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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.
Melbourne overtakes Sydney as the largest radio market
Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as the largest radio market in the country.
Melbourne’s April takings sat the market at $16.023m, according to Deloitte figures.
The result just pipped the Sydney market at the post. Sydney took $16.015m for the month.
It’s the first time since August that Melbourne has ursurped Sydney as the largest radio market.
Melbourne radio ratings: ABC takes hit, 3AW cements market lead
The ABC has suffered the biggest fall in the Melbourne radio ratings.
The station fell from 11.1% to 9.6% from Monday to Sunday, according to Nielsen data, and even further in the weekday figures, with its biggest drop on the 9am to 12pm slot.
Market leader 3AW cemented its dominance, up a fraction to 15.2% share from Monday to Sunday. Number two FoxFM closed the gap on the leader, rising from 9.9% to 10.2%.
Besides the ABC, the biggest faller was Nova 100, which dropped from 8.1% to 7.3% share.
Westpac launches ‘The Art of Money’ in-store campaign
Top New Zealand agency Colenso BBDO is behind a new poster campaign for Westpac titled ‘The Art of Money’.
MasterChef creeps above 1m on first weeknight outing
MasterChef comprehensively lost its first weekday battle with The Block – rating a preliminary figure of 996,000 and only ninth biggest show for Monday night.
(1.45pm update: When the figures for the precise airtime of 7.02pm to 8.13pm were calculated, the show average moved up to 1.012m.)
Nine’s The Block, which ran from 7pm to 7.30pm rated 1.44m. While head to head, MasterChef averaged 925,000. This rose to an average of 1.1m, peaking at 1.38m, during the beginning of The Voice.
The Voice, airing from 7.30 to 9.30pm, rated 2.329m according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTam. It peaked at 2.902m.
Revenge was Seven’s strongest performer, rating 1.252m from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
Meanwhile, Larry Emdur’s return of The Price is Right rated 536,000 for Seven. It was beaten by Ten’s News At Five which rated 734,000. Nine’s Afternoon News 4.30pm to 5.30pm bulletin rated 235,000. Read more »
Woolies choice of Ricki-Lee Coulter for schools program is ‘odd’ says sexploitation campaigner
Woolworths’ decision to use singer Ricki-Lee Coulter to front its schools program has been called “odd” by anti-sexploitation campaigner Melinda Tankard Reist.
Coulter, who has appeared on the cover of men’s magazines Maxim and Ralph, was signed up by Woolies as brand ambassador of its Earn and Learn program earlier this week.
Tankard Reist told Mumbrella: Read more »
Yarra Trams wins Postcard of the Year
Melbourne’s Yarra Trams has won Postcard of the Year with an execution featuring a rhino on a skateboard.
The campaign to warn Melburnians of the dangers of walking in front of a tram was designed by Mikey Tucker, written by Julian Penwright and creative directed by John Hillier. The agency was Helsinki.
Jury member David Bell, ECD at MercerBell, commented: Read more »
Leggo’s launches One Pan campaign
Simplot has released a new advertising campaign for Leggos’s One Pan.
Claiming a first-to-market product, the frozen meal brings italian cuisine to the dinner table in seven minutes.
Created by BWM, the 15-second TVC kicked off last night, Sunday 6 May.
MasterChef hits back at hashtag hijackers
MasterChef on Twitter
Channel Ten’s social media team are trying to tackle spammers by encouraging viewers to report dodgy tweets.
After Mumbrella alerted the program’s producers about the tide of spambots during last night’s episode, the show’s official Twitter account has begun to remind users of the correct hashtag and protocol for reporting suspicious Twitter accounts.
The second show in the series airs this evening at 7pm.
Last night’s opening episode experienced unusually high levels of spam traffic – estimated to be almost a third of all Twitter conversations using the hashtag #masterchef- which disrupts the experience of viewers choosing to chat online about the show while they’re watching it.
Ricki-Lee Coulter fronts Woolies schools program
Woolworths has signed singer Ricki-Lee Coulter as the face of its schools program Earn and Learn.
The singer, who is currently a mentor on The Voice and recently appeared on the cover of lad’s mag Maxim, is to promote the benefits of the program, which supports primary and secondary schools with funding for books, sport and musical equipment and art and craft materials.
Woolies supermarket rival Coles uses Olympian Cathie Freeman as its Sports for Schools Ambassador.
Coulter said in a press release: Read more »
Postcard of the Year Awards event scrapped
The Postcard of the Year Awards has done away with the event part of the awards.
Organiser Avant Card Free Media has said that it spent its budget on a new website instead.
