-
Opinion | Features
-
Clock is ticking for Malaysia Airlines in crisis management
In this cross posting from The Conversation, Hamish McLean of Griffith University assesses the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from a PR perspective.
For Malaysia Airlines, every hour counts as it deals with the loss of flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew on-board. The first 48 hours of a crisis are the most critical for an organisation as it aims to reassure people that it can deal with, and resolve, the crisis.
It is in this time period that people will decide whether or not to support the organisation in trouble. A failure to act decisively and with leadership can result in inflaming outrage and blame. For Malaysia Airlines, that time is now up. It is now entering a reputational minefield.
-
Why hackers and marketers need each other more than ever
In a guest post from South by SouthWest Daniel Bluzer-Fry says as the world evolves marketers and hackers will need each other more than ever to stay relevant.
During The New Digital Age – a session at the SXSW interactive conference with Google's Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen , director of Google Ideas - it was suggested most technical white-collar jobs will disappear in the near future thanks to the continual evolution of technology. The Googlers believe that it is creativity that will be key in giving people utility as labour, so even those who have historically been our most respected professionals appear at risk. For instance, if I were to ask you if you’d prefer a human surgeon or robot to do major surgery on you in ten years time … well, it’s hard not to think that the robot would be more accurate, reliable and expedient.
-
Eight surprises in the new Sydney radio ratings
Today's radio results signal a once in a generation shift, argues Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes.
Zoinks. This may be the most dramatic radio survey ever released.
Here are the things I noticed first. (Forgive me for focusing on Sydney, where the changes have been the biggest.)
1. In Monday to Sunday share, Southern Cross Austereo's 2DayFM has plummeted from number one FM station to bottom commercial station on either FM or AM. That is, I'm just about certain, unprecedented. It's even below Fairfax Media's struggling talk station 2UE. 2DayFM's audience halved from 8.4% to 4%. -
Answers for Adam: Should marketers follow Kyle Sandilands' lead?
With people more likely to notice the negative Adam Ferrier asks should marketers dial up the negative for more sales?
If you have an ugly feature on your face – guess what other people notice. In fact they notice it even more than you think - sorry. In fact, it’s normally how we remember other people ‘You know Bob – the guy with the big hairy nose’.
We pay attention to his big hairy nose for the same reason we notice negative, alarmist headlines in the news. Or why advertising often uses scares and shock tactics. Or why 74per cent of the available words we can use to describe someone’s personality are negative. -
The media consolidation is coming - and the deals have probably already been done
The coming wave of media consolidation could push Ten into the arms of News Corp, Seven into bed with Fairfax Media and Nine with WIN, predicts Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes
A long while back, I had lunch with the father of an English Premier League footballer. He confided that his son would be replacing my club's top striker.
None of this had appeared in the transfer-obsessed tabloid sports pages. And nor did it for several months. But the transfer eventually unfolded in exactly the way he told me it would.
It was eye-opening to realise just how far in advance top level deals are stitched up. -
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.
-
Chessmate and one horse ponies at Kyle’s ratings party
Davis
Some of the most memorable radio moments didn’t come from the on-air talent yesterday.
Talking at a party for staff and supporters after yesterday’s big ratings numbers, a triumphant ARN boss Ciaran Davis has plenty to say about those who doubted the rebrand of Mix to Kiis. And memorable ways of saying it.
The defeat of 2DayFM by taking their star DJs Kyle and Jackie O was “chessmate”, Davis said.
His staff were keen to help him out, and pointed out quickly he probably meant “checkmate”.
Next, he had a warning for advertisers. “The real work starts tomorrow because the rates are being quadrupled!” Davis told the sales team.
And Davies said some had underestimated ARN. ”The journey really starts now. We have got to grow again and show we are not just a one-horse pony. We have clients who didn’t want to back us – well fuck ‘em.”
Indeed.
And what of Sandilands at the party? Dr Mumbo’s spy tells him, the DJ was “remarkably sweaty”.
Testing… 1,2,3?
One of Dr Mumbos favourite stoushes from 2013 was the knock-down-drag-out between Fairfax editorial supremo Garry Linnell and journalism academic Andrea Carson.
