Marketing news

The 2008 Moggy Awards' winner announced The 2008 Moggy awards saw dozens of entries submitted, all vying for the title of Australian marketing and media blog post of the year. The awards were actualised by Craig Wilson, who writes the blog Media Hunter, and were proudly supported by Marketingmag.com.au. Alongside ...

Lavazza have launched a new campaign featuring renowned fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz. The shots by Annie Leibovitz for Lavazza will adorn walls in Europe’s cities and airports. Leibovitz interpreted 'Italian style', a concept with great universal appeal. In mid-October 2008, the coordinated press and poster ...

Deck the halls, dress the tree, get the beers in the fridge, put on the Santa hat and hail the Christmas bandicoot. It’s a very Aussie Christmas here at OTH headquarters and there’s so much crazy Christmas stuff that we had to put together a bumper Christmas Special. Historically, Christmas specials are not a ...

There are many opinions as to ABC’s status a non-advertising tolerant media outlet, but now Friends of the ABC (FABC) are lobbying for legislation governing the ABC to be amended to prohibit advertising on the national broadcaster’s websites as well. The FABC’s Victorian branch, in its submission to a government ...

Leading newspaper and magazine websites in the UK have out-performed the wider online marketplace with double-digit growth in audiences in 2008, according to Nielsen Online. The top 10 newspaper sites attracted on average 23% more visitors last month than they recorded in November 2007, while the number of visitors ...

Telstra believes it is the victim of a bureaucratic snub – by being left out of the country's NBN party extravaganza. It has been excluded from the bidding process for the construction of a national broadband network (NBN) by the Federal Government for what it perceives as being ‘trivial’ reasons. The communications ...

Austereo has announced the launch of its nationwide digital network and Australia’s first commercial digital station. Radar Radio will exclusively play undiscovered artists, with a heavy focus on Australian acts. It will be available online on www.radarradio.com.au and on the DAB+ digital spectrum next year as digital ...

Bebo has released a new social media tool, Social Inbox, which organises feeds from a number of online services, such as Twitter, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL Mail, and YouTube. The social networker believes the new platform solves the main problem facing consumers online – a cluttered social networking ...

We’re fat, our kids are fat and now the RSPCA is telling us that our pets are fat as well. Tackling the issue of people overfeeding their pets, the animal rights charity has created an online campaign featuring an animation of a dog being overfed by its owners. Simon Tofield, who is behind the popular YouTube animation ...

The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) has developed an easy-to-use online Environmental Planning Tool and Policy Generator to help its members outline their green credentials. The tool works by prompting users to input their organisation’s current environmental practices and creates a policy document ...

The high demand for skilled digital specialists across the country continues to grow, according to a survey conducted by Aquent, the leading global staffing firm specialising in marketing, communications and creative talent. The Aquent Orange Book 2008-2009, a salary survey and industry monitor of key Asia Pacific ...

Ready the tanks, send up the unmanned drones, restart conscription – there’s a war brewing. MySpace has teamed up with Google and the internet giant’s Friend Connect service to extend the reach of its login system MySpaceID. MySpaceID, which is part of the MySpace Open Platform, makes it easier for MySpace’s 127 ...

Trying to find that cool mag that’s only available once a year with a limited print run? Google’s Book Search facility has been a boon for people looking for publications, but despite the number of resources online only a handful are magazines. However, the search giant has announced an initiative to bring a huge ...

Following growing concerns about alcohol advertising near schools, The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) reiterates its member agreement. After an announcement made earlier this year, the OMA confirms ...

It’s Bond vs Bond: For those of you who have been arguing with that guy at the local over who the best Bonds are, this clip will no doubt amuse you. While it doesn’t include some of the more iconic Bond representatives (Connery, Moore, Lazenby) this duel between recently retired Bond Pierce Brosnan and newby David ...

Move over Fairfax, here comes the new challenger in the mass media stakes – well the challenger is not so new. Telstra is expected to take a major step toward becoming a full-blown media company in 2009 when it rolls out set-top boxes that allow internet customers to download films and play them on television. The ...

‘Let’s rip the Brits to bits in London’ – this is the new slogan for the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) NTID program. The program aims to sign on Australia’s next generation of sporting talent and prepare them for major sporting international competition by focusing on beating the Poms on their own turf. Created ...

