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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.
Megan Brown heads to Tactic as CD after brief stint at Peer Group
Specialist TV promo agency Tactic has moved to replace its departing founder Diana Costantini with former XYZ Networks Music Channels creative director Megan Brown, who has left a role at Peer Group after just a few weeks.
Costantini was named as the new head of ABC TV Marketing last month.
Brown was in her role at XYZ Networks for seven years where her main focus was channel branding, creative strategy and messaging for the four music channels. She also led advertiser integration.
However, the appointment sees Brown make a rapid departure from Peer Group Media where she was only appointed to a merged role of creative director and head of broadcast production in April.
Brown said: “I’m looking forward to working with their many clients and on the exciting projects they have lined up for the next 12 months, whilst being at the forefront of unique content initiatives and creative solutions with the amazing Tactic team.”
Brown will join Tactic next Monday July 12.
July 5th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
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Comments
5 Jul 10
10:23 pm
Tim why is this news?
5 Jul 10
11:19 pm
Does anyone ever last at Peer Group – (edited by Mumbrella for legal reasons)
6 Jul 10
8:38 am
>Tim why is this news?
So the circle-jerk can start.
“Congrats Megan!”
“Can’t wait to work with you in your new role!”
etc
6 Jul 10
9:31 am
It’s because (edited by Mumbrella based on our moderation policy relating to commenting on individuals)
6 Jul 10
9:47 am
MD out the door too.
6 Jul 10
9:57 am
(Edited by Mumbrella based on our comment moderation policy regarding individuals… although it did make us laugh)
6 Jul 10
2:55 pm
. . . . Wow . . . .
6 Jul 10
6:37 pm
We in the music industry have been watching the exodus over the past month or so at Peer, The Music Network and Brag magazine. This week Megan and MD Kate Edwards who was only there for six months; (unverified names removed by Mumbrella). It’s amusing to see the comments here but hardly amazing considering the leadership of Adam zammit.
7 Jul 10
8:38 am
And so the sniping continues within the media and advertising world. I wonder how many people who post negative comments about people and their business have ever put it all on the line themselves and started a business , employed people and tried to do the best they can . As a long time industry participant I am constantly dismayed by other people who seemingly enjoy trying to bring down others.
7 Jul 10
8:44 am
John, It would appear that Peer Group enjoy’s bringing others down and on a regular basis hence all the negativity and the incredible turn over of staff.
7 Jul 10
8:57 am
@Lucille Ball , my comments were more general as opposed to being about the above article. My time in the industry has all been spent in the larger ATL agencies and the sniping as far as I can tell is an industry wide issue.
7 Jul 10
9:58 am
John, I agree that sniping happens in all industries but I think you’ll find a certain level of Schadenfreude in the ad, sponsorship and music industries where Peer has made its mark, albeit a steaming pile. I’ve run several businesses, none of which have died, fixed pancakes for my staff this morning, pay them well and don’t engage in the sort of behaviour that makes them exodus on masse.
BTW, it was only a few months ago that we caught The Music Network violating our copyright by lifting listings from our music industry directory to publish as our own–even the fake ones we use for such a purpose of detection. And we were able to verify through their printer, on the record, that they only published 800 copies not the 5000 they claimed with 20,000 readers.
7 Jul 10
11:00 am
I think if you took a survey of every ex-PGM staffer, you’d find out that nearly all of them left or were fired under pretty dastardly circumstances and that not one of them would want to work for Zammit ever, ever again. Just sayin’.
7 Jul 10
11:11 am
I heard they have thier own support group.
7 Jul 10
4:36 pm
Heads Up people, there’s a big fat hypocrite writing in these comments. A person who has singlehandedly done everything within his power to undermine Peer Group. A person who told another colleague of mine “i’ll not rest till i destroy Zammit’. This person has set up false email addresses claiming to be Zammit, consistently stalked staff, stalked advertisers, harassed printers, spewed out bottomless speculation about what’s actually going on at Peer and TMN, a person so aggrieved they’ll stalk sites like this to snipe where ever and when ever they can. they’re making a fool of themselves and this industry they’re claiming as his own is utterly repulsed by this person.
I actually know both Megan and Kate, both left for different reasons, one for very personal reasons, the other for completely typical reasons.
Peer’s had a lovely farewell for everyone who’s left. And i dont know of too many people who’d want to return to a place from which they were fired. so lets not make a big to do about that…
7 Jul 10
5:20 pm
I’ll bet he actually uses his real name here. And I’ll bet he’s not skinny. I’ll bet he admitted to using false email addresses to correspond with advertising sales people to get real ‘distress ad rates’ and totally admit to doing this on his blog. Hell, I’ll bet he even called the printer, named him to verify the info which a print run of 800 vs a 5000 figure and a supposed 20,000 readership and also admitted that in the blog Loose Cannon. I know he didn’t stalk any advertisers and if the speculation was bottomless, it certainly wasn’t refuted by anyone. I think you meant to say the industry was convulsed with laughter, not repulsed.
