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Opinion | Features
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.
TV audience measurement – why big isn’t always beautiful
In this guest post, Chris Walton argues that the media industry needs to take a new approach to TV tradingThere has been a significant amount of coverage recently about how successful The Voice has been. Indeed, audience figures of 2.6m+ people are very impressive these days. Based on reports, this is apparently double the size of audience that Nine was hoping for in the lead up to the programme launching.
Murdoch: We made big mistakes with MySpace
NewsCorp has made some “big mistakes” with MySpace, but is back on track, boss Rupert Murdoch claimed today.
In a briefing on the company’s improving financial results, Murdoch said: “We’ve got to admit that over the last two or three years I think we’ve made some big mistakes, but we’ve got a fine new management now.”
Co-presidents Mike Jones and Jason Hirshhorn took the reins earleir this year after Owen Van Natta was ousted.
Jones was recently interviewed by Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes. During the interview he said:
“The core value that MySpace experienced at the beginning got a little bit watered down through additional strategy that got piled on top of MySpace early on.”
He said the site’s key role now is in discovery – helping users find new things that may interest them, whether music, entertainment or friends.
May 5th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
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Comments
5 May 10
4:25 pm
They are still making mistakes with myspace
5 May 10
6:13 pm
I coach kid’s soccer. One of them said to his mate “You’re deader than myspace” when chasing him. Awesome.
5 May 10
6:29 pm
If they think they are making myspace better now, might want to check that statement. It looks worse now, then even when Owen Van Natta was driving it into the ground.
Like, just the music area of the site… It’s PINK… WTH… PINK! But I can’t find any bands I am looking for either. Rap and Emo that the huge labels are pushing, but that’s about it… I got to go to other sites to search for music, and then if I want to see their myspace, click one of the links…
Overall though, the site looks and feels like camel poop nowadays. Log in, check mail, nope, nada… log out and come back in a few weeks. Repeat process, go back to Facebook, where it’s clean.
5 May 10
9:10 pm
Sadly, it is still a hideous site. I just went there. It looks like an old Microsoft site. It’s ugly and it looks far too ad-heavy on the front. There is too much stuff at the top as well: compare it to the much cleaner, but still much more content-rich design of Facebook.
Pictures/photos are also too big. Particularly for an era where device-screens are actually becoming smaller. More people will be accessing MySpace with iPads and laptops in future than vast desktop displays.
Let us not even mention the unremitting hideousness of most people’s user pages and “band pages”.
6 May 10
2:45 am
The web is already social. People use Facebook religiously.
I’m curious to see how MySpace will try and re-niche itself considering the way Facebook has become so ingrained in daily lives of people.
In my opinion, it would make sense for MySpace to simply latch on to the position of being positioned as the platform for performing artists (comedians, musicians, actors, etc.). Facebook doesn’t currently yield itself to such a platform very well, and MySpace already has an element of that positioning. If they latched on to it, I think they would become a major player again in the social media realm.
6 May 10
4:12 am
When the bands bail on myspace, which they will as it’s not bringing them anything new, myspace will be another web dead zone
6 May 10
10:36 am
The site has 100 million + users globally and around 2 million in AU alone… Writing off one of the biggest sites in the world because they haven’t matched Facebook’s unprecedented growth (they’re rivaling Google!) is naive in the extreme.
Murdoch will do what he can to make sure myspace survives and thrives no doubt about it.
6 May 10
10:54 am
Adding insult to injury, one of the Facebook founders talking about how they should not have won. Talking about systematic mismanagement at myspace
http://www.fastcompany.com/vid.....newsletter
6 May 10
11:00 am
I love how you reference yourself in the third person, Tim…..
“Mumbrella editor, Tim Burrowes, interveiwed… ” very nice.
6 May 10
11:32 am
>I love how you reference yourself in the third person, Tim…..
This is in the News section not the Opinion, so that would be the appropriate format.
6 May 10
12:51 pm
Hi Tom,
As anon1 poitns out, our style is that in the opinion section we byline our opinion pieces, and write in the first person.
And we generally follow the usual news convention of writing news items in the third person.
As well as myself, Mumbrella’s deputy editor Camille Alarcon also writes for this section along with, occasionally, Georgina Pearson.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
6 May 10
2:42 pm
I doubt theres any way back with Myspace.. If they do come up with some new fandango product/technology (which i doubt), New’s best option is to launch it under a new brand ala twitter.. the “myspace” brand is gone..
6 May 10
3:34 pm
I agree with Michael Carwile, to re launch as a place for artists (like the Tripple J unearthed site does currently). Its pretty much the only reason to bother with MySpace.
Facebook is not playing in this space, there are a few smaller or local sites doing this well but MySpace are in a position to own it but it would require an entire re build, the site looks like a late ninetiess animated gif nightmare built in front page.
They could really dominate with alll that music and video content on there for people to view and them to make advertising revenue from. If they dont they really dotn have a clue.. They cant possiby think that trying to beat Facebook in direct competition is an option.
If it were a race they would have been lapped…twice.
6 May 10
6:08 pm
As one of the business’s first local employees I can tell you that many of the criticisms leveled against MySpace here are outdated or misinformed. I’m under no illusions that mistakes have been made in the past and that we have perception issues on both a consumer and industry level that we are working to address.
