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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.
Mediacom to restructure and switch focus from buying to strategy
Mediacom is undertaking a major restructure of the agency, led by up to ten new appointments following a year which saw high-profile client losses including the David Jones account and the departure of chairman Anne Parsons.
The changes to be unveiled to staff on February 16 are the first to be brought in by Toby Jenner since he was promoted from Sydney MD to chief executive. It is also being led by chief strategy officer Mat Baxter, chief operating officer Mark Pejic and Melbourne MD Philip Phelan.
Baxter said it will move away from its traditional focus on media buying and extend further into strategy:
We don’t want to be another big, boring, faceless media agency, there’s enough of those already. We want to be a world class communications agency that puts strategy and creativity at the heart of our business.
“This isn’t a tweak, it’s a transformation. And that’s what this business needs because we can’t continue to trade solely on our media buying heritage. Since Toby became CEO I think the appetite for change has massively increased.”
Mediacom was behind the strategy of the recent Nova campaign which saw ads placed on rival stations for fake milk brand Cowman Milk.
The ads, created by Three Drunk Monkeys, were used to promote Nova’s new breakfast line up Merrick Watts, former ABC presenter Scott Dooley and singer Ricki-Lee Coulter.
Last year, Mediacom was hit by the lost of the Nokia, Westpac and David Jones accounts. It picked up the Canon business and was retained Ikea’s media buying duties.
Its chairman Parsons announced her departure from the agency at the end of last year.
Mediacom’s major clients include the New South Wales Government, all Procter & Gamble brands, Foster’s and the Universal group of companies.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
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Comments
5 Feb 10
12:47 pm
maybe they can get Starcom to buy their media?
5 Feb 10
1:30 pm
Baxter: “…We cant continue to trade solely on our media buying heritage…”
If this muppet is now the spokes person for Mediacom god help them.
5 Feb 10
1:53 pm
Anything to back up your argument Gezza or just a gutless stab at a tall poppy?
5 Feb 10
2:29 pm
Hi Gezza & Sponge Bob,
I think I’ll go in to bat for Mat Baxter on this one too…
Mat is certainly polarising. But he’s also clever and willing to say what he thinks. In a market that is far too dominated by mere buying muscle, I’m excited to have another agency putting that front and centre. Not enough of them do.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
5 Feb 10
2:35 pm
Good on you Mediacom for making an effort. The market has become greatly commoditised and the sooner we move away from that, the higher the quality of work. This should certainly help.
5 Feb 10
2:41 pm
Really, Mediacom have been talking about this for ages. Realistically do they think clients will now suddenly pay for strategy? They need to back this “transformation” with a more credible and detailed offer based on what clients are demanding and from people who actually know what strategy is, rather than the so-called strategy most agencies sprout.
5 Feb 10
2:49 pm
Matt seems to be an easy target but he’s smart and determined. I think the next few months for mediacom will be interesting and incredibly positive.
I’m with Tim – in an industry dominated by scale and a lack of free thinking what Mediacom is trying to do could be really exciting.
5 Feb 10
3:25 pm
Good on Baxter. Good on Mediacom. If OMD can undergo such a transformation into a market-leader, then so can they… One of the smartest minds in the business running strategy – and there’s some good management talent in their besides to keep everything else on the up.
All power to them.
5 Feb 10
3:51 pm
@Stephen – Are you suggesting they should publicly detail the offer or they don’t know what strategy is. Or both?
5 Feb 10
4:12 pm
Adrian,
Not surprisingly, few agencies know what strategy is, don’t actually employ strategists (yes, Mediacom has a few) or even how to do it.
And yes they should detail their offer. What’s it going to be beyond media strategy? I know they were considering a wider offer. Hopefully it won’t be a list of headers on a website or presentation but as I stated, will be connected to both client problems and end customers.
Stephen
5 Feb 10
4:22 pm
@spongebob. Gezza told me to tell you that the comment reflects his view that for a relative newcomer to be so dismissive of the many talented peole who have worked at mediacom over the past few years show lack of judgement and maturity. I think its reasonable to expect both from the head of strategy of a large agency.
5 Feb 10
4:30 pm
Good time of the year to try and get some positive PR out there about yourself but really, let see the sausage. Every agency in town has released some dribble like this at some point in past. PS…I think that Nova and TDM are also claim to be “behind” that idea. “Success has many fathers…..” and all that.
5 Feb 10
4:36 pm
@ dont fear change….agree mat has some skill as for the “good management talent” in the business. no evidence of this anywhere and it’s really been “down and down” for these guys (in groupm style all men I note)
5 Feb 10
4:46 pm
Wondering how many of the “10 new appointments” are in strategy and are people with the skills? The agency had a sinking lid recruitment policy all of last year and was down about 20 people at one point? Agree with the above, show the sausage, not the sauce.
5 Feb 10
5:11 pm
Say What: no evidence of management skills? Remember the three man team who built up Naked in Sydney into quite an operation?
He was one of them… For whatever reason you may not have liked his management style, but that’s something different.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
5 Feb 10
5:43 pm
Dear Tim: Thanks for picking that up if that was the outtake it was not the intention….just to clarify. I was referring to the comment above from “don’t fear change” and I quote “and there’s some good management talent in their besides to keep everything else on the up”. No evidence of this in the exist management around Baxter and nothing in the business has been “on the up” for a couple of years. Agree, Mat has skills but suspect he must feel a bit lonely sometimes in that business.
5 Feb 10
5:48 pm
@Say What…
I think maybe you’re reading too much into the inevitable big loss or two that occured when Anne Parsons finally exited the building. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it’s only now, post Parsons, that the new team will get a chance to set the direction of the agency and show what they are really made of…
5 Feb 10
6:04 pm
@don’t fear change….blah blah blah……these people have been in the business for years and done nothing…..careful, your employer is showing.
5 Feb 10
10:39 pm
I’ll happily defend Mat’s management ability. The education I received while under his guidance during his last period at Mediacom (then Zenithmedia) has served me well.
I’ve been waiting to see what changes his return to the agency would bring – I honestly think the combination of Mat and Toby will herald a new era for Mediacom after what must be a dissappointing period.
Good luck lads!
6 Feb 10
8:52 pm
Good luck to them. Tough to change the fact that clients went their originally for efficient buying, and that they are staffed with great buyers. Massive job to change those two facts….whoever you are!
6 Feb 10
11:23 pm
And insecure with yourselves that you need to pour shit on change and having a go. I guess all the hero’s bagging mediacom are legends and retired on their great successes!!
7 Feb 10
1:14 pm
I wish them luck and hope all agencies are embracing a solid change models. (way to many anon posts here)
http://www.mindtools.com/pages.....PPM_82.htm
regards
digital foot soldier for the competition
7 Feb 10
1:27 pm
I wish them luck and hope all agencies are embracing solid change models. (way too many anon posts here)
http://www.mindtools.com/pages…..PPM_82.htm
regards
digital foot soldier for the competition
**repost edit: Tim pls remove dupe**
7 Feb 10
5:05 pm
@Stephen byrne
it’s ironic that you want matt to outline his offer when your “website” is nothing more than a splash page with a couple of buzz words. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.