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Opinion
How to debunk media myths
In this post, UWS’s Ullrich Ecker, John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky argue that cognitive science can help PRs form strategies in managing media misreporting.
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone.
How about simply focusing on what consumers want?
In this guest post, Peter Mountford argues that brands should think more about what is really going on for consumers
Who here is hoping their favourite brand of toilet paper is going to be organizing a flash mob on their way home from work today?
What the Optus web copyright victory means
In this analysis first published on The Conversation, RMIT’s Marita Shelly examines the implications of Telstra’s defeat over the online rights to the AFL broadcast deal
This week’s Federal Court ruling that Optus customers are able to view sporting matches minutes after they are streamed live without breaching copyright is a landmark decision that alters our understanding of copyright law, and has significant implications for the AFL’s broadcasting rights deal.
Does Gina Rinehart’s bite of a chunk of Fairfax make her an oligarch?
In an article that first appeared in The Conversation, Mark Rolfe wonders whether the mining magnate’s move could turn Fairfax into something resembling America’s Fox network.Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has moved to increase her stake in Fairfax Media, owner of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and a number of radio stations. Rinehart has already shown her desire to play a role in public life, campaigning against former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s aborted mining tax. She has also demonstrated a willingness to make media investments to ensure her pro-business worldview is promulgated.
What does this latest move by Rinehart mean?
Gillard's Australia Day crisis
PM Julia Gillard’s media adviser Tony Hodges has been forced to resign over the Australia Day tent embassy debacle.
It came after it emerged he had revealed opposition leader Tony Abbott’s whereabouts, leading to both politicians being rescued by police in ugly scenes.
Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes and advertising practitioner Jane Caro debate the topic on Weekend Sunrise’s masters of Spin segment:
The biggest cock-up I made in business
In this guest post, Chris Savage urges agency staff to live the brand.I still shudder when I think about how incredibly stupid I was when I made the biggest stuff up of my career. And then, 18 years later, I did it again. Do not make this mistake with your clients. Ever.
Hey Groupon. Thanks for fucking up email
In this guest post, Daniel Monheit warns that group deal overload is devaluing email marketingEmail marketing used to be fabulous. Back in the heady days of 2010, brands would work hard to build up well qualified databases, upon which they’d bestow carefully crafted correspondence filled with information, offers and incentives. The recipients, of course would be delighted: “Oh look! An email! From one of my favourite brands! And it’s 40 cents off at Woolies this week!”.
The staggering sway of Harold Mitchell
The Power Index today names Aegis Media chairman Harold Mitchell as the most powerful person in Melbourne. Andrew Crook profiles him.
Harold Mitchell takes pride in dispensing with the niceties. When The Power Index visited his South Melbourne private office before Christmas, fresh remains were scattered all over the boardroom table.
Share a Coke with… the moronic masses
The most-read story on Mumbrella last year, with not far off 100,000 page views, was a fairly humdrum yarn about the launch of Coca-Cola’s name-on-a-bottle campaign.The headline, “Coca-Cola puts people’s names on bottles in ‘Share a Coke’ campaign”, though hated by any self-respecting sub-editor, was loved by Google. And in rushed what can be politely described as the public.
Assumptions kill creativity
In this guest post, Gual Barwell disagrees that the sales success of the Old Spice social media campaign was overstated.Yesterday’s post from Cathie McGinn suggested the Old Spice campaign failed to connect with consumers. Based on the facts and figures, I disagree.
What Old Spice and Wieden + Kennedy has done and done phenomenally well is to create a franchise.
The SMH's readers (are wrong) editor
We are now about five months into the reign of Australia’s first readers’ editor. And I don’t think it is working.
It struck me at the time of Judy Prisk’s appointment to the Sydney Morning Herald that the fact that her boss was editor-in-chief Peter Fray was not going to be ideal if she was going to be the independent voice of the reader.
