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Opinion | Features
Melissa Doyle is ready for prime time (but what does it mean for Today Tonight?)
It’s easy to be dismissive of TV presenters – particularly when they’re doing something as fluffy as morning television.
But today’s announcement of the departure of Mel Doyle from Sunrise is a reminder that it’s harder than it looks.
How bosses can build trust by baring themselves to staff
In this guest post, Simon Rutherford, CEO of Slingshot Media, argues that bosses should be vulnerable in front of their staff.
Winston Churchill once said: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Fake it til you make it...as a radio newsreader
In a piece that first appeared in Encore, Emily Hoskins from ARN tells us how to do her job.
What does a radio newsreader actually do?
A radio newsreader has to be switched on from the moment they sit at their desk. At the Australian Radio Network each journalist writes, researches, edits and reads their own news bulletins under tight deadlines – every 30 minutes during the breakfast shift and every hour after 9am.
Keith Reinhard on freedom to fail, winning back Maccas and how agencies can survive
In an exclusive interview in Cannes today, advertising icon Keith Reinhard, one of the founding fathers of what is now DDB Worldwide, talked to Mumbrella’s Robin Hicks about freedom from fear, his favourite ads of all time, winning back McDonald’s and why the most important thing in advertising is passion.Savage counsel - little white lies
In a piece that first featured in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas. This week, he talks about when it’s okay to lie to clients.
Hi Chris,
I often find myself telling little white lies at work – I tell people on the phone that I don’t want to speak to I’m about to duck into meetings. I told my colleague her new haircut was great when really it wasn’t and I praised someone’s work when actually it was kind of shit. After each of these occasions, I felt pretty terrible and wonder if you could tell me how can I speak with candour in the future – for my sake and others.
How to build a culture
How important is a company’s culture and how do you ensure you are breeding a good one? Matt Smith investigates, in a piece that first appeared in Encore.When production companies Cordell Jigsaw and Zapruder’s Other Films merged early last year, bringing the staff together within the walls of the Zapruder building proved to be something of a challenge. While the two companies weren’t strangers to each other due to six months of talks and negotiations, working together on a full-time basis was a different story.
Q&A Damian Keogh
In a piece that first featured in Encore, Val Morgan CEO Damian Keogh reveals his potential alternate career.
Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
I’d say Kerry Stokes, slightly ahead of Harold Mitchell and Kim Williams. He controls the entity with the largest revenue across free-to-air, online, magazines and newspapers. On pure size alone, his influence and leverage over advertisers, media agencies and consumers is unmatched. Harold is still the king in media, slightly ahead of John Steedman, but Henry Tajer and Leigh Terry are the heirs apparent. Kim Williams controls News and that’s a big base to work from.
If a violent game is okay, then so is using a violent ad to promote it
An ad for video game Dead Island Riptide was banned by the ad watchdog. James Whitehead of online entertainment publisher IGN argues that it was the wrong call.A fortnight ago, it emerged that the Ad Standards Board had banned a television commercial for the video game Dead Island: Riptide, due to its depiction of violence – specifically suicide.
Why content makers are leaving our shores
In a piece that first featured in Encore, Craig Anderson says there simply isn’t enough opportunity for content makers in Australia, especially for those making comedy.Last year I had multiple meetings with production companies in Australia and discovered that apart from the odd commercial campaign, there’s no proliferation of paying platforms for comedy. From my own experience there’s iView, which will buy content once it’s already been made (though I live in hope that it will one day be granted the financial power to commission content). I’ve also had the odd informal commission from the SMH iPad consisting of two narrative series and a comical review show. But none of these endeavours were financially viable.
Managing your management style
In an article that first appeared in Encore, Stephanie Brown says the advertising industry often leaves people ill-equipped when it comes to managing staff, especially when they’re promoted into management roles.Managing people is hard. In fact, I actually think it’s the hardest job in the world. With no disrespect intended, I often joke that if my job didn’t involve other people to manage, it would be a walk in the park. I could get about my day’s work in a nice, linear fashion, happily checking off my to-do list as I go. I’m a process-orientated person. I get a kick out of getting things done.
Why the Facebook chase is making brands treat consumers like morons
You know how we look back at quaintly patronising ads from the 1950s and wonder what on earth the advertisers were thinking?
I’ve got a feeling that in a few years time, we’ll be looking at the behaviour of big brands on Facebook the same way.
An entire generation of marketers – or at least a sizeable proportion of them – have lost their minds.
So many have become so obsessed with generating user interactions at all costs, that all thoughts about overall brand perceptions or long term marketing goals have vanished. All that counts now, is generating likes and comments at all costs.
Blog this!
Paid content, sponsored posts and brand ambassadorships – in theory, today’s blogger can be just as valuable to brands as mainstream media. But does blogger outreach actually work? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.“I get approaches from PR companies constantly,” says blogger and author Kerri Sackville, with more than a hint of exasperation. “I have never done a sponsored blog, on my own site, but that doesn’t stop them from asking.”
