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Opinion | Features
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With awards the more you get, the more you get
Following recent controversy surrounding entries to the Cannes Lions awards Eaon Pritchard argues until we have a better way to evaluate the merits of agencies than awards all agencies will be highly incentivised to do whatever it takes to win .
Advertising's outcomes are notoriously hard to measure. Which is why in advertising agencies, we love to measure outputs instead. -
Why aren't more media companies offering job sharing to get experience back in the door?
With the media industry churn and talent drain a constant issue Lucy Formosa Morgan asks why more companies aren't open to job sharing.
There’s rarely a shortage of applicants for coordinator positions however when it comes to recruiting experienced middle / senior level people, the talent bank seems to dry up. Agencies can struggle to fill vacancies for months or end up having to recruit from overseas. So if we have plenty of juniors that we’re devoting time and money to training up, where are they going? Why is there such a shortage of good talent out there? -
Marketers are the ones whose reputations are most at risk if they are complicit in scam advertising
With questions being raised over the integrity of some awards entries in recent weeks, former creative director Darren Woolley says scam can be as damaging for marketers as the agencies involved.
Scam awards entries have come to industry attention again, following the most recent Cannes Lions Awards. In the process, several high profile advertisers have been associated with their agencies’ entries. But what are the implications for the advertiser?
It is a standard response that advertisers are not really interested in creative awards. But the fact is that marketers are human and those that have healthy and close working relationships with their agencies actually enjoy seeing them being recognised, especially for work they may have created together. -
Terry Savage defends debated Cannes Lions entries saying 'Super Bowl ads run once'
In a Q&A conducted by email, Terry Savage, chairman of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, defends the integrity of the competition and answers questions around scam ads following an investigation by Mumbrella into a series of ads from Australia entered into the Press category which ran just once in regional media.
What is your definition of scam?
"We require the work to have been approved by the client and to have used paid Media in the execution, if there is a query we get validation via the agency the client and the Media schedule that the work has run and complied within our entry rules. In the case of self promotion and NGO that is not the case." -
Australian Women's Weekly editor on how its latest cover has changed industry attitudes
The cover of the July edition of the Australian Women's Weekly features the image of ultra-marathon bushfire survivor Turia Pitt, a move which surprised many in an industry driven by image. Editor-in-chief Helen McCabe spoke to Miranda Ward about how the cover came about, and its effect not only on the public, but also the beauty and fashion industries as we.
The July cover of the Australian's Women's Weekly has done more to market "what the heart and soul of the magazine is" than anything else the magazine's editor-in-chief Helen McCabe has done in her five years at the helm.
Speaking to Mumbrella about the July edition which featured Turia Pitt, a survivor of the bushfire that swept through an ultra-marathon in Western Australia's Kimberly region in September 2011, McCabe said the cover is "a really strong signal to market that this magazine is committed to Australian women, quality stories, independent journalism, long-form story telling and quality writing. -
If you don't want to enter real work into awards, then fuck off and be an artist
In this guest post, awards jury veteran Matt Batten, a former ECD of Wunderman Australia, argues that the practice of scam advertising - raised by Mumbrella in recent days - hurts the whole industry.
Reading from 10,553 miles away – that's 16,983km in the metric – I'd like to commend you on your dogged determination to find answers to the burning questions surrounding some of Australia's most intriguing Cannes Lions winners this year.
Some say that this is the way of the world (at least our small part in it) and that creativity should be let free upon the award shows regardless of whether or not it was a legitimate response to a brief or a proactive project to help solve a genuine business problem for a real client – or a made-up ad for a brand that had no idea of its existence. -
Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast?
Good startups often point to their culture as a driver of their success, but Eaon Pritchard asks whether that culture can be derived without a clear strategy?
Culture, in an organisational sense, is usually interpreted as the collective behaviours, attitudes and beliefs that — when mixed together — create a particular set of norms within said organisation.
Obviously there can be ‘good’ culture and ‘bad’ culture. -
Five things Wicked Campers needs to do online right now
Wicked Campers has been in the midst of a media controversy over the last few days. Sebastian Vasta takes a look at how the brand could better manage the online and media crisis.
