-
Opinion | Features
Why is advertising so much better in New Zealand than Australia?
Ok, so this isn’t a new observation.
But it really hit home after I watched some TV ads for a kiwi supermarket yesterday that advertising in New Zealand is so much better than much of the crap that is being served up in this country at the moment.
Why is it that Colenso BBDO Auckland can turn something as bland as a supermarket chain into a brand I almost like, while Australian agencies succeed only in either irritating me (Coles) or passing me by unnoticed (Woolies) because the ads are so average?
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.
NAB Break Up campaign ‘undermined’ by rate cuts
Bankwest has launched a tactical press campaign that attacks the rate cuts of rival NAB, the bank behind the award-winning Break Up campaign.
The campaign – created by Host – launches as newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald rounded on NAB for holding back on rate cuts, a move the Herald wrote “appears to undermine NAB’s multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in which the bank declared it had ‘broken up’ with the other major banks”.
The Bankwest ad uses the headline from the SMH story, ‘NAB cuts rates less than RBA, rivals’.
Today, an article in The Daily Telegraph stated that: “Having cast itself as the ‘more give, less take’ bank, NAB chose to take more and give less this week by keeping five basis points of the 25-basis-point Reserve Bank reduction – in contrast to ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac, which all passed on the full rate cut.”
NAB Break Up, created by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, is arguably Australia’s most successful campaign of the year, having won awards such as the PR grand prix at Cannes and two grand prix at Spikes Asia.
NAB CMO Sandra de Castro, who engineered the campaign, had not returned Mumbrella’s calls at press time for comment.
November 4th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
-
-
Follow Us
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Digital Performance Manager (PPC) – iProspect Sydney – immediate start - Walsh Bay, Sydney
- Client Services Director - Melbourne
- Client Service Director - Melbourne
- PR Senior Account Manager - Travel/Tourism - Sydney
- Qualitative Apprentice – Rare trainee level role - Melbourne
- Qualitative Apprentice – Rare trainee level role - Sydney
- Content Editor - Sydney CBD
- Digital Account Manager - Sydney
- Account Manager - Design - Melbourne - South
- Series Producer - Pyrmont
Comments
4 Nov 11
2:17 pm
Well who is surprised that NAB can’t walk the talk? Really, this whole Break-up campaign was a concocted (albeit well-executed) bit of fluff from the beginning, and while it might be considered “the most successful campaign of the year”, well that’s within the industry.
John and Joan Public are just living their lives and noticing that NAB are a bunch of tools like all the others big banks – no wait, NAB are worse because they passed on less of the rate cut than the other tools. And the rub is that NAB are saying they are not like the others and they offer “more give, less take”. NAB are setting themselves up for a kicking after pushing this break-up message, and the media will be all over it when they don’t deliver what they promise.
Remember the old quote “nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising”.
4 Nov 11
2:19 pm
I didn’t like those NAB ads from day 1 because as a consumer used to the ways of the big 4 banks, the ads had ZERO credibility. Talk is cheap, and saying “We’re breaking up with the other banks” is meaningless until they prove it over the long term. Once again, actions speak louder than words, and they’ve just cancelled out their own campaign with their greed.
4 Nov 11
2:29 pm
errr, I’m not exactly a fan of the big banks but isn’t NAB’s rate cheaper than the others today?
4 Nov 11
2:46 pm
Yeah – if you saw the twitter spat about rates between netbank and nab, NAB’s is still cheaper. Fair play to the other ad agencies having a crack at it though.
4 Nov 11
3:11 pm
NAB’s rate was cheapest out the of big four before the RBA cut and I think still is – what’s the problem here?
4 Nov 11
3:23 pm
Facts facts facts – when has advertising ever been interested in facts?
4 Nov 11
3:56 pm
Break up, take half. Seems about right.
4 Nov 11
4:05 pm
@jibberjabber the problem for NAB is they’ve lost control of the big four bank debate and their campaign is being used against them. they should have got on the front foot when they decided to keep some of the RBA rate cut
4 Nov 11
4:17 pm
that NAB’s variable home loan rate is cheaper is completely irrelevant – this message was subsumed by (entirely predictable) reams of bad press highlighting their hypocrisy in giving less and taking more.
As suspected by some when ‘break-up’ was launched, in most consumers minds, whether rightly or wrongly, NAB has now unequivocally proven that they are no different to to the other big banks
while most customers never believed they were different in the first place, any who did will trust NAB even less than its competitors
the ‘break up campaign’ has been a great example of 2 things:
1. the folly of pursuing a short term tactic that never fitted fit with longer term credible positioning for the business
t2. yhat even industry insiders can be fooled by a good PR for an advertising/communications campaign. More time has been spent promoting this campaign in trade publications than was spent on its creation, it seems.
4 Nov 11
4:25 pm
I agree with Rob, The BAB ‘Break Up’ campaign was nothing more than well executed transparent rubbish! If the big banks are looking for unique and compelling ways to reach into the hearts and minds and dare I say, the wallets of everyday Australians then all they need do is spend their marketing budgets wisely on providing useful, engaging tools for their target audience rather than blowing mountains of dough on FTA TV BS messaging. A good example of how to do this is the AIMIA award winning iphone app ‘Property Guide’ produced by The White Agency for ComBank.
Spare us the BS banks and get on with helping us, the consumers, make well informed decisions about borrowing and investing – thats all we ask and it IS that simple!
4 Nov 11
4:25 pm
ps..this is another example of why marketing should at least have dotted line reporting into PR. The Head of Corporate Affairs would only have approved if the bank’s future behaviour was going to be exemplary – which is of course impossible. The blanket press coverage has completely undone any good from the advertising and will turn it into a net negative for NAB.
It’s harder to imagine a larger FAIL – although Qantas’ recent advertising comes to mind
these companies must have money to burn…..
4 Nov 11
4:51 pm
All that great work brand thrown away in one corporate decision! Lets hope NAB and its agency realise that none of it can be saved. The public have moved on. And NAB aren’t back where they started before the campaign. No-siree, they’re now the one of the big 4 that tried to bullshit us that they were one of us. OK they’re still the cheapest rate, but they’re about to discover how deep the twin sins of not passing on an interest rate cut, and, pretending to be someone you’re not, cut in the Australian psyche.
4 Nov 11
6:50 pm
There were plenty of naysayers when Break Up launched.
Fast forward six months from now and I reckon the NAB will still be streaks ahead of the competition. One swallow does not a summer make.
4 Nov 11
7:33 pm
Is Bankwest really a ‘rival’ of NAB?
Or put another way, do you think NAB is losing much sleep over this ‘tactical press campaign’ which seems to comprise of one execution so far – so isn’t really much of a ‘campaign’?
5 Nov 11
5:26 pm
This ad seems completely out of sync with the style of advertising that BankWest usually undertakes.
I also think it’s convenient that Comm Bank’s rate doesn’t appear in the BankWest ad… cause… you know… Comm Bank owns BankWest and all.
Seems to me to be a bit of an attack by Comm Bank under the guise of their friendly WA based subsidiary. Of course, I could be completely wrong…
6 Nov 11
8:47 am
Brendon – having worked for 3 of the big 4 (and several of the “second tier”), I can say with some authority that the big banks are operationally very separate to their subsidiaries.
While they certainly don’t “attack” their own, they also don’t advertise under the others’ brand. The comm bank team would MUCH rather land a customer than for Bankwest to have them.