McLennan right man for job
It’s all change at troubled broadcaster Channel Ten with new directions, new executives and a brand new CEO. Managing director of Adstream Peter Miller says Hamish McLennan is the right man for the job, in an article that first appeared in Encore.I am a bit of a schmuck when it comes to movies. I love romantic comedies. My favourite is One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney.
Q&A with Richard Herring
In a piece that first appeared in Encore, CEO of APN Outdoor Richard Herring talks media.Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
I don’t know if there is one person in particular. The fragmentation of traditional media and new entrants has made it a more level playing field with regards to major influencers. As was demonstrated with the recent media reform recommendations, together, the broader media community still has a very influential and powerful voice.
What one medium could you not live without?
Outdoor – clean, entertaining, evocative and informative.
Q&A with screenwriter Craig Pearce
Craig Pearce, screenwriter for The Great Gatsby, spoke to Encore about working with Baz and writing for 3D.
How did you get into script writing?
I always loved stories and acting and dressing up and being anything but myself and I never realised that was not something other people did. After leaving high school, I did a three year acting course at NIDA but always thought I would one day write. Baz was a good friend and he had a theatre company. He wanted to extend a 20 minute version of Strictly Ballroom. We got it to 45 minutes then he was approached by producers to turn it into a feature film. I started helping him out on the film while they were looking for a real writer but eventually Baz had to go to the producers and say, “There’s this guy who’s my best friend and he is a really good writer”. To the producers’ credit, they believed in Baz so we had two weeks to re-write it.
Former Whybin\TBWA staffers launch digital studio Cypha
Two senior members of Whybin\TBWA’s digital team have left the agency for their own startup, Mumbrella can reveal.
Alex Christian (left) and Daniel Christos (right)
Foundation clients for digital studio Cypha include environmental campaign group Sea Shepherd and the National Maritime Museum. Read more »
P. Diddy tells adland: ‘I hate watching commercials, just like everyone else’
Producer and hip hop artist Sean Combs, better known as P. Diddy, caused murmurs in the audience at the Cannes Lions festival today when he declared that he hated watching TV ads.
Combs is in town to promote his new cable music channel Revolt TV to potential advertisers.
He told delegates today: “I hate watching TV commercials, just like everyone else.”
“The truth will set you free. And I’m here to tell the truth. If you’re not going to produce great work [advertising], you’d better get the fuck out of this room,” he told his audience of advertising professionals and clients. Read more »
Fox Sports News staff facing redundancies
Staff at Fox Sports News are being offered redundancies in the wake of News Limited converting to a new editorial system this month.
The move comes almost a year after News Limited increased its stakeholding in Foxtel, giving the company full ownership of Fox Sports. Read more »
Coke appoints CMO
Coca-Cola South Pacific has appointed Chris Johnston as its new chief marketing officer.
Johnston is currently the head of USA Tea Services at Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta. He takes over the role from Lucie Austin who left in March to become Coca-Cola marketing director for Europe.
Austin made her name with the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, which won a creative effectiveness Lion in Cannes this week. Read more »
Court officers fear inaccurate social media reporting and untrained ‘citizen journalists’
Court public information officers say their top professional concern is that inaccurate information from courtrooms is being posted online to social media sites, such as Twitter, potentially prejudicing major court cases.
The insight comes from a draft paper being put together by academics in the wake of the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration conference, which examined social media and the law, in Sydney last week. Read more »
Broadcasters open to ACMA’s offer of self regulation
Senior television and radio executives will seriously consider an invitation from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to put forward a new self regulatory regime that could see the creation of a body with similar powers to The Australian Press Council.
The offer, made earlier this week by ACMA authority member Louise Benjamin at a panel discussion on issues of fairness and accuracy, has raised the interest of a number of senior industry figures. Read more »
News.com.au retains top news website, Guardian Australia enters the top 10
The latest Nielsen Online Ratings shows News.com.au has retained the number one position as Australia’s highest traffic news website for a second month in a row.
The Guardian’s new Australian website has also entered the top ten Australian news sites with an estimated audience of 1.09m in May.
“Overall traffic to the top ten sites is down compared with April. We obviously had the Boston bombings in April which generated a lot of interest,” said Matt Bruce, Nielsen’s managing director for media audience measurement.
Bruce also noted the arrival of The Guardian’s Australian operation in the top 10 Australian news websites. Read more »
Seven and Nine neck and neck in Wednesday’s ratings battle
Seven and Nine were neck-and-neck last night with Seven winning 21.7 per cent of the free to air audience share and Nine 21.6 per cent, preliminary metro ratings show.
In the battle between competing home renovation shows, Nine’s The Block was just ahead of Seven’s House Rules, with Nine winning 1.349m viewers and House Rules 1.228m. Read more »
Australia’s Young Lions win Cyber silver
An Australian Young Lions duo from communications agency 303Lowe has been awarded a silver award for Cyber in Cannes.
