-
Opinion | Features
My memo to your boss
So let me guess?
You really want to come to Mumbrella360, but you’ve got to justify the time and cost to your boss?
Good news! I think I can help.
Woz not great
In this guest post Tony Prysten argues that the thousand dollar price of seeing out-of-touch Apple co-founder Steve Wozniack on his Australian tour was a waste of money.
This week, for the cost of two iPads (yep, two) I went to the Woz Live conference in Melbourne. I was not impressed.
What the hell is transmedia?
From advertising campaigns to online video series, the term ‘transmedia’ gets quite the work out. But what does it actually mean? Cathie McGinn trawls the media landscape for a definitive definition.
Transmedia, all media and multiplatform are terms often used interchangeably when referencing modern storytelling techniques. Yet, depending who you speak to, there are distinct differences between them.
According to industry experts Encore spoke to, the key elements that define transmedia can be summarised as follows: platform, time, audience, adaptation, and creative collaboration.
Innovation is the remedy for the ailing magazine industry
With magazine circulations plummeting, FHM closing and rumours rife on future ownership of ACP Magazines, Paul Merrill says the only way forward is launching new titles.Eight years ago in the UK, nearly a quarter of all magazine sales came from magazines that were less than four years old. In Australia, the figure was slightly lower, but still significant. Today, the situation is very different. For a start there are so few new magazines. Yes, Masterchef briefly flared, and Top Gear made an initial impact. But Grazia and Alpha fizzled, and now ACP has shelved their plans to launch Elle.
More than a game: broadcasting the Olympics
The 2012 London Olympics will be the biggest televised sporting event of our time. Brooke Hemphill discovers the logistical challenges and technical requirements of producing the event.
From July 27 to August 12, the Australian media will go sport crazy as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, aka the 2012 London Summer Olympics, unfold. The games will be the most televised sporting event of our time as broadcasters look to master every manner of technology at their disposal.
The Voice - Australia's best example yet of social TV
In this guest post, Sputnik’s Rodd Messent has a theory on why audiences have taken to The Voice .I am an addict of Channel Nine’s hit show The Voice. Such is the extent of my addiction I seriously think my housemate might kick me out of our apartment for the semi-frenzied yelling and tweeting that ensues in our lounge room each time the show airs.It’s the first time in almost three years that such disagreement has resulted in less than civil behaviour towards one another, and it’s made me think it might be a microcosm of the large volume of online debate about the show and, correspondingly, an explanation for its success as a social TV experience.Why brands are the US Army - and culture jammers are the Viet Cong
In this guest posting, Dave Burgess, who painted ‘No War’ on the Sydney Opera House, claims that ‘amoral’ advertisers have copied his idea.
Culture jamming is a 28-year-old term coined by the San Francisco-based band Negativland, who declared that the ‘Studio for the cultural jammer is the world at large’.
Branded content is dead. Long live branded content
In this guest posting, Anthony Freedman argues why branded content is making a comeback.
A few short years ago, probably concurrent with the advent of the PVR, a new term emerged within the marketing communications industry; branded content. This was really synonymous with advertiser funded TV shows where programming was created by brands and deals struck with networks to broadcast them.
There were varying degrees of success with this model.
Shock advertising: 30 ads that would give Australia's ad watchdog a coronary
Is shock an underused weapon in Australian advertising, asks Robin HicksToday, Sydney agency The Cabana Boys used an image of a mouth sewn together to shock people with the idea that problem gamblers lie to conceal their habit. Is it the most disturbing image ever? No. Will it get banned by the Advertising Standards Bureau? No. But it did make me wonder why shock is not used more often in Australia – and not just by charities and government bodies. (WARNING: NSFW)
The making of ratings blockbuster The Voice
Jason Mountney goes on the set of Channel Nine’s talent search series, The Voice, to see how the format, based on an international franchise, has come together. What ingredients have gone into making this certified hit that’s rated more than two million viewers on three consecutive nights?
Mike Goldman has one of the toughest jobs on the set of the Nine network’s new talent show, The Voice. He not only has to narrate the show, but also keep the audience from losing their enthusiasm as they realise shooting TV programs takes a lot longer than the one-hour bursts they see in their lounge rooms. A lot longer.
Nine problems stopping The Global Mail from getting an audience
While it’s a shame The Global Mail has failed to make an impact on the media landscape, the signs have been there for some time.I love the concept of a well resourced, philanthropically-funded independent news site. Anywhere in the world, that’s a rare and wonderful thing. In Australia even more so. So I hope that Grame Wood gets to see his investment make a difference.
And I have no inside info on whether Monica Attard’s sudden departure is linked to the site’s failure to find an audience so far.
