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Opinion | Features
Why is advertising so much better in New Zealand than Australia?
Ok, so this isn’t a new observation.
But it really hit home after I watched some TV ads for a kiwi supermarket yesterday that advertising in New Zealand is so much better than much of the crap that is being served up in this country at the moment.
Why is it that Colenso BBDO Auckland can turn something as bland as a supermarket chain into a brand I almost like, while Australian agencies succeed only in either irritating me (Coles) or passing me by unnoticed (Woolies) because the ads are so average?
My memo to your boss
So let me guess?
You really want to come to Mumbrella360, but you’ve got to justify the time and cost to your boss?
Good news! I think I can help.
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.
Yellow Pages goes the testimonial route
Yellow Pages has launched Testimonial – a new campaign created by Clemenger Proximity Melbourne featuring real business owners who have benefited from advertising in the directory.
The TVC builds on the brand’s strategy of justifying to its advertisers that their investment in being in the directory is money well spent.
The ad features 23 real business owners from all over Australia, who advertise with Yellow Pages. No paid talent was used . They describe in their own words how they have benefited from it. They paint numbers on a large yellow canvass which relate to the results they have achieved.
The TVC launched yesterday and will also be supported by press advertising. As the deadline for being in the Yellow Pages directory approaches, the campaign will include a cut-down 15-second TVC reminding people to book. This will be supported by press, radio and direct marketing.
Credits:
- Agency: Clemenger Proximity Melbourne
- Creative Team: Matt Stoddart and Stefanie DiGianvincenzo
- Production Company: Fiction Film Company
- Director: Jake Robb
- Media agency: OMD
May 11th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
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Comments
11 May 09
11:04 pm
Its nice and all, but by no means a classic like “not happy Jan” and “Goggo Mobile”. I guess some markets’ advertising needs to be pragmatic…
12 May 09
11:28 am
Um… I didn’t see that kind of response. I just listed with a new site.
http://www.bloo.com.au I think it’s brilliant.!
They’re advertising everywhere in Perth, They listed me in google and have a “click to call” product where my customers can contact me for free.
This is my little plug for them.
12 May 09
1:41 pm
cant remember the last time i actually opened up the yellow pages.
businesses are better off spending that money on paid search on google and using true local. take advantage of the google stimulus package with $75 free credit too.
12 May 09
3:34 pm
I have no barrow to push. Don’t work for the agency or the client. Don’t work on any direct competitors.
This ad works for me on a number of levels and I think it’s a really good effort at maintaining the relevance of the YP in the current marketplace, certainly within specific business examples and target groups. It feels to me that the use of the talent demographics and the selection of businesses is highly deliberate and in keeping with the relevance positioning, as well as being a reflection of who the current users of the print YP most likely are (i.e. older, stick to their local environment etc). There’s no one here who’s hip, planning global domination or walking around with a bluetooth ear piece. Nice strategy and casting.
So, does it work for everyone? No, and I don’t think it’s meant to. Obviously as time and technology goes by, products like the printed YP will need to adapt further or perish under the Google juggernaut.
12 May 09
3:35 pm
Thats my comment above. I don’t mind giving my name to my opinions…just pushed the button way too quickly!
12 May 09
3:48 pm
The Yellow dinosaur, ads great they always are as they have $$$ and want to keep people paying to be listed.
I get these books wrapped in plastic dumped at my door each year and i guess that proves reach when your selling ad space.
But like most people reading this, it goes in the bin[recycling after plastic removed]
This year i even emailed the dont send me one next year list..I wonder if I’ll still get one?
Keep the spin going, but i think little businesses are getting smarter and dont just have local paper and yellow pages to promote their business any more.
12 May 09
4:07 pm
mal,
“…most people reading this” are not the target market as per the point I made above about specific business examples. If you’re reading this you probably don’t run a local driving school or contract out mini-skips. I’ve run my own business and for me YP weren’t relevant because all my business came from personal referral as I would expect from the industry I’m in.
No one said local paper or YP are the only options for small business. Not even the ad says this. To clarify, the ad is targeting listings and I think reflects the demographic of the user. Obviously, thats not you.
12 May 09
4:17 pm
Rachael,
sorry I think you missed what i was saying. We are not in disagreeing.
I was saying people like you have wised up.Why pay inflated ad rates when it doesnt deliver clients. [in your case WOM]
Or they may deliver 8 million books. [so you pay to advertise to that many people] when only a fraction of those are actually used.
My point was people have now have so many more channels and options than 10 years ago.
I think we are really talking about two different things.
12 May 09
4:27 pm
Mal
Coupla things.
The ad focuses on response, not reach as a metric, which is something I fundamentally agree with and I think somewhat lessens the impact of your argument.
