Kerry Osborn

The latest tech funding highlights shaking up Australia and New Zealand's innovation landscape: 🔹 Balmain Invests $3.2M in Caruso 🔹 LambdaTest Secures $38M led by Avataar Venture Partners, with Qualcomm Ventures also participating. 🔹 Australian Distilling - Old Young's and Gingin Gin Raises $1.42M via https://buff.ly/3ZSNw2r 🔹 Fleet Space Technologies Valued at $800M after $150M Series D Read more about these game-changers and the robust tech ecosystem in the region: https://buff.ly/4iwcrAh #TechNews #Innovation #StartupFunding #Australia #FundingRoundup

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YouTube: Where Reach, Engagement, and ROI Align 🚀 Today's media landscape is fragmented, but one platform consistently attracts audiences: YouTube. 📈 It reaches 97% of online Australian adults and 90% of Kiwi adults, driving 2.2x higher long-term brand impact than other platforms. From building brand awareness to driving sales, YouTube offers effective engagement and proven ROI, allowing you to effectively reach your audience across various screens and formats. Ready to leverage the power of YouTube for your business? Learn more about how you can maximise your impact. ➡️ https://goo.gle/3N0nTW4 #ThinkWithGoogle

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Ever had a chat with “James” from the Australian Wine Club? 😅🍷 (I had the "pleasure" recently and it was full on creepy) AI-powered voice callers like James have been stirring the pot lately. The Wine Group (aka Oak Road Estate) faced major backlash for using James to aggressively push wine subscriptions, leaving many feeling harassed and creeped out by his overly friendly yet persistent calls. Despite fines from the ACMA for breaching telemarketing laws, it seems James just won't take the hint! This raises a bigger question – as AI voices get more lifelike, how can we ensure they’re used responsibly for marketing? Have you had any unexpected encounters with AI callers? Share your thoughts – and let’s hope we don't get a call from James while we're at it! (Blog post on broader topics of AI voice agents for uses such as lead qualification coming very soon) #AI #Telemarketing #TechEthics #AIVoiceAgents

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These are great guidelines from Wholegrain Digital and I think especially for two way communication such as voice and messaging where you could believe you are in real-time communication with a real person. It seems obvious now that it's going to get harder to tell quickly. Another thing that Lex Fridman raised on a podcast this week with Roman Yampolskiy on the 'Dangers of Superintelligent AI' is how powerful AI is likely to become at persuasion. There are people now who've made serious money from their human powers of persuasion and influence and super intelligent AI could put this power (or more power) into the hands of those using it for their own gain.

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This week on the Managing Marketing Podcast, host Ellie Angell talks with Blaine Callard, the CEO at Freedom Furniture, about perceptions of marketing from a CEO, what marketing teams need to do to influence the C-Suite, the power of modelling and what to do (and what not to do) when trying to implement it; the importance of properly understanding AI, whoever you are in a business; and the challenges and opportunities inherent in working with agencies, good and bad.

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I love an Australian retail success story: MECCA Brands outfoxed SEPHORA in the Australian beauty glow-up. The AFR celebrates Mecca’s impressive results including: >$1bn in turnover >$35m in PROFITS >2% invested in staff training and development 13 new stores in 2024 Incredible loyalty program ⬆️ which is centered on creating true loyalty without discounting - don’t overlook how important this is!!! What it didn’t mention was Mecca’s distribution agreements which in my opinion underpins profitability and a sustainable competitive advantage. While everything stated about Mecca is highly impressive, I am far more impressed with their ability to negotiate and secure exclusive distribution in Australia for arguably the best beauty brands globally. Why is this so impressive? Well most of these market leading brands are distributed through Sephora stores globally. This means Sephora would have gone in with stronger bargaining power with a global distribution business and still Mecca won the battle for the rights! I can’t overestimate how impressive this is both from a competitive advantage and profitability standpoint. If you compare their model with the likes of Adore Beauty Group, who competes daily for every sale with countless others like Activeskin, Sephora and dozens more - Mecca has no competition. Want to buy Drunk Elephant, Nars, Bare Minerals, Hourglass, Sol de Janiero then you have no choice but Mecca! If you are in the business of retailing other brands, I cannot stress enough how Mecca is the playbook. It’s time to take note Myer and David Jones!

