Everything under Australia's media, marketing & entertainment umbrella

Opinion | Features
- Banning booze ads will just make marketers more creative
  As the calls for stricter regulation of alcohol advertising to protect children heat up Mike O'Rourke argues changes to advertising will do nothing without changing behaviour at home. Hi, my name is Mike O’Rourke and I ask my kids to pass me beers. I drink alcoholic beverages at home, and yes, I have also been guilty of asking my kids to go to the fridge for me. And when we have guests I angst about what wine we’ll serve as much what food we’ll eat. And the rhetorical discussions with my son over whether I should get 2 bags of ice or just the one (the answer’s always two). Like most Australian families, alcohol plays a large part in my home life.
- Why stupid is normal – when smart people make dumb choices
  Ashton Bishop and Gary Wilkinson argue how the actions of former BP chief Tony Hayward during the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis should be a wake up call to stressed marketers and those that work with them. In 2010 after over 455 million litres of oil had already poured into the Gulf off the Louisiana coast and millions of litres more continued to escape every day, Tony Hayward, the CEO of oil giant BP, and the public face of the environmental disaster, decided to take part in an exclusive yacht race off the Isle of Wight. There was outrage. Social media, already heavily critical of BP’s poor response to the catastrophe, got worse.
- What is the most effective method for charity fundraising?
  Recent pieces on Mumbrella around charity street fundraisers have stirred debate about the pros and cons of the practice. Here Angela Brooks looks at what the statistics show is the best way of fundraising. Following Mumbrella’s recent stories on the pro’s and con’s of ‘chuggers’, I thought it may be of value to reveal what the statistics show is the best fundraising strategy for charities and how to secure more out of the Australian hip pocket. The results will surprise many.
- Answering Adam: Why advertising spin does harm consumers
  In response to Adam Ferrier's article on whether advertising spin is actually OK, TV luminary Nick Murray argues it is not. As Adam Ferrier correctly points out in his wonderfully provocative article the ABC's consumer affairs show The Checkout takes aim at brands which charge more for products marketed by preying on desires and fears in nearly every episode. I make TV shows including The Checkout, so I thought I'd give a non marketer's perspective.
- Analysis: Where has it gone wrong for Ten?
  After starting the year with improved ratings and an air of optimism audience shares have declined severely for Network Ten. Megan Reynolds spoke to industry insiders to find out where it went wrong. Secrets and Lies was one of the most anticipated dramas of the year, which has already been picked up by production companies in the US and UK, launched to 403,000 metro viewers on Channel Ten last night. While those numbers may be disappointing for executives in the Pyrmont offices, they are higher than it has been getting for established reality show The Biggest Loser and the revived So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). In the week after the Winter Olympics Ten's total network audience share dropped from 18.8 per cent, to 14.4 per cent. This included the main channel's worst-ever rating night, where it took just 6.4 per cent of the audience.
- Answers for Adam: Is advertising spin actually good?
  In his regular column Adam Ferrier poses a question to the industry. Today he asks is advertising spin as bad as it is made out to be? Advertising is bad right? We coerce people into buying stuff they don’t need. Further, as TV show The Checkout points out (most weeks) we sometimes just put a descriptive word like ‘Baby’, or ‘Premium’ on a certain product, and then charge more for exactly the same thing. For example, all shampoos are basically made of the same stuff – so why are some priced at $3.00 a bottle whilst ‘Premium Salon Quality’ alternatives (at product parity) cost $30 (or more)?
- Mumbrella360 - how you can be involved
  The industry is once again being asked to get involved in this year's Mumbrella360. Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes explains how This is the fourth time we've done this. It's the moment to fire the starting pistol on Mumbrella360. In the next few days we'll be announcing at least one big new thing for Mumbrella360. But the most important thing remains the same - once again we're inviting the industry to join us in curating the conference. You're reading that invitation right now.
- Why the new DrinkWise campaign is a fail
  A new campaign by DrinkWise aimed at encouraging people to drink responsibly actually does the opposite, argues Joel Egan. Clemenger BBDO Melbourne's new campaign, ‘Drinking - do it properly’, is stylish, cool and well executed which ticks all the boxes for them. But I can’t help thinking that DrinkWise could be left picking up the pieces.
- Reinventing the news model in the digital era
  On Friday night Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched Morry Schwartz's The Saturday Paper at a function in Sydney. This is an abridged version of his speech. Just a few years ago in 2008 the president of France Nicholas Sarkosy said: "democracy can not function with a press permanently on the edge of an economic precipice."
- Can Big Data predict the Best Picture Oscar winner?
  With many struggling to provide insights from Big Data Bryan Melmed puts his money where his mouth is by using it to predict the winner of the Best Picture Oscar. Can big data insights predict the winner of Best Picture at Sunday’s Oscars? We think it can and we are betting the farm on 12 Years a Slave. And this is how we figured it out.
- Building Chinese relations with kids TV
  A new co-produced children's TV show between the ABC and Chinese state TV may show where the future of co-production lies. Filmed over six months across freezing winter and the heat of summer on a set the size of a football field, located outside the city of Zhou Zhou two hours south of Beijing Hoopla Doopla posed a number of challenges for the Australian and Chinese production teams working on it, not least the language barrier.
- Personality differences: Trolls and cyberstalkers aren't the same
  In this cross posting from The Conversation Troy McEwan looks at what motivates bad online behaviour, and the best ways to handle it. The recent death of television personality Charlotte Dawson and the possible role that online abuse played in her struggles with depression shows how damaging this behaviour can be.
- The challenges of reporting on Myanmar
  In this interview with Mumbrella Asia editor Robin Hicks, Melbourne-born journalist Jessica Mudditt talks about the challenges of reporting on a country that is – in fits and starts – loosening its grip on press freedom after decades of oppression. What’s the hardest thing about reporting on Myanmar?
  For me, it’s the lack of data available. Previous military regimes appear to have had zero interest in obtaining information about the people of Myanmar (other than for intelligence purposes!). A census hasn’t been conducted in more than 30 years, so even something as straightforward as the total population of Myanmar is merely an estimate, and the estimates vary quite a lot from organisation to organisation. And because Myanmar was a closed country for so long, the research that would normally have been amassed by civil society groups such as INGOs simply didn’t exist until recently.
- Charlotte Dawson: A media death but a normal illness
  The death of Charlotte Dawson says a bit about the media spotlight but more about the realities of mental illness, argues Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes. It was a strange, sickening feeling this afternoon watching Charlotte Dawson on video. I hadn't seen it since we published the interview just over a year ago.
- Howcroft: Beautiful athletes and lack of brand hoardings makes Olympics spectacular
  Great casting and a lack of intrusive branding at the sports venues makes the Olympics more of a visual feast than other sports, argues Russel Howcroft. Casting....it's pretty important in the television game, which is why it was interesting to read a tweet by Virginia Trioli regarding how good looking Winter Olympians are. They do make for some very attractive television.

