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Opinion
Video: How to win new business
Mumbrella Question Time saw the panel asked the secrets of winning new business. Read more »
Let’s stop the anonymous vitriol
In this guest posting, Peter Bray, boss of The Brand Shop, takes issue with negative comments from anonymous posters on Mumbrella and elsewhere.
There are very few ads that I vehemently dislike. There are also very few ads that I really love. But most ads I see on Mumbrella and other blogs I can usually take something from, whether it is information about the brand, a bit of inspiration or a “watch out”. I’m open to learning as much as I can from others, and encourage those around me to do the same.
My basic assumption, however, is that because an ad has been produced by a professional agency, and had the approval from the client, then the end result must be doing something right. Therefore, without knowing the practical rationale behind the ad, for me to have a strong opinion about whether it is great advertising would be kind of arrogant. There is a reason that awards shows ask for information about why an ad was created: they are rarely judged on end product alone.
So as someone who enjoys watching the work that our industry creates, I am stunned at the level of vitriol stemming from some people’s comments in both this blog and others. Read more »
Read his lips
This is several weeks old, but worth a look. It’s certainly an original way to deal with media criticism.It features Air NZ boss Rob Fyfe responding to weekly current affairs magazine The Listener using the medium of sign language. Read more »
Let’s not be too positive just yet – the nail is still there
It’s more than a year since News Ltd’s marketing boss Joe Talcott used the memorable analogy of a dog whimpering on a nail to describe the structural change the industry needs to go through. Read more »
The AdNews numbers that mislead the market
It’s always a tad tawdry when competitors attack each other, but I hope you’ll bear with me…
Whether cynically or through incompetence, AdNews has been misleading its advertisers by providing them with data that seems to suggest they have six times their true online audience.
Allow me to present the evidence. Read more »
Technology will help us own the agenda – all day, every day
In this opening speech to the Future Forum of the Newspaper Publishers Association, News Ltd CEO John Hartigan argued that news organisations have the opportunity to become more rather than less relevant.
Today I want to talk about a tipping point that heralds the most exciting era for journalism. The most exciting era ever.
This tipping point is already upon us. It has arrived at lightning speed, with the explosion in demand for mobile devices.
I am not consigning newspapers to the scrapheap. Not by a long shot.
But this tipping point is going to change journalism forever. In my opinion, very much for the better. Read more »
The real time shit sandwich detector
In this guest post, Clive Burcham of The Conscience Organisation, relishes the instant feedback of social media.
I’ve been making brand driven content since 1996 and often I’ve been so close to the work that I couldn’t tell the difference between if we were chomping on a shit sandwich or savouring the crème de la creme. From an audience perspective, we wouldn’t know the difference for weeks or months. What excites me most now is that we know within 24 hours if we’ve developed shit or cream. Read more »
SMH shows how to make a home page takeover work
When you’re a commercial organisation, balancing the needs of consumers with the need to make money through ads is tricky.
Among the organisations that sometimes goes the wrong way in my view is Fairfax, with its autostart video ads, for instance.
But today, a bit of unreserved praise Read more »
Inside the Foxtel factory
Having been at the launch of Foxtel’s new season the other night, nine points occur… Read more »
ABC News 24 – a handy service for niche journalists
It may not have many viewers yet, but ABC News 24 saves specialist journos having to leave their desks, argues Delimiter’s Renai LeMay
When media commentators discuss the future of journalism, they usually agree on at least one thing: It will involve much fewer generalists and more reporters dedicated to exhaustively covering niche fields. Read more »
The seven ages of Carlton Draught’s Made From Beer
Today sees the launch of “Slow Mo”, the latest instalment of Carlton Draught’s irreverent Made From Beer series.
It’s been quite a run – from the highly awarded Big Ad, to the comedy of Flash Beer, to the debacle of the abortive banned Tingle campaign. These are the seven ages of Made From Beer… Read more »
Real consumers don’t have ‘brand conversations’. They use search
In this guest posting, Simon van Wyk argues that much as marketers might wish otherwise, most consumers don’t have emotional connections with brands
I have a background in marketing, but my understanding of branding seems at odds with the 2010 opinions I see from social media commentators, marketing and advertising agencies. Read more »
Hot, censoring atheists: Google’s insight into what punters think about pollies and journos
One of the charms of Google is autocomplete, where it takes a punt on what you’re going to ask, based on what the rest of the world has been wondering previously.
