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Opinion | Features
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Sustainable competitive advantage: the fallacy
The speed of change in business means the notion of businesses having a sustainable competitive advantage is no longer a reality argues Dan Monheit. Sustainable competitive advantage. What a beautiful, romantic, delusional idea. An idea that somehow still gets plenty of airplay. -
Content marketing predictions: Why I’ve ditched my crystal ball
Last year Cameron Upshall made a series of bold predictions on how the content marketing world in Australia would develop in 2014. Here he bemoans the lack of change.
Australian brands had a fair old crack at content marketing in 2014. But unfortunately the market didn’t mature as fast as I thought it would in 12 months. This means the content marketing milestones I predicted we would reach by now are still a fair way off.
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Why #tay4hottest100 is good for Triple J
The campaign to get a Taylor Swift song into the Triple J Hottest 100 has created a lot of column inches in recent days. Matt Saraceni argues the controversy is good for the station and how it should capitalise on #tay4hottest100 come Australia Day.
If Taylor Swift places Number one in the Triple J Hottest 100 -- I will eat a hat.
Any hat you care to name I will consume it. There is absolutely no way that will happen. I’d bet a nudie run on it. In fact I am.
However, “Shake it Off” appearing in the countdown will be one of the best things to happen to Triple J and its audiences and everybody should be hoping it happens. Let me explain….
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A first look at Stan
Yesterday streaming service Stan invited some members of the public to have a first look at the new platform. Mumbrella editor Alex Hayes looks at what it has to offer.
Of all the streaming services being talked about at the moment (and yes there are a lot - Presto, Netflix, Quickflix etc.) the one that's most intrigued me is the joint offering from Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media - Stan.
So when I got the invite to have a preview of it which went out to the public yesterday, I leapt at it. However, my initial impressions were not good. -
Suffering from a talent crisis? Get off your backside and grow your own
The industry constantly bemoans a lack of skilled new employees. In this opinion piece David Ponce de Leon argues they need to do more to help nurture the talent.
The skills shortage issue continues to be a challenge for different sectors of the communications industry and at the dawn of a new year the topic seems to be heating up again.
Everybody is talking about how hard is to find the right talent or the right skills for their own particular business needs. It’s almost as if a good old whine about the skills shortage ‘crisis’ has become the norm. -
Never tell anyone outside the agency what you're thinking
It might not be the mafia, but agencies require a cone of silence about their internal workings to the outside world argues Eaon Pritchard.
At the beginning of 'The Godfather', Santino 'Sonny' Corleone is in a clandestine meeting with Virgil 'The Turk' Sollozzo in which they discuss a potential partnership in Sollozzo's nascent heroin business. -
Virtual Reality: changing games or game changer?
Virtual reality technology is becoming a hot property. Here Tyler Greerasks whether it will really have a reach beyond video games.
One day back in the early 90s I switched off the Sega Mega Drive and got myself along to an exhibition touting itself as the new frontier in gaming: virtual reality. Strapped in to a cumbersome, heavy piece of machinery I played Dactyl Nightmare, a dreadful Cubist nightmare which left me disoriented, ill, and disappointed for the state of the machine-human relationship.
Not fast enough could I return to Sonic the Hedgehog and my new-found appreciation for the human-couch relationship. -
Social influencers and the law - where does it stand on disclosure?
After Australia Post was found to be paying for social media endorsements which were not disclosed and with more brands looking to social media influencers in their campaigns, Stephen von Muenster looks at where the law currently stands on the issue.
It is evident from a casual gaze through social pages or comms industry commentary that brands are turning to ‘social influencers’ to promote their products through online social channels with the intent of influencing consumer purchasing decisions in favour of their products. -
The ten ideas from CES I wish I'd had
With over 3,600 exhibitors and hundreds of speakers there were a lot of new ideas and inventions at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year. Here Jonathan Pease distills them to the ten he's most jealous of.
B BOOTH – They call themselves ‘The Talent Discovery Company’ and the concept is simple. Imagine a casting booth where anyone can audition for anything they like – modelling, acting, reality TV, singing, etc. -
It's just social media management, right?
While many people don't know the difference between a social media manager and community managers Venessa Paech argues defining which one you need for a role is vital for success.
