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Opinion | Features
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.
Savage counsel - JFDI
Hi Chris,I run a medium-sized agency that is doing pretty well. As the leader, I am finding my workload just seems to go up and up. I am struggling to stay motivated and particularly to tackle the bigger and tougher challenges I have to face every day. How do I keep up the energy when there just seems so much to do? How do you do it?
Productive, successful executives are those able to consistently tackle difficult and big challenges. It’s a constant struggle for me so I know how you feel. How do the successful leaders do it?
Q&A with Brett Clegg
Brett Clegg, group director – business media, Fairfax Media, in a Q&A that first appeared in Encore, on the journo who refuses to work with him – his wife.Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Hard to go past Rupert Murdoch. He controls the single largest and most diverse portfolio and is intent on leveraging its scale (and, of course, influence). He’s an innovator and his will to win is obvious to all.
CommBank apologises for Olympic backpack bomb hoax ad
The guard wrestles for the suspicious backpack
CommBank has issued a terse apology for its London Olympics hoax bomb ad which it launched on YouTube last night.
CommBank pulled down the ad – featuring the company mascots tipping off a security guard about a suspicious backpack – earlier today. London’s 2005 suicide bombings the day after the city won the Olympics were carried out by terrorists with backpacks.
In a brief statement, the bank said:
“The Commonwealth Bank apologises for the online video released to its YouTube Channel.
“We acknowledge some concerns were raised and the material was withdrawn this morning.”
Comments
2 Aug 12
3:11 pm
What on Earth were they thinking?
2 Aug 12
3:14 pm
I’m astonished! this is stupid and quite frankly puerile, which ad company thought that up?
2 Aug 12
3:15 pm
Who was the agency? What a moronic stunt! F’wits.
2 Aug 12
3:16 pm
No they CAN’T
Just restating their brand of what they’re allowed to do
2 Aug 12
3:20 pm
CAN we be so stupid – YES WE CAN!
2 Aug 12
3:33 pm
So is their message that CommBank, try as they might just can’t get rid of the ‘T’ and can’t do stuff?
Why is the T still around?
It seems a very confused strategy.
I assume the actual idea was, ‘Lets all get a free trip to London and film some edgy viral stuff on the street.’
2 Aug 12
3:46 pm
So now Lark is saying that it was “unauthorised” and anyway, it’s totally “un-newsworthy”.
Yeah, nice try.
2 Aug 12
3:49 pm
hahah will he ever accet responsibility for… errr anything?
2 Aug 12
3:51 pm
I do NOT understand how this ad must have gone through multiple team members at M&C plus Commbank, and not one raised any issue. Rose-coloured glasses or just plain delusional?
2 Aug 12
3:54 pm
Blame the agency-dump the Marketing Director-what an idiot
2 Aug 12
3:58 pm
didn’t think this campaign could get any worse
i was wrong.
2 Aug 12
3:59 pm
(morally) Bankrupt
2 Aug 12
4:03 pm
a big W-T-F
bad taste……why on earth would you do that……..surprised CBA actually approved the idea.
2 Aug 12
4:10 pm
The post next to this says bruno was let go for his jokes about movie massacres…
2 Aug 12
4:31 pm
Lark declined to comment further as “it’s just not even newsworthy”
Gr
2 Aug 12
4:31 pm
Lark declined to comment further as “it’s just not even newsworthy”.
Grow up
2 Aug 12
4:36 pm
C’mon…. Did he really say it’s ‘unauthorised’?
As a client, if my agency ever release ‘unauthorised’ work, whether or not it damages my brand… they would no longer be my agency.
So Lark, if you did actually make that statement, are you going to sack the agency or the people in your team that did authorise it?
2 Aug 12
4:44 pm
unbelievable – who on earth thought a bomb joke would be a good idea?
And I don’t believe it was unauthorised – agency isn’t going to fork over the cash for business class to London without a client signature on the estimate.
2 Aug 12
5:16 pm
Why don’t they simply say we made a mistake and it was a bad idea and we regret it.
Why all the prevaricating?
2 Aug 12
6:47 pm
Cheap, disgusting, bad taste, poor judgment, lack of understanding, scrapping the barrel…..all the things CBA and their agencies ‘can’ do
2 Aug 12
7:11 pm
“We acknowledge some concerns were raised?”
