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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.
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.
Always on…. and the Derek Zoolander school for journos who think there are ten months in a year
Not that The Daily Telegraph is excited about the Optus 4G rollout or anything, but it does report the news today in separate stories on pages 3, 24 and 25.
Meanwhile, The Tele’s blue steel reporter Phil Jacob may have made the cut for Cleo Bachelor of the Year, but he can’t do maths good. News Limited’s own Derek Zoolander tells readers today:
“It was Budget night in Canberra in May 2012. As a group of fellow journalists gathered to drink away the fact we were, indeed, in Canberra, a dangerous idea was planted. “It’ll be fun,” they said. “You’ll have a blast,” they said.
“Fast forward nine months and while I might have (thankfully) forgotten most of the details of that night… clearly my ‘so-called friends’ didn’t.
“‘Hi Phil, I’m calling to let you know you’ve made the cut for Cleo Bachelor of the Year this year,’ a nice-sounding lady said a month ago.”
Big data to be big deal at Mumbrella360
Fairfax’s Harrison
Ten’s Horne
The growing use of data in marketing will be explored in a series of three sessions at Mumbrella360 next month.
In a session curated by advertising technology company Alphabird, brands and publishers will debate how to utilise insights from data in business, share candid examples of the pitfalls they have encountered, along with tips to employ big data more successfully. The panel will discuss the entire spectrum of data implementation from publisher solutions to media targeting, and provide compelling case studies to demonstrate practical applications.
The panel includes Ed Harrison, group sales director, Fairfax Media, Rebekhan Horne, Ten Network’s chief digital officer, Willie Pang, Asia-Pacific CEO of Alphabird, and Warren Billington, managing director of marketing software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Acxiom. It will draw from their experience in coping with the overload of consumer data and how to use it to drive effective communications. Read more »
Conroy’s underpants auction raises $2bn – mostly from Telstra – in spectrum sell-off
The government’s spectrum auction to telcos has raised just under $2bn for the government, less than market expectations.
Telstra snapped up the most expensive spectrum – suggesting it is likely to extend its dominance in the market offering 4G and 3G mobile services.
Optus bought more than half a billion dollars of spectrum according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority announcement.
TPG Internet spent a relatively modest $13m and Vodafone withdrew from the auction, suggesting its poor network reputation is unlikely to see much relief.
Some spectrum remained unsold.
The auction – in part made up of the airwaves which will be freed up when the analogue TV signal is switched off – became infamous after media minister Stephen Conroy boasted that he could make the telcos wear red underpants on their heads if he wanted to do so as part of the process.
The winning bids: Read more »
Fuel Communications wins Optus consumer and small to medium business accounts
Public relations agency Fuel Communications has won the account for Optus’s consumer and small to medium business accounts.
The announcement:
Leading independent, award winning PR agency, Fuel Communications has kicked-off 2013 with strong growth following its appointment as Optus’ consumer and SMB public relations agency and the addition of four new consultants to its team.
After a competitive pitch process, Fuel is now working with the Optus Corporate Affairs team to develop a consumer PR strategy that supports key business initiatives, with a focus on consumer lifestyle, national, metro and regional media. Fuel will also work across Optus’ sponsorship properties and major integrated campaigns.
A separate competitive pitch for Optus’ SMB portfolio was won by Fuel last week and will see Fuel roll out a 12 month program to position Optus SMB as a trusted advisor to small businesses.
Fuel is not new to the Optus business, having handled its regional communications program since 2011. In addition to a number of corporate projects, Fuel helped Optus launch its 4G network in September 2012. The “The Optus Fast Four” campaign brought together four of the world’s fastest record holders to build consumer awareness of the new network offering.
Managing Director of Fuel Communications, Mandy Galmes said, “Our strategy is to grow the business with clients who value our strong insight, creative thinking and no nonsense approach. And, importantly, we want to partner with brands that provide innovative and challenging work for our team.
“The Optus win is extremely exciting. As one of Australia’s leading brands, there is an enormous amount of scope for PR campaigns that centre on brand engagement. We look forward to working with Optus as it transforms into a customer centric business and challenges the traditional perception of telcos in this market,” Galmes said.
The Optus win caps off a strong new business streak for Fuel with several wins in both the consumer and B2B spaces. Most recently it won the Mi9 account which sees it supporting the company’s 80+ sites such as ninemsn, Nine News, Wide World of Sports, The FIX, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Grazia and Woman’s Day – to name a few.
To support its growth, Fuel has recruited four new consultants this year and is currently on the lookout for an ambitious, tenacious Account Manager with strong media relations experience as well as digital capabilities.
Source: Fuel Communications press release
Ten appoints Martyn Raab to senior commercial role
Network Ten’s new chief digital officer Rebekah Horne has made her first senior appointment, hiring longtime mobile specialist Martyn Raab to the role of director of commercial business development.
Raab joins the company tomorrow. Read more »
The Marketing Zoo absorbs Digital Stampede and rebrands to Zoo Republic
Sydney-based promotional marketing agency The Marketing Zoo has merged with sister agency Digital Stampede and changed its name to Zoo Republic.
The merged brand has 56 staff, now all housed in The Marketing Zoo’s premises in Pyrmont, with Digital Stampede’s staff moving across.
CEO David Lo said that the merger comes after the agency’s “best ever year” in its 13-year history. Read more »
Smartphone app project for seniors Silverline is coming to Australia
Silverline, a start-up that develops smartphone apps for seniors, is to launch in Australia this winter.
The Singapore-based venture began as a charity to collect and repurpose smart phones and run apps on them designed for seniors, such as a medication reminder, a picture-based contact list and a photo-sharing service.
