Cowden.
‘The biggest pandemic is not Covid, it’s anxiety’: Former Pepsi, Westfield CMO, now board director John Batistich on leadership, resilience, self awareness and building Compadres
An eclectic group of business founders and c-suite execs gathered in Nine’s Sydney HQ recently as part of the Compadres business mentoring initiative created by former agency boss and founding partner of poverty non-profit, Global Citizen, Clive Burcham. The lure was a dazzling macro view on geo-politics, AI, retail, marketing, advertising and media and entertainment from a career marketer, John Batistich, who now sits or advises nine company boards from Zip Co and FoodCo to Ksubi International and the $1bn Australian toy company “you’ve never heard of”, Moose Toys.
Being Aware of marketing’s ultimate job: Karen Ganschow reflects on customer insight wins at Optus, Telstra, Westpac, NAB and Aware; challenges marketers to wrestle back the 7Ps of marketing
Karen Ganschow has spent her career trying to identify customer problems then addressing them in product propositions, engagement, experiences and services. As the former customer marketing leader and first head of data sciences at Aware Super hangs up her full-time hat, she speaks to Mi3 about the urban myths around digital experiences and customer behaviours, how technology and machine learning have brought the cost of a 360-degree, data-driven customer view – and actionable capability – down by millions, and why she’s still worried marketers are seen as the colouring-in department.
IPG Mediabrands, Zefr partner to combat misinformation in online campaigns
IPG Mediabrands and Zefr have partnered to tackle misinformation and enhancing brand safety for online campaigns.
Paramount+ kicks off ad tier sales but eschews Amazon, Binge approach for no customers at launch, bundles TV, BVOD, ‘lower ad load than rivals’ streaming package – and leaves wriggle room outside of OzTam
Paramount+ is officially in market with an ad-funded streaming play but is keeping numbers tight. Initially audiences will be low, because it’s eschewing the Amazon Prime-Binge approach and building from scratch instead of rolling over streamers unless they pay more for no ads. It’s also selling streaming ads as a bundle across the broader businesses, though sales chief Rod Prosser said standalone programmatic buys will follow “this year”. Ad loads will be lower than rivals, per global global ad sales boss, Lee Sears, and he claimed that what its rivals are lacking – sales tech and infrastructure – will provide competitive advantage alongside content ownership and local variants of global integration opportunities. On measurement, Prosser’s not wedded to OzTam alone.