As for his motives, I’m sure he would have detailed them here freely as it would appear that his intellectual property was copied by his opponent and then distributed as theirs. Which kinda sounds like like illegal downloading. If the industry is repulsed it would have been by that, by 50-65% distress ad rates and false circulation and printing figures. But hey, what would he know?
7 Jul 10
9:23 pm
Wow , I took a few moments to find your blog Phil . Not a bad read ,but boy what is with the axe grinding against Peer Group ? Maybe ATL agencies don’t snipe as much as I first thought. I hadn’t heard of either Peer Group or you before this article, no offence intended. But certainly have now
7 Jul 10
9:33 pm
Oh Zammit, when will you ever learn you daft nincompoop. Treat staff with respect, pay them a fair salary and you might be onto a winner. Love, 1 of many, many ex-peer groupers.
7 Jul 10
10:39 pm
John, Phil’s axe-grinding is the only semi-interesting and original thing on his website. What used to be a site full of news and insight is all just vitriolic wnk and links to other sites that actually still write news. A sad case.
8 Jul 10
9:03 am
We’re not sad we have three sites that attract a large readership–3000 unique users for TheMusic.com.au with over 5000 page views which includes a free Daily News Feed with vital links to overseas music and entertainment media stories and we have for 15 years. We also have a free weekly Velvet Rope music news column that local and global news, also free and also with a huge readership. And as well, we have hundreds of free articles on ‘how-to’ do music business as well as a print music industry directory of 22 years which is also online updated fortnightly with its own iPhone / iTouch App. If we’re a sad case for a long history of free resources and proven paid content which has always been groundbreaking, please pardon our mirth and profit centres.
We do however take exception when people try to steal what we have and if that’s called grinding an axe, well, someone has to defend our rights and not necessarily through the wasted time and expense of courts (see Men at Work vs Larrikin) for copyright protection. One person said I went for the jugular. I corrected her by pointing out that it is a vein that carries oxygen-deprived blood from the brain. I prefer the femoral artery which transverses the groin, is oxygen-rich, quite painful to slice and spurts bright red blood wildly.
8 Jul 10
9:49 am
Well this has certainly been an interesting learning experience. I am now signing off this thread and not sure I am better for the experience. I am still not completly understanding the hostility and think people should just focus on what they do and doing it to the highest standards possible . People get fired all the time under the guise of redundancy or lack of interest by an employer. The smart ones however also look at themselves honestly and admit they were probably fired and move on. I was made redundant a few years back from one of the global houses and I was honest enough with myself to know that I was fired. I had become complacent and lazy in my work. The reality is with this industry is people and clients come and go all the time. So burning bridges on the way out of any place is a rather stupid thing to do in a market as small as Australia. Over and out, regards John.
8 Jul 10
10:25 am
Phil’s full of hate. it’s purely personal. it’s got nothing to do with business, and in Phil’s case its got sweet FA to do with music… he’s not bought a piece of music in years – and will freely admit it. so much for ‘his industry’ – he is widely known as part pariah part joke. But he’s too arrogant to get the joke.
Peer’s traffic craps all over phil’s. I know, i’m an advertiser. Peer took Phil’s main draw card off him… Christie Eliezer. This is where the retaliation comes from. it’s kind of comical, espceially when my company has recieved calls off him tyring to rubbish Peer. Glass houses mate, Glass houses.
8 Jul 10
10:55 am
As someone interested in human rights i ask you all “WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS???” An important lesson for us all to learn in the inustry, dont treat your agency like a sweatshop with low pay and a bad office environment. Tsk Tsk
8 Jul 10
11:50 am
Sorry to pop your speculation bubble Holly but it’s not personal and it’s certainly not hate. It’s just business and hate is not involved, that’s a wasted emotion. As for buying music, I do it every week in multiples and have several thousand vinyl and CDs and over 20,000 tunes bought on iTunes so again, you have no basis in fact. Bought 15 albums in the past month. That I can freely admit. And I love music.
As for Christie, yes Peer bought him for a large price and since I’m retiring in five months and they needed him desperately as a drawcard, I was happy to give Christie my blessings and encouragement to go for the gold and we still remain great friends, laughing about his good fortune. As for our traffic vs theirs, who cares? I’m happy with ours and our business model, just oppose strongly to theft of copyright as I’m sure you would be too if it happened to your business.