The next phase is a commercial service targeting families that offers more sophisticated apps. There are also plans to launch a work app that will enable seniors to get paid for doing small tasks. Read more »
Watch it online
What is the state of the online video streaming market in Australia? Will there ever be a single platform or a Hulu-style service available? Nic Christensen finds out.
Will Australia ever get its own version of Hulu? The question of a single platform for IPTV has long been a discussion point for Australian television, but it appears the answer increasingly is no. Read more »
Two new appointments for Urban
Independent agency Urban has made some announcements for the digital and strategy departments.
The announcement:
In a period of rapid growth, independent Brand Experience agency, URBAN, has bolstered its digital and strategy departments appointing digital business lead, Geoffrey Emerson and Strategy Planner, Sarah May.
As Digital Business Director, Geoffrey is charged with spearheading URBAN’s digital evolution. Geoffrey brings 16 years experience in US and Australian PR and Digital agencies including Zing and New Republique.
During his career, Geoffrey has developed campaigns for some of the world’s most influential brands including McDonald’s, Optus, Pfizer, Telstra and Logitech UE.
As Strategy Planner, Sarah brings a diverse strategy background to URBAN, having spent seven years client-side at Coca-Cola and Ernst & Young before moving agency-side to the likes of TCO and PLAY Communication.
Sarah has worked in a vast range of industry sectors earning a reputation for adding value both to brands and agencies, achieving exceptional results and building strong relationships.
Geoffrey and Sarah helped to deliver the pair’s first win at URBAN recently picking up digital business with iNova Pharmaceuticals brands; Difflam™, Duro-Tuss™, Dermaveen®, Hiprex™ and Dermatix™.
URBAN Co-Founder and Director, Gavin McDonough, said: “Whilst experiential marketing may have taken time to permeate here in Australia, it’s now a critical part of the marketing mix. Due to this, the most effective experiential agencies are truly multi-disciplinary, strategically led and digitally proficient. It is this market expectation that has allowed forward-thinking businesses like URBAN to flourish and take on purely digital opportunities like that with iNova.”
Source: Urban press release.
Aussie marketers ‘wasting’ email medium with one in five emails going missing
A new report suggests that more than 20 per cent of emails sent by brands to consumers never make it to their target group’s inboxes.
Chairman of the US Direct Marketing Association Matt Blumberg has told Mumbrella the missing emails are hurting Australian marketers.
“Because email is relatively inexpensive people haven’t focused on this problem for a long time. But with one in five emails ‘going dark’ there is a huge opportunity cost to that,” said Blumberg, who is also the CEO of global email intelligence firm Return Path.
“It’s a waste of the customer acquisition expense, waste of email technology expense and customer service expense. So it is a significant challenge for marketers.”
Optus restructures consumer marketing division
Optus has announced it will restructure its consumer marketing division as part of a wider shake up that will likely see the company shed jobs in its marketing, IT and networks divisions.
The changes sees Optus move its mobile and services development functions away from marketing to its customer division.
Optus is also creating a dedicated brand and marketing communication group which will report to consumer CEO Kevin Russell. Read more »
New Leo Burnett appointments announced
The new Leo Burnett appointments
Leo Burnett has employed two new senior figures to its Sydney planning department.
Former Foxtel head of digital marketing Oli Mistry has been appointed to the newly created position of digital strategy director, while Caroline Ghatt moves into the new position of planning director, brand and retail.
WiTH Collective restructures management team
WiTH Collective’s Lauren Boyce and Lara Hally promoted
Independent creative agency WiTH Collective has undergone a restructure of its management team.
Hally Lara has been bumped up to general manager while Lauren Boyce has been moved to client services director. Read more »
M&C Saatchi Australia appoints Ogilvy UK boss Jaimes Leggett as CEO
Jaimes Leggett
M&C Saatchi Australia has appointed Jaimes Leggett from Ogilvy UK to lead the agency as chief executive.
Leggett will not replace ‘the two Toms’, worldwide chairman Tom Dery and regional creative director Tom McFarlane who said: “We’re not going anywhere.”
Leggett will run the agency of 400 staff in two offices, which counts CommBank, David Jones, Dick Smith, Google, News Limited and Optus as clients.
“Jaimes is a proven leader, problem solver and generator of new business. His experience in dealing with global ideas and digital businesses has equipped him well to lead our group into the future,” said Dery in a media statement. Read more »
Coles Status Quo ‘Down, down’ pips banned Lynx ‘clean you balls’ to the most Googled ad of 2012
Lynx balls ad: banned for demeaning old people
One of the most complained about ads of the year was one of the most Googled.
Unilever’s ‘clean your balls’ ad for Lynx shower gel – which was let off by the advertising watchdog for sexism, racism and bad language but banned for demeaning old people – was the second most search-for ad on Google in 2012.
The only more popular search was for a widely lampooned TV commercial for supermarket giant Coles, the search engine has revealed. Read more »
Ikon’s national trading director Nicole Turley leaves after nine years to join Starcom
Nicole Turley
Ikon Communications’ long-serving national trading director Nicole Turley is joining Starcom MediaVest Group.
Turley, who has spent almost nine years of her career with the STW Group-owned media agency, takes on the role of national investment director at Starcom.
She starts in her new role on 4 March.
Starcom Australia CEO John Sintras told Mumbrella: Read more »
Andrew Gunsberg to leave The Hot Hits
Presenter Andrew Günsberg will leave MCM Media’s syndicated radio show The Hot Hits at the end of the year. Günsberg has been broadcasting the show which counts down the US’s top 35 songs with interviews and celeb news. The show is hear on the Today Network and regional stations. No replacement has yet been announced. Günsberg has not yet announced his next move.
The announcement: Read more »
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