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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 »
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
===========
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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