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Opinion | Features
Disclosure in Social Media: How transparent should bloggers be?
In this guest post, blogger and digital creative Laura McWhinnie argues for more disclosure in the bloggersphere.
The bloggersphere has always been a bit like the Wild West. Bloggers could post about products to their heart’s content without having to disclose their relationship with the brand. This meant that consumers had no idea who was behind the marketing messages influencing their purchasing decisions. But in 2009 that all changed
Liars, cheats and thieves
Is our industry full of cheats and liars or do people of honour who stand by their word still exist in business? In an article that first appeared in Encore, Cameron Boon investigates. The recent court case involving Paul Fishlock suing his former employer The Campaign Palace brought into focus more than just the struggle of one man. It highlighted that there are some in adland whose word cannot always be relied upon.
Q&A with Adshel's Rob Atkinson
Online trading is the next big thing says Rob Atkinson in a piece that first appeared in Encore. Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Harold Mitchell because of his influence and the footprint he has left. He’s built a huge brand in Mitchells, offloaded it into Aegis, Aegis has obviously done extremely well to be then sold on to Dentsu. So if you think about it, he is very much a father figure of the industry.
Making it overseas
Is the best way of being successful in Australia not be here at all? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Lee Zachariah speaks to Aussies making it big abroad.I always wanted to work in New York,” says Julian Cole. “I thought it was the number one place to work in advertising; a lot of the best campaigns were coming out of there. So I moved over and was lucky enough to have a couple of interviews in the first couple of weeks.”
Cole’s story is indicative of the somewhat contentious idea that the best way to be successful in Australia is to not be in Australia any more.
Got a book in you?
From journos to ad execs and PRs, these days everyone seems to have a book in them. But what does it take to get published and will you actually make any money? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Brooke Hemphill finds out.Attention wannabe authors. Forget big fat advance cheques and living off royalties. The reality of having a book published today is another story altogether. There are only two reasons you should even consider sitting down at your computer to bash out a manuscript – passion or profile.
Savage counsel
In an article that first appeared in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas in his weekly advice column.Hi Chris,
My clients seem to be demanding more and more from us. At the same time, it seems many of the younger people in our industry simply don’t have the client servicing skills my generation grew up with. How do we instill in our executives some of the good old-fashioned behaviours that would keep a client happy and loyal?
Fake it til' you make it... as an ad agency receptionist
From dressing the part to playing the gatekeeper, Leo Burnett Sydney’s Susie Henry tells us how to make it as the face of adland in a piece that first appeared in Encore.What does a receptionist in an ad agency actually do?
Well, there’s the frantic every-day, all-day stuff of deliveries, courier bookings, doing expenses for directors – always challenging – plus arranging all the travel. But one of my main jobs is counselling the account service people. I also keep up with all sports information to discuss with our sports-loving clients – because who wants to be bored while they’re waiting? And I know how they like their coffee. You need to know everyone – from accounting to HR. I’m also the go-to for all catering and sending flowers.
Whose views skew the news? Media chiefs ready to vote out Labor, while reporters lean left
Most journalists lean left-of-centre, says Folker Hanusch of the University of the Sunshine Coast, in a post first published on The Conversation.Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead.
But while the media’s political leanings will no doubt be debated in the lead-up to September’s federal election, our study has also found other largely unscrutinised biases remain – particularly whose views disproportionately shape the news.
It's time for a new New Wave in the film world
Government funding bodies are lazy and decadent, says industry veteran Michael Thornhill but in a piece that first appeared in Encore, Ed Gibbs begs to differ.I vividly remember the time I first saw Animal Kingdom, David Michod’s breathtaking labour-of-love feature debut. The press screening was half empty, despite the film winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance just months earlier, in 2010. Yet its superb performances, stylistic flourishes and overall polish left me speechless. Could this really be a feature debut, an Australian one at that, I wondered, almost out loud? It seemed too good to be true.
Going cold turkey on an agency addiction
Life is sweet for freelance writer Max Kitchen, but in a feature that first appeared in Encore, he admits his struggle against returning to the agency fold.I’ve never taken heroin. But I suspect if I had, the temptation to try it again would not be too dissimilar to the lure of returning to agency life.
Can sport save Ten?
First there was the Grand Prix. Next came the reported $500m bid for cricket rights, then Ten secured the 2014 winter Olympics. So, can sport save the ailing network? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.The television sports rights bidding process is a bit like a game of poker.
