Seven West Media Deploys Big Data Solution To Deliver Innovation In Audience Engagement

Seven West Media (SWM) has enlisted a new partnership with Cloudera and Contexti to build an advanced big data solution for its media business. Cloudera is a global provider of secure data management and analytics platform built on Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark and open source technologies, while Contexti are Australian-based data analytics experts.
The solution was run as a pilot program for SWM’s coverage of the 2016 Australian Open Tennis event before being expanded to support the extensive and groundbreaking coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Australia.
It now forms the core of SWM’s data capability as the company continues to provide market leading audience engagement and innovative advertising solutions.
Data analytics experts from Contexti were engaged to assist in the design, build, and management of a modern data platform to support SWM’s evolving digital strategy aimed at delivering much deeper insights into viewer behaviour.
Sidney Minassian, founder and CEO of Contexti, said, “Seven West Media has recognised the shift in how broadcast television is consumed by their audiences.
“Underpinned by Cloudera’s sophisticated data analytics platform, Cloudera Enterprise and an array of advanced digital strategies, Seven West Media is leading the innovation in content and audience experiences.
“Together we were able to uplift the organisation’s data and analytics capabilities, delivering new insights to personalise the viewer experience and deliver higher ROI for their customers.”
Adopting a cloud-first approach, SWM’s data solution runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) with a Cloudera enterprise data hub at its core providing a fast, secure, and easily scalable platform that can adapt to demand.
“There were two key data challenges that we needed to solve. Firstly, the variety and complexity of the data sources meant that we needed a mature and enterprise-grade open-source data management solution at the core of our data ecosystem,” said Sharmaine Salis, head of Data Architecture at Seven West Media.
“The second challenge for us was the highly variable nature of the events that generated the data, with huge events like the Rio Olympics needing to be supported over and above business-as-usual demand. This drove our decision for a cloud-based solution.”
In preparing for the Rio Olympics, the Contexti team ran comprehensive performance tests to form a clear benchmark. With a high level of uncertainty around data volumes that would actually be generated, SWM took advantage of their cloud-based solution and the new elastic-pricing model from Cloudera.
“Although we were pretty confident in the performance of the system after Contexti’s tests, we decided to err on the side of caution. So, with only one week to go before the Opening Ceremony, we provisioned additional nodes. And a week after the Games, we turned them off again. That is exactly the type of flexibility we needed!” said Salis.
The solution easily transformed the enormous data volumes into the usable data sets to drive a comprehensive suite of dashboards. These were delivered to key stakeholders each day to give executives access to critical audience metrics throughout the event.
This same data was also used to underpin an innovative audience engagement program. Over one million people registered on the Olympics app or website during the event. Each user’s level of engagement with the content was tracked across over 200 daily variables and these were used to trigger highly targeted and personalised emails aimed at increasing user engagement.
“Over the two weeks, we delivered 2.7 million emails across 108 targeted campaigns triggered by audience behaviours. The results of the program were compelling. We measured a 29 per cent increase in the average minutes streamed by users who engaged in the program when compared against a control group,” said David Miller, director of Data and Business Intelligence at SWM.
“Our data solution has transformed how we can understand our audience as well as how we can proactively engage them.”
“This project demonstrates the power of a data-driven analytics programme,” added Shyam Srinivasan, regional director for Australia and New Zealand at Cloudera.
“This has been an absolutely stellar result for Seven West Media, who have been able to use their massive supply of data to great effect, bringing tangible business benefits to the company.
“Working together with Contexti, it’s compelling to see where this partnership can go, as big data analytics comes to have more and more of an impact on Seven West Media’s operations.”
Latest News

ING Launches New Brand Direction, Do Your Thing, Via Ogilvy
ING Australia has taken on a new tagline, ‘Do your thing’, with the new brand direction articulating the bank’s approach to being there, alongside its customers, as they go about doing the things that matter most to them. ING’s head of brand Carly Yanco said: “We’ve just lived through a year where the everyday things […]

SMI Data: January Ad Spends Sink As COVID & The Delayed Oz Open Bites
Australia’s media agency market has reported softer advertising demand in January as the delayed Australian Open and the continued impact of COVID 19 briefly interrupted the market’s COVID recovery. Total media agency ad spend was back 7.3 per cent in January as the Metropolitan TV market – our largest media sector – reported a 5.3per […]

Slingshot Wins Masterpet And Endeavour Consumer Health Accounts
Media strategy specialist Slingshot has won the strategy, planning and buying account for Masterpet, and Endeavour Consumer Health. Masterpet owns pet care brands Black Hawk, VitaPet and Aristopet, while Endeavour Consumer Health includes brands like Red Seal, Pharmacy Choice and Faulding. Slingshot CIO and Partner Simon Corbett (pictured) said that winning the two businesses was […]

New Campaign Highlights That 70% Of Australians Say They Want To Die At Home
Leading South Australian ageing care provider ECH (Enabling Confidence at Home) is shining a light on the need for Australians to talk openly about death with their family members and loved ones to ensure any specific wishes or choices can be fulfilled. Australia faces a significant societal challenge as death continues to be a subject […]

Introducing The Zavy Social Scoreboard
You might have noticed a colourful scoreboard sitting on the B&T homepage this month. Well, allow us to formally introduce ourselves – and it. We’re Zavy. And we believe in the promise of social media: brand building by two-way engagement and rich communication. What does this have to do with a scoreboard? We all […]

Global Virtual Communications Consultancy fluid Expands Reach In Australia
Virtual consultancy fluid expands its reach into Australia with Brian Shrowder joining global collective of senior communications consultants

WE Communications Australia Announce New Leadership Roles
WE Communications announces new leadership roles & then communicate it superbly via this expertly penned press release.

