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Opinion | Features
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.
The top seven...most patronising pieces of communication
Sometimes brands have big ideas. Sometimes marketers get so caught up with a grandiose idea that instead of finding engaging ways to sell breakfast cereal, they start to believe their own rhetoric. And sometimes it’s just lazy marketing. Here are my top seven inadvertently patronising pieces of communication…
1) Last night thousands of women gathered in Sydney’s Centennial Park to take part in She Runs the Night, an event created by Nike.
TV audience measurement – why big isn’t always beautiful
In this guest post, Chris Walton argues that the media industry needs to take a new approach to TV tradingThere has been a significant amount of coverage recently about how successful The Voice has been. Indeed, audience figures of 2.6m+ people are very impressive these days. Based on reports, this is apparently double the size of audience that Nine was hoping for in the lead up to the programme launching.
Westfield hunts a $100,000 shopping blogger
Westfield has launched a hunt for a $100,000 a year shopping blogger.
The initiative – Westfield Insider – has been devised by the shopping destination’s own marketing team.
John Batistich, GM of marketing for Westfield, said: “Westfield will employ a real shopper that will provide relevant information about our retailers at a local level. We expect that this conversation will stimulate further conversations creating a shopping community.”
According to Westfield: “The successful applicant will be offered a 12 month position to blog and inform the online community about ‘on trend on budget’ style, product and retail news, and lead and reward a community of shoppers through the Westfield Insider blog and Facebook page.”
Westfield is using fashion commentator Melissa Hoyer to help find its blogger. She said: “The shopping blogger is now such an immediate and up to date source of information and is a big responsibility. The Westfield Insider will require multiple shopping skills – they have to be able to communicate informatively and consistently to their online followers. It’s a wonderful challenge and I’m excited to be part of the national search”.
Entries are now open with contestants asked to upload a sample blogpost on the topic of ‘on trend on budget’ to the Westfield Insider website.
Other judges include Shop Til You Drop editor Justine Cullen, Westfield staff and Phoebe Montague, writer of Victorian fashion blog, Lady Melbourne.
Westfield is just the latest brand offering a competition to get a social media job. The most famous Australian example is Tourism Queensland’s Best Job In The World blogger Ben Southall, while more recently Jetstar launched a search for a blogger to cover the Powderfinger tour.
September 15th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
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Comments
15 Sep 10
1:29 pm
Nice idea, well linked in to the brand and it has longevity vs. a one-off social campaign. And very interesting that it came from the internal team.
I’ll be watching it closely, while the ROI on $100k+ will be a challenge, it sure beats the Facebook spam that Westfield entered the social space with.
15 Sep 10
1:54 pm
As a fashion blogger, this competition is really exciting to see. While there seems to be (at least in the media) an awareness of the popularity and influence of bloggers overseas, Westfield are actually putting money on the future of bloggers and their influence, locally. Exciting stuff. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one too.
15 Sep 10
2:35 pm
When did a salary become a prize!! Isn’t this just a job dressed up in a nice coat!
10.2 The Prize is:
A 12 month fixed-term contract as an employee of the Westfield Group in the position of “Westfield Insider” with an annual salary of $100,000 (exclusive of superannuation and additional benefits, as determined by Westfield) commencing 15 November 2010 (if required, commencement date can negotiated between the Winner and Westfield), including:
* Full calendar of retail and community events to attend over the course of 12 months, at the direction of Westfield;
* Blogging on westfield.com.au website (two (2) blog entries per week);
* Maintaining a Facebook profile and interact / converse with the Facebook community; and
* Conducting personal styling sessions for the five (5) winners of the Westfield “Win a $10,000 gift card and personal styling session from the Westfield Insider” promotion, subject to the terms and conditions of the employment contract with Westfield.
15 Sep 10
2:36 pm
Best job in the world?
15 Sep 10
2:52 pm
Considering they would normally spend many times that amount of advertising in traditional media like newspapers and TV which is seeing constant decline, I say well done Westfield.
15 Sep 10
3:05 pm
Sounds a bit like the movie “The Joneses” – about a fake family provided with goods and their only goal is to promote the gear.
I think any blogger that becomes paid by a company loses some of their ‘independence’ appeal. My own personal feeling is that if the blogger is sponsored, their values can be swayed and we’ll see less non-favourable reviews.
Just my .02
K
15 Sep 10
3:07 pm
I think is a great idea. Fashion blogs really resonate with the target audience, and I think its a dream job for so many people. Well done Westfield!
15 Sep 10
3:20 pm
I like how they left a window open in the exclusions.