Secondly, like I said, I don’t have anything to sell that might lead me to use words like ‘dinosaur’ or ‘spin’ in relation to this conversation. I was trying to take the conversation away from the barrow pushers and inject some independent critical thinking.
And you?
13 May 09
8:23 am
Rachael, no need for the condescending tone.
We seem to be talking about different things, which i have tried to show.
I wasn;t referring to Yellow pages ad..which i said is great creative etc etc.
Each of those[real] people in the ad pays to advertise in the YP.
That amount is based upon the reach, so my point is YP has massively overstated reach as they deliver YP books to all households and businesses if they want them or not. Therefore inflating the real numbers of people the person business will reach.
So businesses are paying a premium they dont need to.
Secondly i was calling the Yellow pages the the yellow dinosaur NOT you,meaning the print version is extinct.
Independent thinking…i have no problem with, but we were talking about different topics.
you the ad , me the ad rates charged to customers by yellow pages. clear
13 May 09
9:05 am
Rachael & Mal,
By being front of mind, your debate has achieved one small, positive outcome for the brand. When I got home last night, there was a large pile of Yellow Pages Local sitting in my building’s mail room. For the first time in the two and a half years I’ve been in the country, I took one.
Cheers,
Tim
13 May 09
9:39 am
Tim,
great outcome and I’d expect you to be appearing in stage two of the news ads.
real people real books
13 May 09
2:47 pm
Your points are well made Rachael – well considered and well expressed. I make it Rachael 1 – Mal 0.
Regarding the “rate based on reach” issue, isn’t this a lot like the difference between CPC and CPA in the online world? It’s not how they set the ratecard, it’s how much they charge that is the issue. At the right price I’d buy a medium that would reach all 21.5m people – you’d be mad not to as you just never know who might be interested in your brand, product or service.
A little maths. Typical click-through-rate is 0.3%. With around 7.25m households and 21.5m people, you would only need 21,750 households around Australia or 64,500 people to “act” and you’re on par.
13 May 09
3:05 pm
My yellow pages is sitting under the monitor. Don’t think I will be using it any time soon while I still have online connectivity!
In fact I don’t even use Yellow Pages Online because it’s so difficult to find what you are looking for and they just keep shoving paid adverts in front of you.
If your business targets 60+ people, the book would work for you. But I would like to see a study showing how many under 30′s have even opened a Yellow Pages book in the last 5 years.
It’s over priced and it under delivers. Even if they have testimonials from 50 different business people, that’s just a drop in the ocean when compared to how many other people have used it and it’s not worked.
13 May 09
3:52 pm
Mal, it’s not personal but I do I tend to become condescending when I am being patronised by commenters who clearly have a vested interested in the subject but don’t openly disclose that fact. This topic for some reason had become a broad decrial of the YP as a product versus the whole of the internet…and in my view, this misses the point. Also your comment ‘people like you have wised up’ threw me a little because I always thought I was pretty smart in the first place but there you go. BTW, It never occurred to me that you were using the word ‘dinosaur’ as an insult to me, although of course the ‘kids’ in my office will find it hilariously on point no doubt! I was trying to point out that when you use words like those you are exposing your lack of objectivity.
To clarify the clarificating of the clarifications….my previous comments were about the advertising. In terms of the product, which is a different subject entirely, like any mass medium, it lives and dies by it’s ability to deliver the right level of response (right numbers of the right people), at the right price, with the right intention. In the ad, they’re implying that they can deliver on a cost per response metric. Personally, I’m a cost per acquisition kind of gal when that is the goal. Does YP do either? I would imagine it depends (right people, right price, right intention…).
No doubt for many, the price is too high (because there is too much wastage etc) and for others (depending on their target market and offer), the price will be right.
For the record I don’t own a copy of the YP either. I also don’t listen to Alan Jones, watch Australia’s Funniest Home Videos or listen to new music on Myspace.
13 May 09
4:10 pm
Sarrah, So’s you know Roy Morgan looks at use of directories vs demographics as part of their media consumption survey if you want to look it up. If you’re targeting 30′s and under though, you’re almost certainly right that it would be a waste of time.
13 May 09
4:29 pm
Five will get you one that Rachael has forgetten more about media (traditional and digital) than Mal has ever learned.
13 May 09
4:38 pm
whenever we talk about yellow pages on our blog (frankmedia.com.au/blog) there is usually an impassioned response from some YP cohort.
All said and done there has to be a more user and environmentally friendly option. As twitter gains pace its worth considering twibs…twitter’s business directory. Embryonic at the moment with approx 12,000 listings.
By the way if you no longer wish to receive YP then call 1800 810 211 or emai bookdelivery@sensis.com.au
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