Independent creative agency Howatson+Company has created a new creative leadership structure, promoting executive creative directors Gavin Chimes and Richard Shaw to chief creative officer and deputy chief creative officer, respectively.

This marks the first appointment to the CCO position since Levi Slavin resigned in January 2023 after a year in the job to co-found The Ironclad Pan Company in New Zealand.

Chimes is a founding team member of Howatson+Company, joining the agency at its inception in 2021. He has since been ranked the #6 ECD globally at D&AD, named Australian Creative of the Year, and won over 100 awards, including multiple Grand Prix, Golds, and Yellow Pencils for campaigns such as Matilda Bay Rejected Ales, Maurice Blackburn Exhibit A-i, 10PM Bedverts, Modibodi I’m Dying Inside, Belong Book of Limbo, and Mastercard’s TOUCH.

Before Howatson+Company, Chimes worked with co-founder Chris Howatson at CHE Proximity, and spent time at Clemenger BBDO, Marcel, and Droga5, creating work including Tiger Beer Air-Ink, The Lion’s Share, NRMA First Saturday, Sloways, and Samsung Microcodes.

“Gav’s promotion is in recognition of his leadership and creative excellence, but most especially his tenacity in always seeking the best outcome for our clients. No brief is too small. No objective too challenging,” said Howatson.

“Gav is a true believer of effectiveness as the strategy, creativity as the solution. I’m very proud to have him lead the creative product of our fabulous  agency as CCO.”

Shaw joined Howatson+Company in 2022 as executive creative director from CHEP, where he led Samsung. Prior to CHEP, Shaw worked across a portfolio of clients at agencies including Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, TBWA, and DDB.

“Similarly, Rich’s promotion is in recognition of his uncompromising commitment to our clients with creativity always as the answer,” Howatson continued.

“He is a calm, guiding hand, regardless how complex the conditions. And an exceptional people leader. I couldn’t be more proud of Gav and Rich and confident in our future.”

Chimes and Shaw commented: “It’s been a privilege helping build something extraordinary over the last few years. Yet it’s only the start. We look forward to continuing H+Co’s trajectory, working with wonderful  people and clients to make the best work in the world.”

Howatson+Company has been named Independent Agency of the Year at shows including D&AD, Cannes (Good), Spikes, ANDYs, and LIA. Recently, the agency was one of eight in the world to make the 2024 Contagious Pioneers list.

The promotions follow a string of recent work for the agency, including its latest campaign for Qantas, the official airline and partner of the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams, Already Proud. It also launched the creative campaign behind Cover-More Travel Insurance’s brand refresh.

See also:
Qantas and Howatson+Co debut ‘Already Proud’ Olympics film
Cover-More refreshes brand with Principals, Howatson+Company

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Top image: Gavin Chimes and Richard Shaw 

As the government’s proposed ban on gambling advertising looms, TV networks are proposing that spectrum fees be cut to offset the losses from major betting companies pre-emptively pulling their advertising spend.

The AFR reports that this loss is as big as $40 million.

Whilst the details of the ban haven’t been finalised, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has reportedly put forward a proposal that would see betting ads unable to air on TV, radio, and catch-up platforms an hour before and after live sport broadcasts.

The proposal also reportedly includes a cap of two ads per hour on FTA until 10pm, and a total ban on gambling ads on digital platforms and social media.

A spokesperson for Rowland said the government was “firmly committed to minimising harms from online wagering.”

“The government continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the recommendations from the online wagering inquiry as we formulate our response.”

This is a departure from the original proposal, put forward last year by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, who led a review that ultimately recommended rolling out a total ban on gambling ads over a three year period. 

In response to the changes, Independent senator David Pocock accused the government of putting forward a “watered down policy to appease the gambling industry,” adding that the current proposal was “a total cop out and betrayal of the late Peta Murphy’s legacy.” 

“Find some courage and end this harm,” Pocock wrote on social media.

