2014 WA Digital Marketing Report - Bang Online Marketing

2Western Australian Digital Marketing Report 2014
I think it's IMPORTANT to have an online
presence...a lot of people these days are
more likely to turn to a screen than go
and pick up a paper!
“ ”

Contents
> Detailed Findings 14
Importance of digital 15
Online spend 18
Why digital marketing? 20
Marketing activities 23
Top 3 online & Top 3 offline 25
Website features 28
Digital marketing challenges 31
Online success measures 35
Future online focus 37
Tomorrow’s focus 39
Future opportunities 41
> Overview of Methodology 43
> About Bang Online Marketing 45
> Executive Summary 4
Introduction
Key Themes
Digital Marketing in WA
5
6
7
Digital Marketing Today 8
Digital Marketing Tomorrow 9
Challenges Facing WA Businesses 10
Digital Marketing Opportunities 11
> Participant Profile 12
Participant profile 13

Executive Summary

Introduction
Working in the Western Australia
market is unique. The challenges
we face are different.
As a digital marketing agency, we
have struggled to find quality research
on how the WA market as a whole is
utilising digital to expand and grow in
a volatile but prosperous market.
Our clients and the industry want
to know how other businesses are
gaining results in the online space.
So this year we commissioned an
independentresearchstudytoeducate
the market, and provide insights into
the way others are integrating digital
into their overall marketing strategies.
This is the first of its kind in WA, and
with a planned annual release, we
know that participation will grow year
on year.
Read on to see how your organisation
compares to others in this State.
Renae Lunjevich
Managing Director
Bang Online Marketing
A total of 191 WA businesses
were surveyed to explore
the state of digital marketing
for 2013 / 14 in Western
Australia. These participants
come from a broad spread of
businesses.
In this report, you’ll find
information on what digital
marketing practices WA
businesses are using, how
much they are spending, how
they measure their ROI, and
what their future plans are.

Key themes
Looking ahead, digital marketing is only
going to become even more important to
WA business
Over 8 out of 10 WA businesses feel
online marketing strategies will become
even more valuable to their organisation
as time goes on, an absolute necessity
to keep ahead of competitors.
Digital marketing offers numerous
advantages over offline activities
Digital marketing is seen as a cost
effective way of directly targeting
customers that also provides easily
measurable outcomes.
Digital activities are seen as a key tool for
today’s marketer
For 1 in 2 WA organisations, digital and
online marketing are more important
to them than traditional marketing
channels.
Digital marketing activities are
mainstream
WA organisations continue to use
‘traditional’ marketing channels but it
is clear that digital marketing channels
are a big part of today’s marketing
considerations – and getting bigger.

Digital marketing in WA
WA businesses organisations clearly see the
importance of digital marketing…
“The customer decision making
process is aided by customers keen
to do their own research. Providing
an informative and accessible
website resource for them to do
this is essential to my organisation’s
business model.”
“Our return on investment is higher
through digital marketing channels
than any traditional marketing
channels. It also scales more easily
from a cost vs reach perspective.”
“The advantage of digital marketing
is the ability to target your audience
along with the reach that can be
achieved where traditional marketing
fails.”

Digital marketing today
On average, half of WA businesses’
marketing budget was spent on digital
activities in 2013.
52% Digital spend in 2013
3 out of 4 WA businesses are using
social media, and 2 out of 3 are using
mobile phone apps/websites and/
or email marketing. These are more
commonly used than any offline
strategy.
Digital marketing practices
Over 7 out of 10 WA businesses see
SEO, social media and search engine
marketing as the most important online
activities to get right.
70% Digital priorities
8 out of 10 WA organisations consider
digital marketing to be equally or more
important than offline marketing.
Importance

Digital marketing tomorrow
When they are aware of the options, WA
businesses show the most interest in
using:
> ad extensions (68% plan to use),
> mobile responsive design (65%) and
> video content development (59%)
WA organisations are planning
to expand their digital strategy
options across 2014 and beyond
Increased digital
marketing spend
Digital marketing is expected to grow at the
expense of offline marketing spend. The
average WA organisation plans to spend
58% of their marketing budget around
online activities in 2014 – an increase of 6%.

