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Opinion | Features
Disclosure in Social Media: How transparent should bloggers be?
In this guest post, blogger and digital creative Laura McWhinnie argues for more disclosure in the bloggersphere.
The bloggersphere has always been a bit like the Wild West. Bloggers could post about products to their heart’s content without having to disclose their relationship with the brand. This meant that consumers had no idea who was behind the marketing messages influencing their purchasing decisions. But in 2009 that all changed
Liars, cheats and thieves
Is our industry full of cheats and liars or do people of honour who stand by their word still exist in business? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Cameron Boon investigates. The recent court case involving Paul Fishlock suing his former employer The Campaign Palace brought into focus more than just the struggle of one man. It highlighted that there are some in adland whose word cannot always be relied upon.
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.
Fat fighting brand Jenny Craig is first to sponsor Kyle & Jackie O after ‘fat slag’ attack
Weight loss brand Jenny Craig is the new sponsor of The Kyle & Jackie O Show, which returned to the air today.
The company is the first to sponsor the show since Holden ended its sponsorship on November 23 after Kyle Sandilands launched an on air attack on News Limited journalist Alison Stephenson, who he labelled a “fat slag”.
As well as losing the Holden sponsorship the show – which airs on 2Day FM in Sydney – lost many of its big brand advertisers over the attack.
Jenny Craig’s media buying is usually handled by Mindshare. However, the agency told Mumbrella that it did not place ads around this morning’s show.
Most of those advertisers were still absent from the Southern Cross Austereo station morning. Among the brands that were on air today were Foxtel, Network Ten, Budget, Spotlight and progressive car insurance. iSelect, which pulled its ads when the row blew up, was back on air.
Advocacy platform Change.org has been running a petition calling for an advertising boycott.
Late last year Jenny Craig rebranded as Jenny. The celebrity face of the brand is Mel B who is also signed as a regular contrubutor to the show.
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Comments
16 Jan 12
9:34 am
Brave, though people keep listening to this crap so advertisers are always going to chase the audience … obviously Jenny Craig has run a risk assessment for their brand should anything (which will) happen. Or at least I hope they have!
16 Jan 12
9:35 am
Well then time to dump Jenny.
16 Jan 12
9:51 am
Wow.
16 Jan 12
10:19 am
Well that shows how much they respect their customers.
16 Jan 12
10:31 am
That’s incredibly ironic, after what he said about Magda Szubanski…
16 Jan 12
10:34 am
Goodbye Jenny Craig.
16 Jan 12
11:45 am
You just remember that, Kyle. 2012 means a new year, and no more excuses.
16 Jan 12
12:31 pm
Well it seems the only thing Jenny (formerly Jenny Craig) has lost in doing this is their integrity!!! Well done Jenny, you’ve proven to women worldwide that your brand is about money and not about helping them with self esteem!
16 Jan 12
1:13 pm
Does anybody here who claims they will now boycott Jenny Craig think the company is worried? I would bet $1000 most of you were never Jenny Craig customers in the first place and were never likely to be a customer. If you don’t like Kyle why don’t you just change the radio station and listen to something else? People who DO enjoy listening to him and find him entertaining don’t spend their days writing letters to editors telling other people what they should listen to. I think Alan Jones is a total wanker but I don’t tell other people not to listen to him and I don’t sign petitions asking for him to be taken off air. If somebody wants to listen to him that’s their business. Listen to whatever you like. Don’t tell others what they can or cannot like. Are you all going to boycott Foxtel as well? They are also sponsors of the show. What about Spotlight and Network 10?
16 Jan 12
1:33 pm
Fail. I really do not know how anyone can recommend their show to a client and spin it as great for brand assocation.
16 Jan 12
2:05 pm
never been a fan of kyle. never been a fan of celebrities pushing any kind of weight loss.. none of them to this day however have ever been so much of a bully. what are his adds going to be? bullying us into jenny? calling us all fat slags? telling men that if they call a woman fat and ignore their own problems to call jenny?
i would be a customer of jenny, but now it seems they have lost all sincerity… which i guess they didn’t have in the first place (which i was a fool to believe in. i guess…. but that’s marketing.)
16 Jan 12
2:19 pm
Ha – can see the new campaign now…..
Kyle: “listen all you fat slags, drag your beefy big butts into Jenny’s now, or I’ll stay on air….”
16 Jan 12
2:22 pm
Maybe their next campaign could be something like ‘Say goodbye to the fat slag in you’ ? After all they obviously support that kind of thing…..
16 Jan 12
2:22 pm
How on earth could they possibly support Kyle and Jackie O???.
So Jenny Craig thinks it’s okay to call people (clients) fat slags??
WOW!!!!
Do you lose brain cells with Jenny?
16 Jan 12
3:00 pm
Its a disgrace that Jenny Craig would sign up as a sponsor after the fat slag comments Kyle made. .. WTF was their marketing department thinking!!
16 Jan 12
3:15 pm
David,
You don’t have to be a customer to do damage. All you have to do is encounter someone considering being a customer of Jenny Craig and say “Oh, but did you know that they are the primary supporter of Kyle Sandiland’s show, where he gets away with calling women fat slags, not to mention makes threats against them?”