The emperor's new fragrance: Old Spice’s campaign failure
In this guest post, Cathie McGinn slays a sacred cow of 21st century marketing – the highly awarded Old Spice campaign.One of the biggest myths of recent times (by which I mean a story of great heroism and triumph we’d all like to believe but deep down know to be untrue) is the Old Spice social media campaign. It’s been much lauded and awarded as an example of outstanding content, a creative and collaborative way of connecting with consumers and driving a record increase in sales.
How reliable are radio ratings?
In this guest posting, Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis wonders how accurate radio ratings can be, since the data is collated from handwritten diaries.
So, the radio ratings season gets underway tomorrow. After a well-earned break, Australia’s commercial radio stations will renew their obsession with figures to see how many of us are listening. Are they winning or losing the ratings war?
The much feared radio survey is the only way to measure the success or failure of a station’s playlist, talent, promotions or even good old Black Thunder crosses. With six-figure salaries riding on the make-or-break nature of ratings, just how accurate are Australia’s radio survey results?
One-eyed Willy’s rich stuff: brands as movie heroes
I have just spent an entire day on a plane. I can’t sleep on flights, even after heavy sedation. So I watched seven films, back to back. Most of the new ones were truly awful and I couldn’t finish them. So I watched an old favourite, The Goonies. I have probably watched this film more than 200 times since I was a kid. But this time, with work in the back of my mind, one thing stuck out – how much brands were the stars of the film.The gospel of participation is making brands forget about mass reach
In this guest post, Simon Lawson argues that brands are becoming obsessed with getting consumers to participate, rather than remembering to deliver mass exposure.I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a lot of brands are wasting significant amounts of time and money on ineffective marketing. Large sums are being put behind tactics which end up being too small to have much chance of influencing total brand preference.
Why newspapers are better than iPhones
I love the confidence about this ad for Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid, The Sun.
With a little more front foot behaviour like this, and everyone will be back in love with newspapers again.
I particularly like the iPhone-style swipe gestures.
The ad is by London agency Glue.
Tim Burrowes
December 1st, 2009 at 1:43 pm
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Comments
1 Dec 09
1:47 pm
Yeah I tried to get some truth on the sun, but it was rejected by their crAPP store policy.
1 Dec 09
1:51 pm
Gold. They forgot to mention that it comes with a free PORN app on page 3
“No Sun, No Fun” indeed
1 Dec 09
1:52 pm
Love the ad – but when did they stop doing the P3 girl? Or maybe they are just being coy.
PS expect to see a version of this ad sponsored by The Newspaper Works sometime soon.
1 Dec 09
2:05 pm
They’re pushing shit uphill of course. Print is dead and this is it’s swan song.
100% recyclable would mean something if you could recycle it back into a tree, and if the distribution didn’t pollute or require oil.
real journalism is long dead. Newspapers were convenient portable entertainment until something better came along. Now this is all just empty hype from an obsolete industry struggling to find a way to monetize a product which they themselves have devalued by abolishing journalistic principles so long ago.
Charging for online news wouldn’t be a problem if it were more than regurgitation of wire posts and Twitter opinion, or if it had more substance than celebrity gossip.
1 Dec 09
3:06 pm
Milorad@ Good rant but your understanding is questionable.
1. No distribution method is entirley without environmental impact. Computers and digital dvices use many rare metals and long life pollutants. And obviously require dirty electric power to drive them.
2. How can you claim real jounalism to be dead when there are probably more writers and photographers covering events around the globe than ever before.
Most – in fact the vast majority of “real journalism” is funded and published by tradional mass media ie print and TV. Real jounalism is not dead it simply hasn’t found a new sponsor online because users have as yet proved unwilling to pay and most internet publishers are – almost by definiation – driven by short business objectives.
3. Jounalistic principle – possibly an oxymoron. Newspapers and TV networks are commercial beasts. (yes even the BBC / ABC) They gather and distribute news for an agenda. Either to make money or to influence politics or self perpetuate their corporate DNA. The only principle of jounalism is that the content should be newsworthy and defensible as true. Fair and balanced doesn’t come into it. It’s all about getting readers and viewers and power. Why else would the most deadly war on the past decade with 5 million dead have recieved almost zero coverage.
