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Opinion | Features
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Damn Instagram, back at it again with the algorithm
In this guest post Tym Yee discusses the content dilemma created by Instagram's adaption of an algorithmic feed and why simply 'creating better content' isn't enough.
I’m glad we made it through the week. For a second there I didn’t think humanity could do it. I mean, Instagram was changing to an algorithmic feed, which is, like, totally the end of the world, right? -
Is selling out no longer a concept for Gen Z?
In this guest column Kara Richards discusses the line between authenticity and selling out for influencers who endorse multiple brands.
Our traditional celebrities are often branded as 'sell-outs' when they align themselves with too many brands, but vloggers can peddle as many brands as they like without affecting their image in the slightest.
They are the new brand ambassadors and their personal brands are mint. Even before they finish high school… -
24 Hours With.... JWT creative director, Jarrod Lowe
24 Hours With… spotlights the working day of some of the most interesting people in Mumbrella’s world. Today we speak with Jarrod Lowe, creative director, JWT.
It’s the morning.
It’s 6ish. The first thing I think about as I open my once baby blues, now offish greys, is how on earth we’re going to breed a new type of cow. Totally work related. I mean, I understand the circle of life but I wonder how we’ll do it on budget. I immediately Google cow gestation. Then skip breakfast. -
Why can’t it be April Fool's Day every day?
In this guest post Simon Veksner says April Fool's Day is like the Super Bowl; it's the one day each year when brands make the ads they should be making all the time.
I’m not talking about the pranking part. I’m talking about the high levels of entertainment and relevance that marketers will be aiming for (and often achieving) today.
Let’s start with the entertainment factor. There’s an analogy with the Super Bowl here: it’s the one day a year when brands make the kind of TV ads they ought to be making all the time – big, emotive, entertaining. -
Diversity needs time - just not the time you expect
The call to advertising agency’s creative departments to become more diverse needs to start with recognition of where that diversity comes from, says guest columnist Karen Ferry.
In the past 12 months, there’s been a lot of talk about how advertising creative departments don’t have enough diversity, especially in regards to women.
There’s been talk about quotas. Talk of training to tackle unconscious bias. Telling women to ‘lean in’, CDs to ‘be uncomfortable’. We’ve seen clickbait lists of what’s holding women back and even more lists of what women can do to solve this. -
Politics and statistics: Will we get a new era of digital leadership with our new digital rankings?
The new Nielsen Digital Ratings give a new window on Australia's online audiences. Nic Christensen looks at what they mean, what will come next and why the IAB won't follow through on talks of a regional merger.
In the five plus years since Nielsen launched its hybrid digital ratings, measuring the online desktop audience, mobile usage has exploded, leaving many publishers grumbling their total audience wasn't being counted.
It's been a slow and rocky path to get here, with a fair bit of argey bargey along the way - and it appears there will be yet more industry politicking to come as far as industry body the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is concerned. -
Marketers need to stay marketers, not technologists
In this guest column , Ant Gowthorp urges marketers to keep their focus - despite the tech demands placed on them.
In the battle between humans and technology, there have been some casualties. We’ve seen privacy eroded, solitude eliminated and information set free amidst a rising tide of progress.
While proving a force for good in our lives, technology has also elevated our expectations around effectiveness and productivity. By making everything much quicker and easier, it’s made us feel like we have to ‘do it all’. -
KFC launches stories about self acceptance as it changes the way consumers see the brand
Just a few wee ks ago KFC launched its first ever branding campaign starring a duck. The world's second largest fast food chain has looked back in time to find the future of its marketing. Chief marketing officer Nikki Lawson reveals the journey the brand has taken to connect with a new generation of consumers.
In January, TV viewers were treated to a new style of KFC ad. Not a piece of fried chicken was in sight - indeed the ad starred a superannuated duck riding a skateboard - but the ad reflected a new freedom for the brand that has been granted globally but is being tested locally. -
Brands, beware: Instagram is going algorithmic
In this guest column George Pappas says Instagram's decision to change its feed from chronological to 'optimised' via a new algorithm, challenges brands to refine their message and improve the quality of their content.
Instagram last week announced a major update – their feeds are moving from a real-time chronological order of content, to an algorithmically optimised collection of content that you’d prefer to see.
According to the announcement on average we miss 70% of our feeds and as Instagram grows, so will the number of users we follow making the need for algorithmic optimisation more pertinent. -
Bedfellows no more? It's Foxtel versus Telstra in battle for online subscribers
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Marc C-Scott of Victoria University argues recent moves by Tesltra and Foxtel make them competitors in the video streaming space.