I’ve led social media and community management for companies, hired, and worked with many social media managers and community managers.
Let’s be honest – the two roles are often confused. The number of blog posts trying to explain the difference should be a tip-off. -
Credit where it's due: MLA's lamb campaigns
As the MLA unveils its latest Australia Day lamb ad we give Credit Where It's Due to the legacy of clever campaigns which have come before it.
Selling lamb is not the most glamorous of briefs for any marketer or agency, but somehow every year Meat and Livestock Australia's Australia Day campaign captures the public's attention. -
How can you charge your mobile campaigns?
While mobile is taking an increasingly large chunk of consumers' time marketers are slow to divert their ad spend. Google's Lisa Bora looks at how it can be used effectively to make compelling campaigns.
Does size matter? When it comes to screens, Australian advertisers seem to think so, devoting just 8 per cent of total ad spend in Australia to mobile, despite them taking up a third of total daily media consumption.
Will this change in 2015? Many Aussie advertisers say that they recognise the importance of mobile but are uncertain how to proceed. -
Charlie Hebdo offends – and we must defend its right to do so
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Bill Durodie of the University of Bath argues in the wake of the attack on Charlie Hebdo offices by gunmen society and the media have a duty to overcome the censorious culture which has seeped into Western societies.
The motive behind the tragic shootings at the headquarters of satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris has not yet been confirmed but it seems clear that there is a link between the publication’s stance on controversial content and the decision by several masked gunmen to launch such a murderous attack against the staff.
The perpetrators of the attack, in which 12 were killed and several more critically wounded, must be apprehended – but, more broadly, we also need to reaffirm the importance of absolute freedom of expression in an open society – regardless of how offensive it might be to some and, on occasion, how puerile it may become. The solution to bad ideas – as the enlightenment philosopher John Stuart Mill noted – is not censorship but more speech with which to counter them. -
What now for Ikon?
From an agency revered by its rivals Ikon has fallen to become one fighting for its very existence. Mumbrella editor Alex Hayes looks at what caused this fall, and what the agency can do to build from here.
News of the resignation of James Greet as CEO of Ikon Communications has come as a surprise to many in the industry. Retaining the Commonwealth Bank account made it appear the once-revered agency had started to emerge from what had been a very deep trough.
But scratch under the surface and it's clear Ikon is still an agency dealing with a lot of issues.
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Why cash and copyright are bad news for creativity
In this cross-posting from The Conversation Dan Hunter of Swinburne University of Technology explains why current copyright laws are actually a hinderance to creativity.
Imagine you were asked to write a law that encouraged creativity. What would it look like? Whatever your answer, it’s pretty clear that it wouldn’t look like copyright.
Which is weird, right? Because copyright is supposed to be the law that spurs creativity. The problem, it turns out, is that the central features of copyright are directly opposed to the things that support creativity.
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ABC’s Juliar slip
Rarely does the ABC get accused of right-wing bias, but Dr Mumbo can’t help but wonder about this story…
(Hat-tip: @DigitalMediaBoy)
Comments
29 Jan 13
11:21 am
Probably a Freudian Slip, but worthy of an apology, no doubt…
29 Jan 13
11:45 am
This is disgraceful! There are no other words to describe it. It is very offensive and the ABC must apologise to our PM Julia Gillard.
29 Jan 13
12:36 pm
People on blogs and Twitter have been noticing and complaining about the ABC’s right wing bias for a number of years now. Follow the hashtag #TheirABC for example, plus check the tweets that are sent to the managing director @ABCMarkScott every day.
29 Jan 13
1:23 pm
Bit sus – second one I’ve seen in a week. Someone is playing with photoshop or whatever it is they’re using these days.
29 Jan 13
1:27 pm
Nope, recently they have been bias sadly. I went off at the New Years address, since when does the LOTO do one as well? Given equal air time, friends overseas thought it was a joke and we looked stupid. Would never happen in any other country and Rudd didn’t do it when he was in opposition, so someone at the ABC had to ask Mr Abbott to do it?
Worse, the ABC didn’t even have the courtesy to put Ms Gillard’s name first on the video, nor address her correctly as Prime Minister Gillard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrWXGEX3z6k “Abbott, Gillard deliver new year message “.