Check, fold or bet. Those were the options for the Ten Network last week when it had to finalise its bid for the cricket rights.
Andy Lark: good for the marketing of marketing
I can still remember the first story I wrote about Andy Lark, when it emerged that he was to be the new chief marketing officer of CommBank.
It was immediately clear that Australia was about to meet an interesting marketer, one who blogged and tweeted and thanks to his time at Dell in the US was digitally savvy. Even two years ago, that was a big deal. The fact that he also had a stint in public relations gave him an absolutely intriguing background before he even arrived.
Storming the media barricades - advice for young journalists
This week Mumbrella’s Nic Christensen, who began his career four years ago, gave the keynote address to would-be journalists at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Student Day. This is an edited version of his speech.Good afternoon, I can remember distinctly the last time I was in this room.
It was 2009 and I was sitting where you are. I’d come to this event, a friend and myself — from memory we sat up the back — and I can remember at the time wondering if I’d ever get a job as a journalist.
It was only four years ago and then as now getting a job was ultra competitive but I’m not sure there was quite as much media ‘doom and gloom’ as there is now…
Paywalls will help fund campaigning journalism
In this guest post, News Limited’s group editorial director Campbell Reid responds to the views of ninemsn’s Hal Crawford that the company’s push into metered paywalls is about data rather than dollars.Hal Crawford is both right and wrong in his article which argued that our digital subscription plans are all about the data.
Fake it 'til you make it... as a features editor
Cosmo’s Kate Leaver tells us how to bluff it in her job in a feature that first appeared in Encore.What do you do, as a features editor?
Really, play with words and ideas all day. At any one time, we’re working across three issues of the mag – getting one on its way to the printers, pooling all the words together for another, and planning the issue after that. It’s busy but it’s a pretty magnificent process.
Rebellion Bay Spiced Rum embarks on ‘world’s longest transit campaign’
Vok Beverages has launched a mobile outdoor campaign that sees billboards advertising Rebellion Bay Spiced Rum mounted to the back of Vespa scooters and driven 2,800km from far north Queensland to Sydney.
The stunt, which will see the scooters pass through 22 towns in 30 days, has been billed as ‘the world’s longest transit campaign’.
It was devised by Cummins Ross South Australia and executed by scooter ad firm Media-V.
Adrian Smith, Victorian sales manager for Media-V, said: “We are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking campaign which demonstrates the huge flexibility we offer our clients by delivering on the innovative thinking from Cummins Ross South Australia. When we were first approached by the team (Cummins Ross SA) with the question ‘Can you ride two Vespas with Trailers from Port Douglas to Sydney?’ we answered ‘Absolutely’”.
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Comments
15 Dec 12
12:15 pm
This is about as silly as advertising gets. Two little bikes with trailers clogging up a busy highway. Hard to see how anyone would be pleased to see them on the road.
16 Dec 12
3:04 pm
So that’s the name for this incredibly annoying form of advertising – a ‘transit campaign’? Well a cowpat by any other name still smells like sh*t. I can’t stand these ‘transit campaigns’. As if your roads are not congested enough without three cars or even bikes + trailers in a row, and especially when they all park in some prime location and steal that spot as well. Honestly, I would love to see these ‘transit campaigns’ outlawed, of course it will never happen, but they really do offend me.
17 Dec 12
9:29 am
@Lindsay – “Little Bikes”? dont know if you have ever riden a Vespa (clearly not) but they are able to sit on about 100K per hour comfortably. And i am guessing they will be faster than some of they grey nomads towing a caravan that insist on sitting on about 70K per hour.
@Jack – you do realise your on a Marketing and Advertising site? if it offends you so much i suggest you think of a new career. you ay not like every channel, but at some point you may have the consumer need to use them. Unless your one of those tossers that think TV is the answer for everything.
17 Dec 12
9:45 am
What a great channel “transit” advertising is to promote alcohol
17 Dec 12
9:52 am
The first thing I think of when I see these campaigns is “pollution”
17 Dec 12
11:49 am
Sorry ‘get a grip’ (9.29) I have owned and ridden a Vespa. But I would not want to travel on one doing 100 k per hour with an advertising trailer behind. It would be a danger to everyone at that speed. As I wrote, this is about as silly as advertising gets.