The latest cry to end Wicked Campers’ misogynist toilet humour is certainly not the first time the budget backpacker van company has been in trouble.
But it’s certainly the loudest the online outrage has ever been. -
Cut here: Reshaping the ABC
After the ABC unveiled its first round of cuts after having its funding cut in the last budget Ben Goldsmith of the Queensland University of Technology looks at how it might look in the future, in this cross-posting from The Conversation.
Monday’s announcement that the ABC will make 80 positions redundant is just the latest move in an enforced process of change to the public service broadcaster. It has a long way yet to run.
The announcement finally put the lie to Tony Abbott’s election eve pledge, live on national television, that there would be “no cuts to the ABC or SBS”. In concert with other recent announcements, it seems clear that public broadcasting – and in particular the ABC – is squarely in the government’s sights. -
Lost dog - can you help us find him?
Adland is an industry that likes to give back. Today, we're asking you to help us find this dog.
You can find out more about Windblown Dog's history below: -
The future of Facebook is forensic
Marketers should stop using Facebook as a mass reach tool and start thinking about conversions not conversations argues Jack Smyth. Forget conversations – the future of Facebook is forensic By now you’re probably sick of the same articles recycling the same Facebook statistics. Over 12 million Australian users, spending on average 8.5 hours every week and so on. We all know Facebook offers massive reach. -
Two stats about Netflix that should scare Foxtel and Quickflix
With US streaming site Netflix poised to enter the Australian market next year Andrianes Pinantoan from Pocketbook crunched some numbers to see try and ascertain what the local pay-TV market already looks like now.
Netflix is set to enter the Australian market, but that doesn’t stop a few enterprising Australians from accessing it now. Actually, it’s more than a few. -
Family Feud's return confirms the state of game shows in Australia
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Matthew Wade argues the return of Family Feud shows Australia's TV networks are not interested in testing their audiences intellectually.
Family Feud returns to our television screens tonight as part of Ten’s desperate scramble to remain a viable entity, and is scheduled to compete with Seven and Nine’s main news bulletins at 6pm.
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An open letter to the staff of DDB Sydney and Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney
In this open letter, Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes reaches out to the many excellent staff working at the award-winning agencies DDB and Saatchi & Saatchi.
So last week, you may have noticed we gave some coverage to your Press Lions-winning work on behalf of McDonald’s and Panasonic. Congratulations again.
Some of you even got a namecheck in the credits.
I’m talking to you, -
You want fries with that? Creative careers are still out there, for now
Young people from poorer backgrounds looking to get into careers in creative industries could be amongst the most hard-hit by the government's new 'earn or learn' social security policies argues Ruth Bridgstock, senior lecturer at Queensland University of Technology in a cross-posting from The Conversation.
The old jokes about creative arts and humanities graduates serving at the local fast food outlet are hard to put to rest – they speak to long-held concerns around the value of creative degrees, and to worries that students of creative arts programs aren’t employable when they graduate.
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Melbourne Mediacom MD Peter Barrie departs
Peter Barrie managing director of MediaCom’s Melbourne office has left the company.
A statement released by the media agency released this evening said Barrie left “to pursue other opportunities.”
“Firstly I would like to personally thank Peter for all his hard work and dedication to the company,” said Mark Pejic, CEO MediaCom Australia in the statement.
“Peter Barrie’s departure does not in any way interfere with our ambitious plans for the future of our business in Melbourne. Read more »
Live blog: Friday, July 25
Welcome to Mumbrella’s live blog, our daily roundup of what’s happening in media and marketing.
Top Stories:
- Myplates CEO: number of ASB complaints “rocked our socks off”
- Dr Mumbo: ‘Grant Denyer’ from Petersham comes clean on his TV ratings box
- ABC poaches Adrian Swift from Nine for senior programming role
- Screen Australia boss Graeme Mason warns future cuts might impact project funding
- TV ratings: Ten wins the night on the back of Masterchef and good Commonwealth Games audiences
- Opinion: With awards the more you get, the more you get
- Dr Mumbo: George Clooney and NANA has a new phone number
5:21pm - Here’s a good one to finish the week. How does the average OzTam TV ratings box holder use their device? ‘Grant Denyer’ from Petersham came clean on ABC702.
