Marketing

The middle of the screen is more valuable real estateAdvertisers are just warming up to the idea that publishers no longer want to confine them to the top and sides of the screen. Ads, which are natively woven into content and editorial,...
The middle of the screen is more valuable real estateAdvertisers are just warming up to the idea that publishers no longer want to confine them to the top and sides of the screen. Ads, which are natively woven into content and editorial, are far more valuable and publishers are offering that space more and more for sale. view full article | Add a comment
20 minutes ago
It might sound like a strange idea to optimize your emails for search engines, but SEO is a skill that email marketers better start working on -- as far as Google is concerned anyway. The company is currently conducting tests to include ...
It might sound like a strange idea to optimize your emails for search engines, but SEO is a skill that email marketers better start working on -- as far as Google is concerned anyway. The company is currently conducting tests to include Gmail inboxes in the search results. What does this mean for email marketing? Gmail Field Trial is the name of the experiment in which Google includes a user's Gmail inbox in his or her search results. For example, someone that uses Google to search for flight information will not only see airport websites in their search results, but also their own e-tickets. Or whenever someone searches for cooking tips, they will also get the recipe for chocolate chip cookies their aunt emailed them. The project is currently still in test phase, and only a happy few are able to use it. Knowing Google, however, it's only a matter of time before this product is available for a larger group of users. So, as a marketer, if you want your emails to profit from this new feature, you'd better be prepared. Creating SEO-``proof emailings Judging the previews Google has made available, the search engine will by default only show emails from the priority inbox in its search results. So, to search engine optimize your emails, the first thing you'll want to do is make sure these emails get this priority label. How to get your email in the Gmail priority inbox According to a PDF document that Google released, Gmail uses complicated algorithms to determine if an email should be put in the priority inbox. As usual, Google won't exactly tell the world how the algorithm works. However, in general, the following things contribute to a priority ranking: Engagement: How often does someone open your emails? Or click on the links included in your messages? Are you and your recipient communicating back and forth? For Gmail, engagement is an indicator that someone thinks your emails are important. So reach for the highest open rates you can, and get as many click-throughs possible. How? There are many techniques that can help you do so. In short, all these techniques have one thing in common: Send emails that are relevant. Also, make sure that people are able to send you a reply, so never use a no-reply address. Content: Google checks the content of your emailings for keywords that guaranteed a high level of engagement in the past. So, if you send a message containing the latest MLB news to someone that emails a lot with their friends about their fantasy baseball league, for example, this'll increase the chance of your email landing in the priority inbox. Once again, relevancy is the key to success here. Use your database to find out what someone's interests are. Relevancy Apart from the tips above, as an email marketer, you should of course also comply with the existing SEO techniques for websites to your emails. Obviously you won't be able to link to your emails, but be sure to use the right keywords and apply title and alt tags to your images. Whether you're an SEO expert or an email marketer (or both), none of this advice will probably come over as shocking to you. In the end, the whole story comes down to one thing: being relevant -- something that already should be your main priority, for both SEO and email marketing. Michael Linthorst is managing director at Copernica. On Twitter? Follow iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.view full article | Add a comment
20 minutes ago
Industry body the Public Relations Institute of Australia has announced new rules around internships in an attempt to better clarify how agencies should utilise students who are placed with them. The new internship guidelines are designe...
Industry body the Public Relations Institute of Australia has announced new rules around internships in an attempt to better clarify how agencies should utilise students who are placed with them. The new internship guidelines are designed to ensure agencies, who often have university students placed with them, understand the requirements around reporting, insurance and management. “A survey of consultancies also highlighted confusion about the employment status of interns, the need for confidentiality agreements, reporting and the application of policies such as occupational health and safety,” said Annabelle Warren, national chairman of the PRIA Registered Consultancies Group. “The guidelines also clarify obligations within the Fair Work Act, and when a student intern is exempted from the act.” PRIA national president Teri-Helen Gaynor welcomed the move and said it had come about after numerous rounds of consultation between universities, agencies and PRIA. “This document further encourages best practice internship programs to boost the quality of experience, which is so important for young practitioners” said Gaynor. The announcement comes only weeks after PRIA announced a revised membership structure and also revealed it was looking at a move toward industry accreditation. The details of the new internship policy can be found on the PRIA website. Nic Christensen The post PRIA issues agency guidelines on use of interns appeared first on mUmBRELLA.
41 minutes ago
Kriv Stenders, the director of 2011 box-office hit Red Dog, and Oscar winner Emile Sherman are among 15 feature projects selected for financial support in the latest $360,000 round of Screen Australia funding. Red Dog was named Australia...