3.6 Westfield may, in its complete discretion, select up to 50 individuals who have not entered the Competition prior to the date on which the in-centre interviews are held who may also participate in an in-centre interview event in each participating Westfield centre. A Westfield representative will assist these individual with filling out an application form, and, should the individual wish, they will have the opportunity to use a video camera to film the video element of their Entry.
So at the end of the campaign you will have a battle of 50 influencers who will be creating video content and additional reach.
15 Sep 10
3:21 pm
Great way to drum up some publicity, so am sure the ROI is already starting to kick in, but i wonder how honest this blogger will be allowed to be? Can the freely criticise aspects of the Westfield centres they visit? Trust me not all of them are the gleaming alters of shopping that we see at Bondi and the soon to be revamped Pitt Street Mall area
15 Sep 10
3:29 pm
The Westfield campaign is a great example of how blogging is changing the brand-ad agency-journalist-media dynamic in Australia, and highlights three trends:
1. Some brands (and I use the term “some” with care) see ad campaigns using traditional paid media as overpriced; $100k is a relatively small amount for a big brand, and given that $100k buys “2 seconds” of prime time TV, brands are (rightly) starting to experiemnet with diversifying their campaign expenditure. The key here is that in the digital world a brand can create a “long tail” of content that audiences/readers can access long after the TV or print ad has been “consumed”. This links to the next point…
2. The ROI for a campaign is not determined by the start and finish dates of the “media buy” but by how effective the engagement is over a longer period of time, where factors such as influence as well as sales can be the driver, and viewed as complimentary to the brand owner. The tip here is to think of the $100k as an investment in a start-up company.
3. Digital media offers brands an engagement model with conversation at the core – and has the potential to disintermediate both ad agencies and tradional media publishers and broadcasters. But it probably won’t. Blogger engagement is now a core part of all agency service offerings (that’s ad and PR agencies). However, both ad agencies and PR agencies want to “own” this space. Both want to be the people who advise brands on how to navigate the challenges and opportunities in digital media. Both can lay claim to be the preferred supplier; PR because of their relationship with journalists, who at this time are like bloggers, versus the ad agencies, who whilst they come from an interuption model of communication, have secured the bigger share of the branding budgets and could use these budgets to establish close relationaships with the blogging community.
A final comment: Westfield founder Frank Lowy also recently founded “The Lowy Institute for International Policy” – this is a news blog on foreign affairs: it’s at the pointy end of quality media; it’s an area that has not been covered well by the ABC or journalists from commercial media (News, Channels 7, 9 and 10). But more importantly, this blog has given the Lowy family a great deal more influence in the political world. Maybe the Westfield Marketing department has noticed the success of The Lowy Institute blog and has decided that blogging could work for them too?
15 Sep 10
3:47 pm
Best copy in the world.
Wonder if they will have the blogger on a horse, then on a motorbike – then producing video responses to celebrity twitter questions…
15 Sep 10
3:55 pm
Damn, if only I was more fashionable!
15 Sep 10
4:35 pm
This a lame arse idea!
15 Sep 10
4:38 pm
Sounds like a good idea but I always think that Its a pity when things are heralded as a success before they even launch
15 Sep 10
6:13 pm
Good to see brands embracing blogging as a more legitimate medium of promotion, but i can’t see anyone reading this fashion blog.
But i’ll be interested to see just what “on style on budget” means for a blog. It sounds like Westfield is looking for a person to create a blog-style catalogue. Which would not be interesting for the blogger or the readers. People read fashion blogs to live vicariously and see what other stylish people are wearing and buying, not to see x and y items that are for sale at a Westfield.
15 Sep 10
9:42 pm
I came across this on Seek and it sure looked like spam to me!
17 Sep 10
2:17 pm
After their Facebook faliure it will be interesting to see if they can make this work for them.
22 Sep 10
11:02 am
Barbarella for MUMBRELLA! Wat an opportunity. Dream job for all mums who love to shop and find a bargain!
23 Sep 10
7:36 pm
This idea could work – but only if they allow honesty, honesty, honesty.
People are wising up to fake advertising and promises, you need to find a totally believable, well liked, normal but classy person who most people could relate to and perhaps slightly admire! Too many fashionistas out there make people feel inadequate – as if normal working people can afford half the items they promote. Fashion layouts have models wearing over $1,000 worth of clothing! As if a normal wage earner can afford this sort of look!
The person who is allocated this position should have a good mind, sharp wit and clever ideas which your average person can still relate to. They will need to do a lot of homework and be able to address needs for all ages to make them believable. Please find a well groomed, mature age adult whose job it is normally to shop for everyone else – i.e most likely a mother/wife with family.