Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Staging Connections wins no applause for results

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 24 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Noelle Waugh

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Australian event services company, Staging Connections, has posted a disappointing interim result. It reported EBITA of $A6.9 million for the six months to 31 December 2007, a decline of 24.1 per cent. This was below its earnings forecast, forcing the company to postpone its plans for global expansion. Staging Connections has received some preliminary approaches. On 3 March 2008, its chair, Bob Mansfield, became the acting chair of troubled Allco Finance Group after the resignation of David Coe

Campaigns

Adbrief
Page: 3 : 29 February 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

The fifth advertising campaign in the Carlton Draught "Made from Beer" series was launched in the week ending 29 February 2008. "Sky Troop" is the first ad to be made for Foster's Group by its new agency, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne. The ad will run for 18 months. The campaign, which has a combined production/media expenditure budget of $A8 million, targets Carlton Draught's core demographic, namely Australian males aged between 18 and 39

New business

Adbrief
Page: 4 : 29 February 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Brand New Alliance (BNA) has come up with some new marketing ideas for Travelodge Hotels. The Australian three- and four-star hotel chain engaged BNA to come up with new promotions to help stimulate consumer interest. One of BNA's first promotions is known as "Travelodge Tuesday". It is intended to run for six months, during which time customers of Travelodge will be offered in-room entertainment and various partnership deals

BankWest stamps its happy feet

Ad News
Page: 3 : 22 February 2008
Original article by John Davidson

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

The first marketing campaign developed by Host and The Glue Society since securing BankWest's account in August 2007 has been launched. Released on 17 February 2008, the new campaign uses "Happy Banking" as its tagline. BankWest stated in July 2007 that it intends to spend $A380 million over the next two years opening 160 new branches in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. The institution spent $A11.6 million on marketing in the year to November 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research. It is understood that BankWest may spend as much as $A16 million on this new campaign

MySpace names top FMCG brands of '07

Ad News
Page: 30-31 : 22 February 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

A campaign for Frucor's "V-Raw" drink was the best fast moving goods consumer (FMCG) campaign run on MySpace in 2007. This is the view of Andrew Cordell, national sales director at Fox Interactive Media Australia and New Zealand. Cordell assessed FMCG campaigns against a range of criteria, including level of user engagement, cost effectiveness and degree of credibility. The second best FMCG campaigns run on MySpace in 2007 in Cordell's opinion was for "Snickers", with third place going to a campaign for Peter's "Billabong" icecream

Products & Services

AIR to breathe new life into web applications

The Age
Page: B8 : 4 March 2008
Original article by David Flynn

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Adobe launched its new software, AIR, in Sydney in late February 2008. This new type of software provides web-based applications integrated with online data sources. However, it runs as a fully featured desktop program. It can be used even when there is no internet connection. Other computer software companies are also developing similar applications

Luxury market reaches Pinnacle

Ad News
Page: 3 : 22 February 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

A new bi-monthly magazine aimed at Australia's 30,000 wealthiest consumers is due for launch on 24 April 2008. "Pinnacle" is being published by Titanium Media, a joint venture between Marina Go, formerly at Emap, and custom publishers Craig Marsh and Graham Burdis. Go claims wealthy consumers are a "safe bet" for advertisers, as they are affluent enough not to have to worry about interest rates going up or the sharemarket going down. The free magazine will be sent personally to consumers on a database that Marsh and Burdis have spent the last year compiling. People on the database have minimum assets of $A4 million and a minimum income of $A510,000

Innovation key for products

Ad News
Page: 6 : 22 February 2008
Original article by Nina Lees

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Australia's packaged grocery sector released 6,427 new products in 2007, according to figures released by The Leading Edge. However, sales of packaged grocery only increased by 4.7 per cent, suggesting the swag of new products did not have that much of an impact. Mark Silcocks, of whatsnew?, notes that consumers are increasingly sophisticated and will only buy new products if there is a perceived benefit. He also notes that consumers make a lot of decisions at the "point of purchase", so anything that companies can do to influence decisions at that point of time is to their advantage