And it certainly gives a few insights into the high quality of political debate about the Labor leaders in the run up to the election.
Take NSW premiere Kristina Keneally… Read more »
The copyright-busting election
This is rapidly turning into the copyright-infringing election. Read more »
Digital Fail: The gaping void in digital training is failing our industry
In this guest post, Amnesia Razorfish’s Iain McDonald warns that the industry has fallen badly behind on digital training.
Before I get accused of trolling with that headline, I’ll state what I think is obvious: The current education system isn’t producing or nurturing enough ‘digitally skilled’ individuals to sustain a growing a digital economy. Read more »
BT Financial to launch fact-based campaign
BT Financial Group is launching a new campaign aimed at restoring consumer confidence around investments.
Created by Host and The Glue Society, the marketing communication aims to provide a substantiated fact-based view around questions such as whether equity investments work harder than property investments, what the benefits of investing in superannuation are, whether shares perform better than cash over time and what the benefits of a long term investment strategy are.
Carly Loder, BT Financial Group head of marketing, said: “After a tumultuous few years in investment markets, we’re hoping this information-centric style of campaign helps restore confidence in both investing and seeking quality financial advice.”
In the ads, a series of neon light sculptures are shown delivering the data, resolving in huge graphs to illustrate the argument. The sculptures were created using 14,500 bulbs, 46km of cabling and 2450 electrical ballasts.
Laura Aldington, Host client services director, added: “Research post the GFC indicated that what investors most wanted and needed was tangible and practical information and advice – this campaign continues BT’s heritage of delivering fact-based financial insight.”
The campaign includes TV, cinema, press, digital and outdoor.
Credits
- Agency: Host
- Creative Director: The Glue Society
- Creative Team: Jonathan Kneebone, Pete Baker, Luke Crethar
- Digital Creative: Engage/Host
- Account Management: Laura Aldington, Charis Marr, Beth James
- Strategy: Olly Taylor, Matt Kingston
- Producers: Verity Cornell (broadcast), Michael Cleary (print), Clarie Van Heyningen (digital)
- Client: BT Financial Group
- Head of Marketing: Carly Loder
- Senior Manager – Brand: Carly Westwood
- Brand & Communications Manager, BT: Matt Holland
- Director: The Glue Society
- Production Company: Revolver
- Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie
- Producer: Caroline Barry
- DOP: Russell Boyd
- Production Designer: Karen Murphy
- Previsualisation: Fin Design
- Edit House: The Editors
- Editor: Bernard Gary
- Online: Fin Design
- Music: Mika for Trailer Media
- Sound Production: Sound Reservoir
- Sound Engineer: Paul Taylor
May 7th, 2010 at 10:46 am
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Comments
7 May 10
11:26 am
If they sold one product to every person credited they’d have a success on their hands
7 May 10
1:12 pm
Ever-so-slightly-more-interesting-than-powerpoint way of telling the same old super story.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
7 May 10
1:21 pm
Great ads from a financial company. To the point. Clear in a difficult market. Didn’t waffle off into ‘flexibility’ or other wastefully generic statements. They put forward a compelling argument for a target who might not normally consider these investment options.
And beautifully executed. Well done.
7 May 10
1:56 pm
Has anyone seen the press?
7 May 10
1:58 pm
I think these are are pretty clever. They show an honesty that you dont normally get from the financial services industry. Beautifully excuted which keeps you engaged! I’m a fan..
7 May 10
3:10 pm
Great campaign BT. Simple, powerful and good call to action. As a 30 year old who is not contributing extra to her super, you’ve inspired me to do something about it so thanks!
7 May 10
4:49 pm
Nice – Host’s BT ad’s are always extremely smart and compelling. And I don’t even work at Host.
7 May 10
5:19 pm
I need to have a little lie down. Nice work everyone.
