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And just like that, it’s the end of the year and the end of another decade. As the year comes to a close, we thought it was a good time to reflect on the year that was in marketing.

Australian Streaming Wars Heated Up

Australians are becoming spoiled for choice when it comes to streaming options. 2019 saw two new heavy hitters enter the market – Apple TV+ and Disney+.

But have Australians maxed out how much they are willing to pay for their streaming services? Although Disney+ hosts many popular franchises such as The Simpsons, Marvel and Star Wars, over half of Australians are unwilling even to give their streaming trial a go. According to AMPD Research, Australians are already spending an average of $35.30 per month on 1.9 subscription video-on-demand services.

Many commentators can agree the popularity of streaming services spells disaster for one company in particular, Foxtel, and we’ve talked more than once this year about its future. It’s been another troubling year for the company, as subscriptions have continued to drop. Foxtel does have its own streaming service Foxtel GO, but it is priced significantly higher than many of the other options. Whilst there was an increase in subscriptions so Australians could see out the Game of Thrones series, Foxtel has struggled to retain that audience. But with a monopoly on Sport they are being kept afloat for now.

We will have to wait for 2020 to see who reigns supreme in the streaming wars.

2019 has been a great year for Reddit

It has been a stellar year for Reddit, with a 30% year on year increase. It may surprise you to know that Reddit has more regular users than LinkedIn, Twitter, Tik Tok and Snapchat. They have 430 million monthly users, that’s 100 million more than in 2018. This means that after Facebook, they are growing faster than any other social media platform.

Reddit, which has been plagued by scandals in the past, has been attempting to clean up its image this year with better moderation and stronger guidelines. This has been to help promote growth, as a friendlier website makes it safer for more users. But the move also helps improve its advertising revenue. Reddit launched new advertisements systems in 2019. Previously, any ads would re-direct users straight off Reddit, now advertisers have more options to engage with their customers within the platform. We will need to wait for 2020 to see the results in their new advertising strategies.

Talk to us if you want any advice on which platform is right for your business.

Ecommerce: An Australian Love Affair

We Australians sure do love our online shopping. According to Marketing Mag, not only have online sales in Australia continued to jump, but expected to almost double worldwide between 2017 and 2021. 

So who are Australia’s most popular online retailers? Woolworths, Coles, Catch, ASOS, The Iconic and JB Hi-Fi all top the list. These platforms were highlighted as having stellar end-to-end service when it comes to the customer’s online shopping experience. It’s not simply enough to just be selling online, you need to make it an easy and fun experience for your customers.

Headless commerce has continued to be an important aspect. Headless technology refers to the decoupling of the front-end and back-end experience. Essentially while the back-end process that allows customers to shop remains a constant, what the customer sees and experiences with their shopping in the front-end becomes customisable.

Don’t let your eCommerce website let down your digital marketing efforts. We can assist you to become more flexible online for your customers.

This Year’s Winners In Sports Advertising

Sports sponsorship is a very large and lucrative business, but do they always get bang for their buck? Well, it turns out some more than others.

Marketing Mag weighed up the success of teams in terms of who delivered the best performance for their sponsors. When it came to the AFL, the North Melbourne Football Club was determined king. Their sponsorship deal with Mazda saw the best return on investment for any winter sport in 2019. Considering North Melbourne finished 12th on the AFL ladder, this proved you don’t need to pick a winning team to make a winning investment.

St George Bank also picked a winner in the NRL. Their sponsorship of the St George Illawarra Dragons had the highest awareness, and their support of the red and white delivered the most positive brand sentiment in the league.

So, why do you get such good results when sponsoring sport? Because your target market already has an emotional connection with their sporting team, allowing brands to latch onto that same trust and appreciation. This, in turn, makes it easier to convert that trust to sales.

2019 saw major change for Instagram

Of course, some of the biggest news this year in social media came when Instagram rolled out a trial period of hiding like totals. We spoke about it multiple times this year in This Month in Marketing. Last month the trial was extended to Instagram’s biggest market, America. This suggested that the change is more of a permanent fixture and not a 2019 phase.

In Australia there has been a drop in the number of likes influencers have obtained, but their engagement is still steady. This is expected to be reflected in America.

It’s still a popular place for digital marketing, with some of the best engagement rates. If you are interested in how you could be better digital marketing, please get in touch with Threesides. We can make a plan to make 2020 your best marketing year yet. Threesides would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will be taking a break for a few weeks, but we will be back and raring to go in January.