You know, you only have to read the comments from those who worked there to know the truth. The truth burns clean. The truth will set you free, but first, it’s going to piss you off. And obvioously Holly, you’re either pissed off at us to use such rancour or speaking on behalf of Peer. Me, I speak my mind and sign my name.
8 Jul 10
12:37 pm
ARIA don’t even bother to send Phil press releases:
” I didn’t get the press release yesterday from ARIA’s PR though they know me. No one really cared to send it to me other than Christie…”
That alone sums up the sentiment of the australian music industry re: Tripp.
8 Jul 10
12:57 pm
* Yawn* That was when I wasn’t really writing about news. And they knew back then that I was not exactly a team player who would parrot their PR which generally has been as deceptive on industry issues and fluffy on awards. I certainly get them now and have for some time. Is that the best you got? At least it shows you are one of our readers.
8 Jul 10
1:41 pm
We’re a business partner of Peer we built The Music Network website. I hate the anonymous commentary here – (not you Phil). Adam Zammit has built this business from scratch. He’s carved out a niche between the industry and brand marketers that is unique. He walks a fine line between corporate and rock and roll and that’s not easy. Like the rest of us Adam has his strengths and weaknesses but he can’t be accused of being a bland human being but he’s honest, hardworking and imaginative.
Building a business is not easy, it’s actually a lot easier to write anonymous insults. Adam is a unique individual and if we were american we’d be praising his strengths and successes not nit picking over his perceived weaknesses. Every new business has to work with a new recipe from time to time and sometimes the recipe is not to everyones liking. Business like this is not like working in a large multinational where things tick over regardless of the people. In these businesses you have to move quickly and it’s not always tidy.
8 Jul 10
1:54 pm
Hi Simon, good to see you here and still powering. Adam and I are bothvery similar, built from scratch, tons of personality but he’s 37 and me, 59. He’s at the age where being full of P&V, I had a major coronary and changed my approach. You have some very valid points and I can’t fault your website for TMN.
I think however, motivated by a small slight earlier in the year, Adam made a choice that was not in character, but more from desperation, to harvest our information and reproduce without permission and got caught with digital ink on his hands. It was sneaky and deliberate and not the sort of tactic that the music industry tolerates, much less me.
So he’s had to feel the steel and cope with it/ I feel for those staff who have lost or quit their jobs as Peer has lost traction but talent will always find a place.
8 Jul 10
3:18 pm
“3000 unique users for TheMusic.com.au with over 5000 page views”
Phil, is this daily or weekly figures? Either way for someone with your history and stature in the music biz, these are pretty low by industry standards. I say that with no malice. I certainly wouldn’t be publicising them…
Maybe it’s time to start writing and stop ranting. Or consider an early retirement. Or a good lawyer if you feel you have a case… for our sakes, please consider one of the three.
8 Jul 10
3:48 pm
Weekly and nothing to hide nor disappointing for the kind of site we have. It’s professional users, not consumers or fans we attract. No pop star news, etc. And nothing about my history or stature. Funny enough, we have more readers of Velvet Rope now than we did of Christie in the final months.
Won’t be writing more, Retirement is early enough at 60. Litigation has always been a profit centre for us but used sparingly. Lawyers are fine and I have access to the best, but truthfully, I doubt Peer and TMN will be around long enough nor have the assets to make a case recoup. And for your sake, don’t read our stuff or add to our stats if you’re not happy. We understand.
8 Jul 10
5:09 pm
“It’s professional users, not consumers or fans we attract. ”
There’s no way you can know the profession of each web visitor.
Truth be told, half your traffic probably comes from Peer Group reading your latest post every Friday
8 Jul 10
5:21 pm
I wouldn’t ever claim to know what every user does. Johnny with due respect, our news and content is geared towards music professionals (or aspirants) not fans or celeb spotters. We’ve also polled users in the past as they come into the walled garden which was very effective. We get a lot of feedback from our users. Our analytics tell us where they go to, how long they spend, etc and that’s pretty telling. We know what we serve as information and only those with a taste for it are going to eat here.
And since there are less than a couple of dozen Peer peeps now and diminishing by the week, that’s not many unique visitors… wouldn’t you agree? No Johnny, our readers come from over 50 countries and are quite specific in their consumption.
8 Jul 10
6:00 pm
OMG PHIL STOP IT. YOU ARE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE! if it’s your mission to take Adam down, maybe you should consider the livelihoods of the 50 people who work for him, their families, their mortgages. just stop it you stupid bully.
8 Jul 10
6:02 pm
ps; chrisite did not go for a large price. your a liar too.
