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Opinion | Features
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Media agency remuneration: It's the smaller nimbler agencies which will thrive
As huge changes blow through the Australian media agency landscape Nikki Retallick argues the smaller more collaborative companies will be the ones to thrive.
It’s a great time to be in the Australian ad industry. The winds of change are blowing. With the recent launch of Department212 and the success of earlier start-ups such as Bohemia, there’s some real momentum towards the rise of the independent, performance-based media agency.
The big agencies are starting to follow suit, having seen the ‘race to the bottom on price’ hit their bottom line. It’s all about delivering measurable value now and being able to move the dial on the clients’ business. -
Content marketing moves to centre stage
Last night ANZ launched one of Australia's biggest branded content plays to date. Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes was at the launch.
It took a few minutes too long last night for it to dawn on me why there was a jazz band in the corner of the room at ANZ's Melbourne conference suite. Blue Notes - gerrit?
And what last night's event did make clear is that the opportunities of that developing subset of branded content, brand journalism, are beginning to dawn on local brands. -
Answers for Adam: Is reality TV the way to tackle climate change?
Recently there was another report from the scientists of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) telling us that climate change (what used to be called global warming) is upon us and there are real changes happening now (I bet I’ve lost several readers already!)
The scientists are urging us to heed their warning and change our behaviours, yet we ignoring them in droves. Even though information they are giving us is dire. -
The Tele's textbook example of how to run a winning newspaper campaign
The Daily Telegraph has delivered a great piece of old fashioned campaigning journalism, argues Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes
Back when I worked in newspapers, I was taught that if a newspaper is going to embark on a campaign, it has to pass three tests. -
Piracy: At least the Lannisters pay their debts
Following a series of special reports on piracy on Mumbrella this week Foxtel's Bruce Meagher explains why the company is airing Game of Thrones as it is.
Much has been made in the past few days of the fact that fans of Game of Thrones are unable to acquire the series through services other than Foxtel until after the final episode airs. Unfortunately, there has also been much misinformation about how Foxtel is making Game of Thrones available to the public. -
Why hard-to-win awards are good awards
This year's Mumbrella Awards are going to be tougher to enter than ever before. Which makes winning one worth even more. As the call for entries goes live, Tim Burrowes explains the changes for this year.
Please don't hate me.
I hear a common complaint about some industry awards, and I'm afraid it's mostly my fault. -
Encore Score: The newsreaders
With the battle for early evening eyeballs increasingly important for commercial TV networks Amanda Meade looks at the numbers to see if the most popular newsreaders are the most watched.
Despite dramatic changes to the media landscape in the past ten years, the traditional 6pm commercial news bulletin on free-to-air television remains a key building block in a network’s schedule - get it right and you can carry big audiences over to your primetime shows. Some bulletins have even expanded from 30 minutes to an hour in the main markets of Sydney and Melbourne.
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Answers for Adam: Should PR agencies and creative agencies be combined?
This week Adam Ferrier asks whether PR is starting to mean everything and nothing, and whether it is any different from traditional advertising.
I've been thinking about the PR industry lately and where PR fits in the broader communications landscape. I've thought about it a lot, and worked with most models from integration under one roof to partner agencies, and a few things in-between.
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Australia's class system of brands
After a rare business class flight, Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes argues that brands may miss opportunities when staff treat customers according to their perceived value.
So over the weekend, I finally got to make the metaphorical left turn getting onto a Qantas flight. And it was everything I could have wanted. -
Answering Adam: Agencies need ideas as their engine
This week in his Answers for Adam column Adam Ferrier asked whether agencies should imitate startups. Here Nic Hodges argues agencies need to focus on their ideas, but modernise processes.
In his column this week Adam Ferrier asks "would your agency be doing better work if it put data, behavioural sciences, and technology up on pedestal along with creativity? Or is a single-minded focus on creativity still the answer?".
Here's a secret - nobody at a startup is sitting around caring about acting more like an advertising agency.
