Anchorage Capital Partners (ACP) has pulled out of the proposed $250 million deal that would have seen ARN and Anchorage acquire SCA, blaming the “decline in trading performance of regional TV”.

SCA told the ASX that the withdrawal was “frustrating”, and it had only been informed about the intention for the proposal to be withdrawn on Saturday 11 May.

In its own statement to the ASX this morning, ARN said it will continue to pursue a deal of some sort, and noted that Anchorage and its advisers completed an extensive review of regional TV as “part of its due diligence”.

“In light of a continued decline in the trading performance of regional TV since the Consortium Proposal was made in October 2023, the further deteriorating outlook for regional TV, and the existing long-term contractual obligation of SCA for outsourced TV broadcast transmission, it does not support ACP’s regional TV investment thesis,” the statement reads.

“As a result, the Consortium must withdraw the Consortium Proposal.”

The withdrawal comes days after the news that regional Victorian organisation Mildura Digital Television will be shut down on 30 June. The decision means that people living in the regional Victorian town will lose access to Channel 10, 10 BOLD, and 10 Peach on free to-air.

See also: ‘Bitterly disappointed’: Mildura to lose access to Channel 10 on free to air

The deal had always been ambitious, and after a quick start, information about the negotiations, and updates on what shareholders could expect, largely stayed behind closed doors.

In December, Mediaweek reported that there was “still much work to be done to get this deal across the line.”

See also: No Boxing Day sale: SCA and ARN reveal “no certainty” that deal will eventuate

ARN will pursue SCA assets

ARN has said it will continue to consider acquiring certain SCA radio assets and combining ARN and SCA digital audio assets, as shareholders from both companies were “both expected to benefit” from the deal.

ARN plans on continuing the conversation with SCA, and has put forward a revised non-binding indicative proposal, called the ARN Indicative Proposal.

Under the ARN Indicative Proposal, ARN would acquire the same radio assets as under the original deal with Anchorage, as well as gain total ownership of the combined digital audio assets of ARN and SCA.

SCA intends to evaluate any formal proposal from ARN, but has listed a number of concerns. 

SCA said the potential for its shareholders to receive cash consideration and reduce their exposure to regional television were key benefits of the previous proposal, which would not be achieved by ARN’s alternative proposal.

The company is also concerned that shareholders would be left holding an interest in two competing media businesses, and that the ARN Indicative Proposal would reduce SCA shareholders’ exposure to digital audio from 100% in SCA to ~36%.

‘Frustrating’: From the Chairs 

SCA chair Heith Mackay-Cruise said:

“Over the past seven months, SCA’s management team and advisers have worked diligently and collaboratively with the Consortium to evaluate the Consortium’s proposal and to enable the Consortium to substantially complete its due diligence. This has required considerable cost and management effort by SCA. It is frustrating that the Consortium has now withdrawn its proposal in circumstances where any potential material concerns should have been identified much earlier in the process.

“I wish to acknowledge that the SCA management team has supported the due diligence process without losing focus on daily business activities. Broadcast advertising markets continue to be challenging, but SCA has grown its share of metro radio and digital audio markets during this year. In addition, our LiSTNR digital audio ecosystem delivered positive EBITDA for the first time in April and is on target to do so for the June quarter.

“We remain open to considering proposals that would deliver fair value and be in the best interests of all SCA shareholders.”

ARN Media chairman, Hamish McLennan said: 

“The requirement to withdraw the Consortium Proposal should not deflect from the significant achievements ARN has delivered this year in a challenging market. We grew total revenue to the end of April, have accelerated our digital audio revenues, regional markets continue to perform strongly, and we are on track to deliver the permanent cost-out reduction target we set ourselves for 2024.

“I firmly believe ARN is the most well-run audio business in Australia, and we are in a position of strength to progress the ARN Indicative Proposal for the benefit of both ARN and SCA shareholders. It would deliver a business of the scale necessary to compete against global platforms. Market restructuring has been talked about for a long time, but the fact remains that today’s regulatory environment is not reflective of the market in which Australian media operates and urgently needs government action”.

Seven’s newly-appointed news boss Anthony de Ceglie wants to integrate The Nightly into Seven’s 6pm bulletins, and make the most of having “the best video in Australia”.

When video is “king”, he tells Mediaweek a few days after being promoted to director of news and current affairs, and editor-in-chief, “that should be an advertiser’s and a marketer’s dream.”

“Looking at legacy media in traditional silos like TV, radio or print is a really antiquated and outdated idea,” he says.

“In 2024, it’s about bringing all of that together into one unified voice across all our assets, especially digital. Right now, for example, everyone agrees that video is king. Well, Seven West Media produces the best video in Australia every single day and night.

“It’s about how we create synergies with that video across broadcast and digital, and when I say digital, I mean everything from our mothership 7news website to our TikTok accounts for certain shows or states or regions. There is no one that can beat us on video creation in the country. And that should be an advertiser’s and a marketer’s dream.”

This is a point he’s been focusing on internally, he says, because “there seems to sort of be a disconnect internally and a disconnect externally about what we do with our video … sometimes the digital video is not talking to the broadcast video and vice versa. And I don’t think we’re talking to the market enough about how we have every single day reams and reams of the best quality video you could ever imagine, the best video in Australia.

“Part of what I’ll do with Seven is ensure The Nightly is even more integrated with the 6pm bulletins, which was always the dream.

“There’s certainly nothing stopping us now. There was nothing stopping us before, but I can certainly fast-track it in the new role.”

As for the main point De Ceglie wants to make to the market: “there’s an excellent team at Seven News already.”

“It’s been number one nationally since 2015. And it’s been number one in the metro area since 2016. Sunrise has been number one for two decades, right? So there is an excellent team here. But what I would like to do is innovate.

“There’s a lot of integration between broadcast and digital that can happen. I’m very big on what can we do differently? How can we think differently to capture new audiences? I think we do a very, very good job of holding on to the audiences that we have. But I’d like to see us probably be a bit bolder and a bit braver to capture new audiences.”

In 12 months, he hopes he’s achieved that, and “Seven West Media is a unified voice humming along with a big picture vision that is all about audiences.”

‘When you get stuck on the small things … that can look petty’

De Ceglie was previously editor-in-chief of Seven’s recently-launched digital newspaper The Nightly, plus The West Australian, The Sunday Times, PerthNow plus its suburban newspapers, and 19 regional newspapers. He says he’s always been focused on experimenting – whether by launching a nightly newspaper for the east coast, produced on the west coast, or a short story competition.

There’s plenty he’s learned from his Western Australia roles that he’ll bring with him to Sydney and apply to the new position, which spans 7NEWS, Sunrise, The Morning Show and 7NEWS Spotlight, and 7NEWS.com.au.

“You need to get the big picture right. And don’t get stuck on the small things. I think when you get stuck on the small things, especially as a leader, that can look petty really quickly, and you can get caught in the weeds.

“Figure out the big picture and have a clear strategic vision. And once you have that, people can people know how to follow. You’ve got to make your messages really simple, but people need to know where you’re heading, and why you’re heading there.”