2.45pm – Buzzfeed today is running 31 reasons Peter is the superior Stefanovic brother. Yep really. Number 26 is our favourite.
1.52pm – The CEO of Myplates says the volume and ferocity of complaints made against TV adverts for his personalised number plate firm “rocked our socks off”. Full story here.
1.48pm - Half of Nine’s first release “Australian” drama is from New Zealand with the network taking advantage of loopholes in the rules governing local content, a new report by media watchdog has revealed. Read the full story here.
1.35pm - This is a cool idea. Tourism New Zealand is using drones to capture footage of skiers and boarders hitting the slopes. Check out the video below or read the story here.
12:51pm – Screen Australia boss Graeme Mason has spoken about yesterday’s job cuts, but said whilst project funding is unaffected at the moment, any more government cuts could see some put in jeopardy.
11:24am - Big news in the TV industry with Nine’s director of digital and development Adrian Swift moving over to the ABC for a senior programming role.
10:42am - As the Cannes Lions awards debate rumbles on Eaon Pritchard argues in the absence of a more effective measure of success agencies will continue to do whatever it takes to pick up awards. Read more »
MyPlates ‘upset’ after ad watchdog receives more than 350 complaints against latest campaign
The volume and ferocity of complaints made against TV adverts for personalised number plate firm MyPlates “rocked our socks off”, its chief executive has said, as he admitted he will think twice over the content of future campaigns.
Daryl Head said he was “upset” that the commercials sparked such controversy, with the Australian Standards Bureau receiving more than 350 complaints for the three executions, although some are likely to be duplicates.
Head revealed he has already been informed by the ASB that the complaints have been dismissed, adding: “We haven’t done anything wrong or breached any code of conduct.”
The ads which generated complaints in the firm’s “man proof your car” campaign showed one man breaking wind and another picking his nose. Three new ads, again the work of Custom Creative, will begin this weekend. Read more »
Google uses US agency Venables Bells & Partners for local version of global campaign
Google has turned to an American ad agency for its new campaign targeting local businesses by showcasing how Google can make it easy for customers to find businesses listed on the search platform.
The ads are part of a global campaign created by US agency Venables Bells & Partners, with M&C Saatchi set to help on some of the future components of the local campaign.
Local businesses are showcased in the 30 second ad which highlights how the platform works with local businesses, while longer form videos highlight how the platform has work for specific businesses.
AWARD chairman denies scam is ‘widespread’ in Australia and defends role of creative awards
Chairman of the AWARD Awards Mark Harricks has said he does not believe the issue of scam ads created solely to win awards is “widespread” in Australia.
Harricks, who is creative partner at The Works, told Mumbrella that scam work “undermines the integrity of awards”, but insisted the AWARD Awards have a “number of checks and balances in place” to ensure the entry requirements are met. “We’ve also found that our judges are especially sensitive to scam work, it’s their integrity on the line as well,” he added.
He also stressed “the role of creative awards is to recognise great ideas, craft and innovation in order to inspire and raise the bar”.
His comments come after ads entered by Australian agencies in this year’s Press category Cannes Lions competition came under scrutiny, including Saatchi & Saatchi’s Silver Lion winning work for Panasonic (right) and DDB’s Bronze winning McDonald’s executions, with those agencies and clients refusing to reveal where the work had run. Read more »
Half of Nine’s ‘local drama content’ is from New Zealand
Half of Nine’s first release “Australian” drama is from New Zealand with the network taking advantage of loopholes in the rules governing local content, a new report by media watchdog The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found.
The report, released today, shows last year 51 per cent of Nine’s content came from across the Tasman Sea compared with just 7 per cent for Seven Network and 4 per cent for Network Ten.
Under trade treaties with New Zealand, television programs from the country may be claimed as “local content” for the purposes of meeting Australian commercial television content obligations, a loophole which Nine appears to have used to full effect last with the screening of Underbelly NZ Land of the Long Green Cloud.
PR agency Hotwire rebrands and appoints Australian managing director
Wilson
PR agency Hotwire has appointed Alexis Wilson as Australian managing director following the departure of Suzanne Hewitt, with the appointment coinciding with the agency unveiling a rebrand.
