Panel session: new media impact on brands

Pippa Leary (fairfax): lunchtime is the new primetime, fairfax wants to become the first true online broadcaster. Video allows fairfax to move into new audiences, also user generated content helps, a younger demographic, A, B and C's, not just As and Bs.

Blogs showed a desire to interact with SMH and Age brands. Have to moderate closely for legal reasons. Moderation is expensive. Blogs account for 10 percent of traffic to the sites.

Bloggers have to moderate it themselves.

Great bloggers are people who start conversations.

Commenters / bloggers talk to each other across platforms; a very strong community.

Over 76% of commenters have higher education quals.

Paul McKeon (formerly Dell, now Deacons): Dell blog has been fantastic for the company, started late but now one of the best blogs.

Follow-up to stories; journo doesn't have control, commenters can put very different stuff up to the original story. Comments, like talkback radio, gives a litmus test of what people are thinking.

Ant Kelaher, MySpace: Online / offline very different. One thing that works in one place may not on others. Eg Myspace is populated at weekends, afternoons. Online need to be much more interactive.

Open door and people can support brands as well as criticise, customers can be very good for your brand.

Matt Jones: Brands struggling to connect with people on their own terms. Lot of live marketing, experential marketing now. Consumers got much more power to shape brands and to destroy them. Brands need to be consistently strong across the board eg employees, sales force. Online requires interaction, can't control.