When the concept of a total gambling ad ban was originally put forward, Bridget Fair, Free TV CEO, said it was “based on a fundamentally flawed premise that the advertising market is some kind of magic pudding. But reductions in advertising revenue in the current economic and competitive environment can only result in less funding for Australian content.”

See also: Bridget Fair: Gambling ad ban would “hurt viewers and the television services they love”

Australians spend the most in the world, per capita, on legal forms of gambling, losing $25 billion every year. Australians also lose the most money to online gambling, per capita, in the world.

On Thursday and Friday last week, the government held meetings with representatives from major sporting codes, media owners,  and betting companies. The AFR reports that Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media, Paramount, and Free TV were involved, as well as Sportsbet, Entain, Tabcorp, Responsible Wagering Australia, the NRL, and the AFL.

Representatives from each company have a week to make their cases before the proposal is finalised. 

HAVAS Group has appointed Richard Clarke as its local chief growth and client officer.

Clarke will make the move from HAVAS UK, where he spent more than four years at HAVAS Red, most recently as managing director at its London office. During his tenure, Clarke helped drive growth that saw the agency triple in size.

Prior to his role at HAVAS Red, Clarke was a senior partner at Ogilvy UK.

Clarke will report to James Wright, group CEO of HAVAS Creative Network ANZ and global chair of HAVAS PR Network. In the new role, he will collaborate with the HAVAS Australia leadership team on growth initiatives, new business, and developing new service propositions, while also working closely with village client teams.

“Richard did an unprecedented job growing the HAVAS Red UK business during his time there, as well as building phenomenal relationships with creative, media, digital and health teams across the HAVAS Village in London,” Wright said.

“He is an excellent operator, brilliant with clients and naturally brings agencies and teams together.”

Clarke has worked across sectors including luxury, retail, travel, consumer tech, FMCG, and non-profit. During his career, he managed the NHS Missing Type blood donation campaign, which PRWeek named Campaign of the Decade, and contributed to HAVAS Red being named EMEA Regional Midsize Agency of the Year earlier this year.

“I am delighted and privileged to have been given the opportunity to move within HAVAS to Australia,” commented Clarke.

“We have a world class roster of agencies, talent, clients and opportunity and am already blown away by the incredible energy and ambition there is within the HAVAS Village Australia.

“I am looking forward to working with outstanding leaders like James and the senior management teams and forge the next chapter of growth for the Group.”

Clarke’s appointment follows Havas Media’s acquisition of media agency and creative production company Hotglue last week, which it said will power its growth ambitions.

See also: Havas Media acquires indie agency Hotglue

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Top image: James Wright and Richard Clarke

TBWA New Zealand became one of the first creative agencies to successfully bring to life a viable, product-positive solution for child online safety with the marketing approach that launched Good Tings, which has also driven a 35% jump in sales for the client. Now, the agency wants brands to step up and do more to protect kids online.

Developed for New Zealand telco provider 2degrees, Good Tings is the world’s first first-phone safety program. From Grime raps to sticker bomb collections, the program and surrounding campaign efforts are designed to make establishing healthy phone habits genuinely appealing to its young audience, all while bridging the communication gap between child and guardian.

Speaking with Mediaweek, TBWA\NZ chief executive Catherine Harris and chief creative officer Shane Bradnick report that not only has the second drop of boxes just been issued for restock, but the program has now been incorporated into New Zealand schools as part of the syllabus.

Yet when it comes to online safety, Harris believes that while discussions on the topic are prevalent, tangible actions from brands and advertisers are lacking.

“We see a lot of it in terms of conversation. But we’ve seen no brands take enough of a stand in the space,” she says. 

“If you think about phones always having been a source of great communication and connection… When these become devices that start to diminish great communication and connection, it feels like some brands and some businesses need to step in.

“If you look at what some of the billion or trillion dollar companies, in some cases, weren’t doing, to adequately provide any kind of guidance, support or effective enough safety for young people, it was causing a really big gap.”

