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Opinion | Features
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.
TV audience measurement – why big isn’t always beautiful
In this guest post, Chris Walton argues that the media industry needs to take a new approach to TV tradingThere has been a significant amount of coverage recently about how successful The Voice has been. Indeed, audience figures of 2.6m+ people are very impressive these days. Based on reports, this is apparently double the size of audience that Nine was hoping for in the lead up to the programme launching.
How do you solve a problem like Blunty?
So if you were the proposed News Standards Body, how would you regulate Blunty?The News Standards Body, in case you didn’t notice, is the new organisation proposed by the Convergence Review this week to regulate news and commentary, regardless of platform.
Blunty, in case you didn’t notice, is the video blogger who this week went viral after he filmed a guerrilla marketing demo outside Apple’s Sydney store apparently as a coincidental bystander, but later admitted he’d been put up to it by BlackBerry.
Trudi Sampola replaces Ben Willee to run Ikon Melbourne
Ikon has hired former OMD and Naked executive Trudi Sampola to run its Melbourne office.
She replaces Ben Willee, the former managing partner of Ikon Melbourne, who left the agency last month.
Sampola joins from employee engagement consultancy Fivefootfour, a company she founded.
Hino trucks become the first vehicles in Australia to fit digital radios as standard
Hino, a brand of trucks owned by Toyota, has become the first vehicle manufacturer in Australia to fit digital radios as standard.
All new Hino 300, 500, and 700 Series vehicles will feature a multimedia unit, which includes a DAB+ radio.
“Hino is leading the automotive industry by including digital radio as standard and we are very pleased Hino truck drivers, who spend a great deal of time in their vehicles will now be able to experience digital radio,” said Joan Warner, CEO of Commercial Radio Australia.
BMW and Audi offer customers an option for DAB radios to be fitted, but not yet as standard.
SodaStream launches $2m Christmas ad push with pastiche of YouTube PlayStation clip
SodaStream is launching a $2m advertising offensive in the run-up to Christmas.
The ads, shot in the style of a home video, are a pastiche of a YouTube clip of a man who explodes with excitement on receiving a PlayStation 3 for Christmas.
They were made in the UK but adapted locally with an Australian voiceover.
Kyle Sandilands to journalist: Sorry if you took offence – maybe you’ll think again before criticising next time
Kyle Sandilands this morning refused to back down over the growing row over his personal comments about a journalist who reported negative comments about his TV show.
As soon as today’s show went on air at 6am, Sandilands raised the issue of his attack on Alison Stephenson – in which he criticised her weight, breast size and hair, and called her a piece of shit – saying that because he had taken the story personally he felt entitled to make personal comments. He told Stephenson: “If you took personal offence to it Ali, I’m sorry to you, but maybe you should think again before you start going at certain people.”
He also said that the TV networks had fallen for News Limited’s claim that he was a misogynist. His comments came as brands began to withdraw advetising. Among those pulling out are Holden, Vodafone and The Good Guys.
Audio from this morning’s program:
He said:
“Did anyone happen to see all the news reports last night that branded me as a woman hater? A Current Affair, Today Tonight, The ABC… the newspapers are all saying that I’m a woman hater. They’re all on board.
“The TV show we did the other night. A review was done by some woman. This woman had obviously sat up until midnight goign through thousands of Twitter messages and pulled out a couple of negative ones and wrote a negative story. Read more »
Andrew Denton returns to TV with word game Randling
Andrew Denton is to return to the TV screen two years after saying he was moving behind the camera for good.
He will front cerebral word-based game show Randling which will be produced by his production company Zapruder’s Other Films.
Denton is co-creator of one of the ABC’s most popular TV shows, The Gruen Transfer.
The announcement came as the ABC revealed its plans for 2012. Read more »
Updated: Telstra, Medibank, Blackmores, Fantastic Furniture, Holden, Good Guys and Vodafone pull ads over Kyle Sandilands’ ‘misogynistic’ attack
Car brand Holden has this afternoon ended its sponsorship of the Kyle & Jackie O Show after presenter Kyle Sandilands threatened to “hunt down” a journalist who had reported negative Twitter sentiment about his TV show.
During the attack, Sandilands also described news.com.au journalist Alison Stephenson as “a piece of shit” and made comments about her appearance including her breast size.
Until today Holden had been the sponsor of the Southern Cross Austereo show. At the time of posting, ads for its Holden Barina are still prominent on the Kyle & Jackie O Show home page.
But a spokeswoman for Holden told Mumbrella:
“Recent comments made on the Kyle and Jackie O breakfast show do not in any way reflect the views or opinions of Holden and we are very disappointed to hear Kyle’s personal attack on a journalist.
“We believe the show is no longer in line with Holden’s core values and as a result we have taken action to withdraw our sponsorship of the program, effective immediately.”
Earlier today news.com.au’s editor-in-chief David Penberthy accused Sandilands being a misogynist, pointing to his track record of attacks on female journalists.
10.30pm update: Vodafone and The Good Guys have also pulled sponsorships. Both brands announced the move on Twitter.
1.48pm update: Harvey Norman and Fantastic Furniture join Medibank in the boycott of Sandilands’ show, according to reports from News.com.au.
ACP in double magazine launch: Elle and Women’s Fitness
Australia’s magazine market is to make room for two new women’s titles – Elle and Women’s Fitness.
Elle is a joint venture between ACP and Hearst. Its arrival is likely to make it even tougher for News Life Media to launch Glamour into the Australia women’s market, a plan that was put on hold when the global financial crisis struck.
Both titles will be published monthly with brand extensions online and in mobile.