7 May 10
8:06 pm
Dear our dear, they make the colonial ads look good. It’s hard to listen for the whole 45sec! Shockers.
7 May 10
8:07 pm
Uninspiring and flat, would expect better from BT.
8 May 10
1:00 pm
Bring back John Eales I say!
9 May 10
10:01 am
This is terrible. So self indulgent at a time when most punters hate financial institutions and bt in particular. Hey, let’s use all the money we lost in superannuation and make ads that show no empathy with our customers. Great idea.
10 May 10
9:06 am
I’m glad that Marty, Melissa and Kirsty all like the ads.
I’m also intrigued to see you share the same IP addresss.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
10 May 10
1:15 pm
Once again an example of being inspired by artists … or ripping off art?
Is that what creatives do these days, just trollop around galleries to find new ways of executing the same idea?
I do like it, but I know it’s origination, so it’s not impressive.
Then again I’m not the target market :p
11 May 10
11:42 am
@Ivana.
Interesting. Who is the artist?
11 May 10
11:59 am
@Chris
Google search ‘Dan Flavin’
He’s the most well known and the first to realise the medium, but there’s more contemporary artists out there doing the same thing.
12 May 10
12:16 pm
absolutely awesome.
for a boring category – this is pretty exciting stuff!
So beautifully executed too
Well done
12 May 10
3:34 pm
Thanks for that comment, “Elizabeth”.
I see that you’re commenting from an IP address previously associated with one of the agencies involved in this campaign.
Along with the efforts of “Marty”, Melissa” and “Kirsty”, how about you call a halt to the astroturfing at this point?
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
12 May 10
3:41 pm
Dear *selected* Mumbrella readers – I can’t believe you are seriously so daft that you continue to astro turf. It’s all getting a bit tired.
Here’s a blindingly obvious HINT for you – Mumbrella is vigilent in checking comments so your chances of making it through without being spotted are very close to zero. Maybe you can try elsewhere?
BTW – the whole astroturfing things make me actively avoid checking out or referencing your ads so it’s not a great result (and I would be your target audience).
12 May 10
3:42 pm
Makes me want to vomit
12 May 10
3:48 pm
In the words of Hahn Premium – every call you make affects your brand. Stay premium…. Keep up the detective work Tim
12 May 10
3:49 pm
“Wow” – love your work
12 May 10
4:22 pm
I don’t work for the responsible agency, but I do like the ads.
Pros: 1. They look good, 2. Successfully point out my faults as a shithouse share investor, 3. They use cool blue graphics.
Cons: 1. No car chases, 2. No guitar solo
12 May 10
4:58 pm
Boring ads that just find a novel way to spend plenty of the client’s money.
So in that light, they really they don’t demonstrate anything about clever investment at all.
12 May 10
5:14 pm
Hey Ron Jeremy! Imagine if Marty, Melissa, Kirsty and Elizabeth invited you to an orgy. Then you rock up and it’s just one dude. What would you do?
12 May 10
6:54 pm
Here is one agency that needs a social media policy and perhaps consultant – yes I work for a social media agency!
12 May 10
8:50 pm
Hey eek!
I would just pull myself, which probably means I could get a job at the agency that produced this wank.
13 May 10
9:56 am
Ivana, the link to Dan Flavin’s work is tenuous at best – the last TVC we made featured a crushed car, does that mean I’m channelling Jimmie Durham? Art is not more sacred than religion and politics, and you said it yourself – he’s not the only artist doing it with flouros.
13 May 10
10:45 am
@Luc: Hahahaha! No guitar solos. Love it.
I’d kill to see a financial services ad with a guitar solo.
(FWIW: I think the ads are solid.)
14 May 10
2:37 pm
Deart astro turfers a little hint for you
- don’t post from your work computer there is a thing called and IP address that is linked to your works network which is easy to find for every post
- don’t cut and paste into your post your planners key insgiht , single value prop or what ever they call it these days, its a bit of a give away as the language is always the same and is centred around – emotional engagement
26 May 10
2:14 pm
it’s a pity the astroturfing detracted from the discussion because i think they’re excellent ads for the boring financial services category – and i work at a direct competitor to BT