Challenges facing WA businesses
WA businesses face
common barriers to
investing more in digital
marketing and ensuring
they can deliver successful
outcomes
MANAGEMENT NOT
UNDERSTANDING
THE POTENTIAL ROI
Mentioned by 32% of
WA businesses
NOT HAVING THE
ORGANISATIONAL
KNOWLEDGE
Mentioned by 39% of WA
businesses
A LIMITED BUDGET
Mentioned by half of WA
businesses (51%)
LACK OF QUALIFIED
STAFF
Mentioned by 41% of WA
businesses

Digital marketing opportunities
There are a number of opportunities to ensure WA businesses get more from
their digital marketing activities for education in this area and for increased
sophistication in current strategies.
Broadening ROI
measures
Embracing
mobile platforms
Using the full
digital marketing
toolkit
Staying abreast
of the changing
digital spaceDigital marketing success
is most often determined
by the number of customer
contacts it generates, both
through online and offline
channels.
Many WA businesses are
yet to cater to the greater
use of mobile devices,
particularly via their
websites.
While most WA businesses
are adopting digital
marketing strategies, there
is limited use of the range of
options available.
There are some emerging trends
which many WA businesses
have not heard of. Assistance is
needed in keeping up-to-date,
particularly among those with
limited resources.

Participant profile

Participant profile
Technology
Retail & Hospitality
Transport and Utilities
Sport and Leisure
Other Education and training
Energy,Mining,Construction
& Manufacturing
Not-for-profit
(incl. Government)
Professional services
EmploymentPosition
Owner / CEO 34%
Marketing manager /Chief marketing officer 18%
Executive-level director /Board member 8%
Senior-level manager 15%
Mid-level /Regional manager 11%
Lower-level manager /Supervisor 4%
Marketing Coordinator /Officer 3%
Administration /Executive support 3%
Community development/Events manager 4%
33%
37%
29%
LargeMediumSmall
0-10 staff 11-50 staff 50+ staff
IndustryType
Organisation Size
7%
13%
13%
35%
5%
10%
6%
6%
6%
Digital marketing is expected to grow at the expense of offline marketing spend. The average WA organisation plans to spend 58% of their marketing budget around online activities in 2014 – an increase
of 6%.

Detailed findings

8 in 10 WA businesses
consider digital marketing to be
EQUALLY or MORE important
than offline marketing

Importance of digital
50%
MORE
Important
30%
EQUALLY
important
16%
LESS
important
4%
Don’t
Know
Digital marketing plays a critical role within WA organisations,
with 1 in 2 saying it is MORE important than offline marketing.
Q. Within your organisation, would you say that online marketing activities are… than offline marketing activities ? BASE: Phone survey (n=100)

Importance of digital
Organisations clearly see the opportunities in online marketing
and recognise its importance in their marketing mix.
90%Online marketing strategies are a vital
component of my organisation’s overall
marketing plan
77%My organisation believes it is important to
integrate online and offline marketing
strategies
77%My organisation views online marketing
strategies to be just as, if not more important
than offline marketing strategies
83%My organisation plans to increase its use of
online marketing strategies in coming
months and years
Q. Below is a list of statements about your organisation’s approach to using both offline and online marketing strategies. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of these
statements. BASE: Online survey (n=91)

$$$s on online marketing
activities is expected to
OUTGROW offline activities in
2014.

Online spend
In 2014, WA businesses plan on allocating 58% of their
marketing budget on digital activities, UP from 52% in 2013.
Both smaller and
larger businesses
plan on investing
more of their
marketing budget
on digital in 2014.
2014
59%
42%37%
53%
Large
Small-Medium
2013
52% 58%
48% 42%
2013 2014
Q. Roughly how much of the marketing budget has your organisation allocated to ‘offline’ marketing activities, versus digital and ‘online’ marketing activities in both the current calendar year (2014) and the
last calendar year (2013)? BASE: All respondents (n=191)

What are the 5 most COMMON
reasons why WA businesses are
using digital marketing more
and more?

