Marketing news

Nivea has commenced running dynamic advertisements targeting men using automatic teller machines (ATMs) across Australia through the Customers ATM network – an independent network of ATMs. The campaign represents a first for Nivea in Australia, and the first national media-purchase of this scale for the Australian ...

AMP Capital has relaunched its Digital INsights portal. The site seeks to educate investors over 45 on fund investment, primarily through video content. It will be AMP Capital’s primary communication vehicle throughout 2009/10. Developed by @www, creative director Tristan Fawley said ...

AOL has appointed Stephane Panier as head of Bebo’s global operations. Former Bebo vice president and chief operating officer, Stephane Panier, has been promoted to global head of global operations. Panier’s promotion delivers new responsibilities involving scaling the social media network’s operations, advancing ...

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has instituted legal proceedings against Boost Tel Pty Limited and Prepaid Services Pty Limited. The ACCC alleges the companies contravened consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 relating to the sale of their pre-paid phone cards. ...

A new study shows retailers are not doing enough in the current economic downturn to maximise the number of in-store purchases made by customers. This is according to the latest benchmarking data compiled by The Realise Group from almost 40,000 mystery shops conducted in the 2008 to 2009 financial year. Results ...

Panasonic is promoting its Full HD Plasma TV by giving away a 'Wii a day'. The campaign, run across Facebook and Twitter, gives fans and followers respectively the chance to win a Wii every morning by answering 'the day’s challenge'. Responses are judged on their creativity. ‘Challenge’ questions and their answers ...

A new in-store execution will tempt consumers to ‘smell-test’ a new washing detergent. The new creative ‘squeeze and sniff’ execution by TorchMedia and Colgate allows consumers to sample the smell of the detergent by squeezing the shelf advertisement’s fragrance dispenser. Developed for a new range of Cold Power ...

SMI, Australia’s first independent, real time advertising revenue index has launched. The brain-child of Sue Fennessy and Jane Schulze, ...

News Digital Media has released a report announcing accountability is the top issue facing marketers today. Conducted by Core Data, the study interviewed more than 288 marketing professionals throughout Australia. The study focused on future marketing plans and current marketing sentiment. The report found management ...

An AskMen.com survey has revealed that marketers may have got it wrong in terms of the 'Aussie bloke' persona portrayed in advertising. The ‘2009 AskMen Great Male Survey’ had a global participation of 50,000, with 1,500 Australian respondents. The survey examined 18-34 year old male’s attitudes to relationships, ...

Millward Brown has revealed the world’s most valuable brands share six elements. Daren Poole, Sydney managing director of Millward Brown, said a clear vision and strong corporate culture were key to both business and brand success, but alone weren’t able to create global success for a brand. Millward Brown claims ...

Optus has announced a strategic partnership with Socceroos’ captain Lucas Neill and midfielder Tim Cahill. Explaining the collaboration Paul O’Sullivan, Optus CEO, said communication was key to both winning a match and to Optus’ business. O’Sullivan continued, saying Optus offers Lucas and Tim opportunities to grow ...

A Millward Brown survey has found alarming consumer sentiment toward discretionary spending. The survey revealed 67% of Australians are being more careful or actively reducing their spending. Also, 53% of men were more likely to simply buy less, while only 37% of women considered this option. Women were more likely ...

Sportsgirl, in collaboration with digital agency Citrus, has launched Australia’s first online retail community. As part of Sportsgirl’s ‘Speak Up’ campaign, the retail community is an attempt to socialise the ecommerce experience by providing customers with a voice. The creators are hoping the community will be ...

Nine has announced its new youth-focused digital channel will launch in August and be named Go! Nine chief executive, David Gyngell, said he would quit his job if the channel didn’t draw twice the ratings of One HD, Ten’s new sports channel. The channel would need ...

Google believes its video site, YouTube will be profitable in the near future. Patrick Pichette, chief financial officer of Google, indicated the company’s belief after several industry analysts released negative reports and media stories questioned the company’s ability to monetise the channel: "We're really pleased ...

According to The Age, Australia’s most famous media buyer, Harold Mitchell, is allegedly in talks with British advertising holding company WPP discussing a merger to consolidate their media buying interests within Australia. The joint venture would merge Mitchell & Partners with WPP’s media-buying consortium ...

An Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) report has detected a slump in mobile internet browsing. Despite this, the December 08 quarter recorded a pre-Christmas surge. The industry enjoyed a swell, with browsing up 17.3%. AIMIA assumed this was related to gift sales and additional uptake of the ...

For the first time in its history, BBC’s revenue has exceeded $1 billion pounds. Despite the GFC, BBC has seen revenues rise 9.5%. BBC’s overall return has climbed to £171.8 million from £137.2 million. International revenues are up 51.3% from 48.6%, in line with a strategy to earn two-thirds of revenue outside ...

Marketing agencies can now outsource ideation, through a new service called Ideas Culture. The brainchild of tech expert Yvonne Adele (a.k.a. Ms Megabyte), Ideas Culture delivers solutions to creative problems through a global team sourced via twitter. The business offers three services: ‘Ideas While You Sleep’, ...

Mark Buckman, CMO of the Commonwealth Bank, has taken aim at the direct marketing industry. Buckman criticised the industry view that a 2% response rate was a great result, pointing out a recent Commonwealth Bank direct marketing campaign had enjoyed a 20% response rate. He said a 98% non-response rate was not good ...