E-Business

Mobile net hamstrung

The Age
Page: B9 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Lia Timson

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

DoubleClick's Jason Bigler expects three-screen advertising to become more common in a "unified way" in the next three to five years. He claims mobile internet will only begin to surge in popularity when technology providers determine a means of maximising ad inventory across mobile, PC and TV screens. Bigler suggests mobile telephone numbers could potentially provide a unifier allowing a unified tracking tool across the three forms of screen. DoubleClick, which supplies ad content to web pages and mobile properties on behalf of media placement groups, considers the mobile platform to be its next major growth opportunity in Australia

Mitchell steering towards BlueFreeway

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 26 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Neil Shoebridge

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

BlueFreeway is a digital marketing group in Australia. The group reported a $A4.05 million loss for the December 2007 half and predicted a $A4 million loss for the full-year. On 3 March 2008, BlueFreeway shares came out of a trading halt and fell by $A0.20 to $A0.40. They closed the day at $A0.32. It is rumoured that the media buyer and online advertiser, Mitchell Communication Group, is holding talks with BlueFreeway. The co-founder of BlueFreeway, Greg Daniel, would not disclose who the potential buyer is. He said that due diligence will take up to eight weeks and the process may not lead to an offer. He noted that the net debts of the group will run to $A33 million, after the group borrows another $A3 million from its banks

Marketing Strategy

Marketer monitoring becomes ubiquitous, but public may not buy it

The Australian
Page: 33 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Ben Woodhead

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

Many aspects of life will be monitored in the future. A report on technology trends from 2008 to 2018 predicts the continued development of monitoring systems. Some developments will not be commercially available for some years. In-store marketing by retailers will be greatly changed by radio frequency identification and video technology. Businesses have been warned about privacy issues and advised to communicate with consumers before investing in monitoring networks. Monitoring of water and energy networks is needed for sustainability

Fletcher goes for Midas touch

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 25 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Katrina Nicholas

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

Former Coles Group CEO John Fletcher has become chair of car care business, Midas Australia. Midas has a franchised network of over 100 service centres in Australia. Fletcher and private equity group, Lazard Carnegie Wylie Investment Management, have become major investors in the company, investing between $A10 million and $A20 million

Out of the dud ironing franchise into the fire

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 60 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Damien Lynch

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

The franchise industry in New Zealand (NZ) is divided over a key issue. There are moves to toughen up the franchising laws. Earlier, there was news of an alleged $NZ4 million ($A3.5 million) fake franchise scam in NZ. A former franchisee of the Green Acres home services franchise group sold ironing franchises to some 200 people without the knowledge of the company. The purchasers paid around $NZ20,000 for the fake franchises. The Franchise Association of NZ (FANZ) declared that it had commenced discussions with the NZ Government on ways to tighten the laws governing franchises. However, this announcement angered some members of the FANZ, who complained that they had not been consulted. Others do not want to see the legislation tightened, arguing that this would be an over-reaction

New ad concept - coming soon to a napkin near you

Inside Retailing
Page: 11 : 25 February 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

NapkinAd is expanding beyond the Sydney CBD to food courts in Melbourne and Brisbane. The founder of the marketing venture, Emmanuel Kastanias, reveals that the expansion is due to occur in about six weeks, and has attracted roughly 100 retailers. Kastanias reports that a tissue advertising concept, called TissueAd, is also due to be launched in March 2008. He says that 1.5 million napkins are distributed each month in the Sydney CBD, and the figure is about to increase to two million. Harvey Norman and 3 are among NapkinAd's advertisers