The responsibility of brands and advertisers

The popularity of Good Tings in New Zealand comes at a time of heightened concern about child emotional and social wellbeing online.

Earlier this year, the 36 Months initiative launched to address the issue – led by Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, co-host of Nova 96.9’s Sydney breakfast show, and Rob Galluzzo, founder of production company FINCH.

The pro-bono social change movement aims to raise the age of social media citizenship from 13 to 16, supported by News Corp Australia and NOVA Entertainment.

With a lack of trust in big tech and social platforms to keep kids safe online, the conversation extends to whether brands and advertisers should take more responsibility.

Bradnick summons the words of Sir John Hegarty: “A brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world: a corner of someone’s mind.”

Harris adds, “brands have an amazing ability to shift the conversation through the kind of advertising they do and what they choose to put into market.

“We’ve all got that opportunity, both in terms of just the pure media buying and then the power of our brands, our comms, and our spend to influence helpful behaviours and still do the right thing for the brand and the business.

“At the highest level, advertisers coming together to have a point of view around what safe online advertising looks like I think is unbelievably important.”

For Good Tings, Harris says the goal was to avoid limiting the conversation about healthy phone habits solely to social media usage – which is a “very specific” challenge.

“We wanted it to be something that, when kids got a ‘ting’ on their phone, they would know it was a good and healthy thing they got,” and likewise for when they sent ‘tings’ of their own.

The program: Good Tings

TBWA collaborated with the non-profit online safety charity NetSafe to identify the most important behavioural outcomes for the program. According to Harris, these outcomes were informed by two main problem areas that have emerged as children receive smartphones at younger ages, often from their parents’ hand-me-downs.

The first is helping parents what to think about, “and agreeing what healthy phone use for their household is going to look like… The kids get [phones] and the parents don’t realise all of the different kinds of things until it becomes a problem.”

Ultimately, parents feel disempowered and reluctant to have conversations with their children about online safety.

Secondly, she continues, “the kids themselves haven’t been taught and empowered what to do, what things to watch out for, what healthy phone use looks like, and what unhealthy phone use might look like.”

But the Good Tings brand challenge went beyond facilitating open conversations between children and guardians. To be receivable, it had to elevate the joy of a young person’s first phone, rather than dampening it.

“For most kids, it’s the most exciting day of their life,” says Bradnick. “What was really behind it for me was how do we create an objective experience where kids and parents can sit together and it doesn’t feel like the parent is lecturing the kid.”

The work: An unboxing experience

“The creative solution for that was really beautiful,” says Harris. 

The course and its surrounding media are an exemplar of age-appropriate digital literacy education and marketing, combining music, art, and creativity in its approach to effectively appeal to a young audience.

The unboxing includes the program booklet, collectible “sticker bomb” stickers designed by Ad School with young people that also serve as visible reminders of the behaviours learned, parent support resources, and a child-guardian contract to sign together.

Bradnick adds: “it’s a beautiful piece of design packaging, not only as an experience to go through and learn the lesson, but it can actually hold any type of box, so new phones, or a lot of kids get hand-me-downs.”

To engage teenage audiences specifically, the agency enlisted UK Grime artist Scrufizzer (Amary Lorenzo), who wrote and performed the titular Good Tings  track. The track helps transform the ‘ting’ motif into a phonetic symbol evocative of a phone notification, drawing an association between good and bad phone behaviour, or ‘tings’.

“When kids get their new phone, they’re probably going to be inundated with information, and connection, and notifications. That’s where the ‘tings’ comes from,” Bradnick explains.

“Grime is hugely popular,” he continues. “Any sort of hip hop or street culture is hugely popular amongst kids.”

With Grime, “you do lean into  their language and the way they pronounce things, and ‘tings’ is quite a common way of saying ‘things’… But also as an art, it’s one of the few hip hop genres where you can actually tell a story in that it’s quite coherent, so you can actually hear the message.”