The winner of the Postcard of the Year Awards is to be announced tomorrow, with $20,000 of postcard advertising space up for grabs.
Exclusive: Communications Council set to open up to PR agencies
The Communications Council has opened talks with several of Australia’s biggest public relations agencies with a view to the organisation widening its remit to include PR, Mumbrella can reveal.
If the move takes place, it would raise questions about the position of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, which is currently the main PR industry body.
Mumbrella has learned that around a dozen PR agency bosses met with Communications Council CEO Margaret Zabel on Friday. She presented them with a vision for what the organisation could do for PR agencies including representation and training.
The talks began as a result of criticisms of the PRIA expressed in a Mumbrella video interview with the management of PR agency Mango late last year.
APN wins Adelaide outdoor advertising contract
APN Outdoor has retained a big advertising contract in Adelaide after a competitive pitch.
APN was re-awarded the city’s buses and trams contract by the South Australian Department of Planning, Transportation and Infrastructure, and also picked up the trains business.
The contract is estimated to be worth $7m-$12m over five years.
Cadbury’s launches next phase of Joyville campaign
The next phase of Cadbury’s ‘Joyville’ campaign has launched for the chocolate brand’s new product Marvellous Creations.
Created by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, the campaign opens up the world of Joyville further, having introduced the chocolate factory three weeks ago.
The ad, which will run globally including the Cadbury’s home market the UK, was shot in Prague.
Read more »
MasterChef Twitter hashtag swamped with spammers
The Twitter hashtag for hit reality cooking show MasterChef was swamped with spam tweets during the show last night.
The official Masterchef Twitter accounts encourages viewers to tag their Tweets with #MasterchefAu hashtag.
Nearly 300 spambots were created specifically for the screening of Masterchef on Ten last night, set up within minutes of the show airing and as the hashtag became a trending topic.
Twitter has now suspended the dodgy accounts, but not before the #Masterchef hashtag had been flooded with over 1,100 tweets. Read more »
Mumbrella360 to support drive to attract students into comms industry
Mumbrella is to run a free programme for students interested in entering the communications industry, as part of this year’s Mumbrella360 conference.
Sponsored and curated by Group M, the one day programme will focus on educating students on career options within media.
Group M is seeking to reach out to students beyond those doing traditional marketing and media degrees, including to those with data and analytical skills. They will hear from a series of some of the most senior WPP staff in Australia about all aspects of the industry.
Students in the final year of degrees, or in the first year of a job in the non-media part of the industry considering a career change, can apply for the free places by logging on to the Mumbrella360 booking page and adding the code: STUDENT360
As well as having access to Mumbrella360′s morning keynote presentation from Tourism Australia marketing GM Nick Baker, the students will also rejoin the room at the end of the day for Mumbrella Question Time and the final of Battle of the Media.
Greet
Howcroft
According to the draft programme, the day will be chaired by James Greet, CEO of MindShare.
Russel Howcroft, CEO of Y&R Brands and Gruen Transfer panelist, will discuss the history of advertising. Read more »
Sony consolidates Australian media into Omnicom Media Group, OMG avoids conflict with Apple and HP
Sony has consolidated all of its Australian media planning and buying into Omnicom Media Group after a pitch that sees Starcom MediaVest move off the business.
The shift marks the first time OMG will be buying at a group level in Australia, which it will do through bespoke unit Sony@OMG. The unit is designed to avoid conflict with PHD client HP and OMD client Apple.
The news comes four months after Aegis avoided a conflict situation when it added Holden to a client list that also features BMW and Nissan.
OMG already handled Sony Computer Entertainment through OMD and Sony Mobile through PHD, and now has a more powerful position on the roster alongside strategy agency Naked Communications, Euro RSCG, which handles creative and digital, and Hausmann Communications, which handles PR.
Starcom handled the Sony Electronics business, which the agency claims was worth $5m in billings.
OMG boss Leigh Terry told Mumbrella: Read more »
BlackBerry Wake Up campaign switches to targeting people who ‘mean business’
Countdown site: Now complete
BlackBerry’s much talked about teaser campaign today moved into the reveal stage with its heavily promoted countdown website linking to a new URL called Wake Up. Be Bold.
The campaign has been backed by experiential activities in cities including Sydney and Melbourne featuring Wake Up signage and a flash mob of protesters chanting and holding up banners outside the Apple Store.
The site now features a scrolling message and voiceover telling people it’s time to “wake up and mean business”.
Nando’s: ‘Eat interesting’
Nando’s launched a TV ad around MasterChef last night. The ad focuses on the importance of sharing and uses the slogan ‘Eat interesting’.
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