The Rise of Aggregators What are the implications? Jamie Riddell Director [email_address]

Introduction: Cheeze particulars… Part of Digital Marketing Group plc Offices in London & Ipswich Turnover of £14 million in 2007 35 employees IPA, DMA & SEMPO Accredited

Part of Digital Marketing Group plc

Offices in London & Ipswich

Turnover of £14 million in 2007

35 employees

IPA, DMA & SEMPO Accredited

A brief history of online aggregators Moneysupermarket is one of the oldest aggregators online and launched “.com” in 1999 Travelsupermarket was launched in 2004 Increased presence, investment and development since 2006 Heavy TV advertising pushing ‘convenience’, ‘speed’ and ‘one-stop-shop’ Proprietary technology has advanced and XML schema’s are being rolled out across all sectors

Moneysupermarket is one of the oldest aggregators online and launched “.com” in 1999

Travelsupermarket was launched in 2004

Increased presence, investment and development since 2006

Heavy TV advertising pushing ‘convenience’, ‘speed’ and ‘one-stop-shop’

Proprietary technology has advanced and XML schema’s are being rolled out across all sectors

Aggregator Traffic

Why are they popular?

How can you feature? Banners Text Link Sponsorship Button

XML Feed Placements (Home, Motor)

Why do we use aggregators? Volume Brand Media Mix Account -ability Control

Volume = mass market access 2,772,000 U/A Source: Neilsen Netratings September 2008 726,000 U/A 978,000 U/A 312,000 U/A Be ‘bigger’ than you are Take advantage of their advertising Gain access to ‘pre qualified’ audience Benefit from repeat visitors Cross sell!

Aggregators allow you to build your brand Source: Neilsen Netratings September 2008 Take advantage of ‘ walled garden’ product areas Chose which products are shown Chose where you are shown Appear in their TV campaigns ‘ Out-shout’ your competition Begin a relationship through CRM

Aggregators are accountable Accountability Reporting packages offered to suit budget & brief Integrate aggregator tracking within your current online campaigns Better understand length and path of customer journey Data supplied direct to you/your Call centre Third party adserving accepted Track through to purchase Track through to ROI Data not opinion

Aggregators can form an integral part of your Media Mix Aggregator Direct Online Marketing: Search Online Branding Display Advertising Offline Marketing: Affiliates Search Engine Optimisation ‘ Natural traffic’

Aggregators offer control over pricing Chose the aggregator(s) you want to use Pricing models: CPA CPC Tenancy CPM Sponsorship Negotiate six month/ 1 year deals

Pricing models:

CPA

CPC

Tenancy

CPM

Sponsorship

Implications Positive Negative There is a “partner benefit” from the mass brand awareness of aggregators Sustain your Paid & Natural search Are you paying for the same customer twice? (common theory) Aggregator Conversion through PPC But, do the maths! Positive ROI

Are you paying for the same customer twice? (common theory)

Aggregator

Conversion through PPC

But, do the maths! Positive ROI

Implications Positive Negative Aggregator deals are negotiable Fix your CPA deal and manage your PPC campaigns/costs Your position on an aggregator site may not reflect what your feel is your brand position in the marketplace.

Implications Positive Negative Your presence on an aggregator site could help boost your brand credibility Price competition means service & value offer play a small part in the decision making process.

What does this mean for insurers? However: Risk of over-dependency Their contractual terms can be aggressive Their IT requirements can be expensive & demanding Aggregator sales team service levels are (generally) poor Who can afford to miss out on 2.7m unique users?

However:

Risk of over-dependency

Their contractual terms can be aggressive

Their IT requirements can be expensive & demanding

Aggregator sales team service levels are (generally) poor

Implications Benefits currently outweigh drawbacks Commercial and Personal products can all benefit from an aggregator presence We need to understand them to use them properly We need to be prepared for them to ‘disappear’, are you over-reliant on them for sales? They must be part of a mixed media schedule

Benefits currently outweigh drawbacks

Commercial and Personal products can all benefit from an aggregator presence

We need to understand them to use them properly

We need to be prepared for them to ‘disappear’, are you over-reliant on them for sales?

They must be part of a mixed media schedule

The Future Online sales will continue to grow – whether direct or via paid advertising Aggregators spend a significant amount to attract their customers, & if this spend declines, will their traffic follow? Use their success to develop your own site – customers want an easy quote process & a good price ! Growth Service 5 Star Rating New Aggregators? Plateau for MSM?

Online sales will continue to grow – whether direct or via paid advertising

Aggregators spend a significant amount to attract their customers, & if this spend declines, will their traffic follow?

Use their success to develop your own site – customers want an easy quote process & a good price !

Online drives the whole market Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers / Internet Advertising Bureau, The Advertising Association / WARC: WARC estimate for directories. Year on year growth for 2007 Total advertising market growth = 4.3%

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