Whilst I could happily address each of these issues individually here, I’d encourage you to contact me at nlove@myspace-inc.com and arrange a chat face-to-face to clarify some of the points raised. I’d be more than happy to discuss these issues with you in greater depth and explain our direction.
We are in a very strong position as a business. We have 100 million active users worldwide, 2 million users in Australia and a very talented new senior executive team that has us laser-focused on developing product enhancements, programs and partnerships that capitalise on our core strengths. Over the coming months we’ll be rolling out some major changes that will continue to improve the user experience and continue our push into being the place to discover and be discovered, addressing many of the criticisms leveled above.
I’m very proud of what we have achieved as a business, moreover I’m excited about the next phase of MySpace’s evolution and growth.
Nick Love, Managing Director
MySpace & IGN Entertainment, Australasia
6 May 10
6:34 pm
Thanks for that, Nick.
And if anyone has the time, although the sound quality is a bit iffy (it wasn’t originally intended for this use), do watch the video. Mike Jones gives a pretty sensible view on where MySpace is going.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
6 May 10
7:00 pm
I don’t know about OS – but here in Aus I reckon their marketing team has alot to answer for. They totally lost opportunities here to align tightly (early) with local indie media & players to stay as the brand on the edge and leverage niche loyalty. Taking that territory would have helped them weather the competition as things move in cycles – but only back to you if you’re on the right arc. FB is the one now – but in time people will step away from it also as more nans come on board.
Instead of diffusing the percieved naffness of the Murdoch buyout – by acting small via tight relationships, grass roots events and alignments – the marketing team further alienated the brand by being lazy in that regard – and were left floundering with no core support. It’s not about the position of the company, the $ in the bank etc etc – it’s on a way more grassroots level than that. Does anyone go “I’m going to use MS instead of FB” because of those reasons? Of course not – it’s brand perception, community support & the user experience.
If I can rant a little more (for what it’s worth) MySpace has a way more ‘indie’ low brow vibe than Facebook – from it’s design to it’s love of indie bands/artists/talent from that scene etc etc. That is an opportunity for them – not a challenge. They should run with it. Also – the way Myspace setup their friend system is also more in step with struggling promoters/artists/bands etc than Facebook – (the cool set who keep things cool in return). Although FB is simpler in design, they limit friends to 5,000 and are very narcy when it comes to self-promotion. Their alternative fan/like sites overcome the quantity limitiation but offer very little real connectivity between the talent & it’s fan base. Myspace have a real advantage in that regard and I reckon they are missing the boat on that also. They could totally take that territory and get the flow on support it would generate.
6 May 10
8:56 pm
Nick: here’s one thing you need to do. You need to start thinking about how to attract and lure away the older user group who are starting to tire of Facebook. I don’t mean geriatrics, I mean over 25s.
There’s no point going youth youth youth because they are the most fickle and sensitive market, and once you have lost your cool it’s going to take twenty years to get it back (look at Rick Astley). My sense is that you’ve lost it. You’re the Britney Spears, not the Justin Bieber.
Plus youth grows up. There are plenty of once-keen Facebookers looking for a less cluttered, more focused, more mature environment. Many are flocking to LinkedIn – according to execs there, and the experience of many people here I imagine. Certainly mine.
Currently there’s nothing that attracts me, as a “no-longer-teen”, to MySpace. Nothing. I’m not suggesting you grannify and corporatise the site, but the people in this forum, who I would guess would be 25-45, maybe 55, clearly aren’t impressed with it as it currently stands. Yet they could be a loyal and lucrative demographic for you.
9 May 10
12:40 am
Murdoch “We made big mistakes with MySpace”
- Correct Rupert, News Ltd bought it…
10 May 10
11:02 am
I would have to disagree with you on Myspace’s stance toward “local indie media”. As Editor-in-Chief of a publication that would fall into such a category, we have worked closely with Myspace on a number of entertainment/music events that have turned into great content for us.
And as far as eschewing “grass roots events” what would you call Myspace’s Secret Show series? I do however, agree with you in that Myspace’s support of indie artists is an opportunity not a challenge.
10 May 10
11:39 am
@Byespace?
As someone from an indie label (Shock) working closely and frequently with MySpace on their Secret Shows program, I think that they do understand their brand strengths, and run compelling programs that cater to these indie music /cultural niche markets.
In the last 3 months, we’ve had 2 major international artists involved with their Secret Show program, both of which were unmitigated successes from a fan and promotional perceptive.
We’ve always had a very solid relationship with MySpace and I’m excited to continue working with them on their ever-evolving music concepts.
10 May 10
1:17 pm
Perhaps its easier for these guys to open up and declare what direction Myspace and FIM more importantly are trying to take in Australia. I don’t want to meat one on one and hear your spin, I gave you time at your recent event and it was not compelling.
My agency and its advertisers have tired of your product My brands do not care for your overseas eyeballs nor your 2 million users of which only a small base are actually engaged and not just checking their messages monthly…… interactions on Myspace were never that great to start with and after your peak 2 years ago they just got worse.
I for one happily compare your active audience to that of a teen magazine readership or an after dinner radio slot… hardly the direction of a media powerhouse.
10 May 10
3:14 pm
Myspace was like my first boyfriend from the school rugby team… you were hot then but now your just a past memory of a good time… sorry but I moved on babe !