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Opinion | Features
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.
Savage counsel - JFDI
Hi Chris,I run a medium-sized agency that is doing pretty well. As the leader, I am finding my workload just seems to go up and up. I am struggling to stay motivated and particularly to tackle the bigger and tougher challenges I have to face every day. How do I keep up the energy when there just seems so much to do? How do you do it?
Productive, successful executives are those able to consistently tackle difficult and big challenges. It’s a constant struggle for me so I know how you feel. How do the successful leaders do it?
Q&A with Brett Clegg
Brett Clegg, group director – business media, Fairfax Media, in a Q&A that first appeared in Encore, on the journo who refuses to work with him – his wife.Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Hard to go past Rupert Murdoch. He controls the single largest and most diverse portfolio and is intent on leveraging its scale (and, of course, influence). He’s an innovator and his will to win is obvious to all.
Will Pepsi’s social media gamble pay off?
Pepsi is taking an enormous gamble this year by relinquishing the Superbowl ad spot it has held for 23 years, instead trading it in for a $20m social media campaign.
But with only 250,000 actively engaged Facebook fans compared to Coke’s 4 million plus, Ideaworks’ head of digital Aden Hepburn ask, will it work?
Comments
5 Jan 10
5:33 pm
Of course it will work (that is, get more fans registered), people will jump on almost any bandwagon. One has to wonder why 4 million people have declared themselves fans of Coke. The question is, will the campaign sell more Pepsi? Pepsi is a pretty good cola, but has a crappy brand image, Coke is a pretty ordinary drink, but has great brand presence. I’m not sure Pepsi will ever close the gap created by US government policy during WW2.
5 Jan 10
7:01 pm
Or they could just wait a few years and buy Twitter for $20 million
6 Jan 10
10:10 am
it is scary to see that after 2 years of relentless salesmanship and half truths marketing people are starting to buy into some of these ridiculous social media scams.
6 Jan 10
10:41 am
This is a great move by pepsi… it was time for a change. This will drive the product across a more international market as well, and with hit the younger generation also.
6 Jan 10
11:31 am
“250,000 actively engaged Facebook fans compared to Coke’s 4 million plus”
can i ask who wrote this article a question – what does ‘actively engaged’ actually mean?
let’s walk through what is required to become a fan on facebook.
1. click ‘become a fan’
end
after that – where is the active engagement? what is this figure based on? how many people that are ‘fans’ of something have done anything more than just click ‘become a fan’. It’s like saying that everyone who has once said to someone or thought to themselves ‘gee this tastes good’ is a brand ambassador/advocate.
i always thought metrics used in marketing where things that mattered commercially … not irrelevant ambiguous things like ‘friends’ ‘fans’ ‘retweets’ etc.
6 Jan 10
1:38 pm
…And do these people become fans by finding the brand and adding it because they like it? or does Pepsi have to spend more money on Facebook ads in order to prompt them to become fans from there?
7 Jan 10
2:45 pm
It’s not just about the fans, well in the US anyway – the campaign is aimed at users sharing an idea and persisting their ‘friends’ to vote for their particular project, where the projects with the highest number of votes receive funding. Once these users share this information on their social networks – they have created their own personalised Pepsi advertisement on their page. I believe this campaign will have phenomenal success in the US, not just with the amount of applicants, but down to brand awareness, the philanthropic perception and to sales.
If it is successful, don’t be surprised to see it launched in Australia within 6 months. Currently Australia’s campaign is a dumbed down, yet more complex version of the above.
7 Jan 10
6:08 pm
Bravo Pepsi. They laughed / sneered at Galileo too!
Rather than initially try to debate the merit – & quality – of their social media strategy, perhaps it’s prudent to consider the ROI of Pepsi’s previous Super Bowl TV advertising. Sure it had all the ad types tittering (maybe even twittering if they were truly evolved) but did it move the propensity to buy &/or sales needles? I’m not sure. But the good people at Pepsi are no doubt pretty smart so for them to walk away from the jewel in the US’ advertising crown something must not be working. So what to do.
Tipping $23 mill into social media IS a ballsy thing to do. But what responsible marketer can afford to ignore or merely dabble in something that has captivated 100millions of people? There are many ways to support the worth of an integrated & strategic social media program. The problem is, because social media is so new too few people have the experience or understanding to be able to do so convincingly.
Google ‘Social Media ROI’ and read some or all of the 2.8million articles / blogs / case studies and then talk to me about scams and half-truths.
