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Opinion
How to debunk media myths
In this post, UWS’s Ullrich Ecker, John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky argue that cognitive science can help PRs form strategies in managing media misreporting.
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone.
How about simply focusing on what consumers want?
In this guest post, Peter Mountford argues that brands should think more about what is really going on for consumers
Who here is hoping their favourite brand of toilet paper is going to be organizing a flash mob on their way home from work today?
What the Optus web copyright victory means
In this analysis first published on The Conversation, RMIT’s Marita Shelly examines the implications of Telstra’s defeat over the online rights to the AFL broadcast deal
This week’s Federal Court ruling that Optus customers are able to view sporting matches minutes after they are streamed live without breaching copyright is a landmark decision that alters our understanding of copyright law, and has significant implications for the AFL’s broadcasting rights deal.
Does Gina Rinehart’s bite of a chunk of Fairfax make her an oligarch?
In an article that first appeared in The Conversation, Mark Rolfe wonders whether the mining magnate’s move could turn Fairfax into something resembling America’s Fox network.Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has moved to increase her stake in Fairfax Media, owner of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and a number of radio stations. Rinehart has already shown her desire to play a role in public life, campaigning against former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s aborted mining tax. She has also demonstrated a willingness to make media investments to ensure her pro-business worldview is promulgated.
What does this latest move by Rinehart mean?
Gillard's Australia Day crisis
PM Julia Gillard’s media adviser Tony Hodges has been forced to resign over the Australia Day tent embassy debacle.
It came after it emerged he had revealed opposition leader Tony Abbott’s whereabouts, leading to both politicians being rescued by police in ugly scenes.
Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes and advertising practitioner Jane Caro debate the topic on Weekend Sunrise’s masters of Spin segment:
The biggest cock-up I made in business
In this guest post, Chris Savage urges agency staff to live the brand.I still shudder when I think about how incredibly stupid I was when I made the biggest stuff up of my career. And then, 18 years later, I did it again. Do not make this mistake with your clients. Ever.
Hey Groupon. Thanks for fucking up email
In this guest post, Daniel Monheit warns that group deal overload is devaluing email marketingEmail marketing used to be fabulous. Back in the heady days of 2010, brands would work hard to build up well qualified databases, upon which they’d bestow carefully crafted correspondence filled with information, offers and incentives. The recipients, of course would be delighted: “Oh look! An email! From one of my favourite brands! And it’s 40 cents off at Woolies this week!”.
The staggering sway of Harold Mitchell
The Power Index today names Aegis Media chairman Harold Mitchell as the most powerful person in Melbourne. Andrew Crook profiles him.
Harold Mitchell takes pride in dispensing with the niceties. When The Power Index visited his South Melbourne private office before Christmas, fresh remains were scattered all over the boardroom table.
Assumptions kill creativity
In this guest post, Gual Barwell disagrees that the sales success of the Old Spice social media campaign was overstated.Yesterday’s post from Cathie McGinn suggested the Old Spice campaign failed to connect with consumers. Based on the facts and figures, I disagree.
What Old Spice and Wieden + Kennedy has done and done phenomenally well is to create a franchise.
The SMH's readers (are wrong) editor
We are now about five months into the reign of Australia’s first readers’ editor. And I don’t think it is working.
It struck me at the time of Judy Prisk’s appointment to the Sydney Morning Herald that the fact that her boss was editor-in-chief Peter Fray was not going to be ideal if she was going to be the independent voice of the reader.
The emperor's new fragrance: Old Spice’s campaign failure
In this guest post, Cathie McGinn slays a sacred cow of 21st century marketing – the highly awarded Old Spice campaign.One of the biggest myths of recent times (by which I mean a story of great heroism and triumph we’d all like to believe but deep down know to be untrue) is the Old Spice social media campaign. It’s been much lauded and awarded as an example of outstanding content, a creative and collaborative way of connecting with consumers and driving a record increase in sales.
How reliable are radio ratings?
In this guest posting, Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis wonders how accurate radio ratings can be, since the data is collated from handwritten diaries.
So, the radio ratings season gets underway tomorrow. After a well-earned break, Australia’s commercial radio stations will renew their obsession with figures to see how many of us are listening. Are they winning or losing the ratings war?
The much feared radio survey is the only way to measure the success or failure of a station’s playlist, talent, promotions or even good old Black Thunder crosses. With six-figure salaries riding on the make-or-break nature of ratings, just how accurate are Australia’s radio survey results?
One-eyed Willy’s rich stuff: brands as movie heroes
I have just spent an entire day on a plane. I can’t sleep on flights, even after heavy sedation. So I watched seven films, back to back. Most of the new ones were truly awful and I couldn’t finish them. So I watched an old favourite, The Goonies. I have probably watched this film more than 200 times since I was a kid. But this time, with work in the back of my mind, one thing stuck out – how much brands were the stars of the film.The gospel of participation is making brands forget about mass reach
In this guest post, Simon Lawson argues that brands are becoming obsessed with getting consumers to participate, rather than remembering to deliver mass exposure.I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a lot of brands are wasting significant amounts of time and money on ineffective marketing. Large sums are being put behind tactics which end up being too small to have much chance of influencing total brand preference.
For proof the Press Council is a toothless tiger, see the bottom of page 104 of the Tele
Today, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph had an excellent opportunity to show off just how well voluntary press regulation works.
The newspaper published an adjudication from the Australian Press Council.
The APC found that the Tele had given the National Broadband Network an entirely unjustified kicking in three different stories. The complaint was upheld in all three cases.
There are only two interpretations to be drawn from the finding,
Mix 106.5′s Claire Hooper and Tim ‘Rosso’ Ross on isolation, ratings and elitist radio
Claire Hooper and former Nova presenter Tim “Rosso” Ross, the new breakfast team on Sydney station Mix 106.5 talk to Mumbrella’s Colin Delaney about:
- The new partnership;
- Why Rosso no longer feels isolated by breakfast radio;
- The great child giveaway;
- Why the best way to find out if you’ve gone too far is reading about it in The Daily Telegraph;
- 2CH’s Bob Rogers – living radio legend;
- The ABC’s Triple J: “repetitive and wanky”?
- Cooking on the radio
- How to orchestrate a massive ratings drop
Community search site Yelp launches in Australia
US community-based search site Yelp launched in Australia today.
The site is a place for users to share their views on businesses and services in their local area.
Yelp entered the market through a partnership with Sensis’ Yellow Pages, the advertising and directory arm of Telstra.
PR body PRIA told: You’re not relevant to consumer agencies
The Public Relations Institute of Australia needs a shake up if it wants to be relevant to consumer PR agencies, the managers of PR agency Mango have warned.
The comments came from Mango’s newly appointed managing partner Claire Salvetti, who has joined from Zing, and MD Simone Drewry.
Asked about this year’s PRIA conference and Golden Targets awards Drewry said: “The big consumer agencies are not represented there. The PR industry needs to PR itself better and the PRIA is probably part of that. It might be time to for it to refresh its image if they wants to attract some of the consumer PR agencies.
NineMSN CEO: We want Yahoo!7 to link up with our ad exchange
NineMSN wants to talk to rival online offering Yahoo!7 about collaborating over its advertising exchange in Australia.
The comments from new CEO Mark Britt after Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo agree a tie up in the US. Read more »
Mag publishers finally set for united awards as Magazine Week gets underway
Australia’s magazine companies will for the first time hold a united industry-owned awards when the country’s major publishers participate in The Publishers Australia Excellence Awards on Friday.
The event is the culmination of Magazine Week, which began today.
Publishers Australia had previously been made up of Australia’s smaller publishers, with the organisation’s annual Bell Awards (now rebadged as the Excellence Awards) the longest established magazine awards in Australia.
The MPA – whose members are ACP, Pacific Magazines, News Magazines, Lovatts and Reader’s Digest – has previously held its own seperate awards. But last year the MPA joined the board of Publishers Australia, opening the way for its members to enter The Excellence Awards for the first time.
Entries have come in from all the major magazine players, Read more »
The Power Index’s Paul Barry
- How The Power Index is exploring who really runs Australia;
- Media megaphones and angry broadcasters;
- What the former Media Watch host thinks of the Australian media’s ethics.
Naked’s Steve Gatfield: ‘No plans to buy out of Photon’
Mumbrella chats to co-chairman of Naked Communications Steve Gatfield about:
- Why he moved to Naked
- Being a ‘grown-up’ agency
- The buying out of Photon rumours
- Positioning an agency as ‘radical’ and ‘provocative’
Gatfield joined Naked in May this year. In his career to date, he has been executive vice-president of Interpublic Group, global CEO of Lowe and
global COO of Leo Burnett. More recently, he was director of digital-entertainment company Believe Entertainment and a founding investor in social targeting platform 33Across.
Christine Middap on the relaunched Weekend Australian Magazine
Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes chats to Christine Middap, editor of the Weekend Australian Magazine:
- Measuring columnists by reader opinion;
- Media agency reaction to the magazine’s redesign;
- Pitching advice for PRs and journalists.