Kriv Stenders, the director of 2011 box-office hit Red Dog, and Oscar winner Emile Sherman are among 15 feature projects selected for financial support in the latest $360,000 round of Screen Australia funding. Red Dog was named Australia’s favourite film at last year’s Mumbrella Awards. Long Tan producer Walsh Stenders will direct Long Tan, the long term project of producer and former special forces soldier Martin Walsh. Actor Sam Worthington’s name has previously been attached to the project,which focuses on the battle of Long Tan in the Vietnam War. This version of the script was written by Jack Brislee, James Nicholas, Karel Segers and Paul Sullivan. Sherman – who won an Oscar for The King’s Speech, is producing action adventure film Mulan. Eight of the projects on the list are new and seven were already in development. Other new projects to receive support include schoolyard drama I Am Jack, based on Susanne Gervay’s novel, and directed by Nadia Tass. Horror/drama Confessions of a Super Man, to be developed by writer/director Angela How and producer Marian Macgowan, will focus on a teenage sociopath. Writers Josh Reed and Rob Gibson will also be supported to develop their action script Common Foe, with Josh Reed set to direct, and Stephen Chamberlin will be supported to develop his musical feature script Soundtrack with executive producer Michael Birnbaum. Screen Australia also announced three new internships through its Talent Escalator Program. The full list of projects receiving funding are: SINGLE-PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: FEATURE DEVELOPMENT BAD ANGEL Genre Comedy Producers Antonia Barnard, Nicholas Cole Director Kriv Stenders Writer Shaun Grant Synopsis The transformation of Angelo d’Angelo, a New York hit man who is unwittingly embraced into the bosom of a simple, rural Australian community. For the first time, Angelo learns that love and family are just as effective as any weapon he’s ever known. COMMON FOE Genre Action Producer/Writer Rob Gibson Writer/Director Josh Reed CONFESSIONS OF A SUPER MAN Genre Horror Drama Producer Marian Macgowan Writer/Director Angela How Synopsis Brian, an indulged Australian Chinese teenage sociopath, records his violent life via a superhero comic strip of his own creation. When Brian’s desire for his father’s mistress ends in their death, his mother acts to finally stop her son. DOWNRIVER (AKA SCRATCH THE SURFACE) Genre Thriller Drama Producer Jannine Barnes Writer/Director Grant Scicluna Synopsis Seventeen-year-old James is released from juvenile detention and travels back to the scene of his crime to find the body of the young boy he killed when he was 10. HALFWAY MOTEL Genre Psychological Drama Producer Lyn Norfor Writer/Director Miranda Nation I AM JACK Genre Drama Producer Stephan Wellink Executive Producer David Whealy Writer Susanne Gervay Director Nadia Tass Synopsis Jack’s a great guy, but school bullying is insidious, taking Jack and everyone around him to the edge. LONG TAN Genre Drama Producers Charles Hannah, Martin Walsh Executive Producers Meyer Shwarzstein, Peter Wetherell Writers Jack Brislee, James Nicholas, Karel Segers, Paul Sullivan Director Kriv Stenders Synopsis Major Harry Smith and his company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers hold off an overwhelming enemy force of 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers in the Battle of Long Tan. LOS ALAMOS Genre Thriller Producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman Writer Luke Davies Synopsis Michael Connolly, a disgraced intelligence operative, enters a labyrinth of secrets and espionage when he arrives at the high-security military base of Los Alamos in Spring, 1945. Sent to investigate a seemingly open-and-shut murder case, Connolly is thrown into the heart of the Manhattan Project and must navigate a path through military protocol, political intrigue and personal agendas in order to uncover the truth in
about 1 hour ago
In the beginning, there were products and services, and some were good. Fewer became trusted brands, but those that did enjoyed unquestioned loyalty supported by a simple yet effective marketing engines built to reach&...