‘I’m all about the future’: On recent headlines

De Ceglie was announced as Craig McPherson‘s replacement at the end of April, becoming the first major appointment since new CEO Jeff Howard took over from James Warburton on 19 April. McPherson stepped down after Seven’s Spotlight program became embroiled in Bruce Lehrmann‘s failed defamation battle against 10 and Lisa Wilkinson. In the wake of ex-Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach‘s evidence, EP Mark Llewellyn also left the network.

A couple of weeks beforehand, commercial director Bruce McWilliam also departed Seven after two decades.

“The starting point is we actually have a really good team. I cannot speak to the last couple of months, that’s the past, and I’m all about the future,” De Ceglie says of the headlines.

Most recently, veteran director of news Shaun Menegola resigned from Seven Melbourne. Menegola said it was “entirely my decision and one I’ve been thinking about for a long time. It’s not one driven by anything else other than the fact that I’m looking to take a break.”

Menegola will “stick around for quite a while” to give a robust handover, De Ceglie explains. “Anyone who knows Shaun knows that his dedication to the news means he won’t be taking his foot off the pedal at all.

“My gut feeling is there’s an excellent team around Shaun and an excellent team around the country. So there’ll be a lot of internal candidates for that. That’s obviously one of the most plum spots in Seven News. So we’ll run a process and make sure the best person possible takes on the job … we’re not wanting talent, put it that way.”

The Nightly set to ‘shoot the lights out’

The Nightly launched in February to serve the “mainstream middle” and those whose “me time” is in the evenings. At the time of its launch, De Ceglie called it his “baby”. 

In the three months since its launch, De Ceglie is happy with its momentum and results, but says, “it’s only going to get more impressive. The Ipsos ratings for month two should shoot the lights out.

“Our point of view was always that there was in particular, in Sydney and Melbourne, there was an audience for free, quality journalism, free, long form journalism. And all the metrics are telling us that that’s 100% true.”

The vacancy De Ceglie’s promotion has created is currently being filled by Christopher Dore, who has stepped in as acting editor. A permanent appointment is “up in the air in terms of the exact, specific timing.”

“Christopher Dore is one of the great newspaper editors of the modern era, extremely experienced,” De Ceglie says. “I joke to him that I’m handing over an operation that runs like a Ferrari. And so he’s not going to have to do too much around the edges, which means that he can just focus on the journalism which is what Dorey loves more than anything in the world.”

‘Always destined to return to Sydney’

Upon promoting De Ceglie, Howard said De Ceglie’s “innovative mindset will be just what SWM needs as we continue to build a better media business.

“This appointment reflects our ambition to think differently about the future of media in Australia.”

De Ceglie argues that building a better media business, and thinking differently about media, is all about audience retention and attraction: “What I like to do is break the mould as much as I can. And that doesn’t mean giving up on what’s working, it means holding on to that huge, sizable audience that we have and treating it with respect, but at the same time in parallel, saying, ‘Okay, well, how are we going to get other audiences?’

“My role will be supporting the excellent people around me to do really bold, creative, innovative things.”

De Ceglie explains that his “track record hopefully speaks for itself in terms of leadership.”

“I am big on how I lead a team and how I lead a multi-integrated team across different platforms,” he adds.

“It’s kind of funny to see me labeled as a newspaper person, only because really, more than anything, I’m a digital person. But the truth of the matter is that what I am very good at is leading integrated platforms to speak together cohesively.”

While returning to Sydney from Perth was always on the cards, he’s confident this is the right role to bring him back to the east coast.

“I felt like I was always destined to return to Sydney at some point. And I’m really, really proud and honoured and privileged that the role that I’ve come back for is this role, I can’t think of a more exciting, interesting role than this one.”

Thinkerbell and Menulog have teamed up to bring Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef to Australia through an outdoor campaign.

Over the past few weeks, the rap heavyweights have traded blows via diss tracks.

Food and beverage delivery app and platform Menulog has now weighed in with a comical outdoor campaign, featuring a burger beside the text: “More beef than Kendrick and Drake.”

Fiona Bateman, head of brand and media at Menulog, said: “The Menulog brand has always had roots in hip-hop. So we thought we’d have a bit of fun setting the record straight. Drake and Kendrick might be having beef, but Menulog can deliver it to your door.”

The outdoor campaign is now live across oOh!’s premium assets in Sydney and Brisbane and QMS’s signature Flinders Street site in Melbourne.

Sesh Moodley, executive creative Tinker, Thinkerbell, said: “This iconic feud just felt like the perfect opportunity for us to enter the ring and say, point blank, we’ve got beef worth talking about, too.”

Thinkerbell has been on a spree of responsive outdoor work. On 4 May, it launched ‘Hahn Solo’ for Star Wars Day.

Earlier this year, Thinkerbell capitalised on another pop culture moment during the Australian leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour when her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce touched down in Sydney to support the pop megastar.

The creative agency’s out-of-home billboard for Tooheys welcomed Kelce “just in time for the real footy to start”.

Last month, Thinkerbell and Lion launched a mid-autumn campaign for XXXX Summer Bright Lager to highlight the versatility of the brew for any season.

See also: Travis Kelce invited to “real footy” in latest Tooheys work via Thinkerbell

Credits
Client: Menulog
Creative and earned: Thinkerbell
Media: UM
OOH Vendors: oOh! Media + QMS

“My observation of millennials is that they’re absolutely shameless,” Bernard Salt said.

“They had one view for the last 10-15 years, and now they all have another view, driven by pragmatism and need.”

During his keynote at AANA RESET, the renowned futurist, and proprietor of the viral “millennials can’t afford houses because of avocado toast” meme (although, Salt contended this was taken out of context), maintained that despite the prevalent cost of living concerns, Australia remains a wealthy country with strong population growth and export markets, predicting spend will only increase over the next decade.

See also: AANA RESET recap: LEGO, Matildas, Barbie, AB InBev

Speaking to Mediaweek after the keynote, Salt said that his argument is that despite feelings of “doom and gloom” in the current climate, “the reality is that we’re actually a very rich country, and there is every reason to be confident about the future, because of the scale of our export market relative to input.

“We’re selling overseas, we have strong population growth – with this, right or wrong is not the issue; the issue is that that does drive opportunity – and we’ve got a shift in the cohort structure of the population.”

In terms of the latter, Salt described the roughly 6 million millennials aged 25 to 39 who are transitioning from the single and coupled stage of the life cycle into the young parenting stage, exhibiting the aforementioned “shamelessness.”

“When you’ve got a baby, you can live in an apartment in St Kilda and Bondi, and keep it all minimalist and chic,” said Salt.

“The minute a toddler comes into play, your values shift. If you’ve got two kids under the age of four, you do need space. You do need a front garden or backyard, you do need three bedrooms, two bathrooms [and] a ‘zoom room.’”

Salt said he coined the term “zoom room” after casually hearing it from a real estate agent in October 2020, in response to COVID-19.