At the time Linnell lambasted Carson’s comments about a fall in quality (for a quick recap click here) and noting how the Fairfax of today published high quality content across multiple platforms: print, online, mobile, tablet etc.
Anyway Dr Mumbo is not sure where this website story quite fits within that paradigm, as the author herself admits: “This is a pretty weak article.” Read more »
‘I would rather starve then not get what I asked 4′
People can get pretty upset when a company like Domino’s stuffs up their pizza order. So upset they take to social media to vent about how unhappy they are.
Comedy duo Stuntbear have noticed that maybe these whines are actually a little bit petty, and, dare we say it, #firstworldproblems.
So, they made this video, voicing over the complaints on Domino’s Facebook page on images of refugees and asylum seekers.
)
How to communicate simply… CBA style
Tomorrow new laws come into place around privacy which require companies to be much more open in their disclosure of their policies.
Dr Mumbo commends the Commonwealth Bank of taking the step of full disclosure — yesterday laying it all out on Page 21 of The Australian’s business section for all their readers.
However, he does wonder if the above might be in the category of too much information…
Coffee calamities
A slight coffee mishap at Dr Mumbo’s favourite Manly-based breakfast show this morning…
And while hosts Natarsha Belling and James Mathison handled it pretty well, perhaps not with quite as much aplomb as this caffeine disaster from the BBC’s archives…
Lachlan Murdoch’s bar gig
Times are tough for media moguls, so maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Lachlan Murdoch branching out and trying new things.
As all the networks prepare for tomorrow’s eagerly anticipated radio ratings it was great to see this thank you video arrive from Nova entertainment starring their breakfast show duo Fitzy and Wippa along with Richard Wilkins.
Whilst some may debate whether this thank-you video might be a little premature before we’ve seen how the new ratings system shakes out, it is the cameo from the barman that really made Dr Mumbo sit-up and take notice.
He suspects if Nova is at number one in the ratings tomorrow drinks will be on the multi-millionaire network owner. Read more »
Harold’s Qantas boycott
Dr Mumbo notes unusually strong words from media guru Harold Mitchell in his column for Fairfax’s Saturday newspapers.
In the piece, the man who created Australia’s biggest media buying shop, has little sympathy for the national airline’s current pleas for government help. Mitchell (who regularly flew with the airline to London) reveals that he is boycotting Qantas until the current management are ousted. He writes: “I feel so angry… I won’t travel Qantas again while the current chairman and chief executive are there.”
Leo’s great expectations (of unpaid interns)
Dr Mumbo knows that in 2014 internships are a crucial and important pathway into the advertising industry.
But he couldn’t help but notice that Leo Burnett is setting some pretty high standards for its unpaid interns.
An ad placed on The Loop is offering internships for two to three days a week with the prerequisite that the unpaid intern “must” “have big creative ideas that could play out on social media” and also “think strategically about how to better social ideas” (sic). Read more »
Of actresses and axings
It’s not been a great morning for the good chaps of Dr Mumbo’s favourite media outlet The Australian.
First Darren Davidson proudly tweeted the “exclusive” news that Ten’s chief programming officer Beverley McGarvey was being replaced.
Only to clarify 20 minutes later that it wasn’t quite the case…
Meanwhile, Davidson’s colleague Michael Bodey was getting confused about The Guardian’s new Australian editor. Read more »
The travails of Gerry Fortuna: An underdog’s story
It’s fair to say this will be the most bizarre day in the life of the marvellously named Gerry Fortuna, who awoke this morning to find his face, and farewell email, plastered all over Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
His story is as old as time: boy starts job with Nine; boy meets girl; boy forms crush on girl; boy gets new job; boy sends leaving email to 1,400 colleagues talking about his crush on said co-worker; email gets printed in major newspaper.
Gerry’s tweet trail this morning tells the tale of how he is handling the new found fame:
Then an appearance on Fox FM’s Fifi and Dave show:
Nine alarms Studio 10′s executive producer
Dr Mumbo was a huge fan of the Studio 10 mugs promoted as a last-minute stop gap when the real product promotion fell through last year- but upset he wasn’t sent one himself.
