Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Budget gives Foster's free-kick

Adbrief
Page: 1 : 16 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Australian wine and beer maker Foster's got a lot of free publicity for one of its products in the week ending 16 May 2008. With the Federal Opposition very unhappy about the Australian Government's 2008 Budget plan to impose a 70 per cent tax impost on ready to drink (RTDs), Joe Hockey used a bottle of Foster's "Yellowglen" sparkling wine on several occasions on television news programs to make his point. Hockey, the Opposition health spokesperson, said the Yellowglen bottle he was holding had twice as much alcohol as the average RTD, but only half the tax

New business

Adbrief
Page: 3 : 16 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Riviana Foods has awarded the advertising account for its "Always Fresh" pickled vegetable brand to CHE. "Always Fresh", which has around 150 products in its range, has a 40 per cent share of the $A100 million Australian pickled vegetable sector. Meanwhile, in other new business announcements, Dash PR has secured the account for notebook maker ASUS, while DDB Remedy is the new agency for Wyeth's Efexor drug

Campaigns

Adbrief
Page: 3-4 : 16 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

A new television commercial to promote the Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick (RCHR) features "Bacteria Ogres" and "Sir John and his knights". "Bacteria Ogres" is the disease that "Mary the Braveheart" is trying to fight, while "Sir John and his knights" are the RCHR staff trying to help her. The animated commercial was created for the RCHR by Tribal DDB and DDB Sydney. In other new campaigns, Rodger Corser, of "Underbelly" and "Last Man Standing", has been hired by Ideaworks to promote Hyundai's move to install ESP Stability Control on all its models

Big win for St George advtg

Adbrief
Page: 4 : 16 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

The Australian Banking & Finance Awards were recently held in Sydney. Among the awards presented was one for "Best Banking & Finance Promotion", which went to Whybin\TBWA\Tequila's "Good with people, good with money" campaign for St George Bank. The promotion was selected over campaigns such as the Commonwealth Bank's "Determined to be Different" and the National Australia Bank's "Climb Every Mountain"

Products & Services

Nudie bloke sallies forth

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 52 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Bred Howarth

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Nudie founder Tim Pethick is preparing to launch low-fat potato chip brand Sultry Sally in June 2008. Speaking on 19 May 2008, Pethick said Australian companies are not interested in innovation and do not do branding well. According to Pethick, creativity and brand originality have not been allowed to develop locally because of Australia's status as an outpost for multinational companies. Pethick resigned from Nudie in 2006, after losing the support of the company's board, although his savings remain tied up in the fruit juice company

Holden eyes hybrid and diesel

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 4 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Mark Skelsey

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

General Motors, which owns GM Holden in Australia, has indicated it could start producing electric cars in the years following 2008. GM Asia Pacific president, Nick Reilly, has also suggested that diesel-powered Holden Commodores could be launched in Australia at the same time as a new hybrid model. Reilly claims a range of solutions are needed for alternative propulsion. GM believes there is a limit on the potential for sales of hybrid models, as they are more expensive than some petrol-powered ones. The Australian Government is currently encouraging Toyota to develop a hybrid Camry at its Melbourne factory

Fels hits at retail planning laws

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 62 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Lisa Carapiet

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chair, Allan Fels, released a report into Australia's retail sector on 19 May 2008. Fells said in "Choice Free Zone" that Australian retail landlords were taking an average of between 17 per cent and 21 per cent of retail turnover as rent, against an international average of between nine per cent and 12 per cent. According to the report, consumers could pay up to 28 per cent less for household products if land use regulations, zoning requirements and restrictions were lifted, while 18 per cent could be saved on basic food items

"Acclaim" aims to serve unrepresented youth audience in Australia

Mediaweek
Page: 14 : 19 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Large sectors of the Australian youth market are not well served by magazine publishers, according to Andrew Montelli. Montelli is the founder and editor-in-chief of "Acclaim", which he claims fills a gap in the youth market. He says that "Acclaim" covers the same sort of issues that magazines like "Ralph" and "FHM" do, namely cars, music and fashion, but without the "sleaze factor". Montelli used to publish a magazine called "Out4Fame", but closed that down when he started "Acclaim", as he felt that they would be competing for the same advertisers

Mega bank a worry for brands

Adbrief
Page: 4 : 16 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Consumers may not react well to the proposed merger of Westpac and St George Bank (SGB), according to Doctor Stephen Downes. Downes, of RMIT, notes that many SGB customers were attracted to it because it was not a big bank, but it will lose this appeal if it joins with Westpac. Gail Kelly, previously the CEO of SGB but now the CEO of Westpac, says the merger of SGB and Westpac combines "two iconic brands". However, Downes says that merging two such brands does not mean the merged entity will become one giant iconic brand

E-Business

AOL hopes niche sites will win back advertisers

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 39 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Anick Jesdanun

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

America Online (AOL) has launched a large number of speciality web sites as it focuses on niche audiences. The new "passion point" sites include "The Boot" for country music, "ParentDish" for parents and "The Boom Box" for hip hop music. AOL is trying to increase advertising revenue from the sites, with users now favouring more specialised content over web portals such as AOL.com. Enderle Group analyst, Rob Enderle, said the generalised nature of web portals ignores the fact that users are all individuals. AOL notes that specialised sites will allow content writers to make assumptions about the knowledge of users

ABC unlocks its program vaults

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 13 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Julian Bajkowski

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) will offer programs for download over the internet. On 20 May 2008, the ABC Shop will announce its plans to sell local and overseas productions online. Over several months, it will release about 1,600 hours of audio and video content for full purchase or rental. Copyright protection technology will apply to most of the video content. The varying standards for film and video has been another issue

Microsoft searches for Yahoo! deal

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 37 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Anthony Hughes

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Microsoft is desperate to stop a strong alliance between Yahoo! and Google. On 19 May 2008, Steve Ballmer of Microsoft announced he was negotiating a new non-takeover alliance with Yahoo!. Microsoft wants to increase its 9% of online advertising. Yahoo! has 21% market share and Google 60%. Google and Yahoo! are reportedly very close to a deal, where Yahoo! uses Google's superior ad-search technology. Corporate raider, and takeover advocate, Carl Icahn has 10 million Yahoo! shares and has recently gained options on another 49 million

Classified ads up, display down in latest IAB report

Mediaweek
Page: 7 : 19 May 2008

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

The Australian internet advertising sector earned revenue of $A3854.5 million in the March 2008 quarter. Revenue was up 30.8 per cent on the same quarter in 2007. This is according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Internet Advertising Bureau. Of the various online advertising sub-categories, classified advertising was the best performer in terms of increased market share since the December 2007 quarter, with its market share up by 8.4 per cent. Patty Keegan, of the Internet Advertising Bureau, said it was the sixth time in a row that there had been a year-on-year increase in online advertising

Marketing Strategy

Budget boosts aid to small business

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 53 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Damien Lynch

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

Business Enterprise Centres Australia (BECA) is well placed to deliver services to small business, according to chair, Peter Murray. Speaking on 19 May 2008, he said his organisation was one of the big winners in the 2008-09 Australian Budget, with $A42 million allocated for the creation of 36 business enterprise centres. Murray said BECA could provide more services than had been available under the Small Business Field Officer program, such as simple marketing plans and local advertising options

Exporters granted extra $50m for costs

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 51 : 20 May 2008
Original article by Mark Fenton-Jones

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

The Australian Government allocated an additional $A50 million to the export marketing development grant program in its May 2008 Budget. The extra funding is aimed at providing greater access to the Government's marketing funding program, which now has a total budget of $A190 million for the 2009-10 financial year. Under new eligibility criteria, businesses with a maximum turnover threshold of $A50 million will be able to join the program, up from $A30 million in 2008-09

Consumer Behaviour

Have dollars, will travel (and in style)

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 4 : 20 May 2008
Original article by John Kehoe

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The strong Australian dollar is influencing the travel choices of the nation's consumers. On 19 May 2008, the dollar reached a 24-year high of $US0.9571. Mary Rossi Travel MD, Claudia Rossi Hudson, says many Australians appear to be realising the currency could achieve parity with the US dollar. As a result, a number of Australians travelling overseas are extending their trips, upgrading accommodation or "hoarding" travellers cheques. Richard Grace, of the Commonwealth Bank, anticipates the Australian dollar will appreciate to at least $US0.96 by June