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Opinion | Features
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.
How do you solve a problem like Blunty?
So if you were the proposed News Standards Body, how would you regulate Blunty?The News Standards Body, in case you didn’t notice, is the new organisation proposed by the Convergence Review this week to regulate news and commentary, regardless of platform.
Blunty, in case you didn’t notice, is the video blogger who this week went viral after he filmed a guerrilla marketing demo outside Apple’s Sydney store apparently as a coincidental bystander, but later admitted he’d been put up to it by BlackBerry.
40 ads where music made the difference - and why agencies should think of music first, not last
Music can make an average ad great. So why, Robin Hicks asks, is music the last thing a creative thinks about when writing an ad?My favourite TV ad of the year so far is the Let Yourself Go spot for Kangaroo Island.
When it didn’t win Mumbrella’s Ad of the Month for March (it came third) I felt aggrieved for the agency that made it. But less so a week later when it emerged that the agency had paid celebrities to tweet nice things about its work.
Let Yourself Go is a stunning spot with lots of pretty images. But it would probably have had a similar effect on me if I’d watched a blank screen for 60 seconds.
DMG’s ShopperNova mobile app aims to link shoppers to outlets
DMG Radio has entered the location-based mobile arena by launching a new app called ShopperNova.
The app lets users find out what shopping deals and retail promos are nearby their current location.
Rebekah Horne, DMG’s chief digital officer said: “Combining the location services of the smartphone and power of broadcast radio, we will have a very compelling offer for both our clients and audience alike.”
Joel Edgerton and Matthew Saville set for new thriller
Following the success of The Sapphires at Cannes, production company Goalpost Pictures has secured a new film written by a prominent Australian actor/writer and directed by an award-winning Australian director.
Felony is written by, and set to star Joel Edgerton. The film will be directed by Matthew Saville.
Zipper opens Brisbane operation for PostClick
Online ad sales house PostClick has opened an office in Brisbane led by Carla Zipper who also launched the company’s Melbourne office in 2008.
PostClick also has offices in Sydney and Auckland.
PostClick MD Andrew Lockwood said of the Brisbane offering: “We believe the online media industry here is definitely ready for an ad network dedicated to local advertisers and publishers.” Read more »
UM hires London planner Tom Dodd for strategy role.
Media agency UM has hired Tom Dodd as associate strategy director in its Sydney office.
Dodd was previously communications director at MEC London where he led planning across clients including Lionsgate Films, Colgate, Sony Ericsson and whiskey brand The Famous Grouse. Prior to MEC he was a communications planner at the UK’s Goodstuff Communications. Read more »
Celebrity Apprentice finale down on last year
Last night’s finale of Celebrity Apprentice saw a big drop in the ratings on last season’s final episode, possibly due to the winner being published on Nine’s website a day early accidentally.
Time-coded over three episodes, the series’ top episode was the seventh highest rating show for the night.
With just over 1m metro viewers, Celebrity Apprentice – Winner Announced took 1.036m, according to preliminary metro results from OzTam.
Snowtown team to discuss making of the film at Mumbrella360
The ABC’s head of arts Katrina Sedgwick and the team behind the award-winning Australian film Snowtown are to appear at Mumbrella360 to talk about the making of the controversial film.
Prior to her new role at the ABC, Sedgwick was director of the Adelaide Film Festival which backed the award-winning film through its investment fund.
Also joining Sedgwick are Sarah Shaw and Anna McLeish from Warp Films Australia, who produced the controversial film. They will be joined by Allison Meadows, senior casting director, Mullinars Casting Consultants.
Snowtown tells the story of Adelaides bodies in barrels murders. Unusually, the casting included a large number of local people who had not acted previously. Read more »
Film about a man who turns into a puffer fish seeks sponsor
A short film about a man who turns into a puffer fish is looking for a sponsor with a view to the film becoming a series.
Directed by Ben West, who comes from a visual effects background, the film follows the fortunes of a Japanese salaryman who turns into a puffer fish after eating a live one in a restaurant.
West’s production company @Radicalmedia, is shopping around for a distributor and considering looking for a sponsorship tie-up.
West told Mumbrella: Read more »
NewsLifeMedia senior editors depart as Vogue Australia appoints rival title editor
Nicole Sheffield: making changes
In what could prove to be the biggest senior editorial changes in magazine publishing all year, the new boss of News Limited‘s expanded lifestyle publishing Nicole Sheffield has announced the departure of Vogue Australia’s editor-in-chief Kirstie Clements, lifestyle group editor Mark Kelly and editor of home and lifestyle title InsideOut, Richard Waller.
Sheffield is just two months into her role as boss of NewsLifeMedia.
Rival title Harper’s Bazaar editor Edwina McCann is to step into the role of Vogue editor. Clement had held the post for 13 years.
Expedia cinema ad gives 3D Las Vegas tour
Online travel specialist Expedia has launched a 3D cinema ad which gives viewers a tour of all the activities you can do in Las Vegas for only $273, the amount consumers save by booking flights and accommodation with the company.
The 90-second ad is currently screening before The Avengers in 3D in Australian cinemas.
