The second question on whether Seek win because they do lots of advertising or because they have a better product is pretty obvious. The Seek product is nothing special and the barrier to entry for other job boards with better features is very low, however Seek stays no. 1 thanks to the advertising. Features just aren’t that important to job hunters because generally they want to be in a job not looking for one all the time. For employers they want coverage and a pool to choose from, Seek’s popularity helps cover that for them. So I think the online job board industry might be the very exception to the rule you’re talking about here in that advertising is critical to success rather than product.

They advertise a lot, in a number of different places – from the back of buses to billboards on the side of the field at the rugby and cricket. They also spend a lot on TV.

I’d be interested to know what the impact of all of this is on their bottom line – i.e. are they making more money than Trade Me Jobs?

I also think that you’re right about the comparison – they focus on doing one thing, and do it well.

See: Showing the difference between a 19″ and a 22″ suitcase from 37signals blog

So, the question is: do they win because they do lots of advertising or do they win because they have a better product?

I didn’t pay much attention at the time, and have never been able to find that article since, or those stats. Maybe they are a figment of my imagination – probably. If not – then it is quite a biggie. Even still, that would only be about ‘driving people to the starting line’ – so hardly the be-all.

Still amazes me how few NZ businesses in general invest in any kind of post-click marketing in any case.

Anyone else remember that article or those stats?

i would have thought there were cheaper more targeted ways to promote your band in this day and age. TV ads is like thrown a whole lot of crap against a wall and hoping something will stick