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PR agencies will not exist in a decade
After Graham White's response to Joe Hildebrand's CommsCon speech generated some heated debate on the state of the PR industry, Rob Lowe argues 'PR agencies' are already dying out.
PR agencies will cease to exist in the next ten years. Is that shocking enough for you? Well it’s true. Too many PR agencies are outdated, the traditional media landscape is shrinking, and with increasing numbers of advertising, social media and even SEO agencies getting in on the action, we need to smarten up. -
Why you should pull an all-nighter to get to Cannes
With Cannes Young Lions entries closing on Friday former winner Iggy Rodriguez has the reasons why you should pull an all nighter to finish your entry.
Okay, sure it’s the last minute, but plenty of famous campaigns have been written right before a big meeting or on the night before a pitch. You’ve got a few days, so you’re laughing. -
Answers for Adam: Is creativity still the answer for ad agencies?
This week Adam Ferrier asks whether ad agencies should be embracing startup culture more, or continuing to focus single-mindedly on creativity.
“The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists”. Banksy (apparently?!)
The above quote is around ten years old and I wonder if it’s still relevant. I’m getting the sense that the new breed of creative folk who want to make a buck are not entering advertising – but rather being seduced by the technology fuelled ‘start-up’ culture. For example is it cooler to attend the Cannes Lions or tweet about the latest gadget unveiled at SXSW? -
Making the Mumbrella Awards matter - what you can tell us
It’s nearly time for the call for entries for the 2014 Mumbrella Awards. But before we publish this year’s categories and criteria, Mumbrella’s content director Tim Burrowes invites you to have a say...
I can still remember in excruciating detail the night we lost. -
Is total re-branding the only means left to end Network Ten's torment?
While the Ten Network's ratings woes well documented Luke Devenish asks if their best way to turn it around is a brand overhaul. We all find it difficult to get out of bed of a morning, but spare a thought for the powers-that-be at Network Ten, who must surely be belting the snooze button on a daily basis. Their annus horribilis is now nudging half a decade thanks to a waking nightmare that is two pronged in its torment.
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What do you call a newsletter without any news…
Dr Mumbo couldn’t help but admit his interest was piqued when he received his daily edition of B&T with the headline “newsletter”.
Sadly for the more than 60 year old title this proved to be something of a misnomer. That is, unless you count sponsored content as ‘news’.
Barry O’Farrell – the memes
No massive news story is complete these days without lots of satirical memes/mock ads based on their predicament. And the resignation of NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell in what has now become known as Grangegate is no exception.
First, we have Nando’s Australia, big fans of the old topical Tweet:
‘Get loose’ with Pej and the Token Croats
Dr Mumbo was intrigued to see the new campaign from TAB giving one lucky punter the chance to own a five per cent share of one of Australia’s best racehorses, Boban.
But it wasn’t so much the campaign which caught his eye as the horse involved, with Boban being one-quarter owned by MediaCom CEO and racing fanatic Mark Pejic. Boban, as all soccer fans will know, is named after Croatian player Zvonimir, which would have been harder for the commentators to call.
While ‘Pej’ doesn’t front the campaign his friend and co-owner Matt Dominelli certainly gives some interesting insights into the owners’ syndicate.
When asked what they are like he says: “They’re maniacs, I’m the only sensible one in the group. A great mate of mine Mark Pejic he’s an owner and he and I would talk 30-40 times in the days leading up to the big race.”
Involved in the syndicate is the group The Token Croats.
Dominelli concludes: “They’re loose, and when our winner comes and gets involved with us they’re going to know they’re alive on that day.”
US PR company spoils second episode of Game of Thrones *SPOILER ALERT*
Dr Mumbo is concerned Game of Thrones fans may have had the most recent episode of the HBO series spoiled by a US PR company who issued an email promoting a Game of Thrones-themed stunt, with a subject heading spoiling the second episode of the series.