However, according to Salt, the current fixation marketers have on younger demographics is unsustainable, and the broad-brush assumptions applied to older demographics represents a significant opportunity cost. 

“Growth has broadened. There are deepening pools of spending power that I think marketers need to identify and address. If I can encourage them to think broadly, and in a high altitude way to see the entirety of the market, rather than just go with what we’ve always done in the past…  There are emerging markets elsewhere that I think can give a good return on investment that have been largely ignored, because people couldn’t see them.”

Namely, he believes that while the cornerstone of the young family remains important, “there are emerging markets elsewhere.”

He pointed to the growing pool of spending capacity in the over-55s demographic, many of whom will remain an active group with disposable income for decades to come. Salt said marketers need to adopt a more nuanced and robust approach to segmenting this older market.

“We need to broaden our horizons and offer detailed segmentation to the over 55s,” he said. “I think [marketers] need to be acknowledging them, and targeting them quite separately going forward.”

Looking at the last 50 years in Australian businesses, Salt explained how “it’s been all about the young.”

“But the reality is, there’s going to be a quantum of older people over the age of 55 in the next 10 years, and this means that you need to segment that market.”

Salt summarised existing segmentation as: ages 0-10 are “childhood”, 10-19 “teen”, 20-25 “young”, 25-40 is “partnering”, 40-55 is “peak income”, then “old.”

However, he argued that the latter should rather be characterised as 55-65, “downshift,” 65-79, “the great contentment,” 80-85 “old,” and over 85 as “frail elderly.”

In Salt’s view, these demographic milestones drive consumption behaviour. “They shift but they don’t bounce.”

“I’ve suggested 55 to 65 as being one market – they’re very active, probably still working, still consuming, kids off their hands, mortgage has been paid for. They’ve got a lot of disposable spending at that stage in the life cycle.

“Then 65 through to 79 or so is where grandchildren arrive… Then there is continued travel, wellness and wellbeing [and] maybe medical technologies.”

The simplest change Salt suggested marketers make is to start measuring, monitoring, and segmenting the market over the age of 55.

“There’s an immediacy now that was not there prior to the pandemic. I think that they’re ready and right to spend. They just need to be spoken to the right way and enticed into spending in various ways.”

Even in a post-COVID world, an extra 10% of the workforce (representing 1.4 million workers) are permanently, predominantly continuing work from home. Salt said this is “one of the greatest shifts affected by the pandemic,” as it continues to impact home and technology purchasing decisions.

“I think there’s a remarkable commonality between Australians of today and Darryl Kerrigan of 1997,” he said, referencing the comedy classic, The Castle. 

“In a way, we were still incredibly proud of our homes.

“If more people are working from home, they’re spending four days if not five days a week at home. Then spending on the home, you can rationalise, should be allocated a greater share of wallet, because it’s your work. It’s your rest and recuperation place. It’s your family space.”

He added that “the centre of gravity is shifting from arguably the inner city and the cafe to a [more suburban] ‘lifestyle zone.’”

Salt said that in past censuses, marketers didn’t pay much attention to the work-from-home force, given how minute its number – around 5%. They were forced to take notice around 2021 when the number surged to 21% due to the pandemic.

His prediction for the 2026 census is that “it’ll settle back to 15%.”

“If my prediction is right, Australia will never hear the end of it.”

See also: ‘There is no cutting corners’: Nic Taylor on LEGO’s craft, care, and fandom

–

Top Image: Bernard Salt

Tom Elliott is the 3AW morning show host. Neil Mitchell finished his long run hosting the 3AW morning show late last year. There seemed to only be one candidate for the job. As former drive host Elliott told Mediaweek, he didn’t hesitate to make the move.

In a year that has seen new hosts taking over mornings, afternoon (Tony Moclair) and drive (Jacqui Felgate), the station is depending on Elliott to keep the big breakfast audience. And then keep them engaged enough to stay into the shows that follow.

3AW audience are stayers. The station ranks #1 in Melbourne because people listen longer.

The station noted how well Elliott was performing in the first GfK radio survey of 2024: Elliott was an overwhelming #1 with a share of 16.7% (9.9 points ahead of his Mornings talk competitor) and a commercial streaming share of 28.2%.

Mediaweek visited the station to speak with the new king of morning radio. It might have been late autumn in Melbourne, but Elliott was wearing khaki shorts and his trade top. Something Good Weekend called “a violently ugly Hawaiian shirt”.

See also: Farewell 3AW’s Neil Mitchell: Exit interview with Melbourne’s King of All Media

Tom Elliott said ‘Yes’ immediately to moving to mornings

It was the dumbest negotiation I’ve ever done, I said “Yes” before I even talked about pay or conditions. Once I knew that Neil had decided to step down it was for me the obvious thing to do.

Is the morning audience different?

I’ve met some people who say, “Oh, I can’t listen to you now because I’m at work. I used to be able to listen to you from 5pm to 6pm.” What is interesting we’ve noticed with callers (we have a digital system which means regular callers we know who they are) we are getting in mornings, a lot of them are new callers. Whether that’s just a slightly different audience, I’m not sure, but possibly. I do hear a lot of the people who used to ring regularly on drive now ring me in mornings too.

Has the style of the program changed?

No. One of the things I learned early in radio is you have to be yourself. It’s no good trying to pretend to be someone else. It just won’t work. That was something I worked out years ago when I first took over in drive from Derryn Hinch. I used to think, what would Derryn do what would Derryn say. I thought well I’m not Derryn and I’m not Neil either…I’m me.

Pressure to perform starting at 8.30am

There’s pressure on every show all the time. We just want to be #1. I see the whole 8.30am start a little bit differently to what Neil. He would always construct his show like a newspaper. 8.30am was the equivalent to the front page. My view is people dip in and out of the program throughout their mornings. You want to give them solid things throughout the morning. Not just the first hour or so of the show.

Competition to 3AW mornings…is it the ABC?

Ratings would suggest the ABC is not the competition it used to be. The idea that radio only competes with radio is very old-fashioned. The reality is now that anybody with a smart device has umpteen things they can do. They can sit there scrolling social media. Or watch a movie or a TV show. They can listen to a podcast. Listen to a radio station. The way I describe it is a busy person might have an hour a day to listen to or to watch or to read something. Our competition is to make sure that we are that hour of the day for our audience.

Tom Elliott’s politics

I would say that my politics are varied. I don’t identify specifically with one side of politics or the other. On different issues I have strong views but if you put them all together it’s a mishmash of views.

Do you share who you vote for?

I made that mistake once early in my career and my then program manager pointed out that you instantly alienate half the population if you do that. Our audience pretty much splits 50-50 in their politics between the two major parties. I focus on individual issues. You have to serve it up to all politicians because frankly they’re all equally useless.

Who can be a guest on 3AW mornings?

There are no hard and fast rules. The main rule is that to discuss anything, a) the audience has to be interested, and b) I have to be interested. What you don’t want to do is bore people.