ZenithOptimedia has predicted global ad spend to be £14.3b (AUD$32.3b) down on forecasts made just two months ago as the financial crisis hits advertising harder than expected. The company also says that as a result of the economic crisis, it will now start reviewing its figures monthly instead of quarterly. Despite ...

Brian McCarthy is going to have his wits about him when he becomes the next Fairfax Media chief as he seeks to revitalise the company after getting he nod for the top job this week. McCarthy, an important part of Rural Press for 20 years before its merger with Fairfax Media last year, will be confirmed as the enlarged ...

Listening to commercial radio remained a favourite activity for Australians during 2008, with an average cumulative audience of 8.79 million tuning in each week during the year. This was 55,000 more people than in 2007, when 8.74 million people listened on average each week, and also up from 8.66 million people in ...

Despite being involved in Formula One racing for 40 years, Honda has been forced to pull its team out of the sport due to slumping car sales. The Japanese manufacturer had the highest spending team last season with a budget of £148m (AUD$337m), which was not covered by sponsorship deals, but scored only 14 points ...

Mattel’s prized girl, Barbie, appears to have won the battle against her younger rival, MGA Entertainment’s Bratz doll, after seven years of fierce competition. Following a four-year legal dispute, MGA Entertainment has been ordered to remove its entire range of Bratz dolls from stores by early next year. The jury ...

If Black Friday shopping trends in the US are anything to go by, Australian retailers can expect more consumers to shop online this Christmas season. However, new behaviour suggests they’ll be tougher to sell to and won’t hang around online for long. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally used as ...

The economic downturn can be a great opportunity for organisations to build brand awareness and stakeholder confidence, according to the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA). PRIA national president Tracy Jones said smart organisations are using the current climate to take stock of their position. Jones ...

Certainly one of the weirdest offerings we’ve seen come across the OTH desk, Pete the Meat Puppet is yet another video that will cast a viral shadow over people’s emails. It focuses on Pete’s conception by a lonely butcher (who subsequently dies after creating him) and his search for the meaning of life, a journey ...

In-game advertising has now begun in Australia with Sensis’ digital media business, MediaSmart, sealing a major deal with Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to make targeted advertising available within PlayStation 3 games. Sensis’ general manager of digital marketing services, Thomas Arthur, indicates ...

Australian search advertising reached a total value of AUD$869.7 million during the 2008 calendar year making it the fastest growing segment in the local digital media advertising industry. Keyword sponsorships continue to lead demand accounting for 51% or $442.6 million of the total revenue. ...

Ed Smith, the chief commercial officer of News Digital Media, recenly announced the launch of two new advertising targeting initiatives, Audience and Contextual Targeting, created to help advertisers connect better with their target audience. Audience Targeting News Digital Media’s Audience Targeting initiative ...

TorchMedia has promoted Cameron Baxter as its group sales director. Its current GSD, Tim McDermott, has decided to return to radio with 2UE. TorchMedia’s group managing director, Mark Fishwick, says “Cameron has been with TorchMedia since its inception and has been instrumental in the success of the Victorian sales ...

Matt Harding’s silly dance that he devised in a Brisbane office block has not only turned him into YouTube’s most enduring star – it has also made him a global marketing success that includes the lucrative speaker circuit and a book that is scheduled to appear in May 2009 (a collection of anecdotes about making his ...

A new online shopping community capitalising on the demand for internet discounts recently launched. MoneySaver, a free, home-delivered special offer catalogue and part of the Niche Media stable is expanding into the online sector with its new website, MoneySaver.com.au. MoneySaver.com.au aims to help advertisers ...

Who says atheists don’t have a sense of humour? The Atheist Foundation has been organising an awareness campaign, with humorous slogans such as ‘Atheism – because there is no credible evidence’. But according to the Foundation’s president, David Nicholls, APN Outdoor has rejected its suggestion – because of the ...

Khai Meng Tham has been named as the worldwide creative director and chairman of Ogilvy and Mather (O&M) Worldwide. Tham, a Singaporean, has held the co-chairman and regional executive creative director positions for O&M Asia Pacific since 1999, and has seen the agency become renowned for its level of creative ...