Internet giants oppose government plans for more cyber bullying laws and regulations

The digital industry’s biggest players have urged the government to revise a plan to introduce an internet watchdog, an eSafety commissioner, and create new laws against cyber bullying, arguing there are “serious practical concerns” about unnecessary bureaucracy created by the scheme.

The Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) has submitted a discussion paper, on behalf of Google, Facebook, Yahoo!7, Ebay, Microsoft and Twitter which calls on the government to reconsider the proposals arguing they have serious practical ramifications, including slowing down the time it takes to remove inappropriate content, and encouraging young people onto other social media platforms with less stringent rules against cyber bullying.

“What we are all trying trying to do is keep kids safe online,” said David Holmes, CEO of AIMIA. “The government should be applauded for their intent but we have been here before.

“Our view is a commissioner is fine. If that’s another person looking at the issue that’s ok, but having that person be the gatekeeper is a really bad idea.
Read more »

March 8th, 2014 at 2:06 pm · Comments: 0

Content boss admits 2DayFM breakfast not expected to top ratings but is ‘a big step forward’

2Day FM’s content boss Craig Bruce has taken a jibe at former breakfast show hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, but admitted he expects their new shows not to top the radio ratings when the first set of the year are published on Tuesday.

Bruce, who is the head of content for Southern Cross Austereo, described Sydney’s new breakfast show with Jules Lund, Merrick Watts, Sophie Monk and Mel B as “a big step forward from the previous show” in terms of client solutions.

“This is a huge advantage for us now and to be honest it’s a big step forward from the previous show. When you think about Jules and Merrick they’re both commercially savvy and incredibly creative,” he said. Read more »

March 8th, 2014 at 8:10 am · Comments: 1

Mumbrella live blog: Friday, March 7

Welcome to Mumbrella’s live blog, your rolling diary of all that’s happening in the media and marketing world. Refresh the page for the latest updates.

Top stories:

CommsCon Awards shortlist revealed
Opinion: Banning booze marketingwill just make it more creative
Network Ten hires veteran programmer John Stephens
Red Bull capitalises on Pharrell popularity in new ad
The Checkout goes to war with Swisse again
Shake up at The Guardian as editor Kath Viner gets US gig

5.02pm - Australia’s top media CEO all in one room. Good thing Malcolm Turnbull took a photo and tweeted it. Sadly, no Ellen-style selfie though…

4:46pm - In case you missed it earlier the CommsCon Awards finalists have been announced. Melissa Hoyer, the style and entertainment editor at large of News.com.au has chimed in on our Facebook page saying: ”A fantastic list of the best operators around. Good luck to them all . . .”.

4.30pm – The Press Council has ruled against an article published on News.com.au on ‘how to spot a paedophile’. Story here.

3.10pm – Oh dear. Looks like the following Twitter conversation didn’t quite go the way The Australian’s Chris Kenny had hoped.

2:42pm - This is taking gut marketing to the next level as Oreo has installed a real-time vending machine at South by SouthWest printing cookies based on what is trending on Twitter in the area. Read more »

March 7th, 2014 at 4:28 pm · Comments: 1

Press Council rules against News.com.au ‘how to pick a paedophile’ article

Media watchdog The Australian Press Council (APC) has ruled an article published on News.com.au last September entitled “Could you spot a paedophile? Here’s a guide on how to pick a child molester” misrepresented facts and breached principles requiring publications to balance the public interest with the sensitivities of readers.

The article, by journalist Candace Sutton, presented nine categories of sex offenders, with information about each and photographs of well-known offenders.

The APC found it was a breach of its rules with one section called “the damaged”, which alleged paedophiles are often the victims of child molestation themselves, was “deeply offensive and served to marginalise victims of child sex abuse and discourage them from speaking out”. Read more »

March 7th, 2014 at 4:19 pm · Comments: 0

The Checkout targets Swisse again despite open lawsuit

Vitamin brand Swisse has said claims and label references used by consumer affairs show The Checkout in a segment on the brand’s Ultiboost Chlorophyll product were “old and out of date”.

Last night the ABC show once again went after Swisse, despite a lawsuit taken out by Swisse-founder Radek Sali’s father Avni who says the show has severely injured his reputation after the show poured scorn over the brand’s relationship between the National Institute of Integrative Medicine which conducted a clinical trial of Swisse vitamins, and was founded by him.

An application by the ABC to have the case thrown out was turned down last August.

Speaking to Mumbrella in a video hangout Julian Morrow joked that one lawsuit wasn’t quite enough, “We hope to get more this series,” he quipped.

March 7th, 2014 at 1:28 pm · Comments: 3

Red Bull capitalises on Pharrell Williams popularity with new World of Red Bull ad

Red Bull has previewed its new World of Red Bull ad which features new music from Pharrell Williams set against images of musicians and athletes performing crazy stunts.

The new ad features surfers Jamie O’Brien and Sally Fitzgibbons, mountain biker Brook MacDonald, cliff diver Orlando Duque and five-time Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres alongside muscians AWOLNATION and Skrillex.

March 7th, 2014 at 1:22 pm · Comments: 2

Fight looms over MEAA union ‘corporatisation’ push to put in CEO

Senior members of the union representing journalists, actors and musicians are calling for a greater debate over moves by the union to scrap the current model of an elected federal secretary in favour of a new system which would see an elected board appointing a CEO.

The push has been privately described by some in the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) as an attempt at a “coup”, coming just weeks after federal secretary Chris Warren announced he would step down after more than two decades at the helm of the union.

That decision had led to strong rumours Fairfax journalist Marcus Strom would become the next federal secretary, with many expecting the first election where there would be an open field for the position in more than 15 years.

However a meeting of the MEAA on March 17 and 18 will now see the union vote on whether to abandon an election for the leadership in favour of what official documents being circulated describe as “a professionalised structure” which would see a CEO appointed by ”senior honorary officers on the MEAA board”.

Among those to come out against the proposal are multi-award winning business journalist Adele Ferguson who told Mumbrella: “I don’t agree with the move to give the Federal Management Committee the power to appoint the next leader of the MEAA. It is far more democratic to allow members to elect their leader. Member involvement in choosing who represents them is a good thing.” Read more »

March 7th, 2014 at 1:20 pm · Comments: 3

Google warns publishers: ‘You’ve got one shot on your mobile website’

The global director of online partnerships for Google Scott Sheffer has warned Australian publishers only have one shot at getting their mobile site right or they will lose out to their competitors.

Speaking to Mumbrella during a short visit to Sydney, Sheffer also highlighted advercasting, where advertisers and users come together to create content, as the new battlefield for publishers to master.