Gavin Larkin recognised as GQ’s man of inspiration
Gavin larkin
Gavin Larkin, the former boss of The Brand Shop who founded anti-suicide initiative R U OK Day and died in September was recognised at last night’s GQ Men of the Year Awards.
Larkin was recognised as GQ’s Man of Inspiration of the Year.
Amaysim: we’re honest, unlike other telcos
BMF has launched a campaign for Amaysim that positions the telco as an honest, straight-talking and transparent alternative to its rivals.
Planet Ark: Make it wood, do your world some good
Not-for-profit environmental group Planet Ark has launched a campaign to encourage consumers to use wood building materials sourced from sustainably managed forests.
The campaign, targeted at businesses, schools and home renovators, includes a website, makeitwood.org, on which educational videos are running.
The X Factor success polishes Happy Endings debut
The debut of Seven’s US sitcom Happy Endings benefited from The X Factor’s strong finale in the ratings on Tuesday night.
The final X Factor episode, when the winner was announced, drew an audience of 1.998m for Seven, according to the preliminary ratings from OzTam.
It was close, but not quite the ratings high of Seven’s other shiny-floor show Australia’s Got Talent, which pulled 2.192m in its preliminary overnight ratings.
The X Factor’s high-rating set up the debut of American sitcom Happy Endings well, with just under 1m.
News.com.au editor-in-chief Penbo: Kyle Sandilands is a misogynist
News.com.au’s editor-in-chief David Penberthy has joined the growing row over Kyle Sandilands’ attack on journalist Alison Stephenson, accusing the Today Network presenter of being a misogynist.
As Mumbrella reported last night, Sandilands launched into a highly personal attack on the journalist after she reported on poor viewer reaction to his new television show Kyle & Jackie O’s Night With The Stars.
Sandilands described Stephenson “a fat slag” and “a piece of shit” and told her that if she didn’t watch her mouth he would hunt her down. He also made comments about the size of Stephenson’s breasts.
Today Penberthy responded to the attack his staff member with a posting on News Limited’s comment site the Punch, describing Sandilands as “a dead-set, rolled-gold, card-carrying dickhead”.
Greenpeace banner pressures PM to keep her word on coal
Greenpeace has targeted promises made by prime minister Julia Gillard last year with a 200m-long banner laid at the foot of a coal power station.
The green group claims that Gillard has gone back on promises made in 2010 – that no more coal power stations would be built – with plans for coal group HRL to build a plant on dairy farming land.
Activists got up at 4.30am this morning to lay the lettering, which reads: ‘Julia. Keep your word on HRL’, at a power station in Morwell, Victoria.
Sojo undies: wear them when you’re on the job
Melbourne ad agency Wilson Everard has launched a campaign for ‘hard working’ tradies’ underwear brand Sojo.
The launch saw print ads run in the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph, the back of buses in Melbourne and Sydney as well as EyeShop panels outside BigW stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra.
Ex-Lowe boss Stephen Pearson joins ImageBrief
Stephen Pearson, the former CEO of Lowe Australia who left the agency after its merger with 303 in October, has joined photo sourcing start-up ImageBrief as marketing director.
ImageBrief, positioned as ‘the smart alternative to photo libraries’, is taking on Corbis and Getty in the image sourcing space for advertisers.
The service enables art buyers to post a brief for an image to ImageBrief’s website; photographers then supply suitable images according to the brief.
ImageBrief is currently in negotiations with a Sydney-based digital agency to redevelop and redesign its website, which is currently in beta mode. The site is scheduled to go live early next year.
Sandilands threatens to hunt down ‘piece of shit’ News Limited journalist for reporting negative viewer reaction to show
Stephenson's online byline picture
Kyle Sandilands has used his radio show to launch a vicious on air attack on a News Limited journalist who reported negative viewer comments about Kyle & Jackie O’s Night With The Stars.
The tirade saw the Today Network presenter describe Alison Stephenson as “a piece of shit”, and told her to “watch your mouth or I’ll hunt you down”. He also attacked the journalist’s weight, hairstyle and breast size.
Sandilands’ comments came after Stephenson was one of the first to report on the poor reception for the chat show which aired on Seven on Monday night.
His comments were broadcast in Sydney at around 6am, more than two hours before the show’s poor ratings were released. He told listeners:
“Some fat slag on news.com.au has already branded it a disaster. You can tell by reading the article that she just hates us and has always hated us.
“What a fat bitter thing you are. You’re deputy editor of an online thing. You’ve got a nothing job anyway. You’re a piece of shit.
“This low thing, Alison Stephenson, deputy editor of news.com.au online. You’re supposed to be impartial, you little troll.
“You’re a bullshit artist, girl. You should be fired from your job. Your hair’s very 90s. And your blouse. You haven’t got that much titty to be having that low cut a blouse. Watch your mouth or I’ll hunt you down.”
Audio of Sandilands’ comments:
Ad Standards Bureau waves away fart ad
A man lighting his flatulence has been given the all clear by the Ad Standards Bureau.
The TV ad for flavoured milk brand Chill featured a series of camera-phone ads, one of a man lying on his back at a party trying to light his own fart.
Kyle & Jackie O’s drastic ratings drop
The audience for Kyle & Jackie O’s Night With The Stars declined from inheriting more than 1.4m viewers from The X Factor to just 200,000 by the end of the show, an analysis of minute-by-minute overnight ratings shows.
Source: OzTam
The Seven show, filmed in LA, was a pilot featuring the radio pair in a mainly chat-based format. Segments included Mariah Carey’s husband, a somewhat awkward interview with Justin Bieber and Kyle Sandilands driving around trying to talk to hookers. it also included footage shot during the pair’s Today Network radio show. Read more »
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