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Australian retail sales effectively went backward year to date. The ABS reported Australian retail sales remained subdued in April, with an increase of 1.3% year to date. However, more importantly they reported yesterday that monthly CPI rose 3.6% over the same period This means retailers are effectively seeing sales rise at a slower pace than inflation. 🏆 Category "winners": Cosmetics Sports and recreational Food Cafes, restaurants and takeaway 👎 Category declines: Household goods Clothing Footwear Department stores What does this mean? Discretionary spending is down on down Consumers are waiting for discounts Inventory holding reductions are impacting wholesalers upstream 🤔 What can retailers do? Double down on what's working Pull back on what's not working Profit first acquisition Value proposition (not discount lead) retention Remember if discretionary spend is down and you acquire customers at breakeven or worse, it will be a much longer period before they shop again to increase your CAC:LTV.

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ep #69 of eCommerce Australia Podcast is a beauty! Always great to catch up with eCommerce founders, and Tristan Bauer from Missing At Sea has been busy building a fantastic community and business in the fishing category. We touch on the risks being over-reliant on Meta, some Black Friday mistakes they've made previously, how this time of year can make or break your business depending on your tactics. Tristan also heavily invests into content marketing, and we discuss the commercial reality around ROI when it comes to creating high quality, high quantity content, and how that has accelerated the growth at MAS. #ecommerce #ecommerceseo #ecommerceaustralia #shopify #klaviyo #reviewsio

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Ok, confession time. H1 was scary. Moments of doubt, countless what-ifs, and 100 million reasons why this wouldn't work. But at the top of it all, there was you. You made me better, stronger, and whatever the rest of that Daft Punk track is. I worked with many of you and felt nothing but continuous love and support. Vibed with some, didn’t see eye to eye with others, but skillshift wouldn’t be here today without all of it. Thank you for putting your trust in me and the team. skillshift (yes, all lowercase; yes, it’s one of those brands; get over it) is growing. We’re working on the first pay-as-you-go enterprise SEO platform, revolutionizing the world of marketplaces, and offering enterprise-grade consulting services at a fraction of the cost. Yes, I'll have a coffee with you and tell you more about it.

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Recent article on GenAI's influence on the retail landscape. My conclusion is that intelligence needs to be led by a great deal of intelligence! https://lnkd.in/g8sWjkhz

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Shopify published the latest Australian Retail Report for 2024 and there’s a lot of solid insight and recommendations worth reading. 5 key themes are:  1. The hunt for value from cost conscious consumers 2. Consumers still like to shop in-store - but you do need to deliver a consistent experience wherever your brand is (omnichannel) 3. Innovation with technology is key; not just for delivering customer experiences but also bringing efficiency across the whole business  4. Operational efficiency; staff, supply chain, warehouse and inventory management  5. Customer loyalty; in this market it’s really challenging but you have to prioritise this for growth The one that’s interesting to me is #4. Because there is a shift in conversation in ecommerce marketing to profitability. From ROAS - to contribution margin and MER so that your business is growing profitably. And for that you also need to be understanding inventory that is slow moving, unprofitable, has high return rates. Plus more. Having these feedback loops becomes critical to all business growth. It's more important than ever to ensure that all parts of your ecommerce business are working together seamlessly to drive success. It's just really hard to get traction when one of the wheels is letting you down! How are you aligning customer experience, operations, marketing and brand for maximum impact? I have dropped the link to the report in the comments below - enjoy the read. #customerexperience #digitaltransformation

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The AiMCO – Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) has announced a newly-created Influencer Advisory Sub-Committee, dedicated to advocating for its influencer and creator members. https://lnkd.in/gEbX6T7y