APN Outdoor’s research has identified brand trust and familiarity as the most influential factors on consumer purchasing decisions. The ‘Path to Purchase’ study explored motivating factors for consumer purchases in the FMCG, highly considered and every day categories. The report claims, in the FMCG category, trust ...

Federal communications minister Stephen Conroy has told technology industry representatives the new broadband network will spell an end for many media laws and require the creation of new policy. Conroy was holding meetings with industry stakeholders discussing the switch from analogue to digital free-to-air transmission ...

Forrester has released a report exploring the marketing potential of user-generated video contests. The research claims 21% of US, and 19% of European, marketers ran online advertising requesting user contribution in the preceding year. The medium’s popularity is slated to increase with nearly double the respondents ...

UK publisher, Dare Comics, has found an unusual way of monetising its online content – by holding a one-time eBay auction for a ‘perpetual’ display ad that will run in every digital comic book the company ever publishes. According to a Revolution report, the ad will occupy a single full page PDF file, the format ...

VB has unveiled a new campaign entitled ‘The Regulars’, with a series of TVCs involving a parade celebrating quirky Australian stereotypes, abandoning its classic 'Hard earned thirst' slogan for 'The drinking beer'. The beer brand focuses on ‘people we all know’ carrying banners including: ‘blokes punching above ...

According to a recent study, Generation Y places considerably less value on buying Australian-made goods. The 'Retailer and Shopper Insight' study, conducted by market researcher TNS, found the importance placed on buying Australian-made decreased based on the participants generational age. 48% of Gen Y Australians ...

V Australia has launched a campaign via Twitter with the promise of a flight for three people to Los Angeles to promote the city as Australia’s newest short-break destination. The international airline of Virgin Blue has also indicated that if the three competition winners successfully send 4,320 tweets in 72 hours ...

Facebook has announced that it is like to earn $500 million this year. Marc Andreessen, ...

The 2008/09 financial year proved difficult for metropolitan radio, with national sales sliding 3.28%. Sydney was hit worst with a 9.44% decline, followed by Adelaide’s 3.44% drop and Brisbane’s 2.43% fall. Melbourne and Perth bucked the trend, growing 1.68% and 0.93% respectively. Joan Warner, chief executive ...

A new campaign for UK company United Biscuits has incorporated finger puppets dancing to the soundtrack of the Village People's YMCA. The Publicis-created campaign aims to highlight the shape of the ‘Hula Hoops’ biscuit. Helen Warren-Piper, marketing director of bagged snacks at UBUK, explained: "Some brands are ...

nineMSN has announced the launch of its new video portal, ninemsn.com.au/video. The company says its monthly streams have increased from one million in 2006 to 11 million a month currently, and that the site will archive 40,000 video clips in a matrix-style format. The format allows individual content providers ...

Nielsen Online has released research focusing on the effects of brand integration into online video content and presence, following Bonds and Spring Valley’s appearances in MySpace video’s Kiss or Miss. Bonds and Spring Valley were allowed ownership of Kiss or Miss, with logo placement across the program on MySpace ...

Australia has punched above its weight to rank sixth worldwide at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. In order of performance, Australia trailed the US, UK, Germany, Brazil and France. Compiled and interpreted by The Big Won (an advertising awards register), the data indicates the best performing ...

The declining number of jobs advertised online levelled out in June 2009, according to the latest Olivier Job index. After dropping 4.32% in May, the index fell only 0.85% in June. Director of the Olivier Group, Robert Olivier, said it was too early to predict if a trend was developing: "On this evidence, the rate ...

RMIT’s Sticky Kitchen has finished runner up in the L’Oréal Brandstorm business game. Made up of RMIT students Melissa Lay, Evan Montero and Benjamin Robertson, the team competed against 6,200 students. Around 180 business schools representing 36 countries featured in competition, which was held in Paris. Indian ...

Targeting social media users, Amnesty International has launched a new initiative aimed at extracting an apology from the Japanese Government on behalf of WWII’s ‘comfort women’. Amnesty International claims that during WWII the Japanese military forced women into internment camps to serve as sexual slaves for Japanese ...

A mobile marketing services provider has announced that the release of the 13/1300/1800 number range for SMS will give Australian marketers 'a comprehensive opportunity to reap the benefits of mobile response'. According to Ad.IQ, Australia is the first country with a local rate number range that consumers can call ...

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has received complaints about unsolicited SMS death threats being sent to Australian mobile users. The ACMA has confirmed that the SMS messages are originating from an overseas location and is urging people to ignore the messages and under no circumstances reply ...

YouTube has announced the launch of a portal specifically designed for citizen journalism. The channel is aimed at both accidental and deliberately captured video news. Called the ‘Reporters’ Centre’, the resource is targeted at aspiring reporters or citizen journalists. Offering tips from well-known reporters, ...

A new mashup, Flickr2Twitter, could draw new blood for both social media websites. Flickr has announced its integrated photo sharing service, Flickr2Twitter, is now live. The service will allow existing Flickr users to tweet content directly to their Twitter streams, using a shorter Flickr URL (similar to existing ...

A video sharing website that offers cash prizes for creative clips made by budding filmmakers has been announced for those pursuing a career in film and television – in direct competition to YouTube’s own Project Direct. Doc Sniper (which already runs in the US) has been established in Australia by film and television ...

News Limited group marketing director and AANA chair, Joe Talcott has questioned whether Twitter and other social technology will make agencies and professional message makers obsolete. In a presentation at The Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, Talcott prophesised to delegates that technology in advertising is ...