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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.
Cherry Picked latest to target Sydney fun-seekers
Cherry Picked is the latest online lifestyle media brand to target Sydneysiders.
The launch puts it in roughly the same space occupied by other independent sites such as Sydney’s Daily Addict and Daily Sydney.
It is the work of Felicity McVay, who previously worked in the USA for FremantleMedia as director of sponsorship and live events.
A website backed with a daily email, Cherry Picked targets 18 to 39-year-old women with what it describes as a blend of “the best of Sydney food, fashion, fun, trends & deals”.
McVay said: “On my return to Australia, I saw a gap in the market for an online, boutique publication targeting young professionals with the goal of keeping them up to date on the latest and greatest happenings in and around the city.”
Online lifestyle guides are becoming increasingly competitive in the city, with Time Out Sydney, which launched more than two years ago, steadly ramping up its online presence too.
March 15th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
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Comments
15 Mar 10
4:07 pm
She saw a gap on the Market? Did she not visit a newsstand or use google!
15 Mar 10
4:12 pm
Good idea, however the site really needs some work, to me it looks like some free or cheap theme.
15 Mar 10
4:25 pm
Um, not so sure that there’s a gap in the market. Daily Addict does a great job for us gals!
And no mention of Concrete Playground? It is new but is running circles around Time Out. http://concreteplayground.com.au
15 Mar 10
4:26 pm
Good point Andrew
Cheap wordpress theme. Seems Daily Addict and Daily Sydney are the same.
Must be a slow news day!
15 Mar 10
4:36 pm
OMG look at the length of the girl’s neck. Tyra Banks would love her!
15 Mar 10
5:05 pm
No mention of thiswayin.com.au either??
15 Mar 10
5:20 pm
heaps original……
15 Mar 10
5:25 pm
illustrations give it a dailycandy.com feel to it.
15 Mar 10
5:30 pm
poor (wo)man’s daily addict in my opinion
15 Mar 10
5:51 pm
For all those readers not in Sydney http://www.dailymelbourne.com/ is doing a great job in Melbourne.
15 Mar 10
6:00 pm
truth is there is a gap … there’s a heap of average sites trying to cater for this audience. trust is most of them get most of their traffic from SEO and not much from loyal traffic. so – yes … there must be an opportunity to become a trusted advisor to this audience.
problem is, i can’t see this site filling the gap.
remember people. a good idea isn’t enough. good execution is just as important and i don’t think sites like thiswayin, daily addict, concrete playground do much more than present a nice concept … not a compelling product.
15 Mar 10
6:02 pm
Sounds like Daily Candy (also from the USA) to me!!
http://www.dailycandy.com
16 Mar 10
12:00 am
Definitely is a Daily Candy copy-cat. As is Daily Addict! Nothing wrong with that though. The gap that these look to fill is in targeted content pushed to an engaged lifestyle oriented subscriber base on a daily basis. Therefore, granular and accurate user data for advertisers versus heavily diluted not so trustworthy users from the Goog and others.
http://www.TheAgendaDaily.com is another copycat in Melbourne and Sydney and launched last week.
16 Mar 10
9:26 am
http://www.twothousand.com.au http://www.threethousand.com.au et al have been doing it much better for many years already.
16 Mar 10
11:14 am
Copycat is a bit of a strong term. If there’s already a magazine in the marketplace and another one launches – does it make it a copycat? Not sure about Cherry Picked yet, they are new and need to earn their reader’s trust and interest.
Been following http://www.dailyaddict.com.au for around two years plus now. I’ve been a Sydney resident all my life and it’s given me plenty of inspiration and different experiences that’s relevant to me as a Sydneysider who was once “bored” of Sydney.
17 Mar 10
1:58 pm
It doesn’t seem that there is a gap in the market!
Of all the above Time Out is the only credible choice for advertisers as we are the only one audited by Nielsen and with a Green Tick from Audit Bureaux of Australia.
http://www.timeoutsydney.com.a.....ising.aspx
18 Mar 10
2:29 pm
Blow my own trumpet time…
I while ago I was amazed at just how hard it was to find something to do in Sydney – entertainment information was scattered across numerous sites and event listing websites were difficult to navigate and had too much advertising to wade through.
I just wanted to know what was on “tonight” so an idea was born…
http://www.nextsevendays.com.au
No editorial, no reviews or opinions – just a list of what is on displayed in an easy to use way.
Horn blowing over…
18 Mar 10
11:20 pm
Wow did Julian Peterson, who works at Time Out, really just write that?!?
(edited by Mumbrella for offensive tone)
Your site navigation is lame too
18 Mar 10
11:26 pm
Thanks Bryce, intelligent and worthwhile insight.
Anyway, our content is the best and we are the only one whose figures advertisers can check with an audit so that puts us not just in touch but ahead.
19 Mar 10
9:50 am
You do sound quite defensive there, Bryce.
Why would anybody have a problem with Time Out pointing out that it’s the only one in its category to be audited?
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
19 Mar 10
9:59 am
Didn’t know Nielsen recorded “sweet FA” as a stat.
19 Mar 10
10:15 am
Go on then, Julian…
You’ve now got a one-off licence to spruik your numbers…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
19 Mar 10
11:07 am
Thanks Tim,
SUMMARY
Sydney’s most respected arts, entertainment, nightlife and food website.
Niche website – relevant advertising is not even viewed as advertising.
No wasted page impressions – highly targeted towards a free spending, active & social Sydney user.
AUDITED
The site is audited by Nielsen.
We have a green tick from Audit Bureaux of Australia.
We do not practice any disgraceful auto-refresh trickery.
http://mumbrella.com.au/peace-.....ites-16289
MONTHLY STATISTICS
Page impressions
558,000 including international (Omniture)
475,049 domestic (Nielsen)
Monthly unique users
183,351 including international (Omniture)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Users sign up for the weekly newsletter and take notice when it arrives.
Active subscribers 26,000+
Opening rate 30%+ eg 33.37% on 26 November 2009
Click Thru Rate 40%+ eg 42.95% on 26 November 2009
BANNER CLICK THRU RATES
A recent ‘Valentine’s Day’ leaderboard campaign over 20 days on Time Out achieved:
CTR of up to 6 times the industry average.
Even on the worst day, double the industry average.
On every other day save for one they achieved 3 times industry average.
CONTENT SYNDICATION
Time Out’s extensive Event and Venue information can be automatically or manually fed to suitable partner sites at very reasonable cost.
Eg BresicWhitney
http://www.bresicwhitney.com.a.....0Point#top
MOBILE AND IPHONE APPLICATIONS
Our data can be used for mobile or iPhone applications in a similar way to content syndication – we can prepare specific files of venues or events eg Bars or Restaurants.
Time Out will shortly launch an iPhone application in Sydney and are looking for suitable partners for this project.
As an example, the Time Out London iPhone application can be downloaded for free:
http://itunes.apple.com/uk/app.....345010376#
19 Mar 10
11:22 am
Thanks , Julian.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
22 Mar 10
9:47 pm
Julian- pull your head in a little mate. No offence, but there no need to bag other people on this list, including us.
“Our content is the best and we are the only credible choice for advertisers.”
I believe that would be a matter of your own opinion. No need to try to shove it down everyone else’s throats.
Oh..and you forgot something on your sales spiel above. Shouldn’t you tell your advertisers that get about a 7% share of voice for a banner on your HP. I count 13 banners on there. Not cluttered at all mate!
All the best. Hope the new owners and sorting things out
22 Mar 10
10:53 pm
No offence taken Riley and none intended either of course.
Measurement is important online – an audit is the logical and obvious progression of that.
And whilst all the other sites mentioned above are awesome, none, as far as I know, are audited.
In this context, it is a fair point to make.
Finally, our Click Through Rates are also awesome too.
1 Apr 10
12:32 pm
Audit Bureaux of Australia – Audited Publishers with Numbers You Can Trust:
http://www.auditbureau.org.au/webauditmembers.php
Surprisingly few on that list.
1 Apr 10
1:40 pm
You can add another 20 new sites to that members list, including Nova/DMG Radio, Allure Media and MCM Entertainment. More than 115 audited sites across 29 different publishers (in less than 6 mths since launch) demonstrates a significant groundswell of support from publishers who wish to distance themselves from publishers still using inflated figures and set a new standard in the AU online industry.
1 Apr 10
1:46 pm
Alexx – good point.
Can you post again when the list is up to date?
1 Apr 10
3:07 pm
Good to see more sites being audited.
Wonder when fairfax, news, ninemsn, telstra etc will face the inevitable?