Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Coca-Cola gives its Mother a second chance

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 29 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Julian Lee

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Coca-Cola Amatil will relaunch its energy drink. It has released a number of products since 2001, all of which have been unsuccessful. "Mother" was launched in early 2007 but sales were poor in spite of a $A15 million marketing campaign. On 18 June 2008, Coca-Cola said that the brand will be re-released with a new taste and more powerful product. Advertising agency, Smart, will run the multimillion-dollar campaign, which will begin in July. Analysts feel that it may be difficult to win sales from the two brands dominating the market segment

Macquarie distances itself from Ten

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 27 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Miriam Steffens

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

The Australian regional TV broadcaster, Macquarie Media Group, is confident about its outlook. The group noted that it is gaining from the resilient local advertising market. On 13 June 2008, the Ten Network said that its TV earnings will fall by about 10% in the financial year to 31 August 2008, because of a dramatic fall in advertising spending. This warning led to sales of media stocks and analysts downgraded the sector overall. On 18 June 2008, most media stock continued to fall in value, including Ten, Fairfax Media and Macquarie Media. Goldman Sachs JBWere has predicted that city TV stations will endure a 5% decline in advertising demand in 2008-09, twice that of regional TV stations

Upbeat Mitchell tips robust times ahead

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 21 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Neil Shoebridge

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Mitchell Communication Group CEO, Stuart Mitchell, announced an expected 10 per cent increase in net profit for 2008-09 on 18 June 2008. Mitchell said he forecast growth of around seven per cent for the year, after an unexpected increase in advertising spending. Mitchell described analysts' outlook on the Australian sector as "disappointing" and said the industry was yet to see any signs of an expected slowdown. Goldman Sachs JBWere forecast a 2007-08 net profit for Mitchell of around $A19.2 million in May 2008

Private and corporate givers dig deep as arts sponsorship falls

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 3 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Katrina Strickland

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

A decline in corporate sponsorship of Australia's 29 biggest performing arts companies was more than offset by an increase in philanthropic giving in 2007. A survey by the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) shows sponsorship accounted for 54% of privately raised revenue, compared with 71% in 2003. AMPAG director, Helen O'Neil, said the decline in corporate sponsorship was more than offset by a rise in donations, some being from companies as part of their corporate social responsibility programs rather than part of marketing initiatives. Corporate sponsorship declined by $A439,000 to $A25.3m, while donations rose by $A5.5m to $A17.9m

Success allows BigPond to pose sitcom question

The Australian
Page: 31 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Lara Sinclair

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Telstra Big Pond may be the first advertiser in Australia to launch a TV situation comedy based on one of its campaigns. New advertisements featuring the popular father and son characters "Patrick" and "Daniel" will be launched during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, but Telstra is also considering producing branded content from the broadband campaign. Big Pond group MD, Justine Milne, said it is important that marketing is entertaining, and suggested new ways of marketing the brand have included interactive games

Products & Services

Jetstar downplays partner rift

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 20 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Vesna Poljak

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Jetstar Asia is seeking independence from Qantas Airways' Jetstar, but most consumers will not notice the difference. The web site and brand will continue to be shared, although Jetstar Asia wants more autonomy in relation to distribution channels and technology systems. Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway assured the public on 18 June 2008 that the plan was an amicable one, emphasising that the airline sought to find local partners, not operators to control. Jetstar Asia is majority Singaporean-owned

Google aims to add spark to start-ups

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 24 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Ben Woodhead

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Google released its App Engine technology in April 2008, in the hope of attracting the interest of budding entrepreneurs. Google App Engine director of product marketing, Tom Stockly, said the technology, which allows programmers to develop applications for social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, would help start-ups. Stockly said software developers could use Google Apps to launch their applications and would not be charged for resources until they start getting "real traffic". Almost 150,000 developers have so far signed up to a test version of the technology

E-Business

Poor net security stifles growth: Conroy

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 25 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Julian Bajkowski

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy, Steven Conroy, called for better internet security measures on 18 June 2008. Conroy said a lack of security online was holding back economic growth and preventing productivity increases seen overseas as a result of the technology. According to Conroy, the spread of online economic activity has been slower than expected, despite a high level of internet usage, largely as a result of a lack of confidence in online transactions

MySpace to strike hyper ad targets

The Australian
Page: 32 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Lara Sinclair

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Fox Interactive Media has announced that following an overhaul of its MySpace web site in the US, changes will also be rolled out in Australia. Users of the social networking service, ultimately owned by News Corporation, will gain more functionality, but the main focus is on making it easier for advertisers to reach specific target audiences. Under MySpace's HyperTargeting system, advertisers can gain access to those categorised into one or several of 100 special interest groups. New advertising features are also built into the changed video player software that forms part of the MySpace pages

Adultshop.com settles twin disputes

The West Australian
Page: online : 18 June 2008

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Management announced that Adultshop.com has reached out-of-court resolution of disputes with its ex-partners, Pageseeker and Today's Success. The Australian listed Adultshop paid roughly $A12 million for Today's Success in 2002. However, credit card processing problems led to litigation regarding the takeover and to Today's Success being written off. The erotica company also sued Pageseeker regarding payments for sending web browsers to the former Today's Success site

Marketing Strategy

Do not call: marketers learning to live with phone register

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 29 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Julian Lee

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

Around 2.3 million Australians signed up to the Do Not Call register during its first year of operation, according to figures released on 18 June 2008. Australian Direct Marketing Association CEO, Rob Edwards, said he was surprised the figure was not higher, after similar systems in Europe and the US attracted larger numbers of signatories. The register makes it illegal for telemarketers to "cold call" people with registered telephone numbers, although it does not apply to government bodies, charities, pollsters or market researchers

Aegis to open local Vizeum if CBA is won

The Australian
Page: 32 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Lara Sinclair

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

One of the tenderers for the advertising business of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is Aegis Media. If it wins the $A50m deal, it plans to also open a local branch of its media agency, Vizeum. Worldwide Aegis CEO Robert Lerwill has applauded the efforts in recent times of Australasian counterpart Lee Stephens, and there are hopes the group can become one of the five or six leading ones in Australia. There is some speculation that Richard Halmarick and Mandy Henry, who had been with related agency Carat Australia until recently, could be selected to head the new Vizeum office

Adland erupts after routing by creatives

The Australian
Page: 31 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Lara Sinclair

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

The Cannes International Advertising Festival in France has exacerbated tensions between media and creative advertising agencies in Australia. Australian agencies only won two bronze Media Lions at the festival, one by a creative agency and one by a media agency. Creative agency J Walter Thompson Australia won for its campaign for Thrifty Car Rental, while media agency Universal McCann Australia was recognised for its work for Meat & Livestock Australia. Globally, only 20% of the Media Lions were given to media agencies. Media agencies have criticised creative agencies for accepting awards without acknowledging media agency partners, while creative agencies say media agencies are encroaching on their territory

Consumer Behaviour

Buyers hit hard at all turns

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 62 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Jason Clout

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Housing Industry Association lobby group has commented on the rising cost of residential land and dwellings in New South Wales. It argues that the State Government should put a stop to the imposition of stamp duty and other charges at successive stages in the process of building or buying a new home. If vacant land is sold by an owner to a developer, than to a builder and finally the consumer, various taxes are levied on top of one another. The criticism is backed by the Property Council of Australia, which notes the problem is a nationwide one

Oil imports drop as drivers hit brakes

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 4 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Adrian Rollins

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The high cost of fuel has slowed Australian oil imports. In May 2008, fuel imports fell by nearly 22 per cent to 1.65 billion litres, the lowest level for four years. However, the value of imports rose by nearly 17 per cent to almost $A3.3 billion. Oil reached a record price of nearly $US140 a barrel on 16 June. Petrol prices are forecast to reach $A1.75 a litre in the coming fortnight. Craig James, of CommSec, said that the figures show that consumers are reacting to high fuel prices. The Westpac leading index fell to 2.8 per cent in April, indicating that domestic demand is slowing

Networks hold off on big guns

The Age
Page: 14 : 19 June 2008
Original article by Debi Enker

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Seven Network may have miscalculated by holding off its significant television programs until after the Beijing Olympic Games in late 2008. The Nine Network is programming more of the same. The ABC will be screening over 100 hours of the Paralympics and focus on new comedy programs. SBS has three new Australian productions for 2008. Nationally the Nine Network leads the ratings with an almost two per cent lead on Seven