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Opinion
Video: How to win new business
Mumbrella Question Time saw the panel asked the secrets of winning new business. Read more »
Let’s stop the anonymous vitriol
In this guest posting, Peter Bray, boss of The Brand Shop, takes issue with negative comments from anonymous posters on Mumbrella and elsewhere.
There are very few ads that I vehemently dislike. There are also very few ads that I really love. But most ads I see on Mumbrella and other blogs I can usually take something from, whether it is information about the brand, a bit of inspiration or a “watch out”. I’m open to learning as much as I can from others, and encourage those around me to do the same.
My basic assumption, however, is that because an ad has been produced by a professional agency, and had the approval from the client, then the end result must be doing something right. Therefore, without knowing the practical rationale behind the ad, for me to have a strong opinion about whether it is great advertising would be kind of arrogant. There is a reason that awards shows ask for information about why an ad was created: they are rarely judged on end product alone.
So as someone who enjoys watching the work that our industry creates, I am stunned at the level of vitriol stemming from some people’s comments in both this blog and others. Read more »
Read his lips
This is several weeks old, but worth a look. It’s certainly an original way to deal with media criticism.It features Air NZ boss Rob Fyfe responding to weekly current affairs magazine The Listener using the medium of sign language. Read more »
Let’s not be too positive just yet – the nail is still there
It’s more than a year since News Ltd’s marketing boss Joe Talcott used the memorable analogy of a dog whimpering on a nail to describe the structural change the industry needs to go through. Read more »
The AdNews numbers that mislead the market
It’s always a tad tawdry when competitors attack each other, but I hope you’ll bear with me…
Whether cynically or through incompetence, AdNews has been misleading its advertisers by providing them with data that seems to suggest they have six times their true online audience.
Allow me to present the evidence. Read more »
Technology will help us own the agenda – all day, every day
In this opening speech to the Future Forum of the Newspaper Publishers Association, News Ltd CEO John Hartigan argued that news organisations have the opportunity to become more rather than less relevant.
Today I want to talk about a tipping point that heralds the most exciting era for journalism. The most exciting era ever.
This tipping point is already upon us. It has arrived at lightning speed, with the explosion in demand for mobile devices.
I am not consigning newspapers to the scrapheap. Not by a long shot.
But this tipping point is going to change journalism forever. In my opinion, very much for the better. Read more »
The real time shit sandwich detector
In this guest post, Clive Burcham of The Conscience Organisation, relishes the instant feedback of social media.
I’ve been making brand driven content since 1996 and often I’ve been so close to the work that I couldn’t tell the difference between if we were chomping on a shit sandwich or savouring the crème de la creme. From an audience perspective, we wouldn’t know the difference for weeks or months. What excites me most now is that we know within 24 hours if we’ve developed shit or cream. Read more »
SMH shows how to make a home page takeover work
When you’re a commercial organisation, balancing the needs of consumers with the need to make money through ads is tricky.
Among the organisations that sometimes goes the wrong way in my view is Fairfax, with its autostart video ads, for instance.
But today, a bit of unreserved praise Read more »
Inside the Foxtel factory
Having been at the launch of Foxtel’s new season the other night, nine points occur… Read more »
ABC News 24 – a handy service for niche journalists
It may not have many viewers yet, but ABC News 24 saves specialist journos having to leave their desks, argues Delimiter’s Renai LeMay
When media commentators discuss the future of journalism, they usually agree on at least one thing: It will involve much fewer generalists and more reporters dedicated to exhaustively covering niche fields. Read more »
The seven ages of Carlton Draught’s Made From Beer
Today sees the launch of “Slow Mo”, the latest instalment of Carlton Draught’s irreverent Made From Beer series.
It’s been quite a run – from the highly awarded Big Ad, to the comedy of Flash Beer, to the debacle of the abortive banned Tingle campaign. These are the seven ages of Made From Beer… Read more »
Real consumers don’t have ‘brand conversations’. They use search
In this guest posting, Simon van Wyk argues that much as marketers might wish otherwise, most consumers don’t have emotional connections with brands
I have a background in marketing, but my understanding of branding seems at odds with the 2010 opinions I see from social media commentators, marketing and advertising agencies. Read more »
Hot, censoring atheists: Google’s insight into what punters think about pollies and journos
One of the charms of Google is autocomplete, where it takes a punt on what you’re going to ask, based on what the rest of the world has been wondering previously.
And it certainly gives a few insights into the high quality of political debate about the Labor leaders in the run up to the election.
Take NSW premiere Kristina Keneally… Read more »
The copyright-busting election
This is rapidly turning into the copyright-infringing election. Read more »
Digital Fail: The gaping void in digital training is failing our industry
In this guest post, Amnesia Razorfish’s Iain McDonald warns that the industry has fallen badly behind on digital training.
Before I get accused of trolling with that headline, I’ll state what I think is obvious: The current education system isn’t producing or nurturing enough ‘digitally skilled’ individuals to sustain a growing a digital economy. Read more »
Founder of failed digital agency Topia Project Nyree Corby moves to Sapient Nitro
Nyree Corby, who created digital agency The Topia Project which went into administration owing more than 40 creditors in excess of a million dollars, has re-emerged as national business strategy director of Sapient Nitro.