Authenticity and relevance

Managing to market the ‘coolness’ of phone safety to young audiences is no small ask. According to Bradnick, “they have the ability to smell bullshit. But if it’s something that appeals to them and feels authentically aligned with them, I think they don’t mind advertising.”

The content must resonate with their values and interests, Harris adds. “We thought culturally about what was engaging and turned these lessons into entertainment and disguised the lessons as something that they loved,” she says.

For example, while some older people initially didn’t “get” the Scrufizzer track, Bradnick recalls, the campaign’s language, modality, and overall approach have been key to its success with younger audiences, who have responded positively.

The launch saw 40% of New Zealanders engaging with the program, with 95% reporting improved phone and online safety behaviours.

Meanwhile, 2degrees achieved a 35% YoY increase in mobile phone sales.

See also: Exclusive: Wippa and Galluzzo launch 36 Months to raise social media age

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Top image: Catherine Harris and Shane Bradnick

Pay TV provider Foxtel Group has rebranded its in-house creative and production agency, now known as BALBOA. The name replaces the previous brand, Foxtel Creative, which before that was known as Felix.

The creative team will expand its roster to external clients in sports and entertainment, offering a suite of services from creative concept through to production and delivery, and specialising in brand design, advertising campaigns, promotional reels, original key art, marketing, and editorial imagery and assets.

The agency already undertakes creative work for clients of Foxtel Media, including McDonald’s, Toyota, NAB, and nib.

“BALBOA is a team of strategic creatives that have the best knowledge in streaming and sport,” said Foxtel Group executive director of marketing and creative, Michael Nearhos.

“We’re looking forward to partnering with valued clients to provide an integrated creative response to briefs, ensuring the output engages the audience. No other creative  agency in the game offers the broad range of skills, deep sector experience and audience perspective that BALBOA will offer.”

Guy Sawrey-Cookson, executive creative director of BALBOA, added: “BALBOA’s foundation has deep roots in sports and entertainment having been the creative force behind Fox Sports and Foxtel for decades, and the lead creative agency to change the game in streaming by developing the Kayo Sports and BINGE brands for the Australian market. Most recently the team also created Hubbl, again changing the game in streaming aggregation.” 

Recently, BritBox joined Foxtel’s suite of integrated apps on iQ set-top boxes, and the business launched new dedicated channels such as NatureTime, The Outdoor Channel, and various Vevo music video channels.

Last month, the Group signed a multi-year broadcast rights extension with Augusta National Golf Club, that will see the Masters Tournament continue to be broadcast across its platforms, including Foxtel, Foxtel Now, and Kayo Sports.

See also:
BritBox joins Foxtel’s suite of integrated apps
Foxtel Group signs multi-year extension with Augusta National Golf Club

In what has been described by some as “bombshell” news, Sam Armytage has quit the Seven network.

In an interview with Armytage, who is a News Corp Stellar columnist, she told The Sunday Telegraph she wanted to stay with Seven and make more series of Farmer Wants a Wife. The interview also revealed Seven offered Armytage a new contract, presumably without FWAW duties, which she declined to sign.

The news comes just two months after a Seven “source” revealed that Armytage had signed a new two-year deal with Seven. That inaccurate report stated she had been working on FWAW as part of her existing Sunrise contract.

What Sam Armytage told The Sunday Telegraph

News Corp’s Karlie Rutherford reported Sam Armytage’s contract with the network expires in October. She added she was offered another Seven contract, which Armytage declined.

Armytage said: “It’s a little sad and it’s bittersweet, but the time has come. I leave with lots of goodwill in my heart and excitement about the future.

“I’m big on instinct. I listen to my instinct, I know when the time comes. I am proud of the fact that I back myself enough to say, ‘I’ve done what I can do here’ and I move on.

“This is not the end. It’s just the end of this chapter.

“I came to this decision on my own, it’s about what I want to do with my life.

“[Husband Richard Lavender] is very supportive of whatever I do, but this was about me wanting to feel fulfilled.

