Digital Digest 2

July 18, 2017

Apple's controversial decision to order Westpac Banking Corporation to disable a mobile banking feature that lets customers make payments in chat apps has caught the attention of Australia's competition watchdog, amid concerns it could be attempting to remove rivals to its own upcoming service.
It is understood Apple may have security concerns about the payments, but Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman, Rod Simms, said he will be seeking a proper explanation from the phone maker, in order to assess if any further action is required.
The news came as a shock to Westpac, which said thousands of customers had been using the app feature since it was unveiled in March, and comes as Apple is preparing to launch a payments service in its own iMessage service in the soon-to-be-released iOS 11 operating system update.

A new company looking to help local organisations benchmark their digital maturity and strategic effectiveness has launched in Australia.
Digital Transformation Scores (DTS) is the brainchild of founder, Marcelo Silva, who has spent the past 20 years working in a range of marketing and business roles, with an emphasis on digital.
According to Silva, too many organisations are still ‘doing digital’ rather than embracing it as the cultural, transformative shift it represents. Launching DTS is about providing a diagnostic tool that helps organisations understand where they sit in the digital maturity spectrum and against their corporate competitors.

A data-driven experiment by Australian cosmetics producer, Nude by Nature, to test the effectiveness of re-targeted display advertising has seen the group achieve sales uplift of 11.8 per cent.
Nude by Nature head of digital, Gavin Merriman, said his objective in running the test was to respond to industry suggestions that re-targeted and programmatic display are ineffective and work out whether there are in fact viable advertising options for the beauty brand.
He noted a recent comment made by the chief data officer of Trump’s election campaign, Matt Oczkowski, suggesting programmatic advertising is a dying industry. “The idea that buying a 300 x 250 display ad is effective is false, you’re more likely to get bitten by a shark than click on one of those ad units,” Oczkowski said at the recent ADMA Data Day event in Sydney.

Online classified advertising website Gumtree is rebranding as part of marking the 10th anniversary of its Australian operations, including a new series of television commercials to show off the site’s revamped look and improved functionality.
The eBay-owned website is looking at simplified processes for buyers and sellers, 24/7 support, and new payment options to shore up its market position following its move into banner and programmatic advertising last year.
The refreshed identity will push a new brand proposition: ‘This is Gumtree. Australia’s local marketplace’ with a new television commercial as part of a multi-channel marketing campaign across TV, outdoor and digital.