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Opinion
Video: How to win new business
Mumbrella Question Time saw the panel asked the secrets of winning new business. Read more »
Let’s stop the anonymous vitriol
In this guest posting, Peter Bray, boss of The Brand Shop, takes issue with negative comments from anonymous posters on Mumbrella and elsewhere.
There are very few ads that I vehemently dislike. There are also very few ads that I really love. But most ads I see on Mumbrella and other blogs I can usually take something from, whether it is information about the brand, a bit of inspiration or a “watch out”. I’m open to learning as much as I can from others, and encourage those around me to do the same.
My basic assumption, however, is that because an ad has been produced by a professional agency, and had the approval from the client, then the end result must be doing something right. Therefore, without knowing the practical rationale behind the ad, for me to have a strong opinion about whether it is great advertising would be kind of arrogant. There is a reason that awards shows ask for information about why an ad was created: they are rarely judged on end product alone.
So as someone who enjoys watching the work that our industry creates, I am stunned at the level of vitriol stemming from some people’s comments in both this blog and others. Read more »
Read his lips
This is several weeks old, but worth a look. It’s certainly an original way to deal with media criticism.It features Air NZ boss Rob Fyfe responding to weekly current affairs magazine The Listener using the medium of sign language. Read more »
Let’s not be too positive just yet – the nail is still there
It’s more than a year since News Ltd’s marketing boss Joe Talcott used the memorable analogy of a dog whimpering on a nail to describe the structural change the industry needs to go through. Read more »
The AdNews numbers that mislead the market
It’s always a tad tawdry when competitors attack each other, but I hope you’ll bear with me…
Whether cynically or through incompetence, AdNews has been misleading its advertisers by providing them with data that seems to suggest they have six times their true online audience.
Allow me to present the evidence. Read more »
Technology will help us own the agenda – all day, every day
In this opening speech to the Future Forum of the Newspaper Publishers Association, News Ltd CEO John Hartigan argued that news organisations have the opportunity to become more rather than less relevant.
Today I want to talk about a tipping point that heralds the most exciting era for journalism. The most exciting era ever.
This tipping point is already upon us. It has arrived at lightning speed, with the explosion in demand for mobile devices.
I am not consigning newspapers to the scrapheap. Not by a long shot.
But this tipping point is going to change journalism forever. In my opinion, very much for the better. Read more »
The real time shit sandwich detector
In this guest post, Clive Burcham of The Conscience Organisation, relishes the instant feedback of social media.
I’ve been making brand driven content since 1996 and often I’ve been so close to the work that I couldn’t tell the difference between if we were chomping on a shit sandwich or savouring the crème de la creme. From an audience perspective, we wouldn’t know the difference for weeks or months. What excites me most now is that we know within 24 hours if we’ve developed shit or cream. Read more »
SMH shows how to make a home page takeover work
When you’re a commercial organisation, balancing the needs of consumers with the need to make money through ads is tricky.
Among the organisations that sometimes goes the wrong way in my view is Fairfax, with its autostart video ads, for instance.
But today, a bit of unreserved praise Read more »
Inside the Foxtel factory
Having been at the launch of Foxtel’s new season the other night, nine points occur… Read more »
ABC News 24 – a handy service for niche journalists
It may not have many viewers yet, but ABC News 24 saves specialist journos having to leave their desks, argues Delimiter’s Renai LeMay
When media commentators discuss the future of journalism, they usually agree on at least one thing: It will involve much fewer generalists and more reporters dedicated to exhaustively covering niche fields. Read more »
The seven ages of Carlton Draught’s Made From Beer
Today sees the launch of “Slow Mo”, the latest instalment of Carlton Draught’s irreverent Made From Beer series.
It’s been quite a run – from the highly awarded Big Ad, to the comedy of Flash Beer, to the debacle of the abortive banned Tingle campaign. These are the seven ages of Made From Beer… Read more »
Real consumers don’t have ‘brand conversations’. They use search
In this guest posting, Simon van Wyk argues that much as marketers might wish otherwise, most consumers don’t have emotional connections with brands
I have a background in marketing, but my understanding of branding seems at odds with the 2010 opinions I see from social media commentators, marketing and advertising agencies. Read more »
Hot, censoring atheists: Google’s insight into what punters think about pollies and journos
One of the charms of Google is autocomplete, where it takes a punt on what you’re going to ask, based on what the rest of the world has been wondering previously.
And it certainly gives a few insights into the high quality of political debate about the Labor leaders in the run up to the election.
Take NSW premiere Kristina Keneally… Read more »
The copyright-busting election
This is rapidly turning into the copyright-infringing election. Read more »
Digital Fail: The gaping void in digital training is failing our industry
In this guest post, Amnesia Razorfish’s Iain McDonald warns that the industry has fallen badly behind on digital training.
Before I get accused of trolling with that headline, I’ll state what I think is obvious: The current education system isn’t producing or nurturing enough ‘digitally skilled’ individuals to sustain a growing a digital economy. Read more »
Mumbo Report: Holden, Eastwood, Talcott & Marsh’s social media realism; In praise of Singo; Week’s top ads
In today’s Mumbo report from Studio 33:
- Mumbrella Question Time – Why Y&R Brands’ Nigel Marsh doesn’t want to be Facebook friends with a cheeseburger; AANA chairman Joe Talcott on how social media offers less artificial insights than a focus group; PHD’s Mark Holden celebrates cynicism over social media; DDB’s Matt Eastwood on how mobile is becoming the centre of media
- The most played ads of the week
- Max Markson on Singo
You can also subscribe to Mumbrella’s Mumbo Report YouTube channel
With the support of:
The next Mumbrella Question Time takes place on November 26. For more information and to book, click here.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
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Comments
29 Oct 09
2:08 pm
These videos are extremely interesting and entertaining – why do they get so few views on YouTube?