The Chaser’s Reucassel: We’ve done nothing with production house Will O’Rourke (and I’d kill ACA and Today Tonight if I could)
Despite a fanfare around The Chaser’s involvement in ad production house Will O’Rourke when it launched a year ago, the team has “done nothing” with the company so far, Craig Reucassel has revealed.
In an interview with Mumbrella to promote the Chaser’s new project The Hamster Wheel, Reucassel said the venture had not worked out as planned.
In the launch of Will O’Rourke, Reucassel and fellow Chaser team members Julian Morrow and Dominic Knight were announced as being responsible for writing and broadcast entertainment at the production house.
But in an interview with Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes, Reucassel said: “As it stands we’ve done nothing with Will O’Rourke. The concept is interesting about bringing together different people from different groups to work together but the reality still is yet to be seen because you do work in different areas.” Read more »
Telstra: ‘Our brand was schizophrenic’
Mumbrella chats to Inese Kingsmill, Telstra’s corporate marketing director, Mark Collis, Telstra’s director of creativity and brand content, and Marty O’Halloran, Chairman and CEO of DDB Australia about:
- The Telstra re-brand and the brief for agencies
- How the brand was ‘schizophrenic’
- How Mark Collis’ role and chief marketing officer Mark Buckman co-exist
- What ROI Telstra expects from the new campaign
Press Council boss in push to regulate reader comments and sign up ‘serious bloggers’
The chairman of Australia’s journalism watchdog is to focus on persuading bloggers and online publishers to agree to be regulated by the organisation, and to demand better standards of reader comments online.
In an interview with Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes, Prof Julian Disney, who chairs the Australian Press Council said that newspapers and digital publishers needed to boost their online standards.
He also called for reader comments to be pre rather than post-moderated. Read more »
PHD’s Chris Stephenson on agencies in 2016
Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes chats to PHD strategy director Chris Stephenson about:
- The media agency’s new book, 2016: Beyond The Horizon
- Devices and how they will change behaviour
- How consumer sharing habits will change
- The socialisation of TV viewing and what it means for brands
- Implications for media agencies
Richard Wilkins on why he reported the death of Jeff Goldblum
The man who now co-hosts Weekend Today Cameron Williams was the person who handed Richard Wilkins the erroneous information that actor Jeff Goldblum was dead, the entertainment presenter has revealed.
Wilkins, entertainment editor on Today, found himself an international figure of fun in 2009 after making the live announcement – based on a website hoax spread via Twitter – on the same morning that Michael Jackson died. As a result of Jackson’s death, Today had dropped the ad breaks, leaving the presenters under pressure to make instant decisions.
Wilkins told Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes: “In the middle of that suddenly there’s all this stuff about Jeff Goldblum coming up. There’s lots of internet action on Jeff. Cam who was working as our sports guy at the time handed me a piece of paper – I don’t suggest for a moment he was trying to set me up, he was trying to keep me in the loop, I think.”
Wilkins added: “You want to be the first, but more importantly you should want to be right. We didn’t have the luxury of commercial breaks, we’re just ploughing into it. I made the statement that yes New Zealand police had confirmed it.
“It was mildly embarrassing.”
But Wilkins said the fault lay with him. He said: “I should have checked it.”
Dan Johns, Ikon Communications national CEO
Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes chats to Dan Johns, national CEO of Ikon Communications about:
- The Ikon culture;
- The challenges of being an Australian agency competing with international agencies;
- Ikon’s stand on online standards.
Mumbrella360: Question Time
The final session of Mumbrella360 was the Question Time Panel including Joe Pollard, outgoing CEO of ninemsn; Mark Buckman, Chief Marketing Officer of Telstra; John Steedman, Chairman of Group M and Anthony Freedman, CEO of Host. Read more »
The 30 Days Has September project
Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes chats with Christiaan Van Vuuren and Peter Smyth about the charity project 30 Days Has September:
- Christiaan talks about his transition from working at JCDecaux to the ‘Fully Sick Rapper’;
- What 30 Days Has September is all about;
- How the initiative is helping the Ted Noffs Foundation.
Google’s global head of mobile Karim Temsamani
Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes chats to Google’s global head of mobile, Karim Temsamani, about:
- Current and future mobile trends in Australia and worldwide;
- Changes in consumer mobile usage;
- Google’s latest mobile features including voice recognition, translation and Google wallet;
- What all this means for brands and advertisers.
Mumbrella360: What’s next for Fairfax?
Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes interviews Fairfax CEO, Greg Hywood, about:
- The future of Fairfax;
- The changing business model of newspapers;
- Fairfax’s Ipad apps;
- Broadsheet versus compact newspaper formats.
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