“I had to sit with myself here and ask, ‘What does my next 5 to 10 years look like?’.

“I’m 47, so it was a bit of a stocktake,” Armytage continued. “I’m still productive. I want to make good TV.”

Armytage singled out Seven colleagues for praise

“I was happy to do more. Farmer takes up six months of the year, so I had the time to do more but that wasn’t to be,“ she added.

“I’m very grateful. A special thank you to Kerry and Christine Stokes [Seven chairman and his wife] because Kerry has always supported me and been extraordinarily generous and I thank him for that.

“I’ve got to work with some extraordinary people. To work alongside legends like [journalists and presenters] Ian Ross and Bruce McAvaney, and also, many fantastic women, role models and true pioneers like [journalists and newsreaders] Ann Sanders and Sharyn Ghidella.

“It’s been an incredible time.”

FWAW series 13
Reunion in Hunter Valley

Seven’s TV boss Angus Ross on Sam’s “remarkable contribution”

Angus Ross, group managing director, Seven Television, said in a statement provided to Mediaweek:

“After 21 years, Sam Armytage has decided to leave the Seven Network in October this year. We fully understand and support her decision. 

“Sam has made a remarkable contribution to Seven over more than two decades, from 7News and Sunrise to, more recently, Farmer Wants A Wife.

“Her genuine affection for the country lifestyle she’s grown up with and enjoys to this day has shone through her three seasons with the TV Week Logie Award-nominated series. It’s been a pleasure watching Sam share her pride of these communities with Australia as our incredible farmer love stories have unfolded.

“We wish Sam – and her farmer – every happiness and success for the future.”

Recent Farmer Wats a Wife co-hosts Samantha Armytage and Natalie Gruzlewski

Longtime host back in the picture

TV host Natalie Gruzlewski has long been associated with the Farmer Wants A Wife franchise. The series launched in Australia on Nine in 2007, when Gruzlewski hosted eight episodes across five years. The format ran twice in several years.

Nine revived the show in 2016 for one year with host Sam McClymont but it wasn’t renewed.

Seven took on the franchise in 2020, and it has run for five seasons. Sam Armytage appeared on-air alongside Gruzlewski in 2022 before becoming the main host for the next two years. Now Seven has revealed the original host will take the reins again.

“Natalie Gruzlewski will continue to play cupid for our new crop of farmers and their ladies when the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife arrives on Channel 7 and 7plus in 2025,” said Ross.

See also: How Seven’s Farmer Wants A Wife maintains its loyal audience

With the Paris 2024 Olympics in action, Mediaweek is catching up with the standout brand partners powering the Summer Games to hear first-hand from their marketing guns about running campaigns on the world’s biggest sporting stage. Today, we’re with Surini Perera, marketing director at General Mills, parent company of Australian Olympic Team partner, Old El Paso.

What does being an Olympics partner mean for your brand?

At Old El Paso, we represent such a huge proportion of this great nation. With 95% aided brand awareness, we are consumed day-in, day-out by communities from all walks of life, and we’re really proud of that. 

Particularly for such a strong sporting nation, the Olympic Games is a huge uniter of communities and Old El Paso meals are a great uniter at family dinner tables. The Olympics’ motto is ‘faster, higher stronger – together’. ‘Together’ was added to the motto in 2021 – an indicator of sentiment and that it’s more than the win, it’s the journey and togetherness that’s important. That nuance and the way families are a community, plus the fact mealtimes are about bringing people together, makes this a nice tie-in with our brand. 

Walk us through your campaign for the Olympics. What are the key elements and what inspired the creative direction?

Make Some Noise for your Home Team is a full 360-degree campaign, encompassing above-the-line and below-the-line activations, partnerships leading up to the Olympics, over the main games period, followed by return home flighting. The visual direction is inspired by our ongoing brand communications which are still in market, we believe that consistency is key, therefore it is important that even though we support different aperture moments that it all laddering up to the same look and feel and our enduring brand platform of Make Some Noise.

