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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.
Geekdom becomes latest Photon firm to restructure
Geekdom is set to be the second Photon company in recent days to undergo a major restructure, Mumbrella can reveal.
Boss Troy Rushton confirmed to Mumbrella that an announcement is imminent on Geekdom’s consumer-facing division Geekversity.
Geekversity claims to be able to teach its clients how to make money in online marketing. It charges several thousand dollars per course. Last week it was reported by News Ltd that the company was facing a customer revolt and cashflow issues. A Facebook group, The Geekversity Issues Group, has also been set up tackling similar topics.
And in October it was reported in B&T that Geekdom had let go of nearly 20 staff.
Rushton denied that the company is set to close its doors, telling Mumbrella that industry rumours of more staff being made redundant this week were untrue.
He said: “There’s been nothing going on like that. There might be an announcement next week. Geekdom got into a consumer business and it’s not what we want to be in. There will be a communication coming next week.”
He declined to say whether this would be the closure or sale of Geekversity.
The reshaping of Geekdom comes days after fellow Photon company The Population revealed that it was to shut, with staff moving to sister company C4.
December 11th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
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Comments
11 Dec 09
3:37 pm
I’m not sure how Rushton’s claim that “industry rumours of more staff being made redundant this week were untrue” fits with a Geekdom employee telling me today they’d just been made redundant. I’m so confused.
11 Dec 09
4:05 pm
Yeah, I’m with @stilgherrian. Thats what i was told today, too
11 Dec 09
4:48 pm
Has anyone had any experience with the Geekdom “Parklings” sites? I have been considering buying the program. Just not sure about products from Geekdom right now.
thx
11 Dec 09
4:57 pm
@ networkingprincess I would look at the sites on their own merits. They launched that Geekversity business right at the beginning of the GFC, so was always going to be tough to sustain, even with Photon behind them.
11 Dec 09
5:18 pm
I’m not confused. Geekversity staff and management like to say a lot of things and a small percentage of it is true.
11 Dec 09
5:25 pm
@Wheez: So what sort of person would, you know, lie about their work or business? I’m still confused…
11 Dec 09
5:30 pm
I’m confused too, Stil.
Obviously Geedom is part of an ASX-listed company, so for the boss to deliberately mislead the market by lying to me would clearly be a very serious matter.
I can only assume the rumours I keep hearing are incorrect.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
11 Dec 09
6:07 pm
Hi, I actually enrolled in one of their courses… paid my deposit but left the course after 1 month.
Interesting ideas.. but the price was waaaayy too high.
11 Dec 09
10:23 pm
Rushton is full of it. I know at least three people who’ve been made redundant from that company last week.
12 Dec 09
1:02 pm
I want to see Geekdom and Geekversity do the right thing by their students and give the full refund that is deserved.
13 Dec 09
10:46 am
i was a customer and having been burnt by Troy and his geeks decided to investigate their business. I hear they are facing millions of dollars in claims from people like me and all but 20 staff have / are going to be made redundant.
Not sure he is telling the whole story to you or anyone…
13 Dec 09
8:11 pm
Many students have submitted claims to Office of Fair Trading this week in an attempt to recover their money. Geekversity announced they have moved to a new location on Friday.
13 Dec 09
10:50 pm
20 or more student have now submitted a claim NSW office of fair trading and more coming in daily.
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.....laintclick
14 Dec 09
11:50 am
I’m also an ex-student of Geekversity who has been asking for a refund for more than 2 months now … I’ve also submitted a claim through the CTTT
14 Dec 09
1:36 pm
Geekversity have not been very honest with us students. After announcing the changes in the program, an offer of a refund was also announced. When too many people started asking for a refund, they reneged and said it was no longer an option.
I have been waiting 6 months for my refund and have not received my revenue from traffic trading.. even though I had paid my fees. After promises of profits, they have not only put me in debt, but wasted my valuable time. If anyone is considering a refund or just can’t get through to them about your own future with them, i suggest lodging a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading.
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.....laintclick
14 Dec 09
7:46 pm
Between myself, boyfriend, his brother inlaw and a business partner (edited for legal reasons), we too have tried everything to get at least some funds back and nothing. We are not giving up though…..
15 Dec 09
3:12 am
I worked within Geekversity throughout the entire start up and failure of this project. (Edited for legal reasons). Not only did he fail to deliver a product to the consumer market that was in any way proven but he also (edited for legal reasons). Geekversity will at best be sold but I would be surprised who would take on the mess to be honest. I can only hope that most of the individuals who made this “investment” can get something in return aside from the false promises! Tim, (edited for legal reasons) Dont be fooled! Stay away from any GV or Geekdom products
15 Dec 09
10:40 pm
The numbers regarding redundancies don’t stack up. At its height, Geekdom had 80 staff. About 20 (roughly) were made redundant in October and another 20 (roughly) were transferred with the sale of Geekversity. While this should leave 40 in the office, I have been told there are only 20 remaining.
Sadly, my attempts to clarify this and a few other questions have gone awry. Very few companies include contact numbers on press releases and then don’t return calls, but Photon chairman Tim Hughes and chief executive Matthew Bailey currently are in their own class. They have also instructed all staff to send media inquiries – particularly those from The Advertiser – through a subsidiary, City PR, where no comment is made by its director, Tim Allerton. Strangely enough, this lack of communication only started when I wrote an article about Geekdom and its problems.
From a professional perspective, I am more inclined to give credit to companies whose senior officers are able to front the media. Those that hide tend to have something to hide.
Russell Emmerson, The Advertiser
17 Dec 09
11:43 am
Just another unhappy GV student, I have also been waiting a number of months for my refund, after sending in my cancellation letter there has been NO communication from GV, not surprising really. The ethics of the ‘powers to be’ are non-existent!!! Stop hiding behind false lies, PR companies, come clean, have respect for your disgruntled customers and for yourselves for that matter. Do the right thing!!!
17 Dec 09
9:59 pm
As someone who has been closely associated with GV both inside and out I can say they tried to deal with a lot of false promises made by (edited for legal reasons)
Troy tried to recover and do the right thing by his customers and the right thing legally.
17 Dec 09
10:48 pm
(Edited for legal reasons)
17 Dec 09
11:17 pm
I have been involved with GV/Geekdom as a student and also friends of previous and current owners. Once owned by the corporate Photon they seem to have totally fallen apart and not understood the skill required to deliver.
(Edited for legal reasons).
18 Dec 09
12:25 am
@Don’t believe the bull you must have worked in a bloody different GV office to me.. (edited for legal reasons)
The only good thing they did was let me go so i didn’t have to go down with them.
18 Dec 09
12:37 pm
Troy is a very intelligent “can do” man with big dreams and loads of energy. Others may think he’s a (edited for legal reasons) but I’m sure he thought GV was a good product. Bet Tim Hughes is mighty cross – might even make Troy sell his car… house?
18 Dec 09
12:59 pm
For legal reasons, we’re going to have to close comments on this post.
For consumers trying to reach others in the same situation, I suggest following the above link to the Facebook group.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella