-
Opinion | Features
Disclosure in Social Media: How transparent should bloggers be?
In this guest post, blogger and digital creative Laura McWhinnie argues for more disclosure in the bloggersphere.
The bloggersphere has always been a bit like the Wild West. Bloggers could post about products to their heart’s content without having to disclose their relationship with the brand. This meant that consumers had no idea who was behind the marketing messages influencing their purchasing decisions. But in 2009 that all changed
Liars, cheats and thieves
Is our industry full of cheats and liars or do people of honour who stand by their word still exist in business? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Cameron Boon investigates. The recent court case involving Paul Fishlock suing his former employer The Campaign Palace brought into focus more than just the struggle of one man. It highlighted that there are some in adland whose word cannot always be relied upon.
Q&A with Adshel's Rob Atkinson
Online trading is the next big thing says Rob Atkinson in a piece that first appeared in Encore. Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Harold Mitchell because of his influence and the footprint he has left. He’s built a huge brand in Mitchells, offloaded it into Aegis, Aegis has obviously done extremely well to be then sold on to Dentsu. So if you think about it, he is very much a father figure of the industry.
Making it overseas
Is the best way of being successful in Australia not be here at all? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Lee Zachariah speaks to Aussies making it big abroad.I always wanted to work in New York,” says Julian Cole. “I thought it was the number one place to work in advertising; a lot of the best campaigns were coming out of there. So I moved over and was lucky enough to have a couple of interviews in the first couple of weeks.”
Cole’s story is indicative of the somewhat contentious idea that the best way to be successful in Australia is to not be in Australia any more.
Got a book in you?
From journos to ad execs and PRs, these days everyone seems to have a book in them. But what does it take to get published and will you actually make any money? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Brooke Hemphill finds out.Attention wannabe authors. Forget big fat advance cheques and living off royalties. The reality of having a book published today is another story altogether. There are only two reasons you should even consider sitting down at your computer to bash out a manuscript – passion or profile.
Savage counsel
In an article that first appeared in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas in his weekly advice column.Hi Chris,
My clients seem to be demanding more and more from us. At the same time, it seems many of the younger people in our industry simply don’t have the client servicing skills my generation grew up with. How do we instill in our executives some of the good old-fashioned behaviours that would keep a client happy and loyal?
Fake it til' you make it... as an ad agency receptionist
From dressing the part to playing the gatekeeper, Leo Burnett Sydney’s Susie Henry tells us how to make it as the face of adland in a piece that first appeared in Encore.What does a receptionist in an ad agency actually do?
Well, there’s the frantic every-day, all-day stuff of deliveries, courier bookings, doing expenses for directors – always challenging – plus arranging all the travel. But one of my main jobs is counselling the account service people. I also keep up with all sports information to discuss with our sports-loving clients – because who wants to be bored while they’re waiting? And I know how they like their coffee. You need to know everyone – from accounting to HR. I’m also the go-to for all catering and sending flowers.
Whose views skew the news? Media chiefs ready to vote out Labor, while reporters lean left
Most journalists lean left-of-centre, says Folker Hanusch of the University of the Sunshine Coast, in a post first published on The Conversation.Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead.
But while the media’s political leanings will no doubt be debated in the lead-up to September’s federal election, our study has also found other largely unscrutinised biases remain – particularly whose views disproportionately shape the news.
It's time for a new New Wave in the film world
Government funding bodies are lazy and decadent, says industry veteran Michael Thornhill but in a piece that first appeared in Encore, Ed Gibbs begs to differ.I vividly remember the time I first saw Animal Kingdom, David Michod’s breathtaking labour-of-love feature debut. The press screening was half empty, despite the film winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance just months earlier, in 2010. Yet its superb performances, stylistic flourishes and overall polish left me speechless. Could this really be a feature debut, an Australian one at that, I wondered, almost out loud? It seemed too good to be true.
Going cold turkey on an agency addiction
Life is sweet for freelance writer Max Kitchen, but in a feature that first appeared in Encore, he admits his struggle against returning to the agency fold.I’ve never taken heroin. But I suspect if I had, the temptation to try it again would not be too dissimilar to the lure of returning to agency life.
Can sport save Ten?
First there was the Grand Prix. Next came the reported $500m bid for cricket rights, then Ten secured the 2014 winter Olympics. So, can sport save the ailing network? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.The television sports rights bidding process is a bit like a game of poker.
Check, fold or bet. Those were the options for the Ten Network last week when it had to finalise its bid for the cricket rights.
Andy Lark: good for the marketing of marketing
I can still remember the first story I wrote about Andy Lark, when it emerged that he was to be the new chief marketing officer of CommBank.
It was immediately clear that Australia was about to meet an interesting marketer, one who blogged and tweeted and thanks to his time at Dell in the US was digitally savvy. Even two years ago, that was a big deal. The fact that he also had a stint in public relations gave him an absolutely intriguing background before he even arrived.
Storming the media barricades - advice for young journalists
This week Mumbrella’s Nic Christensen, who began his career four years ago, gave the keynote address to would-be journalists at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Student Day. This is an edited version of his speech.Good afternoon, I can remember distinctly the last time I was in this room.
It was 2009 and I was sitting where you are. I’d come to this event, a friend and myself — from memory we sat up the back — and I can remember at the time wondering if I’d ever get a job as a journalist.
It was only four years ago and then as now getting a job was ultra competitive but I’m not sure there was quite as much media ‘doom and gloom’ as there is now…
Paywalls will help fund campaigning journalism
In this guest post, News Limited’s group editorial director Campbell Reid responds to the views of ninemsn’s Hal Crawford that the company’s push into metered paywalls is about data rather than dollars.Hal Crawford is both right and wrong in his article which argued that our digital subscription plans are all about the data.
Fake it 'til you make it... as a features editor
Cosmo’s Kate Leaver tells us how to bluff it in her job in a feature that first appeared in Encore.What do you do, as a features editor?
Really, play with words and ideas all day. At any one time, we’re working across three issues of the mag – getting one on its way to the printers, pooling all the words together for another, and planning the issue after that. It’s busy but it’s a pretty magnificent process.
Mike & Molly’s return offers slim pickings for Nine in Wednesday ratings
Nine’s night of obesity-themed programming failed to pile on the ratings, with the return of Mike & Molly wheezing with 627,000, and Big, Nine’s answer to The Biggest Loser, attracting a frail 534,000.
It was a rough Wednesday night for Nine overall, with not a single non-news show pushing above 1m viewers. The Big Bang Theory was closest, with 976,000, according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTam.
With no Australia’s Got Talent, which pulled in 1.9m for the first of the semi finals on Tuesday night, Masterchef broke its own season’s best record with 1.602m, forging ahead of the 1.577m it drew on Monday.
Ogilvy Sydney’s James Crawley wins Cannes Lions YouTube competition
James Crawley, a digital creative at Ogilvy, has been selected as the only Australian winner of the Cannes Lions YouTube GoodWork competition.
Entrants to the global competition were asked to pick one of 300 charity briefs, and come up with an idea using YouTube. Crawley’s idea was an interactive YouTube music machine. The video enables the viewer to mix their own music by typing the letters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 on their keyboard.
Hungry Beast: Should the ABC commission a fourth series?
As the end of season three approaches, series producer Andy Nehl and reporter Dan Ilic discuss Hungry Beast.
- The original vision for the show;
- How to create viral content;
- Their message to the ABC on why the show should be recommissioned.
Dan Ilic will be appearing at Mumbrella360 next week.
Meat & Livestock Australia pits beef Vs salad
A man who reluctantly shares his beef curry with his partner, who ordered a salad, is the creative idea behind an ad for Meat & Livestock Australia. BMF was the agency behind the ad, which was directed by Tim Bullock.
Adshel reinstates safe gay sex campaign after homophobia backlash
Outdoor company Adshel has backed down to a growing backlash against its decision to pull down billboards promoting safe sex after it was accused of homophobia.
The company said that its reason for reversing its decision was because when it had initially acted on complaints it did not realise they had been organised by the Australian Christian Lobby.
In a press release this afternoon, the company said:
“Following ACL Queensland director Wendy Francis’ acknowledgement that the complaints received by Adshel, Brisbane City Council and the Advertising Standards Bureau regarding QAHC’s campaign have been orchestrated by the Australian Christian Lobby, Adshel is reinstating the ‘Rip and Roll’ campaign.
Adshel earlier responded to a series of complaints by removing the campaign from its media panels yesterday. None of the complaints indicated any liaison with the ACL, so Adshel was made to believe that they originated from individual members of the public.” Read more »
Say Yes Australia mulls what to do next, “no second thoughts” about Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett has not been ruled out from featuring in a follow-up campaign to back the carbon tax, despite the ad having received bad press this week.
Dae Levine, head of communications at Greenpeace, one of the organisations behind the Say Yes Australia campaign, told Mumbrella that she had “no second thoughts” about Blanchett’s role in the campaign.
Jetstar to search for David May replacement
Jetstar has begun a search for a replacement for former GM of marketing David May who has moved to insurance brand iSelect today. Read more »
Tourism NSW recruits cultured celebrities for Sydney winter campaign
Ogilvy Sydney has created a set of TV ads for Tourism New South Wales to showcase Sydney’s food, fashion and cultural appeal and help attract domestic visitors to the state’s capital during winter.
Eight 15-second ads have been created with the first two aired featuring fashion designers Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke of Sass and Bide and celebrity chef Matt Moran.
7pm Project’s Bickmore and Pickering to host Nova’s The Breakfast Project during ratings break
Nova will broadcast a multi-city breakfast show led by Ten’s 7pm Project hosts Carrie Bickmore and Charlie Pickering during the June metro ratings break.