1 Dec 09
5:12 pm
After seeing the headline for this article, I was hoping I’d read “you can’t wrap fish and chips in an iPhone”…
1 Dec 09
9:11 pm
Newspapers are dead blah blah blah. Journalism is dead blah blah blah blah yawn.
Elegantly argued, this is a great ad.
One of the best I’ve seen in ages.
1 Dec 09
9:29 pm
Very good, the agency responsible should win something for this! (Hehe, I’m learning)
1 Dec 09
9:40 pm
Its funny how many people foretell the death of journalism.
Once upon a time, people travelled by horse & cart. Then came the car, and the horse & cart was promptly relegated to obscurity. The concept of transport prevailed, simply because it meets a human need. The horse & cart didn’t prevail because a better solution to the basic human need was found.
There will always be a need for journalism – people crave the truth, just as they crave transportation. The medium may change – people may move away from broadsheets just as they moved away from the horse &cart, but at the end of the day the concept of journalism will last for some time yet.
The question is, will over the longer term, bloggers provide the same answer to the need as journalists? In some case yes, in others no.
There are bloggers that feel that their opinion is truth (read as Papworth), despite showing no real journalistic understanding, investigative insight or analysis. I’m tipping that the world will tire of these sort of self important bloggers really quickly.
On the other hand, blogging frees up the journalistic spirit in people who may not have backing of a media empire, and therefore can voice a view that is truly independent. If this group can stay true to their ideals, then I tip that they will prosper over the longer term.
Don’t mistake the death of the newspaper with the death of journalism!
By the way – great ad!
1 Dec 09
10:43 pm
good, clever ad. doesn’t quite have the smug, superior tone of the apple ads but they can always work on that.
2 Dec 09
8:55 am
I was hoping it might include an apology for disgusting lies about Hillsbrough, but we wait in vain for that.
BTW, I don’t believe the Sc*m has had a Page 3 girl for many years. THough I wouldn’t really know as I’ve never bought a copy
2 Dec 09
9:02 am
@Gav: A scouser never forgets. Maybe Gordon Brown could apologise – he seems to be sorry for eveything eles that has nothing to do with him.
2 Dec 09
9:09 am
@Gavin
Page 3 still going and has now developed into a political barometer:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medi.....ge-3-brown
2 Dec 09
11:22 am
@Aplet Hear, hear!
2 Dec 09
3:28 pm
@ Aplet – People also crave looking at titties. So The Sun will probably be around for a while yet.
2 Dec 09
5:21 pm
No commentary on the politics and discussion of print v web. This is a bloody lovely ad.
2 Dec 09
11:31 pm
As a reader – and a writer – I love my iPhone. But I’ll never take it to the beach. Long live print. This ad rocks. Well done Glue.
3 Dec 09
10:28 am
Yes I am part of the huge conglomerate that is News Limited and I state that upfront. So have some personal insight. I have worked in Print, TV and Online so I almost uniquely placed to comment. Print isn’t dead is the same reason that Radio didn’t kill Print, TV didn’t kill the radio, Video/DVD didn’t kill TV and Online will not kill any of the above.
Never underestimate the general public’s capacity to consume what ever you put in front of it. If you like; when it comes to Media we are obese but still show no signs of stopping consumption. The Sun is still around and as irrelevant but prevalent as it was in the 70′s because it delivers to you something that you don’t know you want; until you turn the page, and there it is another sub intellectual morsel. This applies to all media. Who needs another serving of “Groundhog Day” but off we go again? DDSS different day same shit, but we will consume it because we want it even though we never knew we wanted it. Ergo Human nature.
When a reverse Google comes along and offers you upon entry a menu of choices relevant only to you and populated by your previous browsing pattern/s; well then all of the above maybe in jeopardy.
The king then will be the content provider and the advertising agency that learns to integrate the advertising message within the content in order to deliver that content free of charge!!
Until then we will just have to wait for the general public get to Monty Pythons Mr Creosote little mint moment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlfcF1I5e_g
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