29 Jan 13
1:30 pm
Hi Paul,
We took that screenshot ourselves – no Photoshop.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
29 Jan 13
1:32 pm
Settle down Patricia and Bernard. You’re actually calling what could be a simple typo “disgraceful!”? And “no other words to describe it”? It happens frequently amongst all media. I don’t see how this could be considered “very offensive”. Let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill.
29 Jan 13
2:05 pm
Michael, a freudian slip is an error prompted by a repressed thought or desire. Are you implying that ABC News subconsciously and collectively think that our Prime Minister does not tell the truth. If so, and judging buy their treatment of her to date, I’d have to agree with you [although definitely not with them]..
29 Jan 13
2:17 pm
I’ve noticed that the ABC reports the polls showing the Coalition leading, but the two Morgan polls in November and December that showed the ALP leading were apparently not newsworthy enough. Can anyone from the ABC please elucidate?
29 Jan 13
3:13 pm
Imagine if something like that happened to Abbott. The lashings from News Ltd. against Gillard would have been horrendous
29 Jan 13
4:14 pm
Thankfully the Guardian is coming.
Otherwise this nation’s major media will be a great big Miners’ bottom wipe.
29 Jan 13
9:14 pm
Yes the lashings against our PM have been horrific by the media. I doubt the Juliar term would be a Freudian slip. It takes a liar to peddle a lie to help win elections.
30 Jan 13
2:23 pm
But It’s true… She Lied about the Carbon Tax.
30 Jan 13
11:24 pm
There most definitely is NO right wing bias at the ABC. In fact the suggestion is laughable. What leftists see as right wing leanings is ABC Journos that are no longer able to shrug off the incompetences of this hung parliament without looking stupid themselves. If lefty viewers are feeling unloved they should tune into Q and A or the Drum for a nice left wing fix.
31 Jan 13
8:30 am
This blog follows ABC bias issues:
http://www.abcgonetohell.net/
31 Jan 13
12:42 pm
Wow Miles – so she is the ONLY politician to tell a lie. Ignoramus.
And reliable sources also tell me that there is no right-wing bias in the Murdoch press or on the AM talk stations. As a matter of fact management need to look at the pinko socialists writing their feature articles and filling their airwaves.
31 Jan 13
5:18 pm
I get the impression the PM is a liar or not so, and the ABC is leftist or rightist.
All I can say is that Balley Hoo (My fathers expression for WWII officers of that name) must be a big bloke.
1 Feb 13
11:51 am
Instead of arguing about who promised what re the Carbon Tax- take a look at the pictures of Beijing today! Would you want your children / grandchildren growing up in those conditions in Australia.
2 Feb 13
12:37 pm
Hilarious!
Or should that be: hiLIARious…..?
3 Feb 13
12:08 pm
Miles Sims – isn’t it time to take our responsibilities as members of a democracy seriously and check the facts? Gillard did not lie, and it’s time people stopped peddling this nonsense. She said plainly that she intended to put a price on carbon. The delivery date was advanced by the needs to deal with the priorities of her coalition partners. And to forestall the inevitable troll response of ‘minority/illegitimate government’, remember that for much of its national life, Australia has been governed by a coalition, not by a party that won office in its own right; and that many successful democracies operate in precisely that manner.
4 Feb 13
3:28 pm
Storm in a tea cup. These days, alas, titles are thought of as pomposity and almost everyone talks about VIPs as if they were drinking buddies or casual acquaintances.
Remember Prime Minister Rudd as he tried his best to appear internationally important, by running around the globe and crashing photo ops with the president of the US and other republican leaders? He acted as if he himself were actually a president, ie “Head of State” and not simply the first among equals in a Westminster style government.
He had the audacity to say to the Australian press “It would be great if Obama visited Australia, especially if he brings Michelle and the kids” I would expect that President Obama, the first Lady and their children would have shown more dignity, but Rudd obviously thought it made him sound more important, you know, I know a great man, therefore I am a great man.
A typo? could be, but with journalism at the level it has sunk to today, perhaps it wasn’t.
16 Feb 13
5:16 pm
So Jennifer Blanc, you don’t consider “there will be no carbon tax under my government” to be a committment not to deliver a Carbon Tax?
17 Feb 13
2:20 pm
Let’s just say it was a “non-core promise” and call it
quits.