Wilson joins the agency after six months with Next Ventures Consulting as managing director. Prior to that, she had a 10-month stint as a senior account director with Ogilvy PR/Howorth and also spent four years in New York as the director of communications for UrbanDaddy and account director roles at Edelman and RF Binder.
“Hotwire is a really a young, fresh and exciting PR agency that has global ambitions. I’m really pleased to be on board,” Wilson told Mumbrella. Read more »
NAB comes out fighting with marketing dig at ‘one-trick pony’ rivals
National Australia Bank (NAB) has come out fighting in its latest marketing push, taking aim at rivals for being “one trick ponies” with their home loans.
The combative stance in the new print and digital ads comes in the week that competition intensified over fixed rate mortgages, which were cut this week by Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. Clemenger BBDO Melbourne created the campaign.
The bank carried the message ‘More lowest all-round, Less one-trick pony’, in a dig at competitors who NAB claimed were making only “sporadic” changes, and comes after Commbank launched a substantial marketing drive with its own press campaign on Wednesday promising the “lowest five year fixed rate home loan in the market”.
General manager consumer marketing for NAB Kevin Ramsdale told Mumbrella the campaign will be in market “for a while”.
PRIA awards head: PR agencies must learn the ‘art’ of awards entry writing
Lee
The chair of the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Golden Target Awards has warned that many good public relations campaigns are not being properly recognised due to a poor effort in the writing of awards entries.
Speaking to Mumbrella, as part of the call for entries for the 2014 awards Allison Lee said the industry needed to make sure their entry fully communicated the work of the PR campaign.
“I’ve been judging these awards for a long time and what you often see is a really great campaign but it is really poor entered,” said Lee, who is also managing director of Impact Communications. Read more »
Tourism NZ use drones to capture footage of snow visitors
Tourism New Zealand is using drones to capture footage of skiers and boarders hitting the slopes and encouraging visitors to share them across social media in an effort to promote the “beauty of the South Island in a unique way”.
The drones, which will be travelling around key South Island destinations during July and August including Coronet Peak, Cardrona, Mount Hutt and Mount Cook ski areas as well as Queenstown and Lake Tekapo, begin recording a close up portrait before quickly panning out to show the NZ scenary. It creates a short film of about eight seconds long and can be shared across all social channels using the hashtag #NZdronie.
Screen Australia boss warns further government budget cuts could impact cash for projects
Screen Australia boss Graeme Mason has insisted a series of sweeping cuts announced yesterday have been designed to affect the structure of the organisation rather than the amount of funding it is able to give out to projects.
Speaking to Mumbrella today Mason, who took over as CEO of the publicly-funded body 12 months ago, said whilst the cuts which will save around $6m this year will not impact any screen projects “any future reductions would begin to hit programming”.
Yesterday the organisation announced it was shedding 12 staff and cutting support for training and marketing of projects in what Mason described as the agency “returning to our core business”.
Admitting some of the changes were already on his agenda Mason added: “This hasn’t been a knee-jerk reaction, we’ve had a look at how the business looks in two to five years, which is the period of time most people in this industry work to. Some of these things in a perfect world would not necessarily have happened, like laying off a lot of staff and moving us out of support for training, but we have to find savings.” Read more »
Rival steps in to save Travel Bulletin from scrap heap
Travel industry trade publication Travel Bulletin has been saved from the scrap heap after being taken over by daily news site Travel Daily.
Publishers of the monthly title Ian McMahon and Eddie Raggett said earlier this week they were “reluctantly” closing the publication after 10 years after failing to find a buyer. They cited heath and lifestyle reasons for the decision to call it a day.
But Travel Daily yesterday revealed it has entered into “swift negotiations” with McMahon and Raggett and “reached a deal to take it over”. No fee was disclosed. Read more »
ABC poaches Nine reality TV boss Adrian Swift
Public broadcaster the ABC has poached the Nine’s reality TV boss Adrian Swift in a surprise move, appointing him as head of content and creative development.
