-
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.
Unworry? Not if NRMA has anything to do with it
I’ve never been a fan of advertising through fear. So I’m not at all keen on this new Leo Burnett ad for breakdown cover from NRMA.
It features a lone woman in a car that breaks down on a busy road, intercut with shots of her looking stressed and perhaps frightened, underscored by a portentous soundtrack. She’s unable to get help on her mobile.
I played it to a female colleague without telling her what the product was, to get her reaction . Her first comment: “I thought she was going to commit suicide by jumping off the bridge.”
It seems that NRMA has moved its positioning from Unworry for its insurance brands to You’d Better Fucking Worry.
Tim Burrowes
-
-
Email Newsletter
Latest Jobs- Account Manager – Top Media Agency – To $80 package
- Client Service Manager – Fantastic Media Agency – To $80 package
- Business Development/Marketing Manager – Consumer Tech Experience – $100-150k
- Top Jnr to Midweight Creative Team
- Digital Copywriter with big thinking
- Super Art Director/Copywriter Team with 360˚ thinking
- Junior Community Manager | Sensis | 6 months contract
- Mid Level PHP Developer- Creative- Up to $67K + Super Ref 6488
- Account Executive
- Communications Manager
-
RSS
Comments
9 Sep 09
10:49 am
Have you seen the (I assume only Perth) ad for AAMI insurance, where black swans crap on people’s cars? More Fellini than unworry.
9 Sep 09
10:56 am
Hey Tim. Though I am a big fan of yours and Mumbrella, I thought that was a bit harsh, especially in dropping the F-Bomb. Whilst I agree with your assessment of the new work, it is only advertising, and you seem to be getting a bit too emotionally involved? I’m no prude, but would have thought that language like that detracts from the higher ground of being a journalist. mumbrella is your Brand, so take it where you like, but I, for one, tend to like your wry jabs at our industry rather than the more obvious gutteral posts.
9 Sep 09
11:15 am
NRMA Roadside Assistance is not the same brand as NRMA Insurance, which has the Unworry campaign.
9 Sep 09
11:53 am
I walked past a bus stop poster featuring the UnWorry campaign the other day – the glass had been smashed. It made quite a picture … the words “unworry” only just visible behind the shattered glass.
9 Sep 09
11:56 am
Hey Tim,
Gotta agree with 11:15 here, NRMA Insurance (IAG) and NRMA Motoring & Services (the guys who commissioned this ad) are two totally separate companies, who only share the name NRMA and logo, nothing else.
Meanwhile, what’s with all the people posting anonymously on this (and other) marketing blogs?
9 Sep 09
12:07 pm
Don’t worry Tim, I understand that only half of NRMA’s members realise they are two separate organisations. It’s a common mistake and one of their biggest brand issues.
That aside, this isn’t an ad that Leo Burnett would willingly create. I would put money on this being an explicit directive.
9 Sep 09
12:07 pm
Hi Damian & Anon,
I am aware that these are different companies. (If memory serves, I think Human does the Unworry stuff). That’s why I made the distinction between the breakdown cover and insurance.
However, consumers don’t tend to make that sort of distinction. One day NRMA will be telling them not to worry, the next it’ll be telling them to worry.
But regardless, my main point is just that using fear is a crappy way of selling.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
9 Sep 09
12:07 pm
In the eyes of the consumer, anything with the letters “NRMA” constitutes the same brand.
They don’t care who pays for the ad, or what business unit they are from, to them it is all one and the same.
9 Sep 09
12:16 pm
Now you’re saying “crappy”? Talk about Pottymouth central.
9 Sep 09
12:21 pm
It’s a very strange move in the context of the un-worry positioning.
Picking up on Anon, NRMA is NRMA, whichever business unit, something they’d been successful at ‘integrating’ in the past.
So considering that, irrespective of whether fear is a right or wrong strategy, a departure of this kind out from under the umbrella is very, very strange.
9 Sep 09
12:24 pm
I totally thought they were the same brand.
So which is the brand that is constantly in the news for attacking cyclists? I remember when those cyclists were hit, the CEO of the NRMA came out to essentially say they were at fault cos bikes shouldn’t be allowed on the road (I’m paraphrasing a bit here). As far as I knew, they were all the same brand…
9 Sep 09
1:48 pm
Anyone remember the Dooley Abraham Davis Chapman spots for nrma with help as the soundtrack? Same brief by the looks of it but totally different execution focussing on positive outcomes
9 Sep 09
2:00 pm
Personally I don’t mind the ad but I like your way of viewing and assessing it regardless of the product!! How many people actually distinguish between the two products – end of the day its NRMA.
How many of these Anon work for NRMA? Insurance or roadside assistance…
9 Sep 09
2:41 pm
As a Joe Average consumer I don’t distinguish between the Roadside or Other NRMA…so it all blurs into one for me.
Unworry, then get freaked out about being attacked, or hit, on the side of a road.
9 Sep 09
2:52 pm
Fear is stupid but it’s a nice piece of film that will be more effective than you think.
9 Sep 09
3:03 pm
I am not a fan of advertising through fear either but given this is one of my fears when driving by myself and I am the target market, I quite liked this advertisement. I do believe that all women especially young women who are driving second or third hand cars should have some kind of roadside assistance for peace of mind. However, if your mobile is not working and you’re a deserted road, I’m not quite sure how that’s going to work either. Make sure you have a fully charged mobile on you at all times girls!