Regardless, here are nine areas they can easily start to address:
Journalism’s new model?
Does the launch of philanthropically funded news site The Global Mail signal a new era for journalism or is the model destined to be a passing fad, asks Cathie McGinn in this article first published in Encore magazine.With little fanfare, philanthropically funded news site The Global Mail launched in February this year.
The online-only title received a generous five-year funding commitment from businessman Graeme Wood, founder of accommodation website wotif.com, who donated $15million.
Five things that make a great suit
In this guest posting, Gareth Collins argues that the role of a great account manager is to make the work betterI’m surprised at how many suits I meet who don’t know their role in the advertising business. The question ‘what does an advertising account manager or director do?’ is frequently met with answers such as project manager, relationship manager, plate spinner or go between … and those are the nice ones.
Success is judged on the ability to manage a process, be strong administratively and get stuff done. And while a good suit needs to do all of these things brilliantly, if these are the traits that define a great suit, then I’m in the wrong job.
What the hell is transmedia?
From advertising campaigns to online video series, the term ‘transmedia’ gets quite the work out. But what does it actually mean? Cathie McGinn trawls the media landscape for a definitive definition.
Transmedia, all media and multiplatform are terms often used interchangeably when referencing modern storytelling techniques. Yet, depending who you speak to, there are distinct differences between them.
The top seven...most patronising pieces of communication
Sometimes brands have big ideas. Sometimes marketers get so caught up with a grandiose idea that instead of finding engaging ways to sell breakfast cereal, they start to believe their own rhetoric. And sometimes it’s just lazy marketing. Here are my top seven inadvertently patronising pieces of communication…
1) Last night thousands of women gathered in Sydney’s Centennial Park to take part in She Runs the Night, an event created by Nike.
Locked and unloaded
Dr Mumbo always had high hopes for the Cock Up Confessional at Mumbrella360.
The first of the videos for the session curated by The Works went up last night. And those confessions from the likes of Peter McDonald, Mark Holden and Simon Corah are certainly worth a look.
But The Works’ own CD Kevin MacNamara takes the cake. Who’d have thought that it was a blunder to pull a gun – even a fake one on a client?
Baaa
Cynical marketing ploy of the day comes from home loans brand RAMS, which is luring the public at Wynyard Station with cute bundles of fluff, shepherded by cute young girls.
Guitar for sale
While he’s happy to lampoon bigger brands, Dr Mumbo does feel a touch guilty for picking on private advertisers.
But people on Gumtree really will sell anything. Even air.
Hat tip: Kate Taylor
A record low (apart from yesterday)
Some insightful coverage of the woes of Fairfax Media on The Australian this afternoon.
Not really a record low then, is it?
Nymph mania – thanks to Merrick and co
Not every Aussie movie gets a major red carpet premiere.
The Nullarbor Nymph – despite sounding to Dr Mumbo like one of the worst films ever made – got precisely that last night.
Shot for $25,000 by Matthew J Wilkinson, the mockumentary was discovered by Triple M’s Merrick and the Highway Patrol. It took just 20 minutes for the show to sell out tickets for the premiere.
The video from last night is worth a watch. It’s not every film which is endorsed by a female patron revealing “I had a wank”. Or indeed publicist Max Markson comparing it to Back to the Future.
Update: An alternative interpretation is that the female filmgoer actually says “I liked his wang”; not “I had a wank”. Dr Mumbo reports. You decide…
When Twitter hurts
Fair to say that Dr Mumbo has some mixed feelings about who Twitter feels Mumbrella is “similar to”.
Twitter seeing similarities to the ABC’s Jonathan Green or The Australian’s Caroline Overington kind of makes sense.
Even Julia Gillard is flattering in a power and ego sort of way.
But Sunday Telegraph columnist Ros Reines? That’s the one that really hurts.
No doubt the awesome foursome feel similarly aghast at being connected to Mumbrella.
If Yoda was a media planner
Remember last month’s Wake Up teaser campaign, which turned out to be for BlackBerry?
Happily it’s now come together with this week’s “Can’t” teaser campaign, which appears to be for Westpac or CommBank.
Bring the two together on adjacent Adshel panels, and the results are delicious…
As Yoda, nearly said: “Do or do not. There is no can’t.”
(Hat-tip: Jon Deves)
WTF
Lost in translation moment of the day goes to Korea’s I Love Taekwondo magazine, which features US president Barack Obama and Korean prime minister Lee Myung-Bak on the cover of its very first issue.
Dr Mumbo is sure the world’s most powerful man will be delighted that he’s made the cover of such an esteemed journal looking like Bruce Lee. Perhaps less so, by the words beneath the cover line ‘Obama on Education’.