In the beginning, there were products and services, and some were good. Fewer became trusted brands, but those that did enjoyed unquestioned loyalty supported by a simple yet effective marketing engines built to reach people in mass quantity. The formula worked for decades. An empire was built on the shoulders of Madison Avenue and expanded globally. It is an empire, which still exists today, though arguably it’s a diminished version of its former self.   More recently, technology has had it’s own evolutionary process which it’s still going through. Well over a decade ago, when large organizations developed and updated their complex Web properties, the most popular and rigorous process one could follow in development was referred to as “Waterfall”.  Think of this as a descending, linear staircase where one step of the process was completed in full before moving on the next. The methodology was rigorous, but also left little room for tweaking, testing, adapting and improving along the way. Responsive DesignToday, digital design and development is often done leveraging the “agile” method of development, which favors smaller, cyclical bursts of development and rapid testing. Start-ups favor this approach as well building not only their tech products but also their business models in a way, which resembles more of an agile philosophy vs. a rigid, sequential approach. Even “large” start-ups like Facebook demonstrate this in how they roll out enhancements to their global platform, often making the changes incrementally, rolling them out with select users and then adjusting based off the data they analyze. Google often works this was as well. If you were to undertake designing and building a digital property today—you would also have to ensure that it would perform across multiple platforms (desktop, tablet, mobile). A popular methodology for developing this way is called “responsive design”—a technique, which leverages code that results in a shape shifting design which auto-magically fits the medium it, is being interacted with in.  Most Marketing Remains Linear And UnresponsiveDespite the pervasive nature of all manifestations of digital, including social and mobile, much of the marketing emphasis remains dedicated to reaching people in mass, following a tried and true formula for advertising designed to build off consumer insights and craft compelling messages which could be distributed across a myriad of channels (including digital). The approach is designed for the broadcast industrial machine including print, radio and television, which, despite rumors of its demise is likely to stay with us for some time. The problem it poses however is that it is an approach that much like its counterpart in tech development, (Waterfall) is neither nimble nor flexible and isn’t built for rapid change nor does it adapt well beyond the dominant media it was designed for. “Content Marketing” Is Disrupting Modern Day Brand BuildingCMOs, chief digital officers and brand managers across many organizations are currently grappling with the notion of content used in the context of marketing—inherently they understand that their customers value content, consume it, create it, and share it—and they want in on the action. They also understand that this type of content isn’t often the traditional campaigns they execute for broadcast so they face a dilemma: What content do consumers value most? How do they find it? What gets individuals sharing content with peers? How does content scale, reaching the right audience at the right time? How do brands insert themselves into the content ecosystem in w
about 1 hour ago
The programme of Ten Minute Talks at Mumbrella360 in a fortnight’s time can today be revealed. The 20 quickfire presentations – each lasting just ten minutes and shamelessly adapted from the 15 minute TED format – take ...
The programme of Ten Minute Talks at Mumbrella360 in a fortnight’s time can today be revealed. The 20 quickfire presentations – each lasting just ten minutes and shamelessly adapted from the 15 minute TED format – take place in five separate sessions across the two days of Mumbrella360. Among the diverse series of presenters are former copywriter and Big Brother contestant Michael Beveridge, CommBank CMO Andy Lark; Emmy Award winning news producer Gerard Hosier; Sky News director of social media John Bergin and former Campaign Palace executive creative director Paul Fishlock. The sessions: Lessons from litigating: Former Campaign Palace ECD Paul Fishlock reflects on what he learned in the process of suing his former employer; How to say sorry: Terri Helen Gaynor, president of the Public Relations Institute of Australia on lessons for brands on how to apologise properly when they cause offence on social media; Do only white girls have periods?: Social justice campaigner and producer Gerard Hosier on how the advertising world shapes Australia’s view of itself; The language of labelling: Ipsos Mackay MD Rebecca Huntley on the gulf between how the marketing world labels consumers and how they see themselves; Digital vs technology: Creative technologist Ash Pegram on agencies’ transition from digital services like websites to technology-based offerings such as augmented reality, and why it matters creatively; Where have all the rebels gone?: The Sound Alliance’s creative director Stig Richards shares new research into Australia’s bland new “info-besity” generation; The Hansel and Gretel effect: Youth marketing strategist Dan Pankraz on the dangers of digital breadcrumbs left by selfie-obsessed teens Anonymity and accountability: CommBank chief marketing officer Andy Lark on why you should not post anonymously unless you are in real danger; What the media can learn from Reddit: Sky News director of social media and digital news John Bergin on the site that calls itself the front page of the Internet; Winning the online gold rush: Venture Consulting’s Sue Klose on How to actually make money in digital; How not to get disrupted by digital – digital investor Tony Faure on how corporates should work with startups to successfully innovate rather than get wiped out; Innovation and risk: The Leading Edge CEO Andy Bateman on managing the risks of innovation; The psychology of social and mobile: Pixolut’s Joe Cincotta on the difference mobile interface design can make to trust Social media tips from the darkside: Strategist Emily Knox on free tools to run social media analytics for those on a tight budget; Adventures in community management: Quiip’s Alison Michalk on the weirdnesses and wobbles of moderating online communities; The Social Media Blind Spot: Roamz founder Jonathan Barouch on how brands should tap into conversations they feature in but aren’t mentioned by name; Ten minutes of fame: SAFM’s Michael Beveridge on the journey from copywriter to Big Brother to breakfast radio; What does your brand sound like?: Anthea Varigos on thinking beyond the traditional jingle; Social selling: Tom Skotidas on how to use social media in B2B to actually generate new business; Alternative revenue streams: Bullseye’s Anthony Johnston on how agencies can use the resources they’ve already got to bring in more income Mumbrella360 takes place on June 5 and 6 at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. Tickets can be booked via the Mumbrella360 website The post Ten Minute Talks agenda revealed: Lark vs Anon | How to say sorry | Suing The Palace | Darkside social media tips | Beyond Big Brother appeared first on mUmBRELLA.