Foxtel has previously been coy about confirming speculation it is planning to launch a service that will compete with Telstra TV and Apple TV.
But new chief executive Peter Tonagh has now told reporters that it would ‘maximise’ all its distribution platforms, leading to speculation it would launch against part-owner Telstra’s own device. -
Is it time to disrupt the murky media-agency business model?
In this guest post Nico Neumann argues it is time for marketers to have a long hard look under the bonnet of their media agency's trading desk.
The discussion around transparency, hidden income, and walled gardens reached a new milestone this month when TubeMogul released their ‘manifesto of independence’.
One of the key issues raised by TubeMogul is the conflict of interest when a company is making money from being both seller and buyer for the same transaction. It’s crucial to bring this practice to the attention of advertisers and TubeMogul should be commended for their efforts in doing so. -
Why programmatic platforms will never be equal across media in the foreseeable future
In this guest column, Lee Stephens argues that while programmatic platforms are the future, comparing data on reach and impact is still some way off.
With half of all digital media planned programmatically in Australia, it is easy to ignore major developments in ‘other’ media.
MCN has managed to build awareness of its entry into programmatic TV with AOL. Indeed, in late 2015 MCN, boss Anthony Fitzgerald announced a better than forecast uptake by media agencies. And it is selling programmatic advertising across Foxtel and Ten.
While working from a small base, MCN has clearly taken the lead over the TV networks and is entering unchartered territory for TV trading in Australia and overseas. -
Cartoonists show solidarity after Brussels attacks
The trend started after the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks of people sharing cartoons to show their solidarity with victims has emerged again, this time focussed on the people of Brussels.
Here Mumbrella rounds up some of the most-shared that have appeared overnight since the bombings of an airport and subway station. -
Why it's great to be out of a job
In this guest post Justin Ricketts argues being out of work is the best way to really assess what it is you want from a job.
Well, it's been about three weeks since I finished up at Ensemble and what an amazingly positive experience it has been. -
‘Influencer before brand’: For brands to succeed in influencer-driven commerce, they need to relax the creative reins
Tech entrepreneur and VAMP co-founder Aaron Brooks talks about the new zeitgeist in social influencer marketing, why native-creatives are a precious resource not be squandered, and how brands and marketers are still getting it wrong.
Rewind and flick through the trade press a few years back, and you might land upon any number of articles trumpeting how influencer marketing was the 'next big thing'. And it was.
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Seven romps home in Easter ratings week as Nine launches You’re Back In The Room
Nine is relying on Daryl Somers to kickstart spluttering ratings
Seven won Saturday night’s TV ratings, taking it to five nightly wins out of seven for the week, overnight metro ratings from OzTam reveal.
Saturday saw Seven average an 18.7% share, ahead of ABC’s 15.5%, Nine’s 15.4% and Ten’s 8%.
The most watched show on Saturday was public service broadcaster ABC’s Death in Paradise with 841,000 average viewers, while the most watched commercial program was Nine News which rated 762,000.
However, Seven dominated in Melbourne where the St Kilda versus Western Bulldogs AFL clash averaged 276,000. It delivered Seven a further 70,000 in Adelaide. In Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, the game was broadcast on 7mate, where it averaged a further 18,000, 21,000 and 75,000 respectively. Read more »
Mumbrella360 video: The verified impression
In the lead-up to Mumbrella360 on June 7-9, we revisit highlights from last year’s event.
Duncan Trigg, vice president, advertising effectiveness at comScore, talks about content verification and how it offers transparency and clarity to both sides of the business and how to avoid fraudulent measurement.
Panel: Ben Green, director of programmatic at Yahoo; Peter Bojanac, director of sales and marketing at Suncorp; and Alistair Jones, media and connections manager at Kellogg’s Australia. Read more »
Roz Kelly to host Ten’s Big Bash coverage
Kelly: Will co-host T20 with Gilchrist
Ten has completed a talent merry-go-round with former Nine presenter Roz Kelly appointed co-host of the network’s Big Bash League T20 cricket, replacing Mel McLaughlin who was poached by Seven.
Kelly is a former presenter of Nine’s Wide World of Sport and has also reported for the network’s Getaway travel show.
Last weekend, it was confirmed that McLaughlin was moving to Seven News Sydney as sports anchor, where she is due to start tonight.