Scott Sheffer

“It’s a multi-device multi-screen world and if you don’t have a publishing strategy to reach your users wherever they are, whenever they want, you’re going to fall behind,” he said.

“Often, and especially for our small and medium partners, you’ve got one shot on your mobile website – the first time when someone comes to visit – and if it’s not a good experience, they might never come back.” Read more »

March 7th, 2014 at 12:57 pm · Comments: 0

Amnesty International partners with dating app Tinder to promote gender equality

Amnesty International has partnered with dating app Tinder to promote gender equality in an initiative to mark International Women’s Day on Saturday.

Tinder users are being asked to log onto the app on Saturday and show their support for gender equality in a few ways, such as uploading a new profile picture out of four images which have messages around the issue, including “Not all women have the choices you do,” with a link to the website makethechoice.com.au.

The smartphone app hopes users will be inspired by the messages and choose to show their support for women’s rights.

Co-founder and CMO of Tinder Justin Mateen said: “We are honoured to partner with such an esteemed organisation as Amnesty International Australia to raise awareness of the human rights abuses faced by millions of young girls and women.

March 7th, 2014 at 11:43 am · Comments: 1

Gumtree appoints DDB Group Sydney following pitch

Classifieds site Gumtree has appointed DDB Group Sydney as its creative agency following a competitive pitch.

It is the brand’s first official appointment of a full service creative agency in Australia and will see the group utilise DDB, RAPP and Tribal to manage multi-channel communications.

Gumtree head of marketing Sara McConkey said: “We are really excited about our new partnership with DDB Sydney. The team demonstrated an obvious passion for our brand throughout the pitch process, as well as an impressive level of strategic thinking and creativity

March 7th, 2014 at 11:08 am · Comments: 0

Aldi promotes ‘award-winning products’ with motivational speaker ads

Aldi has launched a series of ads in which a motivational speaker spruiks various products, including cheese and laundry powder, as the key to winning.

In the ad for Aldi’s cheese, created by BMF, the speaker says “I’m going to unleash your winning potential with the power of cheese. This is an Aldi award-winning cheddar and when you eat a winner you become a winner”.

It ends with the tagline “With over 150 award-winning products, everyone wins at Aldi”.

March 7th, 2014 at 10:55 am · Comments: 8

Frost* campaign focuses on how easy it is for people to know their HIV status

Frost_ACON 1

Sydney-based Frost has created an integrated campaign as part of the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) Ending HIV campaign which launched to coincide with Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival.

The campaign encourages gay men to test for HIV more frequently, with Frost using bold, graphic language in street posters, t-shirts and merchandise to communicate that it is now easier and faster to know their HIV status than ever before.

ACON CEO Nicholas Parkhill said: “One of our key objectives is to get gay men to test more, treat early and stay safe. Increasing testing rates among gay men is vital, because HIV is generally transmitted by people who don’t know they have it. Once people know their status, they can take action to improve their health outcomes and prevent passing on the virus. And the only way they can know their status is to get tested regularly, at least twice a year”.

March 7th, 2014 at 10:37 am · Comments: 0

Ten hires veteran programmer John Stephens

Channel Ten has hired veteran programmer John Stephens as director of scheduling and acquisitions describing him as a “critically important addition” as the network seeks to bounce back from some of its poorest ratings on record despite a brighter start to the year.

Stephens, who has more than 40 years’ experience in the industry, will work closely with Beverley McGarvey, chief programming officer at Ten, and CEO Hamish McLennan, the network has confirmed. McGarvey took over from David Mott in October 2012, and is understood to have scheduled maternity leave this year.

The appointment follows commentary from industry insiders who told Mumbrella Ten had made fundamental errors in its scheduling and wasted the opportunities of The T20 Big Bash League and The Winter Olympics in Sochi as shows like The Biggest Loser and Puberty Blues down on last year.

Stephens joins Ten from the Seven network where he worked with news boss Peter Meakin who started at Ten last month as executive director of news and current affairs.

March 7th, 2014 at 10:30 am · Comments: 7

Footy season kicks off ratings win for Nine

The NRL season kicked off on Channel Nine last night with the ‘Grand Opener’ helping it win more than 28 per cent of the audience share on the main channel, despite only airing in two markets.

Nine had 756,000 people watching in Sydney and Brisbane for the NRL season opener in which the Sydney South Rabbitohs defeated the Sydney Roosters, gaining the biggest audience of the night in both markets. Seven had 869,000 people watching Home and Away from 7pm until 8pm and 819,000 for Border Security, on until 8.30pm.