We’re working with a group of incredible Australian athletes – all of whom are huge fans of the Old El Paso brand and regular consumers of Mexican inspired food. Mackenzie Arnold, Patty Mills and Logan Martin launched our above-the-line campaign, appear on pack and have been working closely with the brand team to deliver great collaborative content.

We’ve also recently re-engaged long-standing brand ambassador, Australian tennis doubles player, Matt Ebden.  

Mackenzie Arnold

Patty Mills

Using our ambassadors, we’ve been driving content and hype for the three months leading up to the games, supported by in-store activations and consumer promotions. In April, we launched limited edition packs across six key products, changing our iconic yellow and red packs to yellow and green to show our support for Team Australia.

Having strong existing brand equity in market has allowed us to flex our brand in this way for a short, promotional period of time, whilst still staying true to the brands distinctive cues.

Logan Martin

What objectives did you set out to achieve with this campaign?

ROI for Old El Paso is aligned to short and long-term goals. Consumption of product is important, but our marketing ambition is to also drive brand consideration. Estimates are that 230 million of its tacos are eaten each year, with the top-selling product its Hard n Soft Taco Kit at 3 million packs per year.

Our long term ambition is to be in the top 10 meals in Australia, being part of cultural conversations is a key enabler to progressing against that ambition. 

What is the weighting of your media mix, and what has driven this decision?

Mass-reaching broadcast channels are driving awareness of our partnership across TV, OLV, and OOH. Our ambassador program has been seeded across social and digital channels in collaboration with the athletes, leveraging their authentic brand style and audience, as well as building on existing Old El Paso brand equity. To contextualise our messaging and show up in new, interesting ways with our ever-growing audience, we’ve also partnered with Rolling Stone magazine, Nine WWOS, 9Honey, and ARN network (Will & Woody radio show) 

Across the national retailer network, we’ve supported the campaign on and offline since April, with a month-long promo including a prize of a return trip to Paris – capturing demand at the point of purchase. We were incredibly excited to launch our limited edition packs, that will be available in stores until September. 

Is FTA TV coverage an important part of the campaign?

Absolutely – broadcast TV is still a major part of the Old El Paso media plan year-on-year. Driving a mass message about  ‘Taco Tuesday’ is a huge part of our brand strategy, so utilising mass reaching channels to remind Aussies to eat more Mexican more regularly is key. 

What aspect of this campaign and partnership are you most proud of?

We believe storytelling matters and meals provide important moments of connection – mealtimes are perfect moments for this. Our mission is to inspire then enable mealtime moments filled with fun and vibrancy. We call it ‘good noise’, and we’re hopeful the authentic nature of the partnership with the Australian Olympic team helps embed that across Australia, encouraging more Aussies to connect with each other around their home team. 

How do you plan to build upon or expand this campaign moving forward? How does this campaign align with your broader marketing strategy? 

Old El Paso has always centred on creating fun and vibrant meal times, this is our brand truth and our key message – this is going to be enduring. Olympics is a vehicle to talk about fun and vibrancy that Old El Paso can bring. Your Home team taps into both national pride as well bringing and using our meals at the table and linking ourselves to those moments.

Post the Covid isolation and with families being as time poor as ever, the connection between loved ones has never been more valuable. We will continue to encourage and celebrate prioritising these moments – because we believe that they are important.

Mitch King has announced his departure from Mutinex as the company’s head of talent acquisition.

He shared the news on LinkedIn, saying: “A big thanks to Henry Innis, Matt Farrugia and Adam Beaupeurt for giving me the opportunity to come here and be part of their growth.

“It was loads of fun but I’m also expecting to see them continue to grow well into the future.”

King joined in March 2023, and previously headed up talent acquisition at Linktree.

In the interim, he noted Fred Callaghan, portfolio talent at EVP, as the “care taker of all things recruitment” for Mutinex before adding he begins his new role on Monday.

