Telstra was the nation's top advertiser in 2000, but last year slipped to number three with advertising expenditure of dollars A105 million.
"Telstra will drop in ad expenditure from number one to probably number four by the end of this year. While our above-the-line has come down, our below-the-line proportionately is not down as much, said Telstra's head of marketing, Holly Kramer.
Kramer said although the telco's year-on-year media spend had fallen, the 'numbers' campaign had met its revenue growth targets, particularly in the consumer market.
The campaign, developed by Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, had four key branding and business objectives.
"It's the most-successful campaign Telstra has ever done and has overachieved on all four objectives, Kramer said.
Telstra's branding research over the first six weeks of the campaign showed that the telco improved in the brand metrics of 'is a trustworthy company that provides total solutions' and connecting with customers.
The campaign also had effective brand recognition scores and in prompted recall had been able to sustain its reach at a higher level despite a reduced media spend.
"On all the brand metrics, they don't move dramatically over time but have improved through the start of the year. There have been a few events in the marketplace that caused the brand metrics to slip in recent times, she said.
In the consumer segment, the campaign had "exceeded targets on net churn and revenue", Kramer said.
"While the campaign is effective I still think it can get better," Kramer said. "The challenge is to keep up our likeability and trustworthiness in this sector."
The next phase of advertising will develop individual personalities and voices for the numbers.
