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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.
News Digital boss: We don’t hate bloggers
The boss of News Digital Media this morning told a conference that the company has nothing against bloggers.
Speaking at Sydney’s Advertising & Marketing Summit, Richard Freudenstein, CEO of NDM, said:
“Contrary to what you might think, we think it is great that anyone can start a website and get involved. In principal, we think blogs are a great idea – in fact many of our journalists have them. And we are delighted by the success of The Punch.”
But he added: “The problem is that even the best intentioned amateur blogger doesn’t hold the same standards of accuracy or accountability as a professional journalist. Many bloggers write up rumours and half-truths as fact, confident that there will be no repercussions if they get it wrong.”
His comments follow those of John Hartigan, CEO of News Ltd, earlier this month in which he said that many websites had less than 10% original content.
Freudenstein told this morning’s audience that News Ltd is still advancing on the path of charging for online content. He said: “Certainly nothing is imminent here in Australia, but when it happens it will be big. We will be platform agnostic – content is king and we want to be providing content for whatever platform is out there, provided the terms are fair for us.”
July 29th, 2009 at 9:30 am
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Comments
29 Jul 09
9:46 am
He has a point, a newspaper would never write up an inaccurate article, would they?
Hmmmmmmmmm…
29 Jul 09
9:50 am
Again with the supposed lock professional journalists have on accuracy or accountability. I wish they did. I could list 50 editors and journalists in Sydney alone who have scant regard for either. They, too, can be pretty sure that as long as their nonsense gets those circ numbers up, there will be no repercussions if they get it wrong.
29 Jul 09
9:54 am
By the way, do follow the link at the end of the article, which is to a longer extract from Freudenstein’s speech.
There are several thoughful points there. It’s certainly far more nuanced than the bloggers-bad, journalists-good debate…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
29 Jul 09
10:09 am
“Many bloggers write up rumours and half-truths as fact…”
Many bloggers.
Really, do they?
Let’s see some examples, not including mainstream media bloggers. How often have Australian bloggers got a story wrong and caused chaos and great distress in our society?
The News Digital Media competition (independent bloggers) must be talked down and denigrated in order to make the content they intend to charge for appear to be worth something.
29 Jul 09
10:12 am
He makes some very good and fair points. Plagiarism and inaccuracies are rife in the blogosphere (as they are in broader, traditional journalism)
I think that the public will become more discerning and less trusting of all media, including traditional journalists, as more and more of the inaccuracies and “non-truths” are uncovered and made public.
The power of the so called “citizen journalist” is definitely increasing – both in content production and comment which we all see in blogs, and in the ability to publicly rumble the big boys as errors are made.
The traditional media are now more accountable for their content than ever before, particularly when they charge for it, so it will be up to them to set the standard.
29 Jul 09
10:26 am
Count the corrections to the nytimes.com piece on Cronkite:
http://bit.ly/ZR7TW
The same standards of accuracy, eh?
29 Jul 09
11:03 am
His keynote makes sense – I read it and generally agreed with the guy.
Gee, the bloggers sense of self righteousness almost rivals that of the stereotypical ‘journalist’
29 Jul 09
11:20 am
If the print newspaper says it, then it must be true.
29 Jul 09
11:20 am
Too many LOLs: “even the best intentioned amateur blogger doesn’t hold the same standards of accuracy or accountability as a professional journalist”. So why did News Ltd steal my content and admit they did so after losing against me at the Australian Press Council? http://indolentdandy.net/fitzr.....and-i-won/
29 Jul 09
11:35 am
If News Ltd and the other leading media companies want to charge for online content – just do it!
Will I pay? No. Will I buy a newspaper? No! Will I read the same content on other free news sites? Yes!
The current news media business model is broken and they don’t know what to do. So bring on charge & watch their online traffic disappear.
29 Jul 09
11:44 am
Stop playing with yourself Richard!
The scary part is, you probably believe what you’re saying.
We all know that these days, you guys follow the mantra “being first is more important than being right”.
“Standards of accuracy or accountability as a professional journalist”……please!
Show me ONE example of accountability as a result of being inaccurate?
29 Jul 09
11:56 am
Yawwwwnnnnn…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITqh-Tzs3QM
29 Jul 09
12:23 pm
“Best intentioned amateur bloggers” cited by Richard Freudenstein include scientists, researchers, and academics whose standards of accuracy and accountabilty, in most cases, are far more rigorous than “professional journalists”. Journalists have an important role and are needed – but they need to get off their self-made pedestal and recognise that others in the community have important, well-thought out and well-researched things to say.
29 Jul 09
12:26 pm
Was the text of the speech provided to you Tim? If so, it would be good if this professional journalist could learn about the correct use of “principle” and “principal”.
29 Jul 09
12:30 pm
Hi Duncan,
Yes, the text of the speech was provided (although I still should have amended that for the right version of principle). I won’t change it in the above though, as your comment would then be a bit confusing for anyone who arrives later…
Cheers,
Tim
29 Jul 09
1:41 pm
“Many bloggers write up rumours and half-truths as fact.” Some journos devote their careers to this! I’ve lost count of the amount of times a journo has gotten it wrong (and on occasion even knew they were writing half-truths) when reporting on clients or brands I’ve worked with. And what’s more, thinking you can get a correction is laughable. At least if a blogger gets something wrong it can be corrected almost immediately. Richard, surrender the fantasy that journalistic principles still exist for all journalists.