about 2 hours ago
Tuesday marks one year since radio station smoothfm opened with a campaign fronted by Michael Buble. The announcement: smoothfm, the newest station in the radio landscape, celebrates 12 months on air on Tuesday 21 May. smoothfm 95.3 in S...
Tuesday marks one year since radio station smoothfm opened with a campaign fronted by Michael Buble. The announcement: smoothfm, the newest station in the radio landscape, celebrates 12 months on air on Tuesday 21 May. smoothfm 95.3 in Sydney and smoothfm 91.5 Melbourne launched as a distinctive and unique, soft easy listening format, with a marketing campaign fronted by Michael Bublé, on 21 May 2012. smoothfm has experienced significant grown in both markets since the stations launched with smoothfm 95.3 experiencing 78% audience growth, and smoothfm 91.5 with 61% growth as well as the highest share and cumulative audience figures for the frequency. In February this year the station became a national proposition with the launch of smoothfm on DAB+ Radio. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth listeners are now able to access the station on DAB+ as well as via on-line streaming and iPhone app. Paul Jackson, dmg Radio Australia’s Group Program Director said, “We launched the new radio brand smoothfm 12 months ago, after identifying a gap in the market for a music position that was unique to the Australian radio landscape. With a more music, less talk format and a playlist, not confined to a genre or era, comprised of great songs from world class artists including the Bee Gees, Michael Bublé, Whitney Houston, Adele, Aretha Franklin, Ed Sheeran, Elvis and even new discoveries like Passenger. We were confident that listeners would embrace smoothfm and the results to date are extremely pleasing.” High profile artists, Michael Bublè, Seal, Ronan Keating, Ed Sheeran and Josh Groban, have all hosted their own weekend shows since smoothfm launched. Barry Gibb, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, Tina Arena and Marlon Jackson have also joined the station for special one off shows. smoothfm has a strong weekday lineup with Bogart Torelli on Sydney’s breakfast show and Mike Perso heard in Melbourne, Ty Frost and Simon Diaz across the day and Drive with Sydney’s Byron Webb and Melbourne’s Cathy Dinn. Cameron Daddo is heard six nights a week, from Sunday to Friday, from 8pm to midnight. On Saturdays and Sundays two popular personalities complement smoothfm’s week day lineup. Richard Wilkins is heard from 10am to 1pm, and has enlisted big names including Kylie Minogue, Michael Bublè, Barry Gibb and Olivia Newton John to join him during his shows, while David Campbell is heard across the weekend from 1pm to 4pm. smoothfm has also given away over $400,000 in the station’s major signature competition smooth stars, with a cash prize of over $100,000 up for grabs each time the tactic has run. Source: smoothfm press release The post Easy listening smoothfm celebrates first birthday this week appeared first on mUmBRELLA.
about 2 hours ago
It’s exciting to see that social media jobs are mainstream in companies of all sizes! The role has evolved into a number of specializations as many of us predicted it would. And companies are realizing the value and hiring people to solv...