Dr Mumbo warns readers who are yet to watch the second episode of the series to not continue reading due to major spoilers.
We even put trailers below to ensure no one accidentally had the show ruined… So, you’ve been warned. Scroll at your own risk.
Hey tosser
Dr Mumbo sees what message the good people of the NSW EPA are trying to get out with their new poster campaign, Hey Tosser.
However, the empty street, and hand perilously close to the crotch may leave some with the wrong impression as to what they are trying to stamp out.
And the other version could be even more sinisterly misconstrued: Read more »
Facebook wars: Kyle and Jackie O reopen hostilities
It seems to be quite the social media week for young Kyle Sandilands. Yesterday he joined Twitter, and today, he launched a campaign with co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson to get their Facebook page back from their ex employers, 2DayFM.
It’s been well documented they weren’t able to take their Facebook audience with them when they defected from 2DayFm to rivals KiisFM, but despite taking most of their listeners they haven’t been able to grab their Facebook audience back, with only 55,000 fans on their own, compared to 160,000 on the old one.
Now the odds are more stacked against them, as the Fifi and Jules page transfers to the 2DayFM page , giving them another 369,000 fans, a serious shot in the arm.
Fifi posted a breakup video to her fans on Facebook to say goodbye.
So, in true tongue in cheek style, Kyle and Jackie O did an imitation video.
Festival of Media becomes Festival of Mystery
Dr Mumbo is slightly confused, as to who won the Festival of Media’s global network on the year in Rome last night.
Look on the FOM website, and you see MediaCom clearly listed as the winner, but with a picture of a jubilant Starcom, with Aussie boss John Sintras front and centre, as the lead image.
Dr Mumbo also noted Starcom tweeting about their success this afternoon.
King Kyle has everyone a Twitter
The day has finally come, Kyle Sandilands has unleashed his inner twit and signed up for the micro blogging site.
And in typically modest fashion the former Australia’s Got Talent judge and host of Kiis106 Sydney’s breakfast show has gone for the low-key handle of @kingkyle. And why not.
So far he’s only posted one tweet, but it conforms to all the best conventions of the Twitter novice, including a slightly blurry selfie, and ironic use of hashtags:
Charlie’s goodbye ruins Secrets and Lies
It was an emotional event, one which the loyal bunch of Ten viewers have been building up to for weeks. Dr Mumbo is of course referring to the end of Secrets and Lies. Oh, and Charlie Pickering left The Project too.
And after five years hosting Ten’s current affairs show who can blame Pickering for being a tad self-indulgent and thanking literally everybody he has worked with on the show, from co-host Carrie Bickmore to the bloke who sweeps his parking space. While Bickmore was emotional, Dr Mumbo presumes whoever supplies Ten with hair gel will also be feeling the pinch of his departure.
However, his seven-minute soliloquy was obviously quite unscheduled, with the cast and crew looking on nervously as the show spiralled well over time. The TV Tonight blog noted: “While the crew were getting nervous about running overtime, a relaxed Pickering was having none of it. He had the floor and thanked a long line of people in the network, crew, family, cast and audience.”
Of course the unintended victims are viewers who recorded the final episode of Secrets and Lies on an hour after The Project finished, which after six-weeks came to a (Dr Mumbo presumes) thrilling conclusion. The problem being that anyone who did record it to watch later will not have the last few minutes of the show, when the killer was finally revealed.
Maccas and the talking golf ball
Dr Mumbo has seen a lot in his life – but very little as bizarre as this video which appeared on the McDonald’s YouTube account yesterday.
Inside the Crunchy Nut chatline
Yesterday Mumbrella revealed how Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cornflakes had created a pastiche of a late night sex phone line to titilate and tantalise its consumers. Naturally Dr Mumbo couldn’t resist calling this phoneline to find out what the hell it is all about.
During the day the website runs as a teaser telling people they’re too early, but at 8.30pm it transforms promoting visitors to call or text the phone line to “talk one-on-one with one of our tasty models”.
What Dr Mumbo heard when he called the line certainly gave him plenty of food for thought:
But has Singo ‘bought a Jeep’?
Love it or hate it, Cummins & Partners (nee CumminsRoss) has created something of a cultural phenomenon with its ‘Bought a Jeep’ campaign.
So much so even John Singleton AM tweeted:
Or did he? Read more »
RBT? Just take the police car
If you live in NSW and drink at pubs you’ll probably have noticed the ‘RBT Means you Need a Plan B’ campaign. The ads feature a number of ways you can get home after a night on the tiles, without resorting to drink-driving.
Someone has done a reworking of the TVC, showing the reality of the situation. The answer’s simple, just take the police car.
Chocolate fights over women
Snickers has ruffled a few feathers with its ‘you’re not you when you’re hungry’ campaign ‘candid-camera’ style experiment which saw actors posing as construction workers heckling women passing by a building site in central Melbourne.
The twist? Instead of the usual stereotypical comments, they shouted out empowering compliments including: “You want to hear a dirty word? Gender bias”.
But, far from causing global peace it’s stirred something of a hornet’s nest. Are Snickers saying the tradies are acting nice because they’re no longer hungry, or because they are hungry and it’s out of character for them?
Cadbury’s Boost Nuts has stepped in to make sure no women misunderstand where that particular confectionary sits on the misogyny ladder. chosen to align itself firmly against sexism with this tactical ad the brand shared on it’s Facebook page…
Drop bears: the commercials
It’s not just Fitzy and Wippa getting in early with April Fools. However, one Canadian woman’s plea for validation from Australians that ‘Drop Bears’ are not real led to some creative types riffing public safety videos for the animal.
The tongue-in-cheek myth of the drop bear has been fanned in recent years by the likes of The Australian Museum and a raft of websites and videos promoting the mythical creature.
The post which generated more than 500 comments, and counting was simple enough: “I have a friend who recently went to Australia and now she’s convinced that these things called drop bears exist. Now I’ve done some research and that’s bullshit. But she still won’t believe me. She told me to go talk to some Australians about it then to come back to her. So here I am. So are drop bears real?”
MaryLongbottom “I remember that old television commercial.”
abexandagoodliedown: “My God, I haven’t thought about that one in years! Was that Fat Cat? He was walking along with a couple of kids and they were holding hands and they stopped at the edge of a crossing and looked up. Then something fell towards the screen with a screech! Scared the hell out of me! Read more »
News Corp comes out of its shell
Dr Mumbo thanks the many and varied corners of the News Corp empire who kindly followed up yesterday’s “reply all” email by forwarding him the numerous alternative threads which have been circulating.
The emails, which went out to 1,000 plus News employees, are a glorious collection of turtle related memes (a joke Dr Mumbo still doesn’t fully appreciate he believes but stems from a crack about needing a waterbottle for a turtle), happy birthday wishes, News Corp in-jokes and irate colleagues pleading with people to “please stop spamming” large parts of the company.
For the amusement of the industry, Dr Mumbo presents the highlights of the News Corp Turtle emails:
You got to love Ninja Turtles and The Daily Telegraph’s Amy Stevenson certainly does: Read more »
Discover the Indian Ocean with British Airways
Dr Mumbo has previously noted some inappropriate ads in the wake of the MH370 airlines disaster.
However, this ad from British Airways would seem to be unfortunate and inappropriate in many other ways.
Why the Murdoch men drive Nissan X-Trails
Has Nissan snuck in with one of the best tactical ads ever executed centred around the media story of the year so far?
Today’s Daily Telegraph had an interesting front page focusing on the return of Lachlan Murdoch to News and the “historic succession plan” where dad Rupert and brother James would share the helm of the multi-billion dollar publicly listed “family company”.
Dr Mumbo assumes the male Murdoch statesmen are now all considering the purchase of a “family proof” Nissan X-Trail.
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