-
Opinion
The keyboard warrior of Twitter
In this guest post, NBN staffer Scott Rhodie writes an unofficial, personal view on his experience with a hostile Twitter critic.Last night I had a strange incident. While on Twitter I noticed someone saying that Australia’s NBN is already outdated. I wrote a small note back explaining they were incorrect.
And their response? The lovely gentleman (whose Twitter profile says: ‘Father of 5 kids, Loving Grandfather of 10 Grandchildren,and 2 Great Granddaughters. love to give heaps to Pollies and Poofters’) said to me: “Go and lick Gillards C*** out U commie Prick”
What's in a name?
In this guest post, Moensie Rossier wonders about the power of names for brands and marketers.
Brands have been having a bit of fun with names lately, not to mention a fair bit of success. Interbrand just named a headhunting firm Cloak & Dagger. And ‘Share a Coke’ showed how much power there is in a name.
The Coke campaign effectively short-circuited the usual mechanics of communication. It undoubtedly stroked people’s egos. But, I believe, its success stems from the fact that it directly and automatically affected people’s behaviour, rather than doing so indirectly by shaping attitudes.
Best ads from Super Bowl 2012
The Super Bowl is all done and a team from North America won. But as well as some sort of sporting event, it’s the world’s biggest advertising showcase. See the best of them right here… and please tell us what you think.
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.
Share a Coke with… the moronic masses
The most-read story on Mumbrella last year, with not far off 100,000 page views, was a fairly humdrum yarn about the launch of Coca-Cola’s name-on-a-bottle campaign.The headline, “Coca-Cola puts people’s names on bottles in ‘Share a Coke’ campaign”, though hated by any self-respecting sub-editor, was loved by Google. And in rushed what can be politely described as the public.
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.
Does VB’s decline prove you shouldn’t kill a good tagline?
There’s been something of a theme emerging this week.
On the one hand, new data on VB suggests that the beer’s new positioning has done nothing to stop the decline in its market share - and indeed may even have hastened it. Droga 5′s The Regulars ad may have entertained adwankas like me, but it doesn’t seem to have struck a wider chord.
And on the other, Meat & Livestock Australia has been criticised for the opposite – for not refreshing its annual Australia Day Sam Kekovich campaign by BMF.
And while change is exciting – so journos like it – I think I’m with the long termists. For A Hard-Earned Thirst was such a great position for VB – the drink you deserve after you’ve done a day’s work.
After having seen The Regulars dozens if not hundreds of times, I just had to watch it again to learn that its new line is The Drinking Beer.
But of course, taking a famous brand and repositioning it is a short route to attention for marketing directors and their agencies.
Which is why the reaction to the latest Sam Kekovich at was relatively predictable. The complaint being that it wasn’t as funny as the first time.
But you have to choose between the shock of the new and an ongoing platform that you gradually build. You can’t have both.
As one creative put it to me today – the success of the new Mini came from building on the heritage of the old. Not starting all over again. It’s the same with any brand.
Think VB will go back? I doubt it.
Tim Burrowes
January 13th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
-
Follow Us
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Digital Online Copy Writter and content producer - North Shore
- Digital Creative Director - Sydney
- Senior Account Executive - Pyrmont
- Social Media Manager - Leading Creative/Digital Agency - Sydney
- Digital Project Manager - Melbourne
- FREELANCE Senior digital producer - 3/4 weeks - Sydney
- Digital Project Manager - Melbourne
- Marketing Manager – Optus - North Ryde, Sydney
- Film Services Coordinator - South Yarra VIC
- Marketing Specialist - Sydney
Comments
13 Jan 10
3:26 pm
No heritage building in the Droga5 execution – no stratgey either. The “drinking beer” what does that mean anyway?
They may not go back. But they will continue to go backwards.
13 Jan 10
5:15 pm
Is this a case of the Marketing Peeps for VB relying on the infamy of the “hot creative shop” to get it through? Big risk to take!
Given the plethora of beer brand choices nowadays it was always going to be a struggle to maintain brand share. Moving away from the core idea of a true blue Aussie bloke “deserving” a beer at the end of the day’s hard work should still ring true now as it ever did.
I think they sacrificed brand evolution for a quick humour hit. That’s about it.
13 Jan 10
6:23 pm
I think it simply has something to do with the fact that the beer just doesn’t taste good
13 Jan 10
8:17 pm
Droga5 got a hospital pass from Fosters – and they havent done a bad job. They received a beer that is low quality, just had %’s of alcohol taken out of it, and was on the decline.
However, why would they get rid of the only equity the brand has (the tagline), and confuse another partial equity by turning the green can gold for mid (the colour of its competitor).
However, Fosters are learning to fix what look like mistakes to an outsider (i.e. returning Cascade to a 375ml bottle). I think they may return to the old tagline too – that would be a very well received PR story.
It’s a good ad – but VB is for a hard earned thirst. All beers are drinking beers.
15 Jan 10
11:57 am
Here is a thought – perhaps VB sales are in decline because it tastes bad, gives you wind and a bad hangover, and there is a large range these days from more acceptable mainstream through to high end micro brews.
Of course, all very subjective, but I have seen a lot of people that once happily drank the stuff now choosing something else, and its not just the advertising that is causing the swing
15 Jan 10
12:14 pm
Yes, I’m with the majority of comments so far.
It does matter about the tagline, the beer tastes like S#@t and more Australian’s are learning to read and write, so fewer bogon’s.
15 Jan 10
12:43 pm
or maybe VB is just a crap product finally outclassed by so many great new beers? real question around the decline is not just the new comms, but the underlying value.
15 Jan 10
4:26 pm
Or perhaps its a seriously over-rated ad and everyone just thinks they have to praise it becauce it came from Droga 5!
15 Jan 10
4:43 pm
new VB tagline should be “at least its better than New”
18 Jan 10
12:59 pm
@ Gordon Whitehead – ‘bogon’? Is that the same as bogan? More Aussies learning to read and write indeed.
Agree re consensus on VB taste. Like Four X, the only question is how they get the cat to piss in the can? Oops… bogan comment.
18 Jan 10
3:54 pm
Right on, Maria. Def something of the Emperor’s new clothes about D5 Oz. Just feels like an old world agency struggling to live up to the name on the door.
19 Jan 10
11:53 am
Not sure that I agree that this current campaign isn’t built on heritage. The resonance is there in the tune. The concept that you can get it “any ol’ how” is there with the different groups. The characters push the whole “working class” Australian image a bit, but not quite enough to break the brand.
No, I’m not real sure, in a 5-minute analysis, that this is a communication problem and so I’m not sure that the decline should be blamed purely on the campaign (I’d like to see what the metrics have been like over the past few years).
I’m pretty sure that it’s more product, competition and beer-drinking market dynamics and honestly, VB’s heritage was probably its own worst enemy in that context.
22 Jan 10
1:57 pm
VB is a working class beer with a (near) boutique price which overshot it’s quality long ago. Fosters need to get back to basics and a $10 six pack.
22 Jan 10
3:11 pm
I can’t believe that Droga 5 haven’t been blasted for pinching the artist Jeremy Deller’s work for this. He had parade with regular people and won the Turner Prize for it. People holding banners with such signs as ‘Unrepentant smokers’ and ‘Goth kids who hang out the front of shops’.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks