New Zealand Post and Marketing Impact Limited announced they have reached agreement for Marketing Impact to buy New Zealand Post’s email and text marketing business, MessageMedia. The transaction, valued at less than USD 250,000.
It will be business as usual for MessageMedia’s customers and three staff as they transfer to Marketing Impact, a creative direct marketing agency with over 80 staff in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Read MoreNew Zealand exporters remain confident about the strength of their overseas markets, according to a survey, with most unaffected by fallout from the global credit crunch.
A survey of 244 export businesses by DHL in May found that the fluctuating New Zealand dollar against the US dollar was a benefit, with over half of respondents to the bimonthly survey reporting cost savings.
Of the companies to make savings, about a quarter planned to use them to cover rising operating costs such as fuel.
The New Zealand dollar was volatile last month, after surprisingly poor retail and employment data cast further doubt about the strength of the economy and increased the expectations of interest rate cuts.
The kiwi ended May close to where it began, around US78c, but swung about US4c during the month.
Of companies surveyed who export to the US, 58 percent reported no impact to their current export orders, 22 percent experienced a fall and 5 percent had an increase.
Over the next six months, 77 percent of exporters anticipated no change or an increase in orders to the US.
“Given the impact the US sub-prime crisis has caused to markets worldwide and the New Zealand public’s concerns about potential local effects, it is positive that most exporters are reporting they are unaffected by the crisis and even optimistic about orders in the near future,” said DHL Express New Zealand General Manager Derek Anderson.
Eighty percent of exporters expected orders to markets other than the US to remain stable for the next six months.
Key New Zealand trading partners remained solid economically, with Australia and Asian economies growing strongly, and Europe and Japan showing surprising growth, said Jason Wong, Director of Economics and Strategy at First NZ Capital.
Read MoreAustralia Post will pay a “special dividend” of AUD 150 million to the Government in the 2008-09 financial year. The amount is on top of the AUD 300million Australia Post provides to the commonwealth annually.
Liberal senator Simon Birmingham asked Australia Post executives how they justified slugging consumers with increased postal charges when that money would simply be transferred to the Government’s coffers.
The committee heard that about AUD 90 million would be raised from increased postal charges applied to ordinary small and large letters, which were mostly sent by private individuals and some small businesses.
About AUD 55 million would be raised from pre-sorted letters, which are mostly sent by businesses, while the remaining money will come from other types of letters.
Australia Post group financial controller Michael Tenace said the amount to be raised from increased postal charges had nothing to do with the special dividend to be paid to the Government, which would come out of profits generated over two financial years.
He said the proposed price hikes were to cover the increased costs of delivering letters.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is reviewing Australia Post’s proposal to raise the basic postage rate from 50c to 55c and increase the price of other mail services.
The ACCC will release its preliminary views on the matter next month.
Australia Post corporate secretary Michael McCloskey said the average extra cost for households would be AUD 2.70 a year.
Australia Post’s CAD 155m ‘tax grab
It’s not all that widely recognised that customers pay greater attention to their bills than probably any other form of communication that they receive from businesses.
On face value that may sound like a negative result, but it also provides businesses with a tremendous sales and marketing opportunity. And the opportunity is one that many Australian businesses are yet to capitalise on.
Grant Stewart, managing partner of the strategic marketing agency Vectis, says that many businesses are realising the value of including targeted marketing messages on the transactional mail that they’re already sending to their customers.
“Most businesses have always viewed their transactional mail, such as bills and account statements, as quite distinct from the direct mail that they send out,” explains Grant. “But that shouldn’t be the case any more.
“This type of essential mail is an ideal medium for selling to existing customers, because we know that they actually spend time analysing the bills and accounts that they receive via the mail.
“We’re advising our clients to stop thinking of their transactional mail as just a cost and to start viewing it as an opportunity to generate revenue. When they actually see the return on investment that can be earned from a clever campaign, that’s when they start thinking of transactional mail as a serious marketing tool.”
Grant’s belief that customers pay close attention to their bills and account statements is supported by the findings of a British study from 2005 by The Henley Centre, called Beyond the Gate.
This study, which looked at how people process and prioritise their mail, found that most people dedicate an average of five minutes to reading their bills and account statements. From this, the researchers concluded that transactional mail actually provides a valuable opportunity for brand engagement – and selling.
Read MoreTNT Express Australia has become the first business in Australia to start operating a fleet of diesel-electric hybrid trucks as replacements for conventionally powered vehicles.
TNT has put 10 Hino Hybrid trucks into service as part of its commitment to achieving better environmental outcomes across all areas of its business – particularly the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Roger Corcoran, TNT Express Australia Managing, says the decision to adopt hybrid trucks is part of the company’s global commitment to reduce its total CO2 emissions.
Speaking at the official launch of the hybrid truck fleet in Sydney, Corcoran says the new vehicles will reduce TNT’s greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 kilograms of CO2 a year per vehicle.
He says the Hino Hybrid will emit 14 percent less carbon dioxide than a diesel-powered truck of equivalent size.
“In addition, the hybrid vehicle reduces emissions of nitrous oxides by almost half and harmful particulate matter by 98.9 per cent,” Corcoran says.
The introduction of hybrid vehicles is part of TNT’s commitment to reducing greenhouse emissions, according to Corcoran.
Under its code orange commitments, TNT has mandated across its business to buy operational vehicles with the highest environmental standards.
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