29 Oct 09
2:26 pm
Yes but would ad execs be friends with a cheeseburger if it helped land a big burger chain account?
29 Oct 09
2:38 pm
It’s interesting to see that it has taken over 2 years for educated marketers to still talk about social media like it is either a new shiny toy or a demon in a box. By now all of your clients should know what it is and how to use it and if they are still cynical about it then maybe it isn’t being marketed correctly to them.
To add to what Matt Eastwood said regarding all of Mum 2.0 was online? Really Matt – what about the outdoor activity you did…………………………There is also nothing new about the call mum campaign – this is just a re-hash from what British Telecom ran in the mid 90’s using Bob Hoskins for the “it’s good to talk” campaign http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIuDEjON_zw
So maybe you could come up with some original material…………….I’m so happy that 30 seconds was produced as it may help some of the marketers out there get a bit part in 30 seconds?
29 Oct 09
2:57 pm
Interesting that Nigel Marsh is fearful of mobile turning into junk mail when it is already more regulated than junk mail.
Is he not aware that mobile marketing is opt-in only by law?
29 Oct 09
3:09 pm
Mr Marsh is an amazing ambassador for executive level Baby Boomer ignorance.
Paraphrasing “I don’t really understand social media. I don’t understand how it is managing to slowly destroy the old existing media models that have lined my pockets for the past few decades. Because I don’t understand it, I’ll pull out one of the most cliched f*cking oneliners around to temporarily kill its credibility and get a few cheap laughs at this gig. In doing so im saving my own ass from the fact that I really have no idea how to constructively approach SM and am deep down shit scared of it”
Also, in order for that ‘brand spokesman’ to have the chance to sit down next to Mr Marsh at the pub with his mates, Mr Marsh would have had to accepted him into his own personal network for him to even exist.
Pages don’t fan you Mr Marsh, you fan them yourself – because you want to.
God love it.
29 Oct 09
3:10 pm
Yes it is however it doesn’t stop restaurants spamming you
29 Oct 09
4:30 pm
Nigel’s example is appalling. First, he’s culturally insensitive to Australia – his example uses British meeting places. Do we call it a “curry house” Nigel? No, no we don’t. I’m pretty sure my 7 mates and I won’t be meeting for curry. Second, his cheeseburger joke is so wooden it’s just got to be scripted! I agree with Mike – he’s scared of it because he’s old school and old school is dying.
I’m curious about Joe’s point. Does anyone use SM to see how people behave? I thought we should use it to be part of a conversation. Perhaps he still thinks that brands should launch campaigns (ie. tell and sell) and use SM as the new platform of interruption.
29 Oct 09
10:09 pm
Hi Warren
Yes, many brands use social networks to see how people ‘behave’. By this, I mean they observe what people say, think, buy, sell, post, read, photograph and gossip about. Of course brands CAN use social networks to be part of the conversation, but like anyone in a conversation (2-way or more) they have be relevant and welcome. Because of that, social networks are not a great environment in which to simply ‘interrupt’.
1 Nov 09
7:47 pm
John, Mike & Warren…. being a tad tough on Nigel Marsh, aren’t you?
For starters, he’s very clear that while the flippant example he quotes “being facebook friends with a cheeseburger” isn’t for him, he understands that it works for many consumers. Isn’t good marketing all about understanding what works, even if it’s not you as the target audience?
And Warren, “culturally insensitive” – really? You take offense at someone using a British reference? Because I’ve got to warn you, you’re going to spend a lot of time being offended if you work in the ad or media industry in Australia. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but they’ve let some Brits in, and some of us are still honing our Australiana.
I’d certainly be scared to meet you , just in case I accidentally called the lounge room a lounge, or failed to call flip flops thongs. God forbid I accidentally asked for a Penguin instead of a Tim Tam with my morning cuppa. (Dammit… am I allowed to say cuppa or is that “culturally insensitive” too?)
For those of us who weren’t born here, it’s all very confusing…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
1 Nov 09
7:52 pm
Come on Tim, a Penguin and a Tim Tam cannot be compared. It’s taken a while but I am totally on the Tim Tam bandwagon. They’re so superior it’s not even funny. And I’m a Pom…
1 Nov 09
8:48 pm
Hey Tim,
I have no issue with Mr Marsh’s comments regarding curry houses and the like. Im a kiwi and probably get more shit due to that specifc nationality than most Poms in Australia.
It was more so about the flippant way he (in my opinion) wrote off social media.
Its comments and attitudes like that, from influential and respected figures in the media/marketing industry that lend weight to the stigmatism of ’social media is nothing more than a gimmick and shouldn’t really be taken seriously’.
As the stigmatism grows, larger amounts of marketing execs/managers feel more comfortable writing social media off as just a fad and become blind to the real benefits.
The flow on effect is that businesses allocate less (or no) budget to the SM space in Australia, effectively strangling this section of the industry alltogether, without even giving it a real chance to prove itself.
I’ve never met Mr Marsh and would welcome the chance to chat with him if such an opportunity ever presented itself – he’s been in the industry alot longer than I have and I would probably learn a great deal from such an experience.
For me personally, it was the way he berated a section of the marketing industry that I personally spend the best part of 10-12 a day working in. The better half of those 10-12 hour days are spent trying to convince people not too disimilar to Mr Marsh of the benefits social media can bring to their clients brands.
In order to convince these people, half the battle is removing the ‘cheeseburger’ stigma associated with social media, as that is often how they perceive it.
Why do they perceive SM like that? Because the comments and attitudes exhibited above encourage that perception.
Cheers,
Mike Watkins