Meanwhile The Block had 644,000 metro viewers in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm, ranking 15th for the night despite only being aired in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. The Block was also the second most timeshifted show gaining 118,000 viewers during the last seven days.

March 7th, 2014 at 10:12 am · Comments: 1

CommsCon Awards shortlist revealed

The shortlists have been announced for this year’s CommsCon Awards for PR and communications professionals.

Havas Worldwide’s Red Agency tops the list with nine shortlistings across the 25 categories. Fellow Havas-aligned agency One Green Bean is doing battle across four categories.

Just behind Red Agency is Edelman with seven shortlistings, followed by Omnicom’s Mango with six. Omnicom’s Porter Novelli has three shortlistings.

WPP’s Professional Public Relations scores five mentions. Ogilvy-aligned agencies including Ogilvy PR Health, Howorth and Pulse have a further four shortlistings.

The most shortlisted independent agencies include Liquid Ideas, Launch Group, Klick Communications and The Hallway, all with three apiece.

Barnardo’s is the most shortlisted charitable organisation with three mentions. And the Australian Communications and Media Authority, also with three shortlistings, is the best recognised governmental body.

Creative agency Havas Worldwide is the most cited collaborating partner across the entries.

The only category where no entries were shortlisted was best reporting and use of measurement

The shortlist in full: Read more »

March 7th, 2014 at 9:30 am · Comments: 3

Morning Update: Amy Poehler in ad for Old Navy; LG promotes G Flex with bizarre ad

This is our Morning Update, rounding up international media and marketing news from while you were sleeping.

AdWeek: Ad of the Day: Amy Poehler Brings the Funny for Old Navy

“Once upon a time, Old Navy commercials were generally accepted as wonderful. They were bright, colorful, kitschy, silly and instantly recognizable. But eventually, as these things go, they got old. The public moved on, while Old Navy, with its mannequins and goofy taglines, remained stuck in the 2000s.

Since the retailer split with Crispin Porter + Bogusky last summer, though, its advertising—from Chandelier Creative in New York—has experienced a bit of a revival. First, there was the Black Friday ad with the delightful Melissa McCarthy. Then, last month, it was a spot featuring comedian Debra Wilson as an overexcited TSA agent. Now, Old Navy is debuting a new campaign starring yet another female comic, national treasure Amy Poehler.”

March 7th, 2014 at 8:37 am · Comments: 0

Katharine Viner to edit US Guardian, Emily Wilson to take reins of Oz operation

Katharine Viner

Katharine Viner editor-in-chief of The Guardian Australia has been promoted to the role of editor-in-chief of the group’s US operation.

Viner is to be replaced by Emily Wilson the network editor of theguardian.com, who has for the last two years has been responsible for overseeing all UK digital content and editing the UK homepage.

The Guardian announced its move into Australia in early 2013 and formally launched its Australian operation in May with a number of big hires including Lenore Taylor, Katharine Murphy and David Marr. The news provider has recently also announced a Melbourne expansion which will see its Australian operation grow to more than 50 staff.

“Katharine has done a terrific job in Australia, opening a brand new operation in Sydney, building a great team of interesting and talented journalists, increasing traffic dramatically, setting the agenda, and quickly establishing the Guardian as a force to be reckoned with in Australian journalism,” said Alan Rushbridger, editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, in a statement. Read more »

March 7th, 2014 at 8:26 am · Comments: 5

Mumbrella live blog: Thursday, March 6

This is Mumbrella’s live blog, a rolling diary of all you need to keep up-to-date with the world of media and marketing. Refresh the page for latest updates.

Top stories:

Ikea pitches creative, then decides it’s too busy
Rohan Lund starts Foxtel restructure, two senior execs depart
OMD retains Tourism Australia media without a formal pitch
Dr Mumbo: The travails of Gerry Fortuna: An underdog’s story
Dejan Rasic emerges as ECD for McCann Sydney
Dick Smith says he will retain OzEmite name despite IP Australia ruling

4:56pm – It’s that time of the week again for The Checkout, and tonight they are having a poke at LG’s Ultra Definition TVs:

4:32pm - Since Dr Mumbo highlighted the plight of Gerry Fortuna earlier today his Twitter numbers have shot up, to a whopping 23 followers. As an addendum to his incredible story, here’s his latest couple of tweets:

4:10pm - If you’re going to go out, go out i style. At least that seems to have been the reaction of this American news anchor on news channel Russia Today as she quits the job on air, accusing them of “whitewashing Putin”. Who says ethics in journalism is dead?