Sometimes he’s still a finance man

I have a financial background going back a long time. It’s quite boring for many people including me! I tend not to spend too much time on that. But state budget day or federal budget day is one day when you might focus on the dollars and cents. We did the state budget for about an hour out of three and a half hours last week.

Tom Elliott’s radio day

I do an hour or so of work each night just checking through things and seeing whether there’s anything that has popped up. Next, I bash off a whole bunch of emails to my producers.

I get up at about 4.50am and walk to work. When I arrive I go through the printed papers and anything online. From 6.45am to 7.15am is our meeting and that’s where everybody pitches ideas and we hammer out what we’re going to do. From 7.15am to 8am we put everything together, get guests and it’s pretty frantic. We also record a promo for the show. Weirdly from 8am to 8.30am is sort of a little respite before the show actually starts. [Which is when Elliott sat down to talk with Mediaweek.]

Tom Elliott’s team

One of Neil’s producers stayed – Michael Hilder. He is now the senior producer and EP of the show. We have two producers who were with me on drive – Jimmy Szabo and Breanna Edebohls. The panel operator is Antonio Gumina. There’s four of them plus me.

Coming this week:
Inside the 3AW engine room. Breakfast with Ross and Russ.

Seven, Nine, and 10 have launched a new advertising campaign this week, urging the federal government to amend its proposed changes to the anti-siphoning Bill. 

With the Bill coming before federal parliament this week, the new “Free Sport Is On The Line” ads are running across print, online, and social media. 

The issue for the commercial free-to-air TV industry is the bill only addresses access to free sport for Australians who watch through an aerial, which represents 61% of people. It does not capture people who access TV content through connected TV apps and mobile devices. 

The industry also wants the government to apply the prominence framework to TV sets already in the market. 

Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer, Jeff Howard, said: “We welcome the government’s plan to keep sports for free on broadcast TV, but it needs to do more: it must recognise the way people watch sport is changing and extend the amendments to the anti-siphoning regime to include free streaming.

“It’s very simple: the new Bill only guarantees free sports for Australians who have an aerial. It does not guarantee people will get free sport if they choose to stream it over the internet or don’t have an aerial. No aerial is going to mean no access to free sport in the future.

“Under the current proposed rules, Australians who don’t use an aerial will not have guaranteed access to free sport. The clock is ticking: as people increasingly use the internet to watch sport, they are going to have to pay unless the government acts now.”

Mike Sneesby, chief executive officer of Nine, added: “Australian audiences need to be able to watch sport for free whenever and however they choose to enjoy it. We need the government to deliver the anti-siphoning framework that ensures we can continue to provide this for all Australians.”

Network 10 president and head of streaming and regional lead, Paramount ANZ, Beverley McGarvey, said: “When Australians go to free-to-air TV, they increasingly don’t even think of an aerial as the gateway, they simply access our channels and content whenever they want, wherever they are and on whatever device they choose.

“It’s no different with the big sports events. Australians’ free access to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix or the Matildas and Socceroos shouldn’t be governed by how they choose to access our channels. They don’t think that way and neither should the government when devising the anti-siphoning and prominence laws for all Australians and their TVs.”

JCDecaux has re-signed its airport advertising contract with Sydney Airport, being reappointed as the exclusive media partner of the site.

JCDecaux will introduce new assets in partnership with award-winning architects Tzannes, particularly within the T1 international terminal. There are also plans to enhance existing assets and introduce new digital large format sites as part of the new Domestic Gateway and the St Peter’s Interchange.

As part of the new partnership, Sydney Airport and JCDecaux will collaborate on new data capabilities, working to give brands the chance to gain deeper audience insights so they can target and convert high-value consumers.

Steve O’Connor, CEO of JCDecaux, said Sydney Airport has set a “bold and ambitious vision” for the future. 

“With passenger numbers expected to grow to over 50 million in the next three years, we are perfectly aligned to deliver the ongoing transformation of their international and domestic passenger experience. Retaining this contract solidifies our position as a leader in premium airport advertising both locally and globally. We can’t wait to continue our partnership and deliver our refreshed and remarkable offering to both Sydney Airport and the market.”

Mark Zaouk, group executive – commercial, Sydney Airport, said the team was “delighted to continue our strong partnership” with JCDecaux, and that the company “share[s] our vision to make Sydney Airport the premier airport media destination in the region.

“Our objectives were to reset our media portfolio and push the boundaries on what airport media could be, beyond traditional out-of-home advertising and into a more holistic suite of media opportunities across partnerships, activations, and sponsorships.”

Jemma Enright, general manager – airports ANZ at JCDecaux, added that the team is “reinventing Sydney Airport for advertisers after extensive consultation with brands.”

“Our focus isn’t just on delivering ads. We have developed more impactful ways to engage with travellers throughout their journey, and a new model to influence them at the right moment with the right experiences, creating meaningful interactions that drive results for brands.”

See Also: Melbourne’s St Kilda Junction becomes home to JCDecaux ICON site

ThinkNewsBrands is addressing misconceptions in market about news media, with the organisation saying ‘news’ is still thought of as print – or at best, print online.

“300 years as an advertising medium makes written news publishing one of the oldest media types we still use today,” Vanessa Lyons, executive general manager of ThinkNewsBrands, told Mediaweek.

“But due to this history, some people still think of it as print, and some agency systems don’t reflect the fact it is now delivered via websites, apps, digital newspaper replicas, social media, activations and partnerships.”

Top media agency executives agreed. Sian Whitnall, co-CEO at OMD, said: “We are still talking about print and the physical printed paper when news is now a much more omni-channel concept.

“If we look at any of our internal system and spend and investment levels it still says print. We need to think about changing labels and change how we think about the medium.”

In March, news publishing was back 13.1% according to Guideline SMI figures: down 22% for newspapers, but up 6.4% for digital. In 2023, ad spend for the category fell 14.4% – both newspapers and digital were down.

Chris Colter, chief strategy and product officer at Initiative, told Mediaweek that media buyers would do better to think of news as a type of content, versus a specific channel. The assumptions around ‘news’ only being print were “not due to misinterpretation, but rather not thinking properly about the concept,” he said.

“I personally see news as content, not a channel,” Colter continued. “I believe there’s a role to better establish that perception at an industry level, whether it’s TV, social, print, blimp or text. What comms planners should be thinking about when it comes to news is the contextual halo it delivers, not the distribution vehicle.”

To tackle these assumptions in the market, ThinkNewsBrands said one of its core focus areas is educating advertisers and their agencies about the power of news publishing. Lyons said this includes how diverse it is as a modern media channel, from both a content and format perspective. 

“To that end, we’ve renamed written news as a media type to Total News Publishing, so it more accurately describes news across all formats.

We also speak at media events, release reports, and write often in industry publications.”

Lyons gratefully pointed out that the “tide is turning”, with awareness of Total News Publishing more than 20% greater among agency staff than it was six months ago.

“That number is even stronger at the senior agency level.

“Over the rest of the year, we’re going to be ramping up our direct engagement with media agency staff to really blow these misconceptions out of the water.”

See Also: Vanessa Lyons: Contextual advertising and total news publishing are the perfect match

66% of Australians believe our nation is polarised and 61% want brands to stay away from social and political issues, according to part one of ‘The Good Study 2024’, a report from advertising agency Leo Burnett in partnership with UTS Business School and Zenith Australia.

This reality makes it difficult for brands to navigate making a positive impact on the world, while reflecting evolving consumer expectations.

According to Adam Ballesty – previously Domino’s CMO, Diageo’s marketing and innovation director, and most recently head of the brand and marketing transformation project at Crown Resorts –  the salient takeaway from the report is that “there is a big opportunity for brands and still lots of work to do.” 

“The desire is there, brands just need to translate it,” he tells Mediaweek.

The biggest mistake marketers are making, Ballesty says, is opportunistic do-gooding; when “it intuitively doesn’t fit in with their brand ‘reason to exist.’

“The secret sauce is so easy. It’s either real and part of who you are and why you exist, or it’s not. And when it’s not, the pile on is swift.”

The Good Study, which was first launched in 2022, showed that Australians agree it’s important for brands to do some form of good in the world (96% compared to 88% in 2022). However, only 39% believe brands should take a position on social and political issues.  

Ballesty gives the example of when he worked at Domino’s, “I would see a brand ‘doing good’ time and time again, and most of the time it wasn’t about grabbing headlines. One of Domino’s core values is ‘doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do’. We would see this play out in stores week in and week out.

“The franchisees are an incredibly powerful part of their local community. I have so many examples of a franchisee going over and above in a time of need. Examples like taking a boat to deliver pizzas to frontline workers during floods and road closures. I could go on and on here, but you get the picture.”

At the same time, he notes, “there’s still a big disconnect between intention and action when it’s not convenient.

“86% of consumers see themselves as ‘good’. If this is true, how are takeaway coffee cups still a thing in this country?”

Catherine King

Leo Burnett Australia’s chief strategy officer, Catherine King, who authored the report, explains to Mediaweek that the study reveals: “brand good isn’t just an expectation but an accelerant and stands to be a significant growth engine if it aligns with your brand essence and business behaviours.

“The Good Study shows that although 63% of Australians think we’re polarised, there’s still a lot that we have in common. We want businesses to be financially fair, responsible, and equitable, and 83% want acts that unite us.”

In King’s view, the main issue most marketers are facing is “lacking strategy.” 

“The Good Study shows that ‘good’ means different things to different people. As marketers, we need to know what our brands stand for, who they serve and not treat this like a trending topic to opportunistically leverage for attention.”

A strong example of a ‘do good’ brand in King’s opinion is STUFF – a personal care brand built around an alternative, sustainable funding model “to support the work and workshops of ManCave in redefining masculinity for young Aussie guys.”

“This brand is a masterclass in doing good at a time when we’ve never needed it more,” she says. 

“I can’t wait to see the work that [they] will do.”

–

Top image: Adam Ballesty

Network 10 and the NBL have signed a new broadcast deal that will see the league return to a free-to-air main channel for the first time in a decade.

The Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League (NBL) will be live and free on 10 and 10 Play when the season tips off later in the year. Fans can watch from 2:30pm each Sunday, broadcast on 10 and simulcast on 10 Play. 

NBL CEO, David Stevenson, said: “We want to thank Network 10 for having the loyalty and faith in the NBL to put our League on a main free-to-air channel, helping solidify our standing as a major player in the sporting landscape.”

This season, the NBL had 40 sell-out games, more than 1 million fans attending games for the first time in the League’s history, and crowds rising by 11%, with Stevenson expecting that audience to keep increasing. The grand final series saw the Tasmania JackJumpers beat the odds to take down Melbourne United.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the National Basketball League which ensures that all the action, excitement and fierce competition of the League will be broadcast on Network 10,” Adam Cush, sport production director, Paramount Australia and New Zealand, said.

“Ensuring broad reach on free-to-air, we are committed to showcasing the sport in innovative ways and exposing it to a plethora of programming opportunities across all our platforms.”

Last season, KOJO partnered with the NBL to develop and deliver a brand platform and marketing campaign for the 2023-24 season. 

The appointment marked the agency’s first entry into the rights holder space for brand and marketing services, building on long-term partnerships in sports presentation with rights holders across many codes.

See also: KOJO partners with the NBL for the 2023-24 season campaign

After three and a half years as Mamamia’s head of podcasts, Elissa Ratliff, will be departing the business. 

“I’ve made the hard decision not to return post maternity leave,” Ratliff wrote on LinkedIn.

“My family and I are about to relocate out of Sydney and I’m embarking on a career change, returning to university to get some new skills. While I’m studying I’ll also be freelancing and working on projects big and small.”

Ratliff joined Mamamia in 2012, with a brief break at the company from 2019 to 2020, when she worked at Seven West Media’s Pacific Magazines and the ABC. 

Upon returning to the company, Ratliff took on the head of podcasts and, eventually, deputy editorial director roles. In her time with the podcasting department, Ratliff oversaw the launch of over 20 new shows.

The Mamamia podcast network includes titles such as Out Loud, No Filter, Cancelled, The Baby Bubble, Nothing To Wear, and You Beauty.

On Thursday, Mamamia introduced Sam to the market – a dynamic AI-powered voice trained on hundreds of hours of Mamamia podcasts. Sam will work to unlock programmatic audio advertising across the Mamamia network, with close to real-time turnarounds.

Jessie-Lee Klass, podcasts content director, said that while AI is at the core of the Sam voice, human oversight remains imperative to ensure high quality standards. 

“Sam frees up our talented creators and producers to focus on what they do best – crafting brilliant content and working on more bespoke integrations for our partners.

See also: Mamamia introduces Sam, AI voice to boost brand messaging

Natalie Harvey was also named the media company’s chief executive officer this week, four months after she joined the independent women’s media group in January.

She joined the company as chief revenue officer and will step up as CEO on 1 June, taking over from co-founder and CEO Jason Lavigne, who will shift into the role of executive chair.

See Also: Mamamia promotes Natalie Harvey to CEO

Enigma has appointed Ren Frise as executive director of digital, data, and technology at the independent agency.

He brings more than 19 years of experience in marketing communications, digital transformation projects, strategy, and implementation to the role.

Frise has also worked across FMCG firms, luxury and cosmetics industries, education, and various agencies.

He joins from his most recent role as director of digital and technology at The General Store. Prior to that, he was the head of digital at Primo Foods and the social media manager and strategist at Hello Social Australia.

“Ren’s depth of experience and passion as a true digital leader has been invaluable in helping to define our approach forward,” Lisa Sutton Gardner, Enigma founder, said.

“Our full service offering needs continued investment and expansion so we can continue to have the depth of talent and the specialist skills needed to tackle clients problems from every angle. We’re excited to see the journey ahead with Ren and the team he is building, and the value it will deliver to our clients.”

In his new role, Frise will sit on the agency’s management team, and be responsible for driving the digital and technology business and spearheading Enigma’s digital acceleration. He will lead a team of digital and technology specialists, establish a centre of digital excellence, mentor emerging talents, and enhance Enigma’s profile within the industry and among clients in Australia.