Innis told Mediaweek: “Mitch is awesome, dearly loved, and he goes with nothing but great thoughts and vibes from me.”

Henry Innis introducing Hendren

King’s exit rounds out a big news week for Mutinex, which hired Danny Bass as chief revenue officer, and introduced its new AI-powered offering, Hendren, at its inaugural Marketers and Money Conference.

Hendren, named after the Norse God of Knowledge with a nod to Innis’ nickname, launches a new category for Mutinex it calls “BAM”, or Business Answers Modelling.

Innis debuted the offering at the conference with a live demonstration and showed attendees how to use the chat-based interface, which he called “a business consultant in your pocket.”

Users can ask critical marketing effectiveness questions, and drawing on a customer’s proprietary market mix modelling data, the interface can answer instantly, complete with charts, thorough analysis, and optimisation recommendations.
 
Hendren can also provide written executive summaries and presentation slides for CMOs and senior executives that are “CFO and boardroom ready.”

“Every so often something comes along that breaks a category and creates a new one,” Mat Baxter, Mutinex APAC CEO, said. “Hendren is one of those rare products. It exists in a category of one.”

Innis and Danny Bass

Bass’ hire was long-rumoured but finally confirmed, rounding out a leadership team fronted by Innis, Baxter, and US-based John Sintras.

“I’ve seen increasingly how the GrowthOS platform has become adopted much like Salesforce by the C-suite,” Bass said of joining the business.

“C-Suite leaders and marketing teams are looking for one, unified platform to make sense of how to invest their growth dollars across pricing, media and more.

“That’s the platform our industry has been waiting for, and Mutinex has built it in GrowthOS. It’s why incredible leaders are joining them. And it’s why I see an amazing opportunity here to work to build this into a Salesforce-style platform for growth with both C-Suite leaders and our wider agency ecosystem.”

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Top image: Mitch King

Kayo Sports has revealed its latest ad campaign, promoting the benefits and value of the streaming platform for the whole family.

The work comes as the streamer reaches its highest number of subscribers since launch – 1.5 million.

The campaign was created by the newly-branded BALBOA creative team at Foxtel Group, and features two 30-second hero TVCs, one focused on AFL and one on NRL.

The hero film showcases the flexibility that Kayo Sports offers families as told through family archetypes: ‘the multi-tasker’ dad who can’t step away from watching the action, ‘boomerang’ daughter who always shows up at game time, ‘student’ son who enjoys NBA with his mates, and ‘MVP’ mum who enjoys having the family together to watch their favourite sports on the big screen.

Cate Hefele, executive director at Kayo Sports, said: “With our subscriber numbers hitting new heights, this campaign is targeted at our next phase of growth – young Australian families shifting to streaming.

“It highlights the value of Kayo Sports as the home of over 50 live sports for as little as $25 per month. With access to every game, race and match of Australia’s favourite sports including AFL, NRL, F1, Netball and cricket, live, ad-break-free during play, and in 4K Ultra HD, Kayo is that destination for families during the sports season.”

The ads are the next phase of Kayo Sports’ Get on Board brand campaign that launched at the beginning of the winter codes season.

Guy Sawrey-Cookson, executive creative director, at BALBOA said: “Sport is a shared passion for many Australian families, and it brings us together. With this campaign, we wanted to demonstrate the value that comes with Kayo Sports through funny and relatable scenarios and characters to show that Kayo Sports offers something for everyone in the family.”

The creative launched on 4 August and will roll out across TV, digital video, and social media. The campaign will also include a series of radio ads and OOH executions.

Credits:

Marketing: Kayo Sports
Creative: BALBOA (formerly Fox Creative)
Production: BALBOA (formerly Fox Creative)
Media: Mindshare and Foxtel Group Media Team

The organisers of the Kennedy Awards have reported it’s been more exacting than Olympic trials to narrow down the finalists for the 2024 celebration of excellence in journalism.

The number of entries this year surged to a record 1,014. That number smashed last year’s record of 720.