Copywriter Alex Bolderoff and art director Liam Riddler were among 35 international teams who created an online campaign relating to anti-doping in sport to fit a brief provided by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Read more »
Three trophies for Australia in Press Lions
Australia won just three trophies in the press category of the Cannes Lions which were announced overnight. Read more »
Ad with woman screaming as man puts her hand in scalding water banned by watchdog
A radio ad for a water system which features a man putting his partner’s hand in scalding water because she doesn’t believe how hot it is has been banned by the Ad Standards Board because of its suggestion of domestic violence.
In the ad, intended to be humorous, the woman screams in pain.
According to the ASB description of the ad (which Mumbrella has been unable to track down to hear at first hand): “A man describes the features of the Gleamous hot water system and toward the end we hear a woman scream as she has her hand placed in the water to test how hot it is. The man then says that the woman now believes him and that she is suing him.
Complaints received by theASB included: “The use of force on anyone and do them harm by scalding their hand to prove the point is abhorrent. Also there is the domestic violence issue, would he demonstrate this way with a male friend?” Read more »
Dumb Ways to Die takes five Gold Cyber Lions
McCann Melbourne has continued its stellar run at Cannes picking up five Gold Cyber Lions and one Silver Lion overnight for its Dumb Ways to Die campaign.
However, Despite the strong showing the campaign did not take out the Grand Prix in the Cyber category which went to US agency Pereira and O’Dell.
Australian agencies last night picked up 11 Cyber Lions with McCann Melbourne the only agency to take out Gold or Silver.
Droga5 wins gold among seven Design Lions for Australia
Droga5′s ‘Stories for Every Journey’ campaign for Qantas won a Gold Lion in the Design category at Cannes, and is one of seven Australian agencies to be recognised in the category.
The Qantas campaign nominated in the sub-category of publications and business communications design, features a series of books edited to be read in the duration of a particular flight route which were published by Hatchette and designed by Paul Bedford.
2DayFM goes to court in bid to prevent ACMA investigation which could see it lose its licence
Christian and Greig
Sydney radio station 2DayFM has made an application to the Federal Court to stop the media watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority from continuing its investigation into last year’s “royal prank call” incident.
The move came after the ACMA told 2DayFM what its preliminary findings were. The dramatic move suggests that 2Day FM is in serious danger of losing its licence to broadcast.
According to a statement from ACMA, the authority issued its preliminary findings on the incident to 2DayFM on Tuesday.
ACMA has revealed that one of the things it was considering was whether a condition of the licence that a broadcasting service must not be used “in the commission of an offence” had been breached.
Whereas when normal radio codes are breached, ACMA effectively only has the power to issue a finding or add new conditions to a licence, if an existing licence condition is breached, ACMA has the sanction of suspending or cancelling a radio licence. The move – which would cost owner Southern Cross Austereo millions – has never previously occurred.
In response 2DayFM applied to the Federal Court for orders restraining the ACMA from continuing the investigation and making such a finding of a breach. Read more »
AIMIA boss John Butterworth to step down
AIMIA boss John Butterworth is to step down after nearly a decade at the helm of the digital industry trade body.
He will leave the Australian Interactive media Industry Association in September to explore commercial opportunities.
The announcement: Read more »
Mel Doyle to leave Sunrise, replaced by Sam Armytage
Mel Doyle is to leave Seven’s Sunrise, breaking up a 12 year on air partnership with David Koch that took the show to number one.
Melissa Doyle and David Koch
Weekend Sunrise presenter Samantha Armytage will step up as co-presenter. Seven says Doyle will remain with the network in a primetime, news-based role.
According to today’s announcement from Seven, Doyle will take a two week break before travelling to the UK to cover the Royal birth. She will then return to the Sunrise couch “for several weeks” until the launch of her new program.
Seven describes the new show as a “prime time Network News initiative”. There was no clue about the nature or frequency of the show.
Doyle said: “I’ve cherished every moment and every experience on Sunrise. It’s with that experience and support from the team that I am able to take this next step. I’m honoured that the Network has given me this incredible new opportunity and I am unbelievably excited about the new challenges ahead.” Read more »
Dumb Ways To Die takes its third grand prix of Cannes with radio win
McCann Melbourne’s Dumb Ways To Die has picked up a third Grand Prix in Cannes, this time taking the top award in the radio category.
Qantas drops ‘Atlas’ soundtrack created by Daniel Johns
Qantas has dropped the soundtrack created by Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns along with last year’s “You’re the Reason We Fly” campaign.
The musical score ‘Atlas’ was Johns’s first commercial work of this nature, used as a musical soundtrack for Qantas’s brand and Olympic advertising in July last year.
However with the launch of the new “Curiosity” campaign for Qantas Frequent Flyer last week, a spokeswoman for Qantas told Mumbrella the airline has no further plans for the piece.
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