-
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.
Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year loses a third of its audience
The second outing for Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year saw its audience fall by more than a third on the show’s debut.
Last night’s episode, featuring the pair’s adventures in New York, rated 1.069m – down 36% on the previous week’s 1.456m debut.
The fall is particularly noticeable because the audience the show inherited from Hot Property was actually slightly up on the previous week.
However, the show still won its 8.30pm timeslot. It narrowly beat The Renovators on Ten which rated 1.056m according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTam. However, Ten will have been delighted to have delivered an episode with an audience above 1m. And Seven’s Law & Order LA rated just 633,000.
Also in the 8.30pm slot, the ABC’s legal drama Crownies continued to suffer, with an audience of 567,000.
Top show for the night was ten’s Masterchef, which rated 1.691m, ahead of Nine’s The Block on 1.353m, and the cooking contest’s highest Thursday night rating of the series.
Continuing the story of Seven’s bad Thursday, Sunrise was beaten by Today, with the closes of margin – 379,000 to 378,000.
-
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Account Manager – Top Media Agency – To $80 package
- Client Service Manager – Fantastic Media Agency – To $80 package
- Business Development/Marketing Manager – Consumer Tech Experience – $100-150k
- Top Jnr to Midweight Creative Team
- Digital Copywriter with big thinking
- Super Art Director/Copywriter Team with 360˚ thinking
- Junior Community Manager | Sensis | 6 months contract
- Mid Level PHP Developer- Creative- Up to $67K + Super Ref 6488
- Account Executive
- Communications Manager
-
RSS
Comments
5 Aug 11
9:35 am
Shame, it was a funny episode.
5 Aug 11
9:44 am
I watched it for the first time last night and thought it was awful. It was like two school boys being idiots and repeating the joke over and over – but the jokes weren’t even funny. I see it as more of a Channel 11 show – or pay TV attracting a smaller audience – not on prime time. Very dull and I wouldn’t watch again
5 Aug 11
9:57 am
Oh. That’s a shame because last night (except for that tunnel thing with James Franco) was really funny!
5 Aug 11
10:30 am
Can we start a book on what the average audience numbers over the 10 weeks will be? I’d predict high 8′s to low 9′s next week.
5 Aug 11
10:33 am
Hamish & Andy’s Crap Year.
Enough said.
5 Aug 11
11:02 am
I find H & A hilarious! Shows of a similar format (SNL, Chelsea Handler etc), always have segments that fall a little flat or don’t appeal to everyone. To be honest, I think Aussies are harsh critics of our own stars.
5 Aug 11
11:10 am
As usual, here come the haters…. ! Their demo is teens and young 20s, not you lot so that you don’t want to watch it or even like it is irrelevant. I thought their second show was so much better than their first and am willing to bet their numbers stay the same or higher all run. Good on you lads!!
5 Aug 11
11:22 am
No doubt those folk viewed the first episode & thought it was poorly structured self-indulgence with a massive reliance on props & an assumed interest/liking for sub-Rove/Austereo narcissism.
5 Aug 11
11:32 am
The show isn’t funny. Its a poor mans Letterman style set. I can’t see Nine keeping it on if it continues to drop and it will. They are great on radio, that’s where they need to stay, or go back to 10 and try that style of show there!
The lets take a funny look at the US is old news its been tried before, and just isn’t funny in 2011.
5 Aug 11
11:46 am
i watched the tunnel thing. it was painful. Even high on crack cookies i felt terribly sorry for them.
5 Aug 11
11:54 am
Embarrassing to say the least. what was channel nine thinking paying the money they paid for these bozos.THEY ARE NOT FUNNY!! hamish looks wierd!
5 Aug 11
11:58 am
I’d be more worried if i was Channel TEN, 2 weeks in and ‘The Renovators’ has only just cracked the million….. (H&A also beat it last night!)
Also good point made by ‘GEM’. You are right mate, it was the second show for the night in PPL 16-39 (behind Masterchef).
