Tag: Australia

Sydney, Australia – The digital advertising market in Australia has been estimated to be valued at reaching US$3.232b for September quarter this year, or up 42.1% year on year. This is according to the latest data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia, in association with consulting firm PwC. 

According to the data, search and directory ads increased by 41%, while general display increased by 45.6% and classifieds up 37.3%. 

Meanwhile, retail advertising again held the number one advertiser category share of display advertising investment, now representing 14.4% of display investment and leading video advertising investment. Technology sector in advertising experienced the largest increase in share to reach 7.8%, while automotive advertising’s share of total spend continued to retract, reflecting the supply challenges. Meanwhile, the travel sector saw the largest decrease in share thanks to lockdowns reversing the increases experienced by travel in the June quarter.

In other sectors, video advertising’s share of general display advertising peaked this quarter at 62%, an increase of 72% year-on-year to reach US$784.1m. In addition, native advertising grew 30% year on year, while standard display advertising fell 21% year on year. 

Meanwhile, programmatic trading of content publishers inventory again increased in September quarter this year, delivering 45% of the total expenditure, versus 40% bought through agency insertion orders. Programmatic continues to dominate as the preferred buying method for content publishers’ video inventory.

Speaking about the state of the ad industry in Australia, Gai Le Roy, CEO at IAB Australia commented, “The September quarter had a mix of highs and lows with Olympics activity encouraging investment but the travel market pulling back again with local lockdowns. Overall though investment in [the] digital advertising market continued to impress, with the September quarter increasing 42% on the COVID impacted September 2020, but also increasing 36% compared to the 2019 September quarter.”

Sydney, Australia – Independent advertising agency The Hallway has announced the launch of its newest performance marketing division called The Hallway Performance Digital (THPD). It will be focused on creative content optimized for direct response digital channels.

The new division will offer performance creative development, social content production, paid media strategy and buying as well as reporting frameworks.

THPD has developed a proprietary model that determines clients’ growth programs based on their level of investment. These programs are mapped out and tested models for ideal results, based on previous commercial success across customer bases. 

Speaking about the new division, Jules Hall, CEO at The Hallway, said that by launching the new division, they get to have the best of breed offerings, optimized to client’s unique context, as well as supported with the efficiency of a single back office infrastructure at the group level.

“The Hallway was an early mover in data-driven creative content. Having run major programs for the likes of ANZ, Google and Dexus we’ve built a really deep understanding of the best ways to create this type of work. It’s a rapid turnaround, highly automated creative process. This is very different to the strategically-led brand and advertising work we are creating,” Hall said.

To mark the new division, The Hallway has promoted Chris Murphy to the role of general manager of THPD, where he will manage the independent agency’s existing digital media clients as well as a soon to be announced payment platform and automotive brand.

Murphy has been with The Hallway for two years, holding senior leadership roles, managing and growing some of the agency’s largest clients.

“I am also delighted to be able to promote from within. Chris has consistently demonstrated strong leadership and is ideally placed to ensure THPD, and the clients we represent, will thrive,” Hall said about the new promotion.

Speaking about his promotion, Murphy said, “I’m delighted to have been entrusted to lead our team of digital-first thinkers. The proprietary and proven growth programs we have developed empower brands to see around corners and make more informed strategic marketing decisions. The outcome is high performance results, delivered with speed and efficiency.”

Australia – As part of Brighte’s commitment to providing consumers affordable solar, battery, and home improvements, the green financer has launched a new campaign to help Australians bring ‘the sun’ home.

The new campaign, created in collaboration with independent creative agency Paper Moose, aims to boost Brighte’s name among Australian homeowners, building on its new visual identity and brand platform, ‘Bringing Sustainable Home’. 

Featuring the song ‘Brighte Here Brighte Now’, which is a take on the classic by Fatboy Slim, the campaign explores the energy, excitement, and benefits of getting solar for your home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PqVGk8bJJI&t=1s

Malini Sietaram, Brighte’s chief revenue and marketing officer, points out that while a lot of Australians want to add solar to their home, reducing both their energy bills and CO2 emissions, they don’t know where to begin.

“Brighte helps you get solar sooner by removing the upfront cost through our 0% interest payment plans and our trusted network of tradies means you can start immediately. We love Paper Moose’s thinking with ‘bring the sun home’, as it shows Aussies how they can shift power back to their homes through the sun and start Brighte here, Brighte now,” said Sietaram. 

She added, “The sun is the perfect fit for us. It’s our brand essence and central to our identity, it shines bright. For us at Brighte, we live for the sunrise and sunset. The possibilities of each new day and the optimism that the future is Brighte.”

Meanwhile, Nick Hunter, Paper Moose’s CEO and founding partner, commented “Brighte is a dream partner for Paper Moose and so helping them on their mission to make every home sustainable has been a personal endeavor for the entire team. And props to eco-minded Norman Cook for the perfect tune to help us all bring the sun home.” 

The campaign adds to the growing line of purpose-led work by Paper Moose, which recently repositioned to ‘The change makers’ and launched the ‘Buy One Give One’ initiative to support innovators working to decarbonize the economy.

Australia – Former Executive Digital Producer Sharon Gray and former Senior Digital Creative Jesse McLallen of independent creative group Special Group in Australia have launched a new innovative tech platform called The Spec Sheet.

The Spec Sheet is a centralized online hub for managing and sharing real-time ad specs between media owners, media agencies, and creative agencies. It aims to do all the heavy lifting involved in campaign delivery requirements, such as sourcing, organizing, and managing ad specs across all channels. 

Moreover, the SaaS platform eliminates double handling for media agencies, while simultaneously allowing media owners to stay closely connected to their ad specs. It also stands as a solution to the all-too-common spec-related inconsistencies, delays, and errors across the industry and the knock-on effects for creative production teams and clients.

Gray believes that the platform will bring order and consistency to ad specs via its centralized database. 

“It allows users to access up-to-date ad specs all in one place and to simplify and automate building spec sheets for campaigns. No more incorrect spreadsheets, no more out-of-date spec PDFs. No more spec mistakes,” said Gray. 

Meanwhile, McLallen said, “The development of The Spec Sheet was born from real problems, real experiences, and it’s a real solution that combats the often-over-complicated world of ad specs.”

Sydney, Australia – Creative and technology agency CX Lavender has announced new appointments; firstly, Kirsty Angus as client services director to elevate the agency’s strategic services across the disciplines of technology, creative, data, and brand, while Jamie Parfitt has been elevated to the role of head of strategy, coming from his previous position as senior strategy director. 

Angus’ responsibilities at CX Lavender will include overseeing the company’s business management unit, managing strategic revenue, and driving new business. She has previously held senior strategy and management roles at Wunderman Thompson, Dare Digital, Leo Burnett, and AMV BBDO.

“I am looking forward to applying my strategic approach to business management and relationship skills to the CX Lavender’s suite of clients across financial services, retail and automotive,” she said regarding her appointment.

Meanwhile, Parfitt has been with CX Lavender for four years. He had previously worked with Westpac Group, AMEX and NBN as well as RAA and Ausgrid. 

“Strategy at CX Lavender is going from strength-to-strength. We’re fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to take the lead on an ever-more diverse breadth of projects with clients – from consulting on customer strategy, to creating connected digital experiences, to helping clients get more from their marketing automation,” Parfitt said.

He added, “At the heart of everything is our dedication to putting the customer’s self-interest first to help our clients fuel their continued growth.”

Australia – With the aim to solve Australia’s tech talent crisis, Swinburne University of Technology has joined the Digital Employment Forum, an initiative by Tech Council of Australia (TCA) and Digital Skills Organization (DSO), to be its new founding employment and training partner.

The partnership will see Digital Employment Forum bringing together major tech employers and educators to transform the country’s approach to attracting and training tech workers.

As part of the initiative, Swinburne will be joining other industry partners, organizations, and educational institutions.

Swinburne’s vice-chancellor and president, Pascale Quester, shared that it has been well established that emerging technologies are essential for tackling Australia’s critical challenges.

“The TCA has set an ambitious goal to reach one million tech jobs by 2025. While it is an ambitious goal, it is also an achievable one that Swinburne believes in. As a university of technology, we are well-positioned to help Australia overcome the tech talent crisis,” said Quester.

As the founding partner, Quester will be advising and leading to help address Australia’s technology opportunities. He will be working as a member of the Digital Employment Forum to produce an innovative, data-driven research program that defines tech employment needs, develop a cross-economy digital employment workforce strategy, and produce the best tech graduates for the new tech workforce, as well as support opportunities for students through work-integrated learning and employment programs.