8 Jul 10
6:34 pm
Holly, no OCD here. And no mission. It’s simple. If someone is caught stealing your work and copyright and that of your staff whose jobs are to do it for the users and the company, it’s my job to protect our rights. I that involves ‘taking down’ the one that ordered the theft rather than the thief taking down the data, so be it. If there is collateral damage from our protecting our property, it’s not our fault. And BTW I think you’ll find far fewer than 50 and few of those being paid enough for a mortgage from the feedback here.
And as for Christie’s pay, unless you’re a staffer at Peer, you wouldn’t know the figure. I can assure you Christie’s smiling and I’m happy for him. No lie there.
8 Jul 10
6:37 pm
This thread makes the music industry look like a bunch of myopic douche bags.
9 Jul 10
9:07 am
Well said Simon van Wyk
Setting up and running a business is one of the hardest things you can do. And unless you have ever had the guts to put your asse on the line and give it a shot you will never know. (And sorry Phil- a small industry blog doesn’t count as a business in my book)
Complaining employee’s should be happy Peer put money in their pockets for any period of time whatsoever. Without innovators and entrepreneurs there would be no businesses and no jobs.
Full respect to Adam for making the hard decision of letting bad staff go on more than one occasion. There ain’t nothing wrong with striving for perfection.
9 Jul 10
9:18 am
“Complaining employee’s should be happy Peer put money in their pockets for any period of time whatsoever.”
I don’t know anything about what’s going on at Peer, but this attitude is sadly typical of many in the media and marketing industries.
In short: you’re lucky to have a job, there are plenty of people who would be happy to replace you, shut up and love your daily beatings.
Ugh.
9 Jul 10
9:48 am
So you know, the small business bog you refer to is not our profit centre, it’s part of a benevolent site and honeypot that draws people to our main revenue streams–the 22 year AustralAsian Music Industry Directory in a 152 page print, online and App versions , our music business books store, 18 years of leading music industry conferences and our representing South by Southwest Music, Interactive and Film Festivals for the past eight years with 1800% growth. For a business that grosses about a mil a year (including our Urban Animal pet magazine), we’re proud of the way we treat staff–not only in pay, perks, taking them overseas for music business trade fairs but also as we have in the past every other year, a ten day all expenses paid retreat and conference in Hawai’i just like the big corps do. Plus, we do what we do with an average 40 hour week, not making staying back a requirement nor even needed.
I agree wholeheartedly with Bill Posters. Too many businesses are predatory to interns, sadly pay poor wages to up-and-comers and don’t reward initiative and accomplishment instead using abuse and threats as the driving force. To them staff are a dispoable commodiy, to us, they’re a renewable resource.
9 Jul 10
10:57 am
anon1 (third comment) needs to eat his or her words…
9 Jul 10
11:27 am
Agreed since this is the 8th most discussed topic on Mumbrella. I guess a few people felt it necessary to comment and it certainly has been a lively discussion.
13 Jul 10
7:38 pm
Phil – you need to get over it.
Adam is a difficult man – he’d admit that. :e’s also talented.
Let it rest.
13 Jul 10
8:07 pm
he was… once.
13 Jul 10
11:28 pm
I used to work at Peer Group and I could probably list 500 things that annoyed me working at that company but I won’t. You have to take the good with the bad, if you don’t like it, leave – which is what a lot of us did. Now we’ve all moved onto other jobs, but it is only after sweating blood and tears at Peer Group did I finally appreciate working life outside Peer. Phil Tripp, maybe you need to do a stint there so you can come back to reality. People work hard for their money. Quit complaining, get over your grudge and get some work done. You’re boring us all with your rants. My friends and I can’t even be bother reading your whole post. Too long. Broken record. Yawn.
14 Jul 10
11:52 am
No doubt people at Peer work hard for Adam’s money. Maybe that’s why he’s selling his McMasters beach house. Everyone I’ve ever dealt with at Peer were hard workers and devoted to their gig, until they got ground down or spat out without a reference. Judging by the numbers of comments here by previous Peers, there weren’t a lot of fans.
In my case, my only complaint was theft of copyright but not by the loyal sstaff.
16 Jul 10
2:48 pm
Post 1 of this thread reads..
“Tim why is this news?”
Ha!
…. just goes to show, doesn’t matter what made the spark. If you throw it into a tinderbox full of bored / bitter / vomit-inducing industry types.. you’ll get a fire
Good job it wasn’t in a populated area
16 Jul 10
3:02 pm
Yes, but “The truth burns clean.” Or as they say, “The turth will set your free, but first it’s gonna piss you off!”
16 Jul 10
3:25 pm
Phil’s determined to get the last word on this one isn’t he.
26 Jul 10
1:49 pm
not for me