29 Jul 09
2:07 pm
Bumper sticker “Is that the truth or is your News Limited”
29 Jul 09
5:41 pm
Good to see you sticking to journalistic principles Tim, rather than sticking to the journalist’s principals.
And Ben … very nice!
29 Jul 09
5:59 pm
I think what we find is as bloggers grow in influence, there is a self-imposed ethics behind their content… we see it everyday in our leading blogs.
30 Jul 09
9:18 am
I love it whern these guys try to write their own material. They just can’t see the amazing arrogance that oozes out from their corporate world-view. Freudentstein talking about bloggers has the same tone as the Emporer Nero announcing he has nothing against Christians.
The fact that for *decades* journalists have been ranked below used-car salesmen for “trustworthiness” entirely escapes their notice. They have this puffed-up view of themselves as upholders of truth and freedom as if they’re some kind of Superman figure. But the public do not like and do not trust the media.
And if News Ltd really believes it’s fair to pay for content, perhaps they might like to start paying all their so-called “interns” who keep their online operations going.
And start paying the public for their pictures and videos.
30 Jul 09
12:58 pm
STOP PRESS
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June 2009 Morgan data on the Image of Professions. Last is ‘car salesmen’ = 3% (rated high or very high). Second last is ‘advertising people’ = 6%. Third last is ‘newspaper journalists’ = 9%. Last time I checked 9% was higher than 3% – so much for fact-checking.
Also, looking at the data since 1979, used-car salesmen have NEVER rated higher than journalists. As a matter of fact for the 28 years of data I have, there are only 7 instances where journalists failed to rate higher than advertising people. Pot … meet the black kettle.
And if you REALLY want to see arrogance redfined, do a search for Chris Anderson’s (Wired’s editor – as reported by Henry Blodget in Silicon Valley Insider’s ‘The Business Insider’) interview with Jim Spiegel to discuss the media world, in which Spiegel refuses to even use the words ‘journalist’, ‘news’ or ‘media’. Quite hysterical really – apart from the fact the apparently Spiegel was serious!
30 Jul 09
1:09 pm
rule #1 – never let actual data get in the way of a good story
30 Jul 09
1:39 pm
@John Grono
John, if you’re trying to defend the trustworthiness of journalists you’ve just been stamped with a big FAIL
Let’s revise the headline: “Journalists marginally more trustworthy than used car salesmen.” Doesn’t sound any better to me.
30 Jul 09
1:44 pm
Not defending journos Smithee – I’ve had my faor share of run-ins with them over the years. I’m just pointing out the facts.
Headline to read “Journalists marginally more trustworthy than used car salesmen and advertising people” … in the interests of getting the facts and the balance right … and we have a deal.
30 Jul 09
1:51 pm
Smithee – maybe you should fact check …
“The fact that for *decades* journalists have been ranked below used-car salesmen for “trustworthiness” entirely escapes their notice.”
Can we be as ruthless and harsh on your lack of checking out real data before making a general claim
BTW cheers John for the Chris Anderson hook up. Whoa … he takes douche to a new level.
2 Aug 09
8:11 pm
Ho hum. So you take Roy Morgan as the bees knees of research ? There’s other research which support the “journos last” view and has for decades as I said. The Guardian I think. Google will reveal all. Anyway, the essence is unchanged: a large percentage of the the public think journos are untrustworthy slime – and of course they’re right.
2 Aug 09
8:20 pm
Here’s one where journos are last – at least it says “telemarketers” = that’s journos these days isn;t it ?
http://www.readersdigest.co.nz.....ions-2009/
Amazingly enough they’re higher than politicians !
Here they’re almost in a dead-heat in last place with politicians:
http://www.marketresearchworld.....;Itemid=77
Can’t find the one I’m thinking of atm…
2 Aug 09
9:12 pm
Yes Smithee, there is research to support anything if you look hard enough – so I encourage you to keep looking to find a scintilla of support.
Regarding the sources you provided links to, I thought we were talking about Australia and not New Zealand or the UK – both substantially different markets and cultures. Why not make comparisons to Zimbabwe – I hear politicians rate well there … or else!
I also notice that the NZ source is that well-respected bastion of research – Reader’s Digest – no methodology, sample size or actual data provided. Talk about laughter being the best medicine! At least for the UK, Ipsos Mori is a resepected research company, with a sample sie of n=1981 (vs. Morgan’s phone poll of n=687).
Further, I notice neither of the other sources reported on where advertising professionals rate. Maybe the headline should read “Journalists trusted 50% more than advertising people” … and I think various comments posted here would go a long way to explain why. As a researcher one learns to park one’s preconceptions and not hunt for or fabricate the data to support your own case.
Finally for the record, I am NOT trying to defend the integrity of journalists, but merely reporting the latest Australian data to hand without qualification or interpretation, as is my professional and ethical responsibility as a member (and Qualified Practicing Market Researcher) of the Australian Market and Social Research Society. And no, I do not work for Morgan and I have never worked for Morgan.
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