Why digital marketing?
commonreasons
>Targeted
>Wide / far reaching
>Cost effective
>Speed/ease
>Measurable

Why digital marketing?
“You can easily measure results
against money spent and get a clear
picture on ROI.”
“We find it the most cost effective
way to advertise our product and
that of our clients. As opposed to
say print media or other higher cost
and outdated methods.”
“Our return on investment is higher
through digital marketing channels
than any traditional marketing
channels. It also scales more easily
from a cost vs reach perspective.”
“Online marketing allows us to get
our brand and products out to a
larger audience through various
online channels to a much more
accurate target audience at a much
more cost effective method.”
“I love the ease of getting messages
out on products and offers and the
viral factors associated with online
marketing.”
Q. What do you like about online marketing? In other words, what do you see as the main benefits?

3 of the top most COMMON
marketing activities in 2013 are
DIGITAL marketing activities.

Marketing activities
WA businesses haven’t stopped using
‘traditional’ marketing approaches…
….but a wide range of digital based activities
now play a bigger part.
% OFFLINE
58
56
48
47
37
34
33
16
13
8
8
6
5
Print media
Sponsorships
Direct mail
Phone book listings
Events / exhibitions
PR / brand reputation management
Sales promotions
Radio media
Telemarketing / Door-to-door
Outdoor media
TV media
None
Other
Q.. Which of the following offline marketing activitiesdid yourorganisation
use in 2013? BASE: All respondents n=191
76
66
66
56
54
48
31
29
26
5
3
3
Social media
Mobile phone apps/websites
Email marketing
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
Online directory listings
Search engine marketing
Online brand reputation managem't
Blogging
Internet advertising
Mobile phone (SMS) marketing
Other
None
Q.. Which of the following online marketing activitiesdid yourorganisation
% ONLINE
Q.. Which of the following offline marketing activities did your organisation use in 2013? BASE: All
respondents n=191

Q.. Which of the following online marketing activities did your organisation use in 2013? BASE: All
respondents n=191

The use of SOCIAL MEDIA
features heavily in current
marketing activities.

Top marketing activities
Top three online Top three offline
Marketing choices made by WA businesses
today see social media used instead of print
media, and email chosen over direct mail.
Social media Email
marketing
SponsorshipsMobile apps/
websites
Print Direct mail
76%
66% 66%
58% 56%
48%
Q.. Which of the following offline marketing activitiesdid yourorganisation
Q.. Which of the following online marketing activitiesdid yourorganisation
use in 2013? BASE: All respondents n=191Q.. Which of the following online marketing activities did your organisation use in 2013? BASE: All
respondents n=191

Q.. Which of the following offline marketing activities did your organisation use in 2013? BASE: All
respondents n=191

Digital marketing priorities
Getting search engine-related
activities and social media
strategies right are seen as the
most important of the online
marketing activities in terms of
helping organisations achieve
their marketing goals.
76%
Searchengine optimisation
(SEO)
75%
74%
61%
58%
57%
Socialmedia
Searchengine marketing
Emailmarketing
Onlinebrand reputation
management
Mobilephoneapps/
websites
Q. Rate the importance of each of these online marketing channels to your organisation (in terms of achieving marketing goals and objectives). BASE: Online survey (n=91)

WA organisations’ websites
contain the BASICS but many
have not yet catered to the
mobile platforms

Website features
83
75
73
54
48
45
41
39
28
9
An online enquiry form
GoogleAnalytics
Content management system
Amobile version of the website
Blog
Newsletter sign up form
Video content
Mobile responsiveness functionality
Ecommerce functionality
None of the above
Most WA organisational websites have online enquiry forms, Google Analytics and
content management systems, but are less likely to have adapted to the greater use of
mobile devices and other features such as blogs and video content.
Q. Does your organisation’s website include any of the following features? BASE: Online survey (n=91)

ofAustraliansaccess the
internetthroughmobile
ofSmartphonesare within
arm’sreach
93%
ofWA business websitesare
currentlyoptimised for mobile
54%
76%
Website features
Source: http://www.marketingmag.com.au/blogs/solomo-the-art-and-craft-46893/#.UvRIvGxDGUl
Source: http://www.adnews.com.au/adnews/mobile-internet-access-triples-in-australia
Source: http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/the-consumer-trends-that-will-shape-our-world-9006/#.UvLiOWxDGUl
Source: http://www.experian.com.au/marketing-services/research-reports/digital-trends-report-2013.html

Limited financial RESOURCES
and KNOWLEDGE are the main
barriers to investing more in
digital marketing.

Marketing
budget
allowance
Qualified staff
to manage
online
marketing
strategies
Knowledge of
online
marketing
within the
organisation
Understanding
potential ROI
provided
Preference for
offline
marketing
activities
Corporate
support for
online
marketing
strategies
Knowledge of
online
marketing
within the
organisation
51%
41% 39%
32%
26%
22% 21%
Digital marketing challenges
1 in 2 WA businesses say a limited budget constrains their
spending towards online marketing.
Limited organisational and
staff knowledge and the ROI it
provides are also key barriers.
Q. Below is a list of reasons that other organisations have given for limiting their investment in online marketing. Please indicate the extent to which each of these factors may or may not also limit your
organisation’s use of online marketing strategies. BASE: All Respondents (n=191)

> Limited understanding
> Achieving the desired outcomes
> Rapidly changing, evolving area
> Internal organisational barriers
> Don’t have the time or resources
Commonissues

“Online marketing is overwhelming,
it’s not easily understood as you
can’t touch and feel it.”
“The challenging part is when you
come across people who don’t
understand the concept and they
comment negative things about it
without giving themselves a chance
to hear the opportunity.”
“Creating a social media presence
that is interesting enough to engage
our audience without potentially
offending any of them. It’s a more
playful channel, but also more
dangerous as a result.”
“Knowing how much to spend on
SEO, Adwords, online advertising
etc. and measuring the value for
money achieved in these areas in
terms of both brand awareness and
sales lead enquiries!”
“Lack of knowledge and talent in the
digital field. Too many people claim
to know what they are doing but
tend to be learning on the job.”
Q. What are some of the challenges you feel you face when it comes to online marketing? BASE: Online survey (n=91)

Measuring digital ROI is still
evolving, with most businesses still
relying on visits to the website as the
key measure of success.

85
79
64
56
55
45
25
19
12
3
4
Enquiries through the website
Visits to the website
Increases in the number of customers
Phone calls to the office
Increased engagement with website (e.g.…
Increases in online sales
Increases in offline sales (e.g. in-store)
Increases in customer satisfaction
Increases in use of customer loyalty…
Other
None (do not measure impact)
WA businesses are
seeking robustways to
measuretheir onlineROI.
“I want to knowis it hitting
right market ? Are the
analytical resultsaccurate?”
Along with customer interactions, organisations tend to
gauge the success of their online marketing strategies
against how well their website has performed.
Q. What measures does your organisation use to determine the success of its online marketing strategies? BASE: Online survey (n=91)
WA businesses are
seeking robustways to
measuretheir onlineROI.
“I want to knowis it hitting
theright market ? Are the
analytical resultsaccurate?”

Looking ahead, WA businesses are
set to embrace the opportunities
digital marketing strategies can
provide even more.

Future online focus
An increasing reliance on online
marketing strategies in the future is a key
theme among 8 in 10 WA businesses of all
sizes and types…
81%
Online marketing strategies will become
more valuable to my organisation than offline
marketing strategies as time goes on
“If you don’t have good online
marketing and others do, customers
might see the competitors first and
not consider you.”
“There are a lot more eyes on
digital now. More than print.
So greater exposure. We have
greater control and can react and
move quicker as we can monitor
everything ourselves.”
“Absolute necessity for any
business to include social media,
SEO marketing, AdWords in their
marketing strategy. It keeps you
up with technology and ahead of
your peers.”