Kelly will co-host Ten’s coverage of the KFC-sponsored cricket alongside former cricketer Adam Gilchrist when the contest returns at the end of this year. Read more »
AFL helps Seven to Friday ratings win as Nine drops below 10% share in Perth
Seven continued its dominance of the Easter break from the official ratings period on Friday.
Seven News was the top rating show with preliminary overnight ratings across the five city metro of 898,000 to Nine News’ 816,000.
Meanwhile, Seven’s Friday Night Football – featuring AFL teams Collingwood and Richmond – dominated in Melbourne and Adelaide, rating 446,000 and 106,000 respectively, making it the most watched program in both cities. Read more »
SBS fights to stop cost cutter’s switch to ABC
Corbett – expert at finding savings
Australia’s two public service broadcasters have gone to court over the move of an executive who specialises in cost cutting.
Andrew Corbett, SBS’s head of operations excellence, has accepted a job at the ABC, today’s Australian Financial Review reports.
But according to the AFR, SBS alleges Corbett has a year left to run on his fixed term contract and is subject to restraint of trade clauses. SBS asked the NSW Supreme Court to prevent the move.
Corbett’s LinkedIn profile says: “Andrew has specialised in becoming a trusted advisor to organisations looking to become more efficient in their day to day operational performance. Read more »
Mumbrella360 video: Ten data planning mistakes I made so you don’t have to
In the lead-up to Mumbrella360 on June 7-9, we revisit highlights from last year’s event.
Ten data planning mistakes I made so you don’t have to
Sam Stark, strategist at Quantium, talks about client engagement, getting to know who your customer is (not who you think it is), winning over clients, understanding metrics and making them work for you, and why you shouldn’t limit your advice to what the client wants – always challenge them. Read more »
News Corp newspapers unite to campaign for politicians to pay attention to regional areas
News Corp Australia’s regional and Sunday papers are joining forces to launch a campaign calling on Federal politicians to give more attention to regional Australia.
Fair Go for Regional Australia will run in all News Corp regional and Sunday papers, including the Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Herald Sun, in the lead up to the Federal election.
It aims to highlight the disparity in health, wealth, education, employment and quality of life that exists for Australians living outside of major cities. Read more »
Bundberg Rum enters 3-year deal with NRL gets naming rights for Super Saturday series
The NRL has lured Diageo’s Bundaberg Rum as a major sponsor, inking a three-year deal with the brand to name its Saturday fixtures.
The deal marks the return of the brand to the League after a three-year break and includes the final series and a link to the State of Origin Series.
Bundy will also be the official spirit of the NRL. Read more »
Media agency Carat adjusts APAC advertising spend forecasts due to slowing growth
Advertising spend in Asia Pacific is expected to climb 4.4% in 2016, marginally slower than the global average, according to data released by Dentsu Aegis media agency Carat.
The regional growth is slower than the 4.7% predicted in Carat’s September data, with several markets hit by declining business and consumer confidence.
In Australia, 5h3 +2.5% growth in advertising spend seen last year is forecast to continue in 2016 to reach $13.7b by the end of the year. Read more »
April Fool’s 2016 round-up
April 1 brings out the fool in many of us. Here’s a wrap-up of the April Fools gags we’ve spotted. We’ll be updating it throughout the day, and you can send any you spot to suzan@mumbrella.com.au.
Mark Scott for ABC Playschool host
For months, the industry has been asking what Mark Scott will do next and today the staff at the ABC got the answer with the ABC using April 1 to announce him as the new Playschool host. 
The release went up on the ABC intranet earlier today announcing: “After 10 years at the helm of the organisation, ABC Managing Director Mark Scott has traded the corner window for the circle, square and arch windows of Play School becoming the programs newest host.
“Of his new position Mark said “I love the organisation so much that the thought of leaving left me feeling quite sad. I was approached by the producers to do a screen test for the show and I was surprised and excited to be offered the role of host.” Read more »
Mark Forbes named editor-in-chief of The Age
Fairfax Media has confirmed Mark Forbes will now be the permanent editor-in-chief of The Age and The Sunday Age.
Forbes had been filling in as acting editor-in-chief following the departure of Andrew Holden in February.
“Mark is an outstanding journalist, with a keen news sense and belief in quality reporting,” Fairfax Media editorial director, Sean Aylmer, said. “He is the ideal person to continue The Age’s transformation, providing quality journalism to its audiences across print and digital.” Read more »
Data and technology company Acxiom to cut at least a third of its Australian workforce
One of Australia’s biggest players in the data and technology analytics space, Acxiom has been forced to cut at least a third of its Australian workforce as it pivots to focus its local business on its connectivity products, Mumbrella can reveal.