Australia – In a bid to fill the gap in the market for a more complete service, brand experience agency GHO Sydney has joined a partnership with mid-scale business planning and financial advisory, PKF Sydney/Newcastle, to provide Australian start-ups uniquely designed programs in the areas of both business and creatives. 

The new alliance aims to help new businesses avoid conflicting advice or the steep cost of working with multiple partners. As part of the partnership, PKF and GHO Sydney will be offering start-ups with proven processes and the balance of advice and experience, to enable them to access diverse talent across business, finance, creative, and product, as well as marketing through either a full sweat-equity or part cash/part equity deal. 

James Legge, GHO Sydney’s strategy partner, shared that they have known there is an opportunity to change the model for supporting start-ups and to help them scale rapidly and with a clear purpose.

“By developing our design thinking offering and service-for-equity commercial models, together with PKF, we’re in a position to help deliver a clearer path to profit and growth,” said Legge.

Steve Meyn, PKF Sydney/Newcastle’s managing director, shared, “With existing clients like Grub Lab and AirCamp, PKF has been supporting start-ups for some time, but together with GHO, this new venture enables us to provide a more holistic offering and reduce the risk for the start-ups we back as they go to market and scale.”

Melbourne, Australia – iProspect, the media agency under the dentsu network, has announced the appointment of former chief media officer at Cummins&Partners Paul Murphy to be its newest managing director in Melbourne. The appointment takes effect on 10 January 2022.

He brings into the agency 25 years of experience working agency- and client-side in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide, and assuming national roles across traditional, digital, planning, and buying.

Prior to Cummins&Partners, Murphy also had notable roles working for companies like Carlton & United Breweries, Blue Hive, Mindshare Melbourne, and OMD Melbourne. He began his career at full-service agency KWP in Adelaide in 1996.

The announcement of the new managing director was made by Oliver Rapson, CEO at iProspect Australia, who said that this is a major hire for iProspect and one that will have the greatest benefit for their clients and offering in Melbourne.

“Paul is a proven leader, we are delighted to have someone of his caliber join the team and I am excited for 2022 and see a year of huge potential and growth,” Rapson said.

Speaking about his appointment, Murphy said, “From my first conversation with Ollie, I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm the team at iProspect have for the business, their clients, and each other.”

He added, “As the industry shifts at pace, clients need a partner that can continually evolve their communications to reach and engage their consumers at the right place and time, for the best price. I am thrilled to be joining a team of professionals both in iProspect and the wider dentsu Group that are hungry for the challenges ahead.”

Meanwhile, Sue Squillace, CEO of dentsu Media ANZ, commented, “This is a very exciting time for the iProspect brand as we continue to build out the new digital-first end to end brand proposition. We are thrilled to welcome Paul to the dentsu family accelerating and leading the new iProspect offering for our clients and our people in Melbourne.”

Australia – Australian energy company Alinta Energy has unveiled its new brand position ‘That’s better™’ which it said aims to reflect the company’s focus on making tangible improvements for its customers, the environment and community across affordability, local service, renewable energy, and community support.

The new positioning was developed in partnership with integrated communications agency, Bastion Creative.

Amanda Hagan, Alinta Energy’s executive director for retail markets, said that the company wanted to ensure that ‘doing better’ for customers was fundamental to the brand purpose.

“I think this is a great position because we believe everything we do should be aimed at making things better for our customers, our staff, the environment and Australia. ‘That’s better™’ is an attitude that our whole organization can embrace to benefit our customers,” said Hagan.

The new communications direction was also launched together with an integrated campaign featuring Australian cricket legends.

The TVC features Australian cricket stars Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Marnus Labuschagne, and Aaron Finch brainstorming with Alinta Energy staff on ways to do ‘better’ for customers, highlighting its commitment to locally-based customer call centers and providing affordable energy products.

Bastion ECD Georgia Arnott said, “‘That’s better™’ encapsulates Alinta Energy’s quest to keep shaking up the category as both the incumbent gas retailer on Australia’s west coast, and a challenger electricity and gas brand in the east.”

“Seeing Pat Cummins answer his phone with his nose while contorted in a yoga pose epitomizes the Alinta Energy ethos of going the extra mile for customers,” adds Arnott.

The launch leverages Alinta Energy’s sponsorship as principal partner of the Australian Men’s Cricket Team.

The campaign released on 25 November will run throughout summer in Australia across TV, digital, and print.