She founded The Topia Project in 2005. But in 2009 Topia’s financial troubles became terminal. The Topia Project’s name was changed to CHD Marketing Services and The Topia Project name was sold to a company called Direct Media Consulting. Corby then became the CEO of the new company which continued to work from the same office with the same employees and service the same clients.
But Corby has now joined Sapient Nitro, along with digital strategist Ravi Prasad, who was previously Topia’s head of strategy.
She went public yesterday by accepting Sapient Nitro’s two awards at yesterday’s Mumbrella Readers Choice Awards. The agency won social media campaign of the year for Tourism Queensland’s Best Job in the World and it was also awarded creative agency of the year.
Corby declined to comment on Topia, but said that it was still in operation. However, the phone number listed on the website appears to be out of order and when Mumbrella visited the address listed on the Topia website, nobody was there. Neighbouring businesses told Mumbrella that nobody had been working from that office for some time.
In May, Topia’s website listed clients including Sensis, UBD, Village Roadshow, Dyson, Centrebet, RM Williams and the Canadian tourist body. This information has since been removed and it is not known what clients it works with currently.
At the time Corby said: “The financial problems were caused by a combination of my youthful optimism, some bad debts and poor financial advice.” And she said then of the new Topia Project: “Solid, stable, well funded and well resourced; The Topia Project will continue to provide a results-driven marketing approach for our clients and can achieve our vision of being the new breed of agency required for today’s media environment.”
Michael Branagh, Sapient Nitro’s national managing director, told Mumbrella: “I do know the history of Topia. We’ve taken her on with respect as an individual. It’s arm’s length, in terms of the history of Topia.” He said that at this stage no clients had come across from Topia to Sapient Nitro.
In a press release he added: “I think our investment in Nyree and Ravi will prove a wise one.
“We are looking to Nyree to help grow our business nationally. She brings to our agency a tenacious attitude that we intend to leverage to ensure that the momentum created through our success in 2009 continues into 2010 and beyond.”
December 11th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
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Comments
11 Dec 09
12:45 pm
(Edited for legal reasons)
11 Dec 09
12:48 pm
HA! Youthful optimism? (Edited for legal reasons)… I think that this report is a responsible approach from Mumbrella to ensure clients (and staff at SN) know (edited for legal reasons) what they’re dealing with…
11 Dec 09
12:50 pm
read the first paragraph – how can you appoint that record as a head of business strategy??
11 Dec 09
1:03 pm
(Deleted for legal reasons)
11 Dec 09
1:07 pm
Oops – sorry…
Here’s the thing. Most agency folk with a brain in their heads recognise that a client comes on board for the people in the team, not the experience of the agency.
“Yes it’s very nice that you’ve won Mumbrella’s Reader’s Choice Award, but what’s this I’ve heard about your new national business strategy director?” said potential client.
Regardless of the agency’s perceived industry success, clients generally start up and stay with an agency if they respect the individuals running their accounts.
Which poses a question for all you would be clients lining up to talk with SN about how you can become the next big thing…
11 Dec 09
1:44 pm
(Deleted for legal reasons)
11 Dec 09
1:45 pm
Is it me, or does Mumbrella have a little list of people they can’t resist to target?
McCann Erickson is closing its Brisbane office, sixteen jobs will be lost. When the Brisbane MD gets a new job will Mumbrella report “failed MD gets a new job” – I don’t think so.
Is it a slow news day or something?
And is there actually any point to this story? I’ve re-read it a few times and still can’t figure out what it’s getting at.
Is this just insinuation disguised as reporting? Is Mumbrella becoming the ‘Who Weekly’ of trade journals?
Entrepreneurs can fail, agencies can fail; we know advertising is a difficult business.
Things can happen. Good people can get hurt and those responsible for running the agencies have to live with the burden.
And if you do make mistakes and if things do go wrong, what are we expected to do? Are we expected to give up? No, we learn lessons, we try to make amends and we move on.
Unfortunately, it seems that Mumbrella doesn’t want us to do that.
11 Dec 09
1:51 pm
At least these comments are being posted by Mumbrella. I know another advertising blog that very much shapes the debate to favour certain people and certain agencies.
11 Dec 09
2:01 pm
To “Eek…”
(edited for legal reasons)
11 Dec 09
2:04 pm
(edited for legal reasons)
11 Dec 09
2:07 pm
(edited for legal reasons)…..
11 Dec 09
2:18 pm
Although Topia’s history is a legitimate topic for debate, unfortunately, I’m going to have to close our comments thread on this one for legal reasons.
Eek, to answer your questions, I certainly don’t feel that anyone should be pilloried for trying & failing (for instance, here’s what we wrote about The One Centre, for instance: http://mumbrella.com.au/death-.....ustry-5771 )
However the issues with Topia were not identical to that case.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella