Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Media braces for big squeeze on ad spend

The Australian
Page: 29 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Nick Tabakoff

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Australian media companies expect a fall in corporate advertising spending. On 4 May 2008, Collin Segelov, executive director of the Australian Association of National Advertisers, warned that harsher economic conditions were prompting companies to reduce their spending on advertising. Kerry Stokes, executive chair of Seven Network, has forecast that media assets will be repriced downward over the coming year. Analysts have also cut target prices and predicted profit warnings for some major media companies

Cervical cancer vaccine use in older women hit

The Age
Page: A4 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Tamara McLean

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Pharmaceutical companies have been criticised for their excessive marketing of cervical cancer vaccinations to women aged 26 to 45. Cancer specialist, Dr Gerald Wain, does not understand why Cervarix was approved for older women, given the results of the scarce amount of data show a much-reduced efficacy. GlaxoSmithKline vaccines MD, Dr Su-Peing Ng, stated that women's past or future exposure is problematic to foresee, therefore risks remain. The vaccination costs $A450 for women over the age of 27

Inner Circle has a plan to break out

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 47 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Noelle Waugh

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Australian alcoholic beverages group Lion Nathan is about to launch its first marketing campaign for Inner Circle Rum. The brand, which Lion Nathan acquired for $A10m in early 2007, has only 1% of the $A595m market for dark rum. Lion Nathan hopes the marketing campaign will help it steal some market share from Diageo Australia's Bundaberg brand, which has 97% of the dark rum market. The "Not Made for You" campaign was developed by agencies Happy Soldiers and Host

IMG model for runway success

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 48 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Neil Shoebridge

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Rosemount Australian Fashion Week's sponsorship sales have more than doubled since the event was acquired by International Management Group (IMG). IMG's Asia-Pacific MD, Martin Jolly, said sponsorship revenue from the 2008 event was $A4m, compared with less than $A2m when it acquired Australian Fashion Innovators in 2005. Foster's Group, which pays $A1.5m for naming rights for its Rosemount Estates wine brand, accounts for more than a third of sponsorship revenue from the event. Other major sponsors secured by IMG include National Australia Bank, MasterCard Australia and Thai Airways

Agencies take the carrot but not the stick

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 48 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Neil Shoebridge

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

The International Advertising Association's grand congress in Washington DC was attended by more than 700 people. The basic conclusion of speakers including Publicis CEO Maurice Levy, Dentsu CEO Tateo Mataki, and The Interpublic Group CEO Michael Roth, is that the current business model for advertising agencies is collapsing and a new one is required. Mataki said a model under which the agency only has the functions of buying media and creating adverting is no longer viable, with a new one needed where risks and rewards are shared between parties. A broader system of performance-based payment will only be accepted if agencies are punished for negative results as well as being rewarded for positive ones

Products & Services

ACP fashions launch of women's weekly

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 48 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Neil Shoebridge

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

ACP Magazines will spend $A7m marketing Australia's first weekly fashion magazine, "Grazia", in its first year. Related companies such as ninemsn and Nine Network Australia will have significant involvement in the television, radio and outdoor campaign. ACP does not expect "Grazia" to take sales from its weekly women's magazines "Woman's Day", "NW" and "OK!". ACP group publisher of women's lifestyle magazines, Pat Ingram, said the company believes "Grazia" will bring women who currently only buy monthly magazines into the weekly market

E-Business

RBA gamesmanship

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 52 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Andrew Cornell

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

The Reserve Bank hopes that the Australian financial services industry will reform the payments system. The central bank has issued a discussion paper on payments system reforms. It wants open competition in the market. If the industry co-operates, wholesale interchange fees on credit and debit cards will continue to fall. Banks could improve and promote the Eftpos system, which could be very valuable

Marketing Strategy

Rough at Beach - claims of privacy, super breaches

The Age
Page: B1-B2 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Mathew Murphy

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

After being ranked as one of Australia's best franchises in 2007, Beach House Health & Fitness is facing rumours over member privacy and debt issues. Rather than expanding to its goal of 100 branches, 13 Beach House centres have either closed or been rebranded, with complaints that the company sold members' bank details to a nearby gym without permission. In April 2008, Westfield took Beach House to court for arrears in rents. There are also claims that former employees were not paid superannuation, and that one club could not afford to pay casual staff over Easter 2008

Flexibility the key to Boral's branding

The Australian
Page: 34 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Simon Canning

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

The key to Boral's long-term success has been maintaining the strength of its branding identity, while diversifying across markets. Boral defines itself as both a resource brand and a manufacturing company, and develops its values and market-focused business by operating at a local level wherever possible. Executive general manager of clay and concrete products, Keith Mitchelhill, states that innovation has been the key to Boral's success, driving the Australian-listed building materials company's consistent appeal to engineers, families, architects and councils alike

Consumer Behaviour

Youth 'cannot live without the internet'

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 49 : 5 May 2008
Original article by Neil Shoebridge

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Research by Synovate has confirmed the popularity of the internet among teenagers and people in their 20s. The study, part of a survey of people aged between eight and 24 in 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region, also confirmed the ability of young people to take in different media simultaneously. They were able to fit in 38 hours of activity, including 11 hours of media, into a single day. The 3.4 hours a day spent on the internet was still below the 4.1 hours a day spent watching TV, but 60% said they had increased their internet usage in the past year and it was the medium to which they had the greatest attachment

Families make big grocery sacrifices

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 6 : 3 May 2008
Original article by Adrian Rollins

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

There are signs that the most difficult financial conditions in over 10 years are constraining demand growth. The volume of retail turnover fell by 0.1 per cent in the March 2008 quarter. Food prices rose by 1.8 per cent in the period. In the last two years, food prices have risen by 12 per cent. Australian families have made their biggest reductions to weekly grocery spending in two decades. The volume of food sales declined by 1.1 per cent in the March 2008 quarter. It is thought that the data could encourage the Reserve Bank not to adjust interest rates at its impending meeting