Swift had run many of Nine’s biggest franchises of the last few years and is credited with being behind programs including The Voice and Big Brother, which have helped lead a revival at the TV network. Two days ago he spoke to Mumbrella about Nine’s plans to revamp The Voice after disappointing ratings for its finale.
“Adrian is one of the most highly regarded production executives in the country,” Richard Finlayson, director of ABC television in a statement. “His experience across public broadcasting, digital media, and in building broad, engaging shows for Nine, gives him a unique perspective to lead ABC Content into the challenges ahead.” Read more »
Yalumba celebrates its heritage in new campaign from KWP
Australia’s oldest family owned winery Yalumba is celebrating its 165 year history and heritage in a campaign that aims to capture the essence of the brand.
Created by Adelaide-based creative agency KWP Advertising, the campaign is running in consumer and trade publications with full page ads which are complemented by online video content.
Yalumba national marketing director Matt Taylor said in a statement: “‘For the love of wine’ is more than just a pithy slogan, it’s an articulation of our sole reason for being. When you measure everything we do against that statement, it rings true.”
McDonald’s celebrates the return of the McFeast with epic ‘Maccas Run’
McDonald’s is promoting the return of the McFeast with a celebration of the Aussie “Maccas run” which sees a pair of ex-pats do an Amazing Race-style journey from London to an Australian McDonald’s to order the burger.
Created by DDB Sydney, the campaign aims to highlight McFeast’s exclusiveness to Australian McDonald’s stores.
Ten wins the night on the back of Masterchef and Commonwealth Games
Cooking show Masterchef and the Commonwealth Games helped to deliver Channel Ten a 20.4 per cent audience share, giving the TV network a rare victory as the most watched channel of the night.
According to Oztam’s overnight metro ratings Masterchef was the most watched program of the evening with 1.171 million viewers tuning in to watch former bartender Jamie Fleming eliminated from the competition at 7.30pm.
The channel was also buoyed by the first night of competition in the Commonwealth Games with 911,000 viewers tuning in for the swimming and cycling from 9.30pm on the main channel, with Australia picking up five gold medals.
Live blog: Thursday, July 24
Welcome to Mumbrella’s live blog, our daily roundup of what’s happening in media and marketing.
Top Stories:
- Screen Australia to axe 12 staff and support for industry training programs after budget cuts
- TV ratings: The Voice Kids drops to lowest ever whilst Masterchef wins prime time
- Press Council records ‘considerable concern’ over climate change story handling in The Australian
- ADMA warns against mandatory reporting after Catch of the Day delayed reporting breach for three years
- Dr Mumbo: A mighty albatross perched majestically between my thighs
3:34pm - Not shy of creating a bit of controversy Carefree has released some new videos which are bound to have a few people seeing red.
1:30pm - Network Ten’s executive general manager Russel Howcroft has accused companies of confusing the public by slapping their corporate name on advertising in a needless bid to take ownership of their brands.
12:30pm – Screen Australia has announced it will be lowering its maximum investment in films to $2m, cutting 12 full time staff members and shedding $500,000 from marketing support following a $25m cut to its budget by the Federal Government over four years in May’s budget.
11:51am - What’s the future of the iPad? Apple reported sales of the device were down 9 per cent last quarter, and boss Tim Cook didn’t even mention it in their earnings statement. Is the writing on the wall for the device wonders the SMH? Read more »
Press Council records ‘considerable concern’ over climate change story handling in The Australian
The Australian Press Council (APC) has taken the unusual step of issuing “an expression of considerable concern on its findings” in a ruling against an article and editorial about climate change in The Australian, whilst an article linking a politician to a brothel in the Sydney Morning Herald has also been censured.
In the ruling which was made public today the APC upheld complaints over an article and editorial in The Australian over incorrect reporting on the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published in September last year.
The council expressed concerns over what it argues were delays in the acknowledgement of error and expressions of regret with the Council ruling: “They should have been made very much earlier, and made directly to the publication’s readers in a frank and specific manner.”
Today The Sydney Morning Herald also published a ruling after the APC found it “inaccurately and unfairly” linked then treasurer Chris Bowen with Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, who was landlord of a business which on certain occasions had been found to be illegally offering sexual services, in a report published just before last year’s federal election.
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