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🇦🇺🦘 Tune in this week to "Unpacking the Digital Shelf" as we venture Down Under to explore the Australian e-commerce market. Our guest, Teresa Sperti (GAICD), founder of Arktic Fox, shares incredible insights on: 📈 The unique challenges and opportunities for brands in Australia's rapidly growing e-commerce landscape. 🤔 How the market's relative immaturity presents both hurdles and potential for those willing to adapt. 📱 The rise of Amazon and its impact on homegrown retail giants like Woolies and Officeworks. 🤖 Fascinating examples of Aussie brands leveraging AI and omnichannel strategies for an exceptional customer experience. Don't miss this deep dive into a market ripe with potential! 🎧 Join podcast hosts Lauren Livak Gilbert and Peter Crosby for more👇 #ecommerce #australia #digitalmarketing #retail #podcast #omnichannel #AI

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Australia Post’s latest eCommerce report for the first quarter of FY25 reveals a 2% year-on-year growth in online purchasing. With an average of 5.8 million Aussie households making online purchases monthly, this quarter's results are promising. Explore the categories that thrived in Q1 here: 📈 #eCommerce #AustraliaPost #OnlineShopping

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Are Red Rooster hiking prices ahead of a potential sale by their private equity owner? craveable brands. , the parent company of Red Rooster (also Oporto and Chargrill Charlie's ) looks set for another change in ownership, according to the The Australian Financial Review (link in first comment). Affinity Equity Partners has secured exclusivity over the company, which is being sold by PAG. ShopGrok has been closely monitoring QSR trends in the Australian market. In recent weeks surrounding the news of a potential sale, we’ve noticed Red Rooster has revised its prices, increasing them by an average of 3.5% across its entire range since early November. - Sides saw the greatest average price increase, up 22%   - Drinks increased by 10% - Chicken items rose by a more modest 2.5% Perhaps these price increases form part of a broader strategy by Craveable Brands to boost margins and increase its valuation ahead of a sale. Sarah Thompson Kanika Sood Emma Rapaport #RedRooster #PricingStrategy #PrivateEquity #MergersAndAcquisitions #ShopGrok #QSR

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With the cost of living crisis squeezing household budgets, Australian retailers are pulling out all the stops to entice shoppers back into stores. I spoke with 7 News, discussing early Boxing Day sales to extended shopping hours, with retailers offering a plethora of deals and discounts to lure consumers. The ongoing economic pressures have forced many Australians to tighten their belts. To combat this, retailers are adopting aggressive strategies to stimulate consumer demand. This year we have witnessed early Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events, now rolling into early Boxing Day sales, with many stores offering significant discounts on a wide range of products. This early bird approach aims to capture the attention of savvy shoppers who are looking to stretch the dollar as far as possible. In addition to early sales, retailers are also focusing on creating a more immersive shopping experience. Many stores are investing in in-store activations, events, live music, and food offerings to attract customers and make their shopping trips more enjoyable. By transforming their stores into vibrant destinations, retailers hope to entice consumers to spend more time and money. Data from NAB has shown that 2/3 of purchases on Black Friday, were made in store. #boxingdaysales #retail #consumer #blackfriday #christmas #retail #griffithuniversity

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🤫 When your brand’s been the best kept secret, how do you take it to the next level? And win a Brandie Award for Best Rebrand in the process. CMC Invest has quietly become Australia’s second-largest retail stockbroker through a series of acquisitions and competitive offerings. But despite this prominent market presence, CMC lacked brand awareness. A rebrand aimed to solidify CMC Invest’s position as Australia’s biggest non-bank stockbroker and lean into a mobile-first strategy. An additional objective included increasing the number of clients onboarded to invest overseas, requiring the need to convey that international equities were easy and accessible for everyday Aussies. A new positioning statement, “Australia’s favorite non-bank stockbroker,” was paired with a cheeky tone, inclusive photography, new iconography, and correspondence imagery of people in everyday situations investing on the go. As a result, CMC saw a substantial increase in the number of new clients coming onboard trading international equities. Additional impressive results included significant increases in future intent, brand equity, top of mind, unaided awareness, aided awareness and product awareness. The new creative and brand platform also drastically increased the company’s relevancy score. To check out other Brandie Award Winners visit: https://lnkd.in/ghn92dXQ   #BrandieAwards #BrandingExcellence #MarketingAwards #BrandInnovation #IntelligenceBank #Rebrand

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