Stations normally appoint caretaker hosts in each state during ratings breaks but The Breakfast Project will be produced in Melbourne and broadcast across Nova’s stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Read more »
Porter Novelli launches pro bono pop-up agency for emerging fashion designers
Porter Novelli’s Melbourne office has launched a pro bono pop-up PR agency for emerging fashion, jewellery and accessories designers. Read more »
Kurt Burnette named as successor to James Warburton at Seven
As has been widely expected, the replacement for James Warburton at Seven has been named as Kurt Burnette.
Currently network director of sales, Burnette takes on the chief sales and digital officer position from today.
After protracted legal ructions, Warburton will start at Ten as the network’s CEO in January 2012.
Newington College rolls out new brand strategy
Private boys school Newington College has unveiled a new brand strategy, which is to be rolled out via cinema, print and online campaign this month.
The brand revamp, which goes under the mantra “Discover what’s possible”, is centred on the idea that the school enables boys to achieve their best through a broad curriculum, good facilities and staff support.
The campaign, and brand identity, was created by McCann Sydney.
Dell digital dynamo Andy Lark to lead marketing at Commonwealth Bank
Commonwealth Bank has appointed digitally savvy Dell marketer Andy Lark as its chief marketing officer, replacing Mark Buckman who moved to Telstra.
Lark was previously VP of global marketing for Dell’s public and large enterprise group. He also brings the bank what is likely to be a strong understanding of online platforms, having headed Dell.com which at the time claimed to be the world’s biggest ecommerce site.
Lark is also a prolific marketing blogger with his own site, The Daily Lark. He is thought to be the first CMO at a major Australian brand who regularly blogs. Read more »
Former Spice girl Mel B joins Kyle & Jackie O show
Ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown, otherwise known as Scary Spice, is to join the 2Day FM breakfast team as a guest host while she is in the country filming Seven show X Factor.
Adshel accused of bowing to homophobia after removing safe gay sex poster
Outdoor company Adshel has been accused of homophobia after taking down a safe sex campaign poster in Brisbane.
Michael James, who features in the ads for Queensland Association of Healthy Communities, claims the outdoor company bowed to pressure from a ‘homophobic’ religious group, the Australian Christian Lobby.
In response to the removal of the posters, James set up the Facebook group titled ‘Homophobia – NOT HERE – Adshel Caves to Homophobic Pressure‘. The group urges members to contact Adshel and demand that the posters be put back up in their original location.
So far, 10,603 people have pledged their support to the group.
The backlash against Adshel has since gathered pace, with a demonstration staged outside the company’s offices in Brisbane today:
Channel V’s Gazzo and Clayton hit the decks at Mumbrella360
Channel V presenters Jane Gazzo and Danny Clayton are to perform DJ sets at the Mumbrella360 cocktail party next Tuesday night.
The party, at the Arthouse Hotel, next door to the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, is open to Mumbrella360 participants. It kicks off at 6.30pm, immediately after the end of proceedings on the first day of the conference.
Gazzo has worked at Chanel V for nearly four years. She is also a regular guest DJ at Sydney indie night Purple Sneakers.
Clayton has spent six years with Channel V. Along with Gazzo, he co-hosts the channel’s weekly pop culture show The Riff.
Tickets for Mumbrella360 – and the full programme – are available on the Mumbrella360 website. The conference takes place at The Hilton on June 7 and 8.
Allianz shifts media from OMD to MEC
Media agency OMD has lost the Australian media account of insurer Allianz to MEC after eight years.
The brand was consolidated to WPP’s Group M agencies globally in late 2009. In most markets, Mediacom looks after Allianz, although client conflict with NRMA saw sister agency MEC pitch against OMD for the business.
The shift is not likely to lead to redundancies at OMD as the agency has been staffing up following wins including Trend Micro, Weight Watchers, Radio Rentals, Ancestry.com, eHarmony and Huawei.
At the time of posting, MEC boss Peter Vogel could not immediately be reached.
Kellogg uses Twitter in PR agency search
Kellogg is looking for an agency to handle its public relations, and is using Twitter to aid its search in what the brand believes is the first time the medium has been used for this purpose.
The cereal giant wants to consolidate its PR activity into a single agency as the company looks to become more media friendly.
Of late, the business has been awarded on a project basis, with multinational network Hill & Knowlton and local independent DEC Communications among those on the roster.
“Historically, we’ve been quiet on the PR front,” Gareth Lucy, corporate communications & PR manager, Kellogg Australia & New Zealand told Mumbrella. “But we’ve got a good story to tell about our CSR iniatives, innovations and nutritonal improvements – our products are now lower in salt and higher in fibre.”
Lucy joined Kellogg Australia & New Zealand in April, taking on a newly created role to spearhead the company’s communications.
-
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Account Manager – Top Media Agency – To $80 package
- Client Service Manager – Fantastic Media Agency – To $80 package
- Business Development/Marketing Manager – Consumer Tech Experience – $100-150k
- Top Jnr to Midweight Creative Team
- Digital Copywriter with big thinking
- Super Art Director/Copywriter Team with 360˚ thinking
- Junior Community Manager | Sensis | 6 months contract
- Mid Level PHP Developer- Creative- Up to $67K + Super Ref 6488
- Account Executive
- Communications Manager
-
RSS