Again, TEN are the ones that need to be having a good look at themselves, when Masterchef finishes this Sunday night, they will be hurting big time – I can’t see Renovators lifting that much despits the new time slot. Their next top program for the night for the next 2 months will be 7PM Project on 700k
5 Aug 11
12:05 pm
Wanted to like it but too lightweight. Not enough substance. Radio guys on TV!
5 Aug 11
12:51 pm
Hello mUmBRELLA
I would appreciate audience numbers for Channel 7′s bold programming of a US produced history of WWII The Lost Films:The Air War starting in 1943 or was it only shown on PRIME in country areas. Regards AFH
5 Aug 11
1:07 pm
Hamish & Andy are as funny as cancer. Adolescent giggling schoolboy humour. Channel 9 derserve evrything they get by picking up these bozos.
5 Aug 11
1:09 pm
Just goes to show that these days you can’t debut with a dud episode, especially after heavy promotion – audiences don’t come back. Last night was much better than the opening ep, but it still needs a few more weeks to figure some things out. In a nutshell – outdoor stuff good, studio stuff bad…
With such a heavy investment ($15m according to reports!), Nine should have launched it late on a Friday night for 3-4 weeks, let the show find it’s feet, then move it into prime-time. Either that or do a couple more pilots.
5 Aug 11
1:18 pm
im the target audience and its not funny.
i laughed out loud only once in the whole thing – when Hamish did the bat lap !
the pre-recorded stuff is amusing but the ‘at the desk’ stuff is 5 star shit.
ban this filth!
5 Aug 11
1:27 pm
melbourne tonight show circa 1983
5 Aug 11
1:56 pm
3 more eps .. audience down to 700,000 …. and Kabooom! …… goodbye.
5 Aug 11
3:09 pm
act551 the TTP number was 613k
Beaten by both Hot Seat and Deal or no deal @ 5pm……
6 Aug 11
11:42 am
I thought the show improved greatly from last week and they did an awesome job.
I thought it was funny and I’m loving the segments around the states and I hope it continues to get better.
6 Aug 11
5:55 pm
I haven’t seen it so I’m not able to comment sorry. They seem like nice chaps.
8 Aug 11
4:53 pm
I think these boys are incredibly funny and talented, they have a knack for executing very funny well thought-out and orchestrated skits that are actually presented flawlessly to make the viewer feel like the whole skit was spontaneous and un-orchestrated. I am their biggest fan and have followed their career even prior them going mainstream with their own drive time show….however…I also feel I am in a position to comment that taking the medium of radio where it is all about sound to a visual presentation, I think a lot more effort is required to present to not only our ears but also present it well enough to resonate visually for us, the viewer.
They need a little more time and I am sure they will find a happy medium between the two mediums….come on Australia lay off and give them a chance!!
10 Aug 11
4:01 pm
They guys are hilarious, If you didn’t find it funny, you have no sense of humour.
Great stuff guys.
12 Aug 11
11:33 am
I have a sense of humour and I found this episode dull, boring and obviously not funny. Andy has no comic appeal and just waits for Hamish to say something stupid, so he can pull a stupid face and say ‘come on hamish blah blah blah.
total shit but oh well maybe channel nine should just put on repeats of full frontal, pretty sure that would get more of an audience. And christ, it’s actually funny!
can’t wait till it gets canned, fingers crossed that’ll be next week
16 Aug 11
12:39 pm
I deperately want to get some tickets for the Hamish and Andy gap year reocording on the week 24/9/22, has anybody any idea how I go about acquring them?
19 Aug 11
2:38 pm
These guys produce some good stuff, they don’t care if you don’t like it cause it’s aimed to be a stupid/random show. Sick of these fools commenting trying to critisise their work. If it is that easy you go do it. Its something interesting to watch and if you dont like it just dont watch it you morons.
25 Aug 11
5:17 pm
These bozos are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike and
as funny as dog crap on white bed sheets. This is just more tripe we get
served up to on free to air PR dingbats!