Sure its not guaranteed they’ll lose a customer, but its taking an unnecessary risk.
16 Jan 12
3:32 pm
This is either really brilliant, or downright, no-questions-asked, ridiculously, preposterously stupid. just cant decide which!
16 Jan 12
3:43 pm
no, its downright stupid.
Why cant we get this idiot off air?
16 Jan 12
3:49 pm
The topic of weight really gets people going… LOL. Why are Fat people so sensitive? For many years and quite successfully, Jenny Craig has been in the business of helping people overcome their need to over-eat to compensate for their perceived lack of affection. If Jenny wants to reach people fed up with their size through Kyle, as far as I can see, he is an apt spokesperson
16 Jan 12
4:07 pm
Crazy. I see their facebook page is copping criticism as no doubt are their other social media sites. Obviously the marketing/PR team at Qantas got the flick and moved over to Jenny Craig.
16 Jan 12
4:09 pm
You know, sometimes when I read these comments I wonder if I’m on a media and marketing website have somehow accidentally navigated to the Daily Telegraph comments section.
@David — you are a beacon of sense a cesspool of inanity.
16 Jan 12
4:13 pm
I will be boycotting these idiots.
I was impressed by Jenny Craig’s campaign featuring a strong, youthful, vibrant & sometimes outspoken role model like Mel B & inspired by her success.
Now, however, I have lost all respect for the organisation & feel their Marketing Department has seriously lost the plot.
I’m baffled as to why a brand like Jenny Craig that is targeted predominantly at women would choose to advertise on a station like 2Day FM & in the time slot of a known misogynist like Sandilands.
Forget the poor excuse that it’s a popular radio station, I work in Marketing & Advertising & am well aware of the ratings & demographics – as many of you would be. The popularity for their demographic is negligibly close between 2Day FM, Nova, Mix & other stations. They could have easily reached their target market & maintained their brand’s respect & image by spending their advertising dollars elsewhere.
I’m disgusted that a brand that is meant to inspire & empower women would choose to align itself with a deplorable human being who is a known women hater & who has been threatening & foul mouthed towards women – over & over. A lame FORCED apology (about the 100th one now) from Sandilands is not an excuse or reason to support him. In fact, supporting him now, after he has been repeatedly vile without repercussion is like supporting everything he has done in the past – including the vilification of women, repeated & unrelenting insults to overweight women & even insults to your former spokesperson Magda – do they support his comments that Jenny Craig didn’t do enough for Magda & “You put her in a concentration camp and you watch the weight fall, like she could be skinny.”??
Apparently he doesn’t believe in their program – why spend advertising dollars with him?
Sandilands has repeatedly been vile & disrespectful of women & Jenny Craig’s association with him is a poor decision – one which will lose business & damage their brand irreparably.
I will be signing petitions & taking action to raise awareness against Kyle Sandilands & now, against Jenny Craig who foolishly support such an appalling human being.
Just because he’s famous (for being a no talent hack, controversial & insulting) doesn’t mean he’s a good role model or good association for any brand – nor does it mean it’s ok for him to be violent, threatening or disrespectful of women. Yet Jenny Craig, a brand that’s meant to be ‘for’ women is supporting him. Madness. Their Marketing Deparment & Marketing Manager should be sacked.
Where are your brand’s ethics Jenny Craig? Shame on you!
16 Jan 12
4:16 pm
David, I personally had to make that decision a few months back. I chose a different company.
This fat slag is very glad she made the right decision and didn’t choose Jenny. If I had, I would definitely be considering my options right now.
This isn’t a product for those who are in lower socio-economic groups – it costs a fair few $$. I’m on the cheapest program (with their competitor) and it’s $140.00 a week (plus you’ve got to buy milk). When I did my cost comparison when I made the original decision, Jenny cost more than that.
So, I wonder, by advertising with 2Day, are they actually talking to the women with money? Or are they talking to women in their target market range who can’t afford it?
And you know what? The Magda comment from KS is a good reflection – he’s effectively slagged off their brand in the past.
Who wants to place bets on how long it takes for him to make a cruel “Maybe you should go to Jenny Craig?” remark?
16 Jan 12
4:28 pm
So a few of you really were potential customers and the sponsorship deal has cost Jenny your business. How about the number of new customers the sponsorship brings in? You assume everybody makes business decisions with their heart. What if there is no other company offering the deal or service Jenny is offering? What if the only weight-loss organisation in your local area is Jenny? Will you support BP, Caltex, Shell, etc. and drive further to a different weight-loss center?
As for the unnecessay risk, that is the art of business. Obviously somebody in their marketing department has weighed up (no pun intended) the risks and decided the pay-off is worth more than the cost. I think it will be interesting to see if they increase their customer base thanks to the sponsorship and if they do will all you complainers and petitioners come up with a new argument?