Really?
2 Aug 12
7:18 pm
Umm feel like the chaser boys stunt?? At least when theybroke security it was funny. This was not relevant, not funny and staged. Not to mention tasteless.
2 Aug 12
9:32 pm
There is not an ad that runs on air without client approval…..we know that. So apart from the ad being a stupid idea, the comm bank approved it. So Stupid makes as stupid allows. C’mon Tom McFarlane you’re better than to let this even make it to the client….Jo must have popped a blood vessal over this.
And……I thought T was done in the first week of the campaign….Ho hum…what a curious bunch we are???
2 Aug 12
10:05 pm
The 14th comment makes a good point… and at least Bruno took responsibility for his behaviour.
Lark’s flippant attitude is nothing short of a run on of the add… insensitive and idiotic.
This is a mess of a strategy driving a campaign that is now offensive, tasteless and base. I can’t say that I would compare this with the Chaser in any way however, those guys pushed some serious boundaries and stepped too far over on a few occasions but when it came to their “barrier stunt”, they were at least making a legitimate political/social commentary on the situation.
These guys should be ashamed of themselves, for this stint and for the pathetic follow up… “unauthorised” how f**king stupid do you think we all are? Or how f**king stupid are you? Pick one and stick with it.
3 Aug 12
8:43 am
Comm ban
3 Aug 12
9:21 am
Aside from the insensitive, inappropriate, offbrand idiocy of the video, I am stunned by Lark’s reaction, firstly to deny responsibility for its release, then to dismiss the media storm as “not newsworthy”.
No idea.
3 Aug 12
9:27 am
I agree with 24. its one thing to make a gross error of judgement, but Mr Lark’s handling of the press has added oxygen to the fire of this sad story.. At what point does a CMO of the largest bank in Australia become arrogant enough to tell a member of the press that something is “un-newsworthy” red rag to a bull anyone? http://www.theguardian.com.au/.....42761.aspx
3 Aug 12
10:06 am
See… it’s not newsworthy http://www.guardian.co.uk/spor.....ondon-2012
3 Aug 12
11:04 am
52 people lost thier lives in the London bombings, including an Australian who was just 28 years old when he died after bravely surviving the initial blast. I find this event and the fact that CommBank acted in such a disrespectful way, very news worthy indeed. I hope that your comments or the banks appalling ad have not reached the family and friends of the Australian who lost his life or indeed others with links to that terrible event.
If this ad had screened on TV, I can assure you Mr Lark that given the public backlash that would follow , you would suddenly find this event very news worthy indeed. (edited by Mumbrella).
3 Aug 12
1:59 pm
A brand that is buoyed by it’s own arrogant self importance and that has lost touch with their consumers i.e. real people who Can’t be bothered to be teased / tricked into liking a brand that treats them as salary support.
This gives the real insight into their thinking.
And the banks wonder why people don’t like them.
3 Aug 12
2:10 pm
Whoever thought this ad up should be sent to jail for inciting terrorism. All I can say is the image of Commonwealth Bank has dropped to an all time low with this absolutely stupid, insensitive ad. Shame on you Commonwealth Bank ad agency and Comm Bank. Who ever allowed that ad and put it together should be arrested and jailed for terrorism.
3 Aug 12
2:26 pm
Andy Lark, the bank’s chief marketing and online officer, told B&T: “It was an unapproved video that got released, we’ve pulled it down,”
Bullshit was it “unapproved” – do CBA honestly think we would believe the old “unapproved” excuse. Pathetic!
3 Aug 12
4:19 pm
So on-line is on the one hand “unapproved” and out of their control, and on the other it is claimed as a critical part of their “can” marketing offensive.
Building awareness of on-line work is a core CMO KPI, but not in this case when it goes wrong? To say it was unapproved is insulting.
If this had been on TV it would have provoked a resignation and public backlash, but on-line is OK and all of a sudden under the radar? I hope that this gets more publicity. The stupidity is staggering.
4 Aug 12
12:54 am
The same thing should have happened to them as if they’d joked about security getting on a plane.
4 Aug 12
1:47 pm
“whoever thought this ad up should be sent to jail for inciting terrorism.”
At least you put your name to such a comment
4 Aug 12
9:16 pm
Cants