Tomorrow’s focus
WA organisations
have heard of
most emerging
online marketing
activities……but
there is also an
opportunity to learn
more.
88
85
77
73
72
69
67
67
61
60
55
53
50
41
37
LinkedIn advertising
Facebook advertising
YouTube advertising
Ad extensions (e.g. Google Adwords)
Google Plus business pages
Twitter advertising
Pinterest
Display advertising (e.g. Google Display)
Mobile marketing
Video content development
Facebook remarketing advertising
Instagram advertising
Mobile responsive design
Remarketing
Google shopping
Q. Which of these activities have you heard of before today? BASE: Online survey (n=91)

Tomorrow’s focus
WA businesses are looking to the future and
planning to do more in:
68% Ad extensions
Aim to increase ad click-through
by better targeting potential
online customers
65% Mobile responsive design
Optimising online channels for
use on mobile platforms
59% Video content
development
Developing and releasing video
content such as tutorial videos
or company overview videos
Q. And which of these is your organisation planning to utilise in 2014? BASE: Online survey (n=91)
68
65
59
54
48
45
44
40
35
31
27
23
20
19
6
Ad extensions (e.g. Google Adwords)
Mobile responsive design
Video content development
Remarketing
Google+ business pages
Facebook advertising
LinkedIn advertising
Display advertising
Facebook remarketing advertising
YouTube advertising
Pinterest
Mobile marketing
Twitter advertising
Instagram advertising
Google shopping
% PLAN TO USE (based on % aware)

Although WA businesses have started down
the digital path, dealing with the increasing
sophistication and evolving technology is
seen as a priority moving forward.

Future opportunities
Although many WA businesses are engaging in digital
marketing, there is still a need for education and
assistance in this area…
“Social media is still a beast that
I am not engaging fully in (just
adverts), as I cannot control the
negativity threads, as I do not have
the resources to manage this and
pacify and turn a comment around
into a positive.”
“Staying on top of industry
trends and standing out from
the competitors is difficult when
you don’t have the resources,
knowledge or budget.”
“Knowledge gaps. Initially we needed
to understand how [digital marketing]
worked, what our options were and
how we interfaced between paid SEO
and social media. Now the challenge
is about staying up to speed with the
rapid changes in the space!”

Appendix:
Overview of Methodology

Methodology
Small
(0 to 20 staff):
95%
Medium
(21 to 199 staff):
4%
Large
(200+ staff):
1%
Painted Dog Research, an independent agency, was
commissioned by Bang Online to collect and analyse data and
prepare this report. The information was collected through two
different channels:
All respondents were screened to ensure that:
Following data collection, the sample results were weighted by
organisational size in order to broadly reflect the composition
of the WA business environment (which is based on Australian
Bureau of Statistics counts of Australian businesses, 2008 to
2012):
An online survey that lasted for an average of 11
minutes. A link to this survey was emailed to selected
clients on available business lists and open links were
also distributed through social media and via WA
Business News’ online channels. This survey was
conducted between 30 January and 24 February 2014.
A total of n=91 completed surveys were collected online.
A phone survey that lasted for an average of 7 minutes.
Organisations were randomly selected to be contacted
from available business lists. This survey was conducted
between 21 February and 5 March 2014. A total of
n=100 surveys were completed via the telephone.
They were a relevant person (i.e. a marketing decision
maker) to speak to on behalf of their organisation;
Their organization had business operations in Western
Australia; and
Their organization at least had a website (online survey
only).

About Bang Online

About Bang Online
We stay at the forefront of the digital industry by keeping up-to-date with the latest techniques and inventing our own unique
marketing strategies. We provide a holistic approach to digital marketing so that you can use the one place for your search, social
media, website development and any other form of digital marketing. This enables us to provide added value to our clients by
closely understanding their business and being able to provide the right solution for them, when they need it.
Bang Online is fuelled by a dynamic, passionate and experienced team of online marketing professionals. We are driven by
providing the best solution for our clients, the highest quality service and results that deliver on your objectives. We have worked
on both client side and agency side, and understand that it’s not just important to deliver results; it’s also about how you deliver
them. Working ethically and valuing our clients is the cornerstone to our approach and success.
Bang Online is a 7 year old fresh thinking, vibrant digital marketing
agency in Perth, Western Australia. We love the hybrid of technology and
marketing that is digital marketing.

ADDRESS: First Floor, 3/228 Carr Place, Leederville WA 6007
PHONE: (+61) 08 9328 7000
FAX: (+61) 08 6210 5983
POST: P.O. Box 309, Leederville WA 6903
EMAIL: info@bangonline.com.au
WEB: www.bangonline.com.au

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