16 Jan 12
4:31 pm
@David – as you probably know, a boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with an organisation as an expression of protest. Jenny Craig should be worried about this, it’s very damaging to the brand. Being in marketing I assume we all know the effect of bad publicity & PR on a brand’s strength, perception & success. These kinds of poor marketing decisions cast doubt on the whole organisation’s ethics & ability to make good business decisions. I’m not going to use them & I certainly wouldn’t be recommending them to anyone who needed help in this area. They’re now an organisation I have no respect for & hold in contempt for their ridiculous decisions. I don’t listen to 2Day FM – this goes much deeper than that. Sandilands is a vile, deplorable misogynist & it’s dangerous having people like him in positions with any influence at all. People hear him mocking, threatening & being disrespectful of others – especially women & overweight people (of which he is one) & see him making money for it – it’s unhealthy. My opinion is that he needs to be taken off air & I’m using my voice to stand up for what I believe in, I don’t use it for everything & I’ve never written a letter to an Editor, but I think getting him off the air is a cause worth putting my energy into & as they say ‘one person can make a difference’.
16 Jan 12
4:41 pm
Goodbye Jenny, Hello Lite & Easy!!!
16 Jan 12
4:59 pm
@ David as the only person not appalled at fat Jenny’s association with the horrible Sandilands there is just one question: do you work for the agency, or have you lost so much weight your head has caved in?
16 Jan 12
5:22 pm
Kyle’s rants have sent the negative body image message to the demographic Jenny Craig are aiming for. It’s a perfect match.
16 Jan 12
5:35 pm
It is not only the Jenny brand that will suffer but also the staff. Imagine being one of the hundreds of consultants they have around the country and having to defend your employer in the face of the indefensible! I’d like to see their staff turnover rates in 2012 versus LY. This does not just raise the ire of the female population, or the Syney population. It is a national interest issue. David has a strong argument, however he is ignoring the magnitude and consistency of popular opinion, as is Kyle’s employer.
16 Jan 12
5:52 pm
Perhaps he will promote his own brand of Tosser Salad!
16 Jan 12
7:54 pm
You’ve all had look at their Facebook page, yeah?
That right there is a slow-motion social media train wreck.
Grab yourself some popcorn and go have a look.
16 Jan 12
10:30 pm
If you take a look at Facebook now you can see they have discontinued advertising with the show. You can see that they had to post on the US Page which surely there will be interest from the US now in whats gone on.
The power of social media.
16 Jan 12
10:41 pm
A win for common sense as JC pulls their ads after one day… Who else wants to try and sponsor this man?
16 Jan 12
11:07 pm
Jenny Craig have announced on FB that they have pulled their sponsorship of the 2day b’fast show. Shame it came a day too late
16 Jan 12
11:50 pm
Very happy to report that JC have pulled their advertising with Austereo.
It just goes to show that in this day & age companies need to consider the impact of their decisions & the power of the people – especially in regards to the internet & social media.
I applaud JC for pulling their advertising with Austereo, but it should be remembered that there was absolutely no sense in a company run predominantly by women & for women to be associated with a station who’s main draw-card is someone with an atrocious history of insulting & threatening women & overweight people.
I feel for the person who was tasked with responding, but note that they should be furious with their Marketing Manager for making such a disgraceful & ridiculous decision in the first place – that’s who put them in this situation, not those who reacted. I would also give credit to the way they dealt with the very ugly response to the whole situation on Facebook & Twitter. Their apologies are also very humble.
I hope the Marketing Department & Manager consider their advertising campaigns more thoughtfully in future & consider the power of the internet & social media in this day & age.
Well done JC for rectifying the mistake & I hope the poor person who had to deal with the fallout is handsomely compensated!
17 Jan 12
8:20 am
David,
Honestly am i the only one that agrees with you?… Kyle has always been a shock jock, he has always been someone who speaks their mind rather then sucking up the rear ends of every person that listens to him.
All these people shooting their opinions about signing petitions will NEVER get off their cabooses coz they find it too much effort. They talk big, but think small.
Jenny craigs name is out their now, and thats what marketing professionals do, get their name out there. Kyle will be on the radio for a long time and still be number one.
I would even bet, that 60% of you all listen to him and find him funny!!! but just want to be part of a failing bandwagon to have your irionic voices heard. Why…. because nobody normally wants to hear your whining.
Go eat a donut.
Kyle : Keep up the good work, and let these people who want equal rights cop equal rights. 10/10 work!
Teddy B
17 Jan 12
11:43 am
Everyone needs to get a life.
I agree with Teddy and David.
17 Jan 12
1:14 pm
@ teddy – much like Kyle you are a bully who doesn’t like anyone to have an opinion but feel it’s ok for you to have one. Also, just like Kyle, you have nothing intelligent to offer so you stoop to ridiculous high school style jibes like “go eat a donut”. Kyle is not funny, the issues of being a racist, a mysoginist, a sexist or a bully aer also not funny or to be ridiculed. The intelligent people who have voiced their opinions here have a right to do so, even if they’re not in line with yours. Go read a book.
20 Jan 12
4:25 am
to be honest good on them, not sure how they thought sponsoring a pig would of brought good publicity. Agree if you don’t like it then don’t listen to it hence they’ve stopped the sponsorship. Its nice to see a company actually sticking to their core values.
@ teddy- out of curiosity how is calling someone a fat slag.. equality??