9 Sep 09
3:17 pm
This is pretty much the same tactic the RACQ (Qld) roadside assistance have been using for years. The RACQ has a woman alone at night on a rooftop carpark and her car won’t start, then a man startles her by asking if she needs help. All set to a ‘horror movie’ music piece. The fear factor seems to work in the RACQ ad.
9 Sep 09
3:47 pm
In Sydney (not sure about other states) major freeways and motorways are monitored for breakdowns so the RTA (or respective state transit authority) would of high-tailed to the car and removed it and the driver safely, especially in peakhour.
Why do they protray a woman in the ad as the poster child for “helpless”, who only has one friend to call? Why didn’t she tweet? And exactly how long was she standing there and where did all the cars go??
Was that a brand-new Toyota Camry?
Would love to be a fly on the wall at the phone call between the NRMA Insurance Brand Manager and the NRMA Roadside Assist Brand manager…
Client/agency relationship/contracts aside, how insanely easy would it be to promote Roadside Assist in the “Unworry” campaign! A little thong could replace the membership card! So cute!!
Coincidently there’s currently a promo on NRMA Roadside Assist on radio – sign up to 12 months and get 3 months free – maybe an ad on the incentive/benefits instead of this fear-based execution? If we’re so “frightened” of breaking down as depicted, do we need the extra incentive to join?
Nuff said.
9 Sep 09
3:51 pm
Sandra, I was taking you seriously until you asked where all the cars went.
Clearly you don’t understand metaphors.
9 Sep 09
3:55 pm
It worries me that the lady is still waiting for NRMA after all that peak traffic passing …
9 Sep 09
3:57 pm
I think I was behind that dumb cow in peak-hour the other day!
9 Sep 09
4:01 pm
That’s hilarious!! I’m with you Tim. I hate advertising through fear also and everyone uses it. I just switched from B&T to Mumbrella and I find this kind of journalism very refreshing, F bomb and all.
9 Sep 09
4:03 pm
I think some of you are being too analytical and are missing the point, which is simply for people to think “breaking down sucks” and renew or sign-up for service. At that, I think it’ll be quite effective.
9 Sep 09
7:35 pm
Nasty
9 Sep 09
7:55 pm
Check out the Mondial Assistance banner ad for their roadside assist on the http://www.roadsideassistance.com.au website. Maybe dressed up animals might be the way to go.
9 Sep 09
11:37 pm
i didn’t believe in thinking more than enough… i will just that is a good video clip and i enjoyed it
regards
cleon dann
10 Sep 09
9:58 am
Wow. Some interesting comments. I think it’s a very nice ad, well executed. I also think it will do it’s job. Telling people to ‘unworry’ in this context would just lead to apathy.
10 Sep 09
11:01 am
Cleon,
Do you work for a bloke called Geoff?
10 Sep 09
12:15 pm
Marketing vs Selling.
While critiquing their marketing, don’t forget the whole point of the exercise: selling.
Isn’t creating a sense of urgency one of the keys to selling?
Whether it be by fear, looming deadline, or other means?
NRMA probably don’t give two figs about your assessment of their marketing. Provided they get some sales.
10 Sep 09
1:40 pm
Dear Anon, Thanks for responding to my entry. I started out being serious but felt for the NRMA Roadside Assist Ad or Brand Manager, and tried to soften my comments with some light humour to empathize. We are not privy to all the political, organisational, marketing & sales or brand challenges that exist internally, which can propel communications down a certain path and then be mercilessly open to assessment through our own eyes and values systems. We’ve all been in that hot seat.
I am not a fan of using fear generally for any kind of influence. I suspect (I could be wrong) that there is already a reasonable high awareness of the anxiety and unhappiness thats associated with breaking down anywhere, but especially acute in peak hour. I think the ad reconfirms a point already well know. The positive “benefits” of receiving the roadside assist from NRMA at this acute point of need may have been more compelling and compliment the creative promotional offer.
10 Sep 09
2:56 pm
Totally disagree – i reckon recognising the fear or trouble in a situation and coming up with a solution is pretty effective way to sell.
I think the ad recognises a situation people don’t like and has NRMA coming to your rescue like a knight on his big white charger (the horse, not the car variety).
I still reckon it works with unworry IMHO
10 Sep 09
3:23 pm
Is she still waiting for the NRMA? Is that why she looks scared?
10 Sep 09
6:39 pm
I thought the woman in the ad was about to commit suicide, leading me to think the ad was about a Help/Life Hotline or something….
I also dislike fear based product selling. Save it for the anti smoking, anti alcohol abuse and anti speeding campaigns!
11 Sep 09
1:41 pm
Someone in the advertising community gets upset over the word fucking?
14 Sep 09
9:53 am
I think this ad gets the message across. All I saw in it was a woman needing help. It is a welcome change for me as ANYTHING is better than those tiresome ‘Unworry’ ads. I found it so amusing that when most of Australia was doing it tough NRMA thought it could fix the problem with their patronising ‘Unworry’ ads. What about 10% off your price? People would have really appreciated that.
19 Sep 09
11:09 am
So over-styled and over-thought it looks like something for Lifeline or the Black Dog Foundation. Too much Problem not enough resolution
Trackbacks/Pingbacks