The good folk over at Channel Nine’s Today show however were treated to their own personalised mugs this week. And to show their appreciation, Today EP Mark Calvert returned the gesture by sending a branded gift of his own.
Studio 10 EP Rob McKnight was certainly chuffed…
The art of (spontaneous) promotion
Those chaps at Lachlan Murdoch’s Nova sure were prescient about the first episode of Puberty Blues on Lachlan Murdoch’s Ten.
The radio station’s Facebook feed burst into life five minutes after the TV show was due to start: “Who’s watching Puberty Blues right now? How good is it!”
Sadly, the show wasn’t running to advertised start time of 8.30pm, and didn’t go to air until four minutes after the Nova post enthusing about how great it was.
Enero’s mystery million
Curious goings on at what was once Australia’s most colourful marketing holding group.
Enero has handed over a million bucks to somebody, but won’t say who, or indeed exactly why.
The company – known in unhappier days as Photon Group – flogged off a number of businesses in recent years in its struggle to survive the aftermath of previous chairman Tim Hughes’ top-of-the-market, pre-GFC spending spree.
It look like somebody who picked up one of those assets didn’t like what they saw once they got their head under the bonnet.
Katy Perry, weathergirl
Pop sensation Katy Perry probably just brightened up a very slow news day for the Hobart Mercury this morning when she dubbed the town Hogwarts presenting the weather on Seven’s Sunrise this morning.
Among the highlights of her somewhat chaotic Sunrise appearance were a struggle through the weather, with some of the trickier place names in Australia proving a stretch too far for her, including Canberra as “Coonaberra” and declaring it will be “20 degrees in Hogwarts” (or Hobart, as the locals call it).
Katy Perry does the weather:
She didn’t seem to appreciate being presented with her own Madame Tussauds waxwork: “Her boobs are much bigger. We’re not the same looking. She’s very strange.” Read more »
The Oz apologises to itself, on behalf of the ABC
What is it they say? If at first you can’t get an apology from someone… just go and write your own?
Dr Mumbo was pleased to see The Australian launch a new weekly column in its media section in which it publishes faux apologies containing what the national broadsheet feels the ABC should have said.
As the newspaper explains: “The ABC has refused to publish corrections for its errors, so, from this week, we will begin a column where we publish clarifications on behalf of the ABC.” Read more »
Turnbull’s improv performance
Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull was in fine form on Friday night while launching The Saturday Paper, especially when he veered from the carefully-hewn prose he had been provided with by his office and let rip with his very own improvisation comedy routine.
While he started off slowly, by the end of the speech he had the crowd laughing about ‘demented plutocrats’ with loss making newspapers and political agendas (whoever could he mean?) and teasing the The Oz over its most recent editorials denouncing the AFR’s editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury aka. Stutch.
But one of the best lines of the night was actually when he roasted himself for launching the newspaper…
“There is actually nothing more reckless than being a politician launching a newspaper that you have not seen,” he said. Read more »
The art of editing…
Yesterday we couldn’t help but wonder where the Sydney Daily Telegraph would put its story on James Ashby after yesterday’s Press Council ruling.
Anyway for those wondering the Telegraph’s editor Paul “Boris” Whittaker chose: Page 17. The same page as the one he was chastised for… Read more »
Kyle: Don’t be a dickhead
Regular readers might be forgiven for thinking Dr Mumbo takes a cynical stance when it comes to Kyle Sandilands. However, today he takes his hat off to the KiisFM shock jock as he supports an anti-violence campaign led by nightclub owner John Ibrahim: Don’t be a dickhead.
Kyle can be seen here stepping in to break up a fight on the street.
-
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Digital Strategy / Senior Account Manager
- Search Director, technology client
- Senior Agency Sales Account Manager – RADI0
- Community Manager / Social Media Writer $55-60k + super ref:6674
- Senior UX Lead
- Account Director – Consumer Health/ Heath Services
- Events & Sponsorship Manager
- Direct Marketing Manager
- National Fundraising Manager
- Account Director – Consumer Health/ Heath Services
-
RSS