Curtis gets creepy
While one or two people have commented on the pestering of Curtis Stone by Dawn French in the new Coles ad, John Pace has investigated a little further, and indeed, taken to the edit suite.
He tells Dr Mumbo:
“I figured Coles’ latest spot would be pretty creepo if you reversed the roles. I figured right.”
And the original…
Dangi Fever goes global
Dr Mumbo must admit he didn’t fall in love with Nova’s stunt to bring the world’s shortest man to Australia and the ensuing “Dangi fever”.
But it has brought international headlines for the Fitzy & Wippa breakfast show, not least in the LA Times.
(Hat-tip: @Rove)
It’s official: if you’re reading this, you’re not normal
Dr Mumbo was fascinated to read the results of a new study which demonstrates that adlanders are not like normal people. 26% of ad/marketing professionals have used illicit drugs at an office party, compared to only 3% of what Dr Mumbo fondly refers to as Muggles, or non-magical people.
Most crucially, advertising staffers use social media differently to “normal” people, with 71% paying attention to brand posts on Facebook compared to 23% of Muggles.
The study was distributed via social media as an infographic and was commissioned by an advertising agency.
Dr Mumbo saw it on Facebook.
Quad erat demonstrandum.
Why what happens in media planning probably ought to stay in media planning…
Dr Mumbo loves the animated gif reaction blog meme as much as the rest of the internet.
But he can’t help but feel that this latest reaction face tumblr isn’t helping the industry view of media agencies…
“When I’m not invited to a lunch and learn but I see they ordered great food”
“When I win a media award in front of all my coworkers”
“When the vendor who invited me to an event ignores me, so someone else offers to buy me a drink”
It’s a hard knock life.
Dr Mumbo foresees the future popularity of the hashtag #mediaagencyproblems
It’s always right now, until it’s later
Never let it be said that the good people at News Limited are slow to respond to the digital revolution. In today’s Australian, Dr Mumbo was awed to learn that
News Limited is seeking a new publishing platform that will feed relevant tweets and social media updates directly to journalists as they draft stories, just like a wire service.”
Dr Mumbo is a philanthanthopic fellow so he’ll happily waive his usual hefty consulting fee and offer these suggestions: RSS. Tweetdeck. Storify. The internet…
And he’ll politely pretend that this and this and this never happened.
Leveson Inquiry meets Twitter meme
The proceedings in the Leveson Inquiry into press standard and Murdoch staff’s alleged phone hacking being held in Court 73 make compelling reading, but the internet wags of Twitter have created a meme that’s almost as riveting: #popleveson
A snapshot of the conversation on Storify:
HT @mab397
Zoo looks forward to 2010
Dr Mumbo is sorry to see the continued decline of ACP’s Zoo Weekly in the latest circulation numbers.
Yet he’s glad to read on the publisher’s website that it sees a bright future of the magazine.
According to the media kit the readers are rather quaintly “unencumbered by the credit crunch”. Remember that?
And: “we’re confident that Zoo will continue its market dominance and go on setting the agenda for the young men of Australia in ZOO9 and beyond.”
Unfortunately it’s now ZO12…
Coffee + live TV = best blooper ever
Back before the world YouTube ruled the world, the BBC aired a show – which was to be the first of many – featuring TV bloopers.
It included a young newscaster, dealing with disaster magnificently.
In the years that followed, Dr Mumbo tried to hunt it down, without success. Every few months he would search the name “Guy Michelmore” on YouTube, to no avail.
Until today. Today he found it. Somebody’s only gone and uploaded it.
Ladies and gentlemen, the best TV blooper ever…
Bacon buster
Dr Mumbo is disturbed by what MasterChef’s George Calombaris looks like he’s about to do to this pig. And curious as to how a creative department went from the idea of fresh coffee to a celebrity chef attacking a swine.
Cold seat
Dr Mumbo had always assumed that when it came to Nova Sydney’s breakfast duo of Fitzy & Wippa, the brains of the operation was Wippa.
Clearly not.
As Eddie McGuire has helped him demonstrate.
-
-
Follow Us
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Sales & Marketing Assistant - Crows Nest
- Account Director - Sponsorship - Sydney
- Digital Producer - Melbourne
- Digital Producer - Melbourne
- Agency TV Sales - Sydney
- Agency Account Manager- Digital, TV, Radio - Sydney
- Contract Bid Writer | Tender Writer | Technical Writer - Melbourne
- National Display Advertising Director - Sydney
- Display Advertising Business Director - Sydney
- Display Advertising Business Director - Sydney