 “At Enigma, our strength lies in our diverse group of specialists,” Frise said.

“Our focus with the new digital, data, and technology offering is to sharpen and connect these skills, driving ‘connected creativity’ to create outstanding work.

“Our approach to digital, data and technology is strategically developed, ensuring it makes a tangible difference in our clients’ businesses. With a completely revamped tech and tool stack, we’re ready to introduce our novel digital product. I’m excited to start working with existing and new clients and help position Enigma as a prominent name in the technology-driven creative and advertising industry in Australia.”

Enigma said it will unveil its next-generation digital service offering in July, developed over recent months through industry research and collaboration with AI experts and software vendors.

The agency’s new digital offering focuses on multiple key pillars: Experience through UX/UI and interaction design, Data and Technology through measurement, Media Mix Modelling (MMM), data visualisation, and martech, and Performance through E-commerce, performance marketing, and SEO.

Its other key focuses are Social Media, and Creative Technology and Innovation.

Enigma added it is developing an AI tool stack that will transform practical insights into strategies for clients, reflecting the agency’s mantra of “real insights, real connections, real impact.”

–

Top image: Ren Frise

Data released by Commercial Radio and Audio (CRA) has shown that radio is holding “relatively steady” despite a challenging market, with metro ad revenue down 5.8% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to Q1 2023.

The total broadcast radio ad revenue for the first quarter across the five major metropolitan markets was $146.75 million, compared to $155.83 million in Q1 2023.

Jo Dick, chief commercial officer of CRA, said that while the media market has been tough for some time now, she is pleased that radio is still remaining “relatively steady.”

“Radio remains the best return on investment when budgets are tight and that is why we are still faring well compared to other media.

“We remain positive about the year ahead, as agencies will continue to rely on radio to get the most from their investment, as the reliable, effective, and affordable choice.”

She added that it was “pleasing” to see spending in categories such as automotive and government returning, and that CRA expects to see this trend continue as the country heads towards an election period.

Dick is currently caretaking the CRA CEO role whilst the Board undertakes a search for a new CEO.

Last month, Ford Ennals, announced his resignation effective immediately. The departure of Ennals came on the day of a board meeting for the radio industry organisation. 

Before taking the CRA job, Ennals was the founding CEO of Digital UK and was later CEO of Digital Radio UK.

The metropolitan radio broadcast ad revenue results exclude digital audio streaming and podcast revenue, however digital revenue continues to show strong growth.

According to the OAER report compiled by PwC and released by IAB Australia, Australia’s online audio advertising market increased by 21% year on year to $265.8 million in 2023.

“Last year digital audio and podcasting were among the fastest growing areas of the digital advertising ecosystem, and we are seeing this trend continuing into 2024,” said Dick.

The quarterly broadcast radio ad revenue figures were compiled by Milton Data for CRA.

See Also: Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) searching for new CEO after Ford Enalls quits

Modibodi has partnered with TBWA Group’s Fabric to create a new brand platform that encourages women to ‘Fear Not’ their periods, or period underwear. 

Modibodi’s product range is designed to look and feel like your favourite underwear, swimwear and activewear, but features patented build-in leak protection technology. 

Created by Fabric, the new brand direction aims to position Modibodi as an aspirational lifestyle brand, designed to drive mass appeal amongst its next wave of customers. First expressed through communications, it will inform the next chapter of Modibodi’s product innovation, distribution, and brand experience.

Crafted for Gen Z audiences and Alpha audiences, the new direction recognises this cohort is environmentally engaged yet seduced by the new and now – not only in fashion, but in life experiences.

Keenan Motto, co-founder and creative partner of Fabric, said: “We wanted to portray women with the contagious confidence they get from wearing Modibodi with a fearless attitude.

“In this launch campaign, we land the spirit of ‘Fear Not’ by showing how Modibodi helps you overcome the most fear-stricken period situations, while tackling head on the barrier to product purchase for this generation. Whether it’s fear of wearing white, leaking on sheets, being active or having VPLs; Modibodi is here to keep you safe from leaks so you can get back to living fearlessly.”

Justine Cusack, marketing director of Modibodi, added: “Today, Modibodi exists in a significantly evolved cultural and category context from the one we disrupted.

“Period underwear has seen widescale adoption and our evolved position reflects our vision for the future, which stretches beyond functional hygiene. We are excited to portray women rewriting universally experienced moments in a way that matches the sense of confidence our product brings to our customers.”

The campaign launched on 6 May in Australia and the UK, and will roll out across rail and transit OOH, BVOD, paid social, influencer, and brand partner collaborations.

Credits:

Client: Modibodi

Executive Director: Kerry Cusack
Marketing Director: Justine Cusack
Head of Creative Content: Sarah Walters
Brand Manager: Caitlin Lilley
Social Lead: Aimee Chappell
Brand Coordinator: Courtney Spicer

Creative agency: Fabric – part of the TBWA/Sydney Group

Senior Strategist: Renata Yannoulis
Creative Directors: Madelin Fuller and Archie Murugaser
Creative Partner: Keenan Motto
Managing Partner: Gemma Rees
Business Director: Lauren Black

Photographer: Simon Lekias

Prime Video has appointed Usman Khawaja as the official ambassador for its exclusive live broadcast of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. 

Khawaja will provide Prime members and cricket fans with insight and analysis of the tournament on Prime Video’s social pages during key matches and also star in Prime Video’s advertisement campaign which will launch nationally on 18 May.

Commencing on 1 June internationally and 2 June for Australian fans, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be hosted by the United States for the first time.

Australia is coming into the tournament as favourites and will be looking to become the first team to hold all three Men’s ICC trophies simultaneously, after winning the World Test Championship and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023. 

The Super Eight will start on 20 June, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champions of 2024 will be crowned on 30 June in Barbados. 

Khawaja said: “I am very excited to be working with the team at Prime Video, for the ICC Men’sT20 World Cup this year.

“As a sports fanatic, I can’t wait to see the United States host the T20 World Cup Cricket for the very first time. Cricket is on like it never has been before. You’ve got one of the biggest sporting rivalries in the world with Pakistan and India taking place in the group stages, and our Aussies are shaping up extremely well. It is set to be a massive month of cricket and I can’t wait to watch all of it live and exclusively on Prime Video.”

Prime Video is also offering customers new features like an in-game language selector and ‘Rapid Recap.’ Rapid Recap assists those who join the game in progress and want to catch up on the action they missed before entering the live stream. Rapid Recap uses machine learning to compile big plays into a short two-minute highlights package for viewers. While viewing the rundown, viewers can either skip or rewatch big plays within the quite and jump to live at any time.

Hushidar Kharas, head of Prime Video Australia and New Zealand, said: “World Cup Cricket is one of the world’s most watched sporting events, and we are thrilled to be able to give Prime members exclusive coverage of the biggest names in cricket fighting for the biggest prize in T20 live matches and on any device on Prime Video.”