ACMA rules that 2Day FM licence will not depend on not demeaning women after all
Australia’s media watchdog has toned down the tough conditions it said it would be putting on radio station 2DayFM’s licence following Kyle Sandilands’ on air attack on a female journalist last last year.
When the Australian Communications and Media Authority published its findings earlier this year, it said that it would be imposing a new condition of the 2Day FM licence. As well as making it a specific licence condition that the station complied with the radio code of practice guidelines on not offending generally accepted standards of decency, it also said it would introduce the following new condition: Read more »
Culture jammers take on advertising at Mumbrella 360
Culture jammers – activists who subvert advertising to tell their own stories – are to join outspoken adman Jay Furby in debate at the Mumbrella360 conference next month.
Greenpeace, The Last Stand and the man who painted ‘No war’ on the Sydney Opera House, are to lock horns with Furby, who is creative director at JayGrey.
The foursome will debate whether advertising has beaten culture jamming at its own game, how culture jamming can subvert brands in a digitised world, and what these opposing forces can learn from one another on tactics and strategy. Read more »
‘First talent agency for bloggers’ launches
Naked Communications PR manager Lorraine Murphy has left the agency to launch a talent agency for bloggers in what she claims is an Australian first.
Murphy has launched The Remarkables Group with an initial roster of five mummy blogs including Eden Riley, whose blog Edenland was named blog of the year last week in awards organised by the Sydney Writers Centre. Also on the roster are Woogsworld, Styling You, A Beach Cottage and BabyMac.
Although The Remarkables will help manage the bloggers’ media profiles and organise advertorial, Murphy says it is not operating as an advertising sales house.
Aussie film The Sapphires sells international distribution rights
An American film company have acquired the worldwide rights to Australian film The Sapphires.
Goalpost Films sold the rights to The Weinstein Company for North American and international distribution rights with the exception of the UK and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, Israel, Portugal and airlines. Read more »
Pedigree cinema idea gives viewer 3D glasses to decide fate of maltreated dog
Dog food brand Pedigree is giving people the option of watching two different ads in cinemas, depending on what sort of 3D glasses they wear.
The two different videos, projected on to the same screen, show the consequences of whether or not the viewer donates to the Pedigree Adoption Drive, a charity to find homes for maltreated dogs in New Zealand.
In one video, a dog is rescued. In the other, the dog is never found.
Bikie Wars debuts with 1.261m on Ten, but MasterChef dips below 1m
Once Upon a Time: 1.35m
Bikie Wars: 1.26m
Ten’s new show Bikie Wars: Brothers in arms rated with 1.261m on its debut last night.
It was the most watched show in the 18-49, 16-39 and 25-54 demographics, and won the 8.30pm time slot against Packed to the Rafters on Seven, which got 1.21m, and The Big Bang Theory on Nine, which rated below 1m.
However, the show, from the creators of Underbelly, was beaten by Seven’s Once Upon a Time, which rated with 1.35m in the 7.30pm time slot, according to preliminary overnight ratings from OzTam.
Ten’s MasterChef dipped below 1m viewers, and ranked outside of the top ten with 954,000.
Australian mobile users more sophisticated than US or UK counterparts, says Google Australia
23% of Australians would rather give up their TV than their smartphone, according to new figures about consumers’ smartphone usage released today by internet search giant Google.
According to a study conducted with IPSOS Media CT, Australia has one of the highest rates of smartphone adoption in the world. Australia’s smartphone penetration is now 52%, a significant increase from last year’s figure of 37%.
Jason Pellegrino, Google Australia’s head of mobile ads told Mumbrella that “The year of mobile has already happened. If mobile strategy isn’t being considered by the CEO or at board level, you’re already behind the 8-ball.”
Pellegrino said: “Often in digital we look to learnings and case studies from the UK or US to inform the way we do things in Australia. But we don’t have that option with mobile – Australians are actually more advanced in the way they use their smartphones than our counterparts overseas,”
GetUp! anti-supermarket pokies ad refused airtime by TV networks
"What you like to double or nothing?"
Australia’s major TV networks have refused to run a crowd-funded ad by activist group GetUp! that attacks supermarket big boys Woolworths and Coles for, the ad claims, owning “more dangerous poker machines than the five largest Las Vegas casinos”.
A GetUp! spokesman told Mumbrella that Seven, Nine and Ten have said no to running the ad on their networks, but had not given reasons why.
In the ad, a woman at a supermarket check out counter is duped into spending money she does not have by the man serving her, who turns from check-out assistant to croupier. The checkout till resembles the front of a pokies machine.
The ad picks on Woolworths, subverting its slogan ‘The Freshness People’ by changing it to ‘The Pokies People’. It also uses the logo for Woolworths’ Everyday Rewards loyalty scheme, which the brand has started advertising this week.
Treasury launches fortnight of consultation on LAFHA legislation
The treasury has set a deadline of the Tuesday after next for comments on its legislation to end the Living Away From Home Allowance for most workers.
The axing of LAFHA is of particular relevance to agencies and the media industry because of the high proportion of overseas staff it employs. Knock-on effects include increased mandatory super contributions from employers and a significant reduction in take home pay for those affected. Read more »
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