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Myspace Offers NZ Marketers A New Way To Connect

Myspace Offers NZ Marketers A New Way To Connect With & Engage New Zealanders

Nielsen and internal figures show us almost 400,000 New Zealanders spent 156,000 hours viewing 14 million pages on MySpace.com in the month of June 2008.


[New Zealand: 8 August 2008] MySpace.com is a social online destination where 115 million people from around the world connect with each other. It allows brands and marketers to credibly immerse themselves into the environment through five methods including; display and rich media advertising, custom communities, sponsorships, event activations, online TV advertising and branded content development.

It’s important to note that MySpace is a mass media brand that connects with people of all age demographics from across New Zealand. In June 2008 there were over 100,000[1] New Zealanders aged 14 – 17 years using MySpace. 80% of MySpace users are 18 years and above, that’s over 320,000[2] adults.

The UK report, MySpace08 has identified six key personalities or types of social networker; ranging from the business minded, the uber creative to the more traditional user.
• Netrepreneurs - Spearheading the Culturpreneurism movement, they use social networking sites for the sole purpose of generating income.
• Connectors – Revel in passing on links, if they see something you’ll like, they’ll pass it on to you.
• Transumers - Vital part of social networks - the grazers of content and networks rather than creators. They are the people who follow the lead of others and join groups connected to things they like doing, bulking up numbers, buying products and attending events.
• Collaborators – Believe in ‘people power’ and use social networking sites to create events, ideas and activities by collaborating with other people.
• Scene Breakers – Early adopters who use social networking sites to discover and be part of new and emerging scenes, movements and individuals
• Essentialists - The vast majority of users use social networking sites to stay in touch with friends and family.
For New Zealand marketers the MySpace opportunity is now here and real, with the appointment of Susan Carlton as Head of Sales and Business Development for Fox Interactive Media, New Zealand. Susan joins dedicated MySpace resource in sales as well as marketing in New Zealand.

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Susan spent her career in the United States, helping movie studios and music companies launch successful online businesses. Before leaving the US Susan was the Senior Vice President, New Media at Universal Music Group. In early 2007, Susan moved with her family to New Zealand, taking up the role of Marketing Director at the newly-formed Yahoo!Xtra where she led all marketing activities for the new company


With broad reach into the New Zealand market as well as five areas for marketers to engage with consumers, MySpace is truly becoming an alternative as well as a compliment to traditional marketing channels. The five methods include display and rich media advertising, custom communities, sponsorships, event activations, online TV advertising and branded content development:

1. Display advertising across MySpace is a base level way marketers can communicate to users. To ensure relevancy, standard targeting applies on MySpace which includes age, geographic, sex, income, education, as well as whether users are a smoker or not, drink or not, religion and sexual preference metrics. This can be amplified to cover users interests such as fashion, music and film.

Delivering a 99% increase on the measurable impact of traditional banner advertising on MySpace.com, rich media advertising has proved its worth for marketers to not only get the clicks but to truly engage consumers in the online environment. The Dark Knight campaign, which launched within the newly designed MySpace interface on the marquee placement achieved a click through rate of 1.74%compared to the previous standard 0.02%.

As Susan Carlton, Head of Sales and Business Development, Fox Interactive Media, New Zealand explains “Leading advertisers are utilising rich media advertising across MySpace because the advertising is delivering 99% above the click through rate as well as allowing enhanced creative that delivers further consumer engagement.”

2. Custom communities are MySpace profiles built professionally for brands to provide a location for the MySpace users to connect with the brand and form a loyal community around it. Susan continues, “MySpace provides a platform for brands to connect credibly with New Zealanders. Marketing online through social networks is about building a conversation with a community of loyal advocates, as opposed to the traditional method of simply communicating messages one way. When marketers build a community on MySpace, they can participate in this conversation and empower people to virally extend the reach and power of the community.”

Going viral is key on social networks, one method brands are utilising to achieve this is through application development. MySpace opened up the platform which means it’s now easy for developers or digital firms to build applications for brands which extends their reach virally via the MySpace platform. For more information check out: http://developer.myspace.com

3. Sponsorship of channels, hubs and sections of MySpace are available for marketers to align and integrate their brands with. For example Kiwihub (www.myspace.com/kiwihub) which launched on the 23rd July has over 7,000 friends and is a central location for New Zealanders to connect and share content as well as get access to free events, discover new local music, fashion, art and culture.

4. MySpace have a team of specialists that create world class events for MySpace users that are sponsored by partner brands. The events compliment the online connection that MySpace offers, allowing brands to connect face to face in the offline space. Marketers can work with the MySpace team to create bespoke online and offline programs or they can tap into the popular Secret Show or Black Curtain programs.

The ‘Secret Show’ events which are sponsored by VISA in New Zealand allow MySpace users to go to free yet intimate gigs, featuring big name acts such as Evermore, The Checks, Collapsing Cities and Coco Solid. ‘Black Curtains’ are the film equivalent and are currently looking for a sponsor. They give MySpace users the chance to see major film screenings for free before they hit the cinemas including Hot Fuzz, Transformers, The Darjeeling Ltd, Jumper and Charlie Bartlett.
5. MySpaceTV features both user generated content, premium content developed specifically for the web, as well as partner content from the likes of the BBC, ABC, National Geographic and Rip Curl. It provides the opportunity for advertisers to transfer their TV advertising creative into an online environment, as well as develop specific premium content that allows brands to be the content as opposed to advertise around it.
MySpace is a singular global platform, which means that New Zealand brands can go global, connecting with a global audience of 115 users across 29 regions and 15 languages all from their desk and one point person in the New Zealand office.
The “Never Ending Friending Report’ from the United States uncovered four secrets to success with social network marketing –
- Recognise the symobiotic relationship between marketer and consumer – all downloads, tools, and viral elements must embody the brand persona.
- Connect with consumers on an emotional rather then rational level …… tell a story by integrating the meaning of a brand.
- Give consumers a reason & the tools to talk about it.
- Give consumers the chance to recognise their dream/fantasy.
Susan Carlton concludes “It’s our belief that we’re at the first phase, the tip of the iceberg of the new social web. Social destinations like MySpace are pushing the larger web to become more personal, portable and collaborative.”


[ends]

For more information or an interview please contact:
Suzanne Mitchell, MySpace.com
email: sumitchell@myspace.com
phone:+61 2 9288 2004 or mobile: +61 2 411 564 248

About MySpace
MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc. is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. MySpace has created a connected global community by integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums. MySpace's international network includes more than 20 localised community sites in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, India, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS - News, NWS.A - News; ASX:NWS - News, NWSLV - News).

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