Prime Video exclusively holds the live Australian broadcast rights for ICC cricket events for the next four years. Cricket fans across Australia will have exclusive access to all matches in every tournament of ICC competition, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Dineamic, the ready-made meal company, has teamed up with Bullfrog to launch a full brand repositioning.

The new brand identity and philosophy spans packaging, the path to purchase, and an integrated launch campaign.

Elle Bullen, creative partner at Bullfrog, said: “Way too many ads in the ready-made meal sector are a bit grim – hammering weight loss messages or trying to sell the idea of a fully-fledged pub meal that comes in a box.

“So, when we had the chance to work with a company like Dineamic that’s purpose-led and has a product that’s not just passable, but actually bloody delicious, it was a no-brainer. We’re proud to have added a little flavour to a very functional category.”

Dineamic appointed the agency to create a holistic brand solution to help drive the company’s multi-channel growth, including direct to consumer, major grocery partners, and its flagship stores in Melbourne.

Belinda Groves, head of marketing and sales at Dineamic, said: “We operate in a category that’s taught people they have to sacrifice flavour and quality in exchange for convenience. The good news is, that’s not true. Our meals are proof that you can enjoy good, honest food – fast, and it’s time our brand reflected that.

“Made Honest was born out of a belief that honest just tastes better, and that authentic perspective now informs how our brand shows up across the board. From a straight-shooting tone of voice to an unapologetically fresh colour palette, we’ve never felt more like us.”

The agency and client will continue to work together to implement the platform, with new product launches and partnerships to be announced in the coming months.

This work comes after Bullfrog launched a campaign for the pioneering osteoarthritis medication, Epijoint, earlier this year.

See also: Bullfrog debuts ‘Move How You Feel’ campaign for Epijoint

Credits:

Branding, strategy, and creative: Bullfrog
Production: Guilty
Director and photographer: Christopher Tovo
Sound: Gusto Studios
Styling: Peta Gray

This May and June, Man of Many and The Whisky List are debuting Sydney Whisky Month, building upon the popular Sydney Whisky Week. 

Man of Many is extending the festivities to an entire month, inviting whisky aficionados to indulge in a celebration spanning across Sydney’s top venues.

The move is part of Man of Many’s broader strategy to host larger events following its partnership with NBC Universal to stage the Sydney premiere of Argylle.

The festivities commence on 18 May at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney. Over 450 attendees will have the opportunity to sample over 100 international whiskies in a setting featuring live music, food trucks, and a specialty whisky bar. The event will also include a pop-up bottle shop and a rare whisky bar. 

Frank Arthur, Man of Many’s co-founder, said: “These enhanced, month-long festivities are not just about tasting exceptional whisky; they’re about deeply engaging with the culture surrounding this storied spirit. Our goal is to create a vibrant, content-rich experience that resonates with both new enthusiasts and seasoned connoisseurs.”

From 20 May to 25 May, Grain Bar will showcase Glen Moray’s pioneering ‘Explorer Range’, including two Sydney Whisky Month-exclusive whiskies that demonstrate the brand’s innovative spirit.

From 28 May to 2 June at Hickson House, the publisher will host Stauning, the renowned Danish distillery. The highlight will be ‘Rye & Records,’ a dinner event blending Danish whisky tasting with classic vinyl tunes on 29 May.

Scheduled from 4 June to 8 June at Eau De Vie Sydney, Angel’s Envy Bourbon will be featured, celebrated for its distinctive port barrel finishing. The week peaks with a Finishing Dinner on 5 June, offering a bespoke dining experience that complements the complex flavours of the bourbon.

Man of Many will leverage a multimedia approach to promote Sydney Whisky Month. This includes a bespoke app developed by The Whisky List to guide attendees through events, an array of social media activities across platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and strategic content creation. 

Tickets are available here.

Zitcha and US-based Venvee have joined forces to close the loop on in-store retail media measurement with a partnership that the businesses said will empower retailers and brand advertisers to create more targeted ad campaigns.

The partnership will give retailers and brands an actual view of the impact of digital screen advertising in premise. 

With omnichannel retail media predicted to be worth USD$60 billion globally by the end of 2024, in-store sales account for 90% of all sales worldwide.

Troy Townsed, Zitcha CEO, said: “The collaboration with Venvee is a major advance for in-store retail media, representing a significant milestone in Zitcha’s digital screen ad solution. It closes the loop on reporting the impact and effectiveness of in-store advertising, which has traditionally been harder to evaluate than onsite and offsite retail media activity.

“Retailers and advertisers needed a solution to create targeted and measurable in-store advertising campaigns. With Venvee’s technology integrated into our platform, they now have it, including the capability to better evaluate the performance of their ads, seamlessly integrate data into their omnichannel strategies and optimise their campaigns.”

Venvee stated that with the integration of its rich shopper journey data and Zitcha’s sales and conversion data, advertisers will have a clearer understanding on the return of their digital advertising spend to make more informed investment decisions. 

“With the combination of Zitcha’s planning, activation, and online measurement, and Venvee’s in store audience generation and measurement, retailers can now have an out of the box retail media product without a digital dependence,” James Bauer, CEO, Venvee, added.

“This enables an entirely new market of retailers to serve their brands in a way that is functional at any scale.”

Zitcha’s partnership with Venvee follows its partnership with Broadsign which allows brand advertising partners to simply view inventory availability, book campaigns, and review campaign performance on in-store digital networks.

Greenpeace has teamed up with Photoplay director Dropbear to release an animated campaign that spreads awareness about Australia’s hidden deforestation crisis, and pulls on the heartstrings of Australians who care about native animals and the environment.

The Fight For Our Forests campaign draws attention to the millions of native animals that are killed each year as a result of forest and bushland being bulldozed in Australia. It centres on a koala and its joey, illustrating the direct impact of land clearing on their home.
 
Dropbear used 3D-printed, hand-crafted, stop-motion animation to draw attention to the plight of the native animals.

The film begins with an introduction to the koalas’ bush teeming with life, before portraying the intrusion of bulldozers and the ruthless methods employed to fell trees. Finally, the film depicts the brutal aftermath of this destruction.

To create the animation within a short production schedule, a replacement animation technique was adopted. This involved Dropbear working with 3D animator Duncan MacDonald, who modelled and built the animal characters using CGI.

Once the animated sequences were approved, each frame was 3D printed and hand painted – there were 77 individual 3D printed models used in the production. Each 3D printed model represented an individual frame of animation that was then shot on set using stop motion animation.
 
All the sets were hand crafted using traditional model making techniques and then brought to life using different lighting states and special effects such as haze. Cinematographer Ceaser Salmeron shot the spot with a probe lens to lend a sense of real-world scale to the models and sets.
 
According to Dropbear, the decision to use miniatures gave the film a tangible, hand-crafted quality, fostering a deeper emotional connection with audiences. It also allowed for shots and sequences that would be otherwise unattainable in a live-action format.
 
“For a craft director, this project ticked many boxes and I’m very proud of the visuals that were created in such a short amount of time. The production values of this film are extremely high and I’m so thankful for all the crafts people and artists who contributed to the production to make my vision a reality.
 