Nimble Moves Away From The Bunny Suit In New Work Via Cyclone Creative Agency And Monster & Bear
Payday lenders are the modern equivalent of hocking a car stereo at Cash Converters.

Val Morgan Digital And TheFork Launch Thrillist Serves
Here's some foodie news for the gourmands out there. But that's not to suggest anyone can't sink their teeth into it.

JOY Appoints Phil Watson And Katie Chandler To Leadership Team
JOY appoints Phil Watson & Katie Chandler to leadership team, as headless interloper interrupts accompanying press pic.

Anathea Ruys Named CEO Of UM Australia
B&T has corrected this article and would like to confirm that André Rieu has NOT been named UM's new CEO.

Influencer Platform Social Soup Launches New Division, Soup Pro
Influencer platform Social Soup launches a new division called Soup Pro that's sadly not being led by Sharon Croutons.

BWM Dentsu Launches Charles Sturt Uni’s Zero-Tolerance Campaign Against Sexual Misconduct
New campaign tackles the very serious issue of sexual misconduct on uni campuses. Toga parties & pingas escape mention.

Women Leading Tech: IntelligenceBank’s Tessa Court On Why Building A Business Is The Ultimate Form Of Creativity
Here are wise words from IntelligenceBank's Tessa Court. You could say they're both intelligent and bankable.

Apparent Grows Media Division With Three New Hires
Full service agency Apparent has expanded its dedicated media division with the appointment of Phoebe Chan as head of media and advertising operations and Jaclyn Ely as client partner, media. Headed by former Naked Communications and Ikon executive John Halpin, Apparent’s media division has seen 88 per cent growth over the past 12 months across […]

Northern Territory Launches ‘Seek Different’ Campaign To Attract Interstate Travellers, Via KWP!
Crocs once again front & centre of new NT campaign, making it the ideal vacation for anyone wanting a hook for a hand.

GroupM New Zealand Launches AI-Powered Influencer Marketing Platform
GroupM NZ launches AI-powered influencer platform. But not before joyfully popping the box's accompanying bubblewrap.

“Embrace Your Niche Desire”: Facebook Celebrates Personalised Ads In New Work Via Droga5
Facebook unveils new work from Droga5. B&T has not sought comment on it from Josh Frydenberg.

Sunday TV Wrap: Numbers Down Across The Board In A Slow Sunday
TV numbers are down but are expected to climb as MAFS contestants get stuck into the vino and start their rooting.

Emma Montgomery Returns To Australia As CEO Of Leo Burnett Sydney
Emma Montgomery takes the reins at Leos Sydney. The Clydesdale providing excellent manure for the agency's rose bed.

30U30: Dentsu ANZ CEO Angela Tangas – “We’re In A Good Position For Growth In 2021”
There's always plenty to learn from an Angela Tangas interview. Admittedly, the Hadron Collider is not discussed here.

Ladbrokes Unveils Its Mark Wahlberg Work Via Thinkerbell
These Mark Wahlberg ads are a little lowbrow. Yet, still superior to Daddy's Home and Mark's entire music career.

WPP AUNZ Announces More Consolidation With The The Ogilvy Network
Jens continues to run the red pen and ruler over WPP's operations. With a splattering of sauerkraut from his sandwiches.

The Shannon Company Launches ‘Speak Up And Save LGBTIQ+ Lives’ Campaign To Help Prevent LGBTIQ+ Youth Suicide
Here's a top initiative done really well. In fact, it would win B&T's "sash of excellence" if we had one.

Novatti Empowers iGoDirect Launch Of True Rewards Visa Digital Gift Cards In Australia
B&T would love to receive a Visa Digital Gift Card. Or, just send the alcohol, as that's what we'd spend it on anyway.

Why Everyone Is Talking About Identity Graphs
Identity Graphs have emerged as a way to bring customer data together in a centralised place. But when it comes to marketing and discovering new audiences, this technology is about so much more than collating data, explains smrtr’s co-founder and CTO Boris Guennewig. Identity on the internet is a multi-faceted phenomenon. It might exist in […]

Finland’s Coldest Town Launches Summer Olympic Games Bid To Raise Awareness About Climate Change, Via Agencia Africa
What a great privilege to host a summer Olympics. Although Tokyo currently thinking "will this ongoing hell ever end!"

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Releases New Summer Campaign, Via Carat
Bundaberg releases new summer campaign, somewhat ironically on the first day of autumn.

Riding The CTV Wave: How Advertisers Can Cash In On The Video Revolution
Here are top tips on cashing in on the video revolution. Or, you could simply go to the casino and put it all on black.

Creating Efficiencies in the Age of Consumer Privacy
In this opinion piece, Jess Miles, Country Manager ANZ of Integral Ad Science, reflects on the questions surrounding consumer data. The ability to collect consumer data online has revolutionised digital advertising by enabling customised targeting strategies and data collection. This reliance on data has been the cornerstone of many audience targeted strategies enabling marketers to […]