Harvey turns bargain hunter

Ad News
Page: 5 : 22 February 2008
Original article by Paul McIntyre

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

The majority of companies tend to reduce their marketing expenditure during a downturn, but this strategy is not for Gerry Harvey. The Australian retailer says there are two reasons for his stance. Firstly, his company, Harvey Norman, is continuing to grow, and secondly, the absence of other marketers means that media companies are likely to offer him a better deal. Harvey says even the best economists seem uncertain how the Australian economy will perform in the next year or so, but that he will increase his marketing at any sign of a downturn

Consumer Behaviour

Ford's new chief walking a tricky high wire

The Age
Page: B2 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Ian Porter

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Ford Motor Company in Australia has a new boss, Bill Osborne. In March 2008, Osborne spoke about the challenges he faces in his job. Osborne noted that Ford is the car of choice for blue-collar workers, but he wants to expand the Ford customer base, to make it more attractive to a wider group of people. He wants to strengthen the emotional value of the Ford brand. This will be tough, like walking on a high wire. Osborne believes that different types of motorists will be attracted by the Ford company's European-styled cars, such as the Mondeo, the Focus and the Fiesta. Osborne believes that many will flock to buy the latest Ford Falcon model

Tourism means zip to Generation Z

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 14 : 4 March 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Young Australians are more interested in immediate gratification than travel. A report by Tourism Australia released in early March 2008 shows that those born after 1991 have little discretionary spending, do not have a "travel habit" due to the lack of family holidays, are more likely to take advantage of cheap overseas travel packages, and are apathetic to Australian attractions. The report says that Australian tourism should be promoted on the themes of national pride, better accommodation and sustainability

Home inspections may signal lower sales

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 16 : 4 March 2008
Original article by Michelle Singer

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

A decline in home inspections could indicate a fall in sales of established homes in the future. Archicentre has reported that pre-purchase inspections across Australia fell by 28 per cent in February 2008 from the previous year, following a fall of 10 per cent in January. David Hallett of Archicentre says property sales will probably reflect the fall over the next few months

Credit card rewards come at high price

The West Australian
Page: 39 : 3 March 2008
Original article by Annette Sampson

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Australians should consider a range of factors when attempting to identify the credit card with the best rewards program. First, prospective card holders should ask whether it is worth being in a reward program at all, as credit cards with such programs tend to carry higher fees. Frank Lopez, of research company, Cannex, claims the first step in working out which program to use is determining what sort of rewards are attractive. While some programs offer general or shopping rewards, others are associated with frequent flyer programs. Those opting for cards with instant reward programs receive special offers and discounts. In order to select the best option for the individual, spending patterns need to be examined

"Eye on Aust 2008" study out in May

Adbrief
Page: 4 : 29 February 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Grey Group is due to release the results of its 2008 "Eye on Australia" study in May 2008. The study, now in its 17th year, is conducted by Grey in association with Sweeney & Associates. Consumers across a wide range of age groups and geographic background are surveyed on a number of issues, including their health, lifestyle and attitudes to big business, and are asked how these and other issues impact on their spending behaviour

Media fragmentation throws a surprise

Ad News
Page: 12 : 22 February 2008
Original article by Lee Stephens

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Australian newspapers have responded to the recent trend for media consumers to consume smaller pieces of information. They have reduced the size of articles over the past 10 years in order to cater for this "attention shift". Although "media bites" are declining in size, the number of times that consumer are accessing the media is increasing. One aspect of this change in media consumption habits is the growing importance of promotional and marketing opportunities as a central focus of any advertising strategy

Behind the readership numbers

Ad News
Page: 20-21 : 22 February 2008
Original article by Simon Davies

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The mantle of Australia's most read magazine has passed from "Woman's Day" to "The Australian Women's Weekly" in the last year. This is according to research from OMD, which also rates "The Australian Women's Weekly" as the highest circulating magazine in Australia. Readership segments that have declined in the last year include teenage girls, women's fashion and lifestyle, and weekly current affairs/business. In the last segment, readership of "Time" and "BRW" fell by 12 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Advertisers will be keen to see if they can pick up any readers from the defunct "Bulletin"