“I’m also very grateful to the team at Greenpeace for trusting me with their campaign and giving me the creative freedom to make something that I hope motivates and engages audiences to take action to protect our natural heritage.”

Recent work involving Photoplay includes Thinkerbell’s second instalment of ‘I Saw it on BINGE’ and Revlon’s festive campaign via Emotive.

Credits:

Client: Greenpeace
Creative Producer (Greenpeace): Bianca Vitale
 
Production Company: Photoplay
Executive Producer: Oliver Lawrance
Director: Dropbear
Cinematographer: Ceasar Salmeron
 
Music & Sound Post: Sonar Music
Original Composition: Jackson Milas
Sound Design: Andy Stewart
 
Additional SFX Editing: Joel Dias
3D Animator: Duncan Macdonald
3D Printer: Bob K Shea
 
Set Builders: Seamus Spilsbury & Peter Hanrahan
Model Painters: Peter Hanrahan & Jonathan Chong
 
Stop Motion Animation: Jonathan Chong & Cesar Salmeron
Post Production: Dropbear Digital

ThinkNewsBrands has been named as the prime media partner for the CMO ANZ Summit in 2024, to be held on the Gold Coast on 8 and 9 August.

The event is an invitation-only forum bringing together marketing executives, agencies, and solution providers from around the country.

The programme features keynote presentations, case studies, and interactive forums on key marketing challenges, market developments, and ideas and strategies adopted by successful pioneers.

The cast of speakers and presenters includes CMOs from Telstra, Allianz, AstraZeneca, EY, Virgin Australia, The Iconic, Taco Bell, and IBM ANZ.

Nine Entertainment chief marketing officer Liana Dubois and head of Prime Video ANZ at Prime Video and Amazon Studios Hushidar Kharas will also feature. 

ThinkNewsBrands CEO Vanessa Lyons will moderate several sessions, and provide insights as both a former CMO across several industries and current CEO within the news publishing media landscape.

“ThinkNewsBrands is proud to represent news media and be the major media partner at this year’s CMO ANZ Summit,” Lyons said. “With all the marketing talent that will be present it’s bound to be an amazing event.”

As part of the Mediaweek Next of the Best Awards on 13 June at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom, Mediaweek has also partnered with ThinkNewsBrands to introduce a new accolade that will highlight the best use of news publishing media.

The campaign-based award, Best Use of News Publishing, has been made to give media agencies, creative agencies, brands/advertisers, and publishers a platform to highlight and reward the tremendous campaigns in news publishing from the last 12 months.

More information on the CMO Summit can be found here.

See also:
Next of the Best: Mediaweek and ThinkNewsBrands partner for new award
Mediaweek is proud to announce the finalists for the 2024 Next of the Best Awards
Vanessa Lyons: Contextual advertising and total news publishing are the perfect match

Beau Ryan returns to host The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition, which is coming soon to 10 and 10 Play. 

The new celebrity lineup includes: 

• Ian Thorpe & Christian Miranda – childhood mates
• Natalie Bassingthwaighte & Melinda Sheldrick – sisters
• Chloe Logarzo & Emily Gielnik – Matildas teammates
• Pete Helliar & Bridget Helliar – married
• Jett Kenny & Lily Brown – couple
• Luke McGregor & Julie McGregor – son and mother
• Billy Brownless & Oscar Brownless – father and son
• Cyrell Paule & Eden Dally – couple
• Havana Brown & Stephanie Wood – best friends
• Brooke McClymont & Adam Eckersley – married country singers
• Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa & Logan Tuivasa – brothers

Australia’s favourite comedians, musicians, reality stars, and sporting legends are ready to put themselves to the ultimate test as they travel the globe facing pit stops, detours and road blocks, all in the hopes of winning $100,000 for their chosen charity. 

The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition in 2023 saw the series end with three pairs of winners.

Established race leaders throughout the season, Darren McMullen and nephew Tristan Dougan, saw host Beau Ryan at the Pit Stop first but refused to step on the mat. Instead, they chose to wait until the other two teams had arrived so they could jump together and share the $100,000 across three worthy charities.

The other teams included Emma Watkins and sister Hayley and Alli and Angie Simpson.

The final leg of the race took place in the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur. Here, the contestants were tested on the skills that they’d perfected throughout the race.

2023’s Contestants included:

• Grant and Chezzi Denyer
• Jana and Cornelis Pittman
• Rebecca and Kate Judd
• Emma Watkins and her sister Hayley
• Ben Gillies and Jackie Gillies
• Darren McMullen and his nephew Tristan
• Alli Simpson and her mum Angie
• Harry Jowsey and Teddy Briggs
• Peter Rowsthorn and Dane Simpson
• George Mladenov and his sister Pam

The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition is coming soon to 10 and 10 Play.

TV Report 12 May 2024:

Nine TV Report

The Summit

Nine’s evening began with the premiere of the second season of The Summit.

Host Jai Courtney sent 14 Australians from all walks of life to haul one million dollars to the top of the mountain, all in a bid to win the million-dollar prize money.

Among the cast are ex-NRL champ Mat Rogers, actresses Olympia Valance and Simmone Jade Mackinnon and ex-Bardot singer Tiffani Wood.

NRL – Titans v Cowboys

The Titans v Cowboys game on Nine saw the Titans dominate, winning the game 20-18 at Cbus Super Stadium in the Gold Coast.

Seven TV Report

Farmer Wants a Wife

On Seven, Farmer Wants A Wife saw Farmer Tom find his forever after. 

The last chapter of the youngest farmer’s search for love began with Tom meeting the families of his final two ladies.

He was grilled by Sarah C’s parents and best friend at their family home in Western Australia, following which her dad said Tom seemed like a “pretty decent bloke”.

After being swept away, it was time for Farmer Tom to make his momentous decision: his heart belonged with Sarah C.

Tom said: “It has been an honour having you around the farm. I’ve absolutely loved every moment of it. Sarah, you are the person that I want a relationship with, and I am falling in love with you.”

Thrilled, Sarah C acknowledged she was “excited to move back to the farm and have you all to myself” before declaring “I do love you.”

“I love you too,” Tom replied.

7NEWS Spotlight

The program looked into screen addiction shrinking young brains and also looked at the different methods that are getting results. 

10 TV Report

The Sunday Project

The Sunday Project looked into what’s behind the Aurora Australis, drama at the Eurovision final and spoke to Jessie & Clare Stephens. 

MasterChef Australia

On 10’s MasterChef Australia, it was a two-round elimination as the contestants’ palettes were challenged with the classic One-Inch cube taste test, which saw six favourites cook for their spot in the competition. 

ABC

Call the Midwife

A pregnant mother with a chronic heart condition falls unwell and Nancy grew suspicious of a young father’s erratic behaviour.  

SBS

Eurovision 2024

SBS aired the grand final of the Eurovision 2024 Song Contest as Nemo from Switzerland took home the trophy for their performance of their song, The Code.