8 Jan 10
12:57 pm
@ Larry
I think the whole “engaged” thing came from Igor on ViralBlog, they run a social media agency / tracking app (not sure how they actually calculate – almost looks like it’s just their fan number!). But I agree with the 1 click = fan doesn’t really equal an “engaged fan” and not sure how that was equated. But I’m sure some would argue on FB that with the ability to broadcast into your stream as they like once you are a fan that they are engaging you on a frequenty basis.
8 Jan 10
1:03 pm
Peter – you don’t, by chance, have involvement in a company that is operating in this social media space do you?
OMG you do.
Well there you go.
8 Jan 10
1:05 pm
Digital Buzz – that’s the problem right there. We accept terms like ‘engaged’ but the people saying it don’t really know what it constitutes.
“TV is great because Jim at blahblog said it engaged hundreds of millions and I’m sure that is true.”
I’m not saying either is correct, or whether there’s even a Blahblog or a Jim that works there … but I am sure we can do better than this.
9 Jan 10
1:33 am
@ Peter
You can actually see the twittering responses from last years superbowl here: http://bit.ly/FSsp (on NY times) – interesting to see they run 2 ads – one at the very start with almost NO tweet response on the west coast and then another at full time that gets noticed on the east coast, but still NOTHING compared to Hulu + Career Builder
Food for thought.
Cheers
Aden
9 Jan 10
1:34 am
Hmmm, did I just say twittering responses… clearly it’s too late to be awake!
10 Jan 10
6:14 pm
Aden, that’s a great chart. Having said that, I’m amazed that there was any meaningful mention of ads in the twittersphere at all. I mean c’mon, we think what we do is important but in the scheme of things it’s an irrelevance to the vast majority of people – particularly compared to watching the Super Bowl.
Re engagement Larry, I completely agree with you that measuring this via the number of friends / fans / followers / views you have on social media platforms is questionable. While they’re important metrics, it would be like saying, well ,150 people walked in to my shop today. OK, but how many people bought?
While there is still much to learn, the proven key to effective social media programs – & yes, I proudly run a company in this space – is putting an on-going, longer-term strategy in place that incorporates tactical implementations to maintain / build engagement leading to sales. Plus, of course integrating with other marketing activities.
I’d be interested in your thoughts, Larry as to what Pepsi should do instead of investing in social media.
10 Jan 10
11:09 pm
i’d probably use the money to invest in a better core creative concept personally – one that can work across all channels. pepsi hasn’t had one for years.
it appears (from an onlooker so take it for what it’s worth) that pepsi is doing what it think is ‘cool/clever’ and maybe hasn’t been as diligent as it could be in working out what the real potential end gain could be.
11 Jan 10
2:22 pm
Maybe if they were really going for the philanthropic angle, the best action would be to stop creating a product full of sugar (or chemical sweetener) and completely lacking in nutrients, that is contributing to an obesity crisis in the Western world.
11 Jan 10
3:14 pm
To Belinda – I’m intrigued by your input, albeit that it’s quite a bit off the point. Please qualify your remarks by directing us all to the public statement, doubtless one that you’ve found somewhere in Pepsi’s marketing and advertising history, where Pepsi makes the distinct claim that it’s products are “nutritious”.
Your right to have your say is not in question here, just a pointer that it’s probably the wrong forum to push your medical agenda. Staging your views from atop a biodegradable fruitbox would probably reduce the carbon footprint applied by your use of the Internet. I like your assertiveness though. You believe skim milk has less carbs than full-cream don’t you? Hhmm!
To Larry – You speak strongly against Pepsi’s market research prowess, its courage to “test & measure” then act upon the data in a pragmatic way while you fail to table any real substance in your argument. Never let the facts get in the way of a good Blog!
I wonder if the reason why you can’t boast Pepsi among your clientele might be 50/50 between your adherence to “the old ways”, an inflexibility to embrace modern methods just because you don’t know them very well, and your “punctuation deficit disorder”. Just kidding Larry – we’re all friends here
I’m sure Pepsi knows what its doing, specifically when perusing the latest and greatest ways to engage a demographic that is probably primarily teens. I’m the first to admit that I have no data to back this next comment up, however, I’d bet real money that more teenagers use social networking sites than watch football.
To Peter – Thumbs up to you pal! You qualify your remarks with facts that you obviously make your living on, and aren’t hiding that fact. Integrity and professionalism such as yours will get points of view across further and faster than most who hide behind anonymity. I’m sure your client base is confident in what you’re doing for them.