The company this week told its staff that it would make 15 positions within the business redundant. Industry rumours had suggested the number of positions axed could be as high as 40, but Acxiom insisted that one third of its staff of 50 will be impacted by the changes.
In a statement the company said the redundancies were caused by efficiencies in the business. “We made the decision of concentrating on our connectivity business in Australia,” the company said. Read more »
MLA launches new beef campaign through BMF with strength the underlying theme
MLA’s new campaign: beef picks a fight
Meat and Livestock Australia has created a four-part campaign to drive beef sales, positioning it as the food that lets you take on the day in another edgy effort for the marketer.
Under the guidance of executive creative director Cam Blackley, MLA has kicked off the series with a 90-second online film supported by three, 30-second TV commercials.
The agency has personified ‘the day’ as the greatest rival people face, moving beef on from last year’s effort of Life’s a Sport, and maintaining the umbrella tagline of Life’s Better With Beef. Read more »
STW laments its ‘hangover’ as shareholders prepare to vote on WPP takeover
STW: reported a loss of $52.6m in 2015
In its final annual report before being taken over by WPP, STW group has lamented 2015 as the year it awoke with a hangover from its poor performance in 2014, reporting a loss of $52.6m.
Chairman Robert Mactier admitted that “the only positive to take away from 2014 was that in 2015 we undertook a strategic review that challenged the way we operate”.
On Monday, STW will hold an extraordinary general meeting where shareholders will vote on the merger with WPP as the global giant takes a 61.5% stake in the business.
As part of the process, WPP’s presence on the board will be expanded with former Group M executive John Steadman and WPP global planning executive Jon Steel both joining the board. Read more »
Prime CEO: a revenue drought has affected us “substantially” and things won’t be the same
The CEO of Prime Media has told a Senate inquiry that a revenue “drought” has hit Australia’s regional broadcaster and it is difficult to see pathways to growth outside of mergers with metropolitan brethren.
“It is fair to say that in a drought it is the edges of the lake that dry up first,” Ian Audsley, CEO of Prime, told a Senate Committee. “In the television lake regional broadcasters are at the extremities of the lake. Read more »
Footy Show performs in the demos as Home and Away pulls largest non-news audience
The Footy Show had a strong performance last night, pulling in 499,000 viewers across Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth on an evening in which no program cracked the 1m audience mark.
The show was the most-watched show amongst 16-39 year olds and 18-49 year olds while Nine News at 6:30pm was the popular choice amongst 25-54 year old viewers.
It helped Nine claim a winning audience share of 22.5% ahead of Seven, which had a share of 15.7%. Ten claimed third place with a share of 14.1%, while the ABC settled for a share of 12.5%. Read more »
April Fool: Walkley Awards embrace online publishing with new categories including best news aggregator and best use of enhanced headlines
Noon update: This story was published on April Fool’s Day.
Australian journalism’s most prestigious awards ceremony is to undergo a radical overhaul with several new categories to reflect the changing nature of news in the online era.
Amongst the new Walkley Awards categories is Best Aggregator, which recognises the publishing organisation that most efficiently re-appropriates content from primary sources.
Another new award is for Enhanced Social Media Headline of the Year. This will be awarded to the site which generates the most traffic to a story via a headline on a home page or social media that is not directly related to the content of the article.
The award will also for the first time have a chairman of the jury from outside the media industry. Read more »
Morning Update: First ‘Top Gear’ trailer; Coke puts song lyrics on cans; Ronnie Corbett dies; jury out on Facebook Instant Articles
Roadshow – First ‘Top Gear’ trailer: New faces, same old tyre-squealing shenanigans
The new series of “Top Gear” is racing our way fast. Here’s the first trailer for the revamped BBC series, featuring new presenters Matt LeBlanc on three wheels and Chris Evans on all fours.
Globally popular British motoring show “Top Gear” will have a new cast of presenters when it returns next month, but the tyre-squealing trailer suggests it’s business as usual in terms of high-octane action and outlandish stunts. To the raucous strains of “I Just Want To Celebrate” by Rare Earth, the trailer sees a range of gorgeous cars burning rubber, including an Aston Martin Vulcan, an Ariel Nomad dirt buggy and, er, a Dodge Viper with a machine gun on its head.