17 Dec 12
2:39 pm
What have vespas and spiced rum got in common? Exactly.
17 Dec 12
2:57 pm
Dear old Marshall McLuhan will be rolling in his grave over this stunt. If “the medium is the message”, why isn’t a brand of rum with a name like Rebellion Bay being hauled around by head-turning Harleys instead of these mincing little capuccino-sipping fly-swatters?
I mean, if you’re going to get thoroughly up the noses of well-intentioned motorists and violate the principles of environmental responsibility, at least be entertaining about it.
17 Dec 12
3:22 pm
@Lindsay and @Jack –
Every form of Advertising creates pollution – TV Stations, Radio Stations, Outdoor Networks, Newspapers etc. Should we ban them all? In the overall scheme of things we’d be one of the greenest forms of advertising
As for riding at 100 km/h with a trailer on the back – we’re not shooting an episode of “Jackass”. Our OH&S policies are very strict and even if we could travel at that speed we wouldn’t.
17 Dec 12
4:09 pm
Adrian, don’t let the nanny state naysayers stop the show. Some are all but demanding sandwich board walkers. Now, that would clog the highway!
(By the way, have you got a police escort through Bundaberg?)
17 Dec 12
4:36 pm
Sorry Adrian (3.22) I never mentioned pollution and it was ‘get a grip’ who set the 100 k per hour speed. My point has been that this is about as silly as advertising gets. I have seen this type of advertising many times in city streets and every time people have been complaining about the bikes and trailers. They do nothing but get in the way and I can not think of one person who has had a kind word to say about them. I am not against advertising, but I doubt this form of advertising is a plus for the advertiser.
17 Dec 12
4:56 pm
Adrian: how on earth do you count TV and radio advertising as creating pollution? And when did I mention pollution in the first place? it’s traffic congestion that I object to.
But as to adverts on TV Stations, Radio Stations and in Newspapers – they all subsidise the ‘free’ content. No ads, no TV or radio or newspapers.
So remind me, exactly what service do these ‘transit campaigns’ fund which would otherwise not be available?
17 Dec 12
5:05 pm
Thanks Lindsay, it’s good to know you’ve seen them many times – exactly what our clients like to hear. Whether you like them or not is a personal opinion.
I do find it a bit of a stretch when you make a generalised statement such as ” every time people have been complaining about the bikes and trailers”. That’s a bit ambiguous for me.
Anyway, business is great so you may have to put up with us for a while yet.
18 Dec 12
8:23 am
@Jack How about broadcast vans, news cars, helicopters, huge amounts of electricity, paper mills, printing presses, etc. All I’m saying is comparatively we are quite clean.
18 Dec 12
10:41 am
Regardless of whether the scooters are “pollution” or not, my question (gripe?) is around the strategy; what connection does one long string of scooter run have with the proposition or the product?
How does the “world’s longest transit campaign” help the brand message?
Or if it’s about reach/exposure, surely runs around metro areas would satisfy?
Adrian (good to see you active here btw) your quote being the only one in the release seems to add a bit more weight to my suspicion that the agency or client was ticking the “media first” box mostly for the sake of it?
18 Dec 12
11:20 am
@Pascoe “Worlds Longest Transit Campaign” was only used for the Press release – not the campaign itself.
I don’t believe it was a case of “Media First”, more so our ability to reach these small country towns where outdoor is hard to secure.
I had many other quotes in the brief, all of which were brilliant observations and commentary but unfortunately these now reside on the cutting room floor!
18 Dec 12
12:47 pm
Reading this thread I fail to understand why this is anything other than a pathetic stunt.
18 Dec 12
1:39 pm
@Adrian – Ah, understood. While note as sensational, the media release should have led with one of the elements being reaching the small towns. THAT helps rationalise it in a much better way!
18 Dec 12
2:49 pm
@Doughboy
Well said coming from a cloak of anonymity. So brave.
18 Dec 12
7:20 pm
As a stunt this has been done before – on a much bigger scale. In 1999 Nescafe Espresso ran campaign with Captive media with 15 trucks leaving Sydney to Port Douglas and another 15 trucks leaving Sydney to Adelaide via Melbourne. Stunt was for the worlds largest and longest mobile billboard. Yes even then a colossal waste of resources and traffic nuisance – however at least they were first