It’s exciting to see that social media jobs are mainstream in companies of all sizes! The role has evolved into a number of specializations as many of us predicted it would. And companies are realizing the value and hiring people to solve the business problems that the social web has created. The evolution and adoption of a profession makes find a job much more competitive. The secret to finding a job today in social media is really similar to any other profession. You need to understand what the company’s pain points are. And you need to be able to express the transferable skills that you have  that will help the business problems stated in the job description. What is important: Experience – if you’re lacking in this area then try some of these: Find a community in a vertical that you’re passionate about and volunteer there. Contact the admin and ask how you can help. Community Managers are always happy to accept help. Search the web for internship opportunities. Many of these are remote opportunities. Help a local business get started leveraging social media. (This may turn into a paid gig if you can show the value!) Writing skills Blogging will be your best friend to hone your writing and story telling skills. Reading other blogs is a great way to get ideas, tips and further your skill set Business knowledge and impact This means the ability to show the value of your work in terms the business understands For example, will you be responsible for building brand, lead gen, SEO or providing customer service on the web? You need to know how to measure and show the impact of your efforts Ideally, you will have proof points of this on your resume from your work experience What is not important: Domain expertise There was much debate over this a few years ago. Today’s job market requires a solid social skill set and the ability to be passionate about the subject matter. The subject knowledge can be attained on the job. An amazing personal brand It is important to have up to date profiles on LinkedIn and other social channels. (This is your profession and you should have demonstrable knowledge.) Remember that the company is interested in having their business problems solved. If you have a great brand presence allow it to shine thru as expertise that you’ll provide. What did I miss? Have you went thru a job search recently or are seeking a social media role now? What points would you like me to expand on?
about 2 hours ago
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 t...
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. Conducted between May 2012 and March this year, the University of the Sunshine Coast’s representative survey of 605 journalists around Australia found that more than half (51.0%) describe themselves as holding left-of-centre political views, compared with only 12.9% who consider themselves right-of-centre. It is the first study of its kind in more than 20 years to involve such a large number of journalists, and follows on from the work of John Henningham in the early 1990s. Our survey was conducted by telephone with carefully selected journalists from newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, online news sites and news agency AAP, as a sample of the 8000 to 10,000 journalists in Australia today. When asked about their voting intentions, less than two-thirds of the journalists we surveyed revealed their voting intention. Of those 372 people, 43.0% said they would give their first preference vote to Labor; 30.2% would vote for the Coalition; and 19.4% said they would choose the Greens – about twice the Australian average. Media bosses more in sync with voters Yet, among those who arguably matter most – the journalists in senior editorial ranks who have the most power to decide news agendas – a dramatically different picture emerged. Among the 83 senior editors who took part in the survey, the Coalition was the party of choice on 43.2%, followed by Labor (34.1%) and the Greens (11.4%). This suggests that Australia’s media bosses are more in line with the broader electorate, at least according to recent Newspoll results. It is important to note that there is little research showing that journalists’ personal political biases affect their work. When asked in this survey about a range of influences on their work, many journalists said their superiors have a much stronger influence than their personal values and beliefs. Aunty leans to the Greens An interesting finding emerged when we compare journalists from the three biggest news organisations in the country – News Limited, Fairfax Media and the ABC. The national broadcaster has repeatedly been attacked for having a seemingly leftist bias, while others have accused News Limited – and particularly its flagship newspaper The Australian – of being overly conservative in its political views. At first glance, the findings do not support this assumption, with no significant differences in the way journalists from the ABC and News rate their political views on a scale of 0 (left) to 10 (right). However, 41.2% of the 34 ABC journalists who declared a voting intention said they would vote for the Greens, followed by 32.4% for Labor and 14.7% for the Coalition. In contrast, 46.5% of 86 News Limited journalists who answered this question said they would vote for Labor, 26.7% for the Coalition, and only 19.8% for the Greens. As well as The Australian, the News stable includes some of the country’s best-selling tabloids such as the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, Courier-Mail, Northern Territory News and the Adelaide Advertiser, and some suburban newspapers. Among the 86 Fairfax Media journalists who responded, Labor was by far the most popular party at 54.7% support, followed by the Coalition and the Greens, both on 19.8%. The Fairfax journalists came from outlets including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times, a range of regional and suburban newspapers, and metropolitan radio stations. If we disregard the 42.8%
about 2 hours ago
Seven’s dry spell continued on Sunday night with its Kath & Kim Kountdown rating just 678,000 according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTAM. Nine had the top three shows for the night with 60 Minutes rating 1.707m, Ni...
Seven’s dry spell continued on Sunday night with its Kath & Kim Kountdown rating just 678,000 according to preliminary overnight metro ratings from OzTAM. Nine had the top three shows for the night with 60 Minutes rating 1.707m, Nine News 1.578m and The Block 1.524m. Seven News rated 1.421m while A Place To Call Home delivered the network an audience of 1.147m. Seven did better during the afternoon with its AFL Richmond vs Melbourne coverage rating 503,000 across Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Ten’s best performer was The Biggest Loser which rated 728,000.Elementary rated 697,000. SBS One’s coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest rated 595,000. ABC1′s series finale of Doctor Who rated 812,000. More follows later The post Kath & Kim disappoint for Seven appeared first on mUmBRELLA.
about 3 hours ago