The organisers added the standard of entries across the board was exceptional. “There have been many a tied vote as our 96 indefatigable judges ploughed through the mass of entries,” they commented.

The judges worked across 37 different categories ahead of the 2024 event.

Nominations this year include multiple for Nine’s streaming platform Stan, which has two of the three finalists in the Outstanding Documentary category.

Former editor-in-chief of The Australian Christopher Dore has been nominated for his columns at his new home The Nightly.

Familiar names, among them several former winners, who have received multiple nominations this year include John Lyons, Chris Reason, Samantha Maiden, Ray Thomas, Hedley Thomas, and Nick McKenzie.

The announcement of the winners is now less than two weeks away. Ticket holders will gather in The Ballroom of the Royal Randwick on Friday 16 August  to celebrate the winners.

The judges also noted: “Our industry may being facing tough times but our journalists are still killing it with the very best work.”

See also: 2023 Kennedy Awards – All the winners for excellence in journalism

Multiple 2023 award winners Edmund Tadros and Neil Chenoweth from The AFR

2024 KENNEDY AWARDS FINALISTS

ALL MEDIA

Indigenous Affairs Reporting

Caroline Graham, Kylie Stevenson and Tilda Colling – NT Schools in Crisis – The Australian
Four Corners Guarded Team – Guarded – Four Corners, ABC
Lorena Allam, Sarah Collard and Blake Sharp-Wiggins – Buried Lives: Possible  Clandestine Burials at an Aboriginal Children’s Home – The Guardian

Outstanding Cartoon

Cathy Wilcox – Solid Ground – Nine Network & The Sydney Morning Herald
Jim Pavlidis – Mowed Down – Nine Publishing
Megan Herbert – Not Fit for Purpose – The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald

Outstanding Consumer Affairs

Christopher Knaus and Lorena Allam – Centrepay: A Vehicle for Economic Abuse? – The Guardian
Elise Worthington and Lesley Robinson – Ozempic Underground – Four Corners, ABC
Nassim Khadem – Whiff of Robodebt: ATO Revives Old Tax Debts Totaling Billions – ABC News

Outstanding Court and Legal Affairs Reporting

Paul Garvey and Rhiannon Down – Direction 99 Debacle – The Australian
Samantha Maiden, Kerry Warren, Lisa Muxworthy and Alexandra Foster – The Lehrmann Trials – news.com.au
Tiffiny Genders – Police Secrets – Nine News

Outstanding Crime Reporting

Brenden Hills, Heath Kelly and Ankit Mishra – The Baddest: Sydney’s Apex Predator Unmasked – The Saturday Telegraph & The Sunday Telegraph
Liam Mendes – On the Ground of a Youth Crime Crisis – The Australian
Phil Goyen, Sarah Greenhalgh and Ben Fogarty – Sextortion: Teens, Tech and Tragedy – 7 News

Outstanding Finance Reporting

Angus Grigg, Elise Potaka, Carla Hildebrandt and Dylan Welch – Super Power – Four Corners, ABC
Michael Atkin and Loretta Florance – Dirty Money: How Criminals are Getting Away with Laundering Stolen Cash Through Australian Companies – Special Reporting Team – ABC
Neil Chenoweth – Cracking the Tax Office Omerta – The Australian Financial Review

Outstanding Foreign Correspondent

Amanda Hodge – Southeast Asia Stories -The Australian
Colin Cosier – Finding Yusuf: Part 1 and 2 – SBS
John Lyons – The Forever War – Four Corners, ABC

Outstanding Investigative Reporting

Chris Reason – The Bishop of Broome – Seven News
Paul Garvey and Rhiannon Down – Direction 99 Debacle – The Australian
Samantha Maiden – Pay you cash: Spotlight’s Trial and Error – news.com.au

Outstanding Online News Breaking

9News Bondi Junction Attack Team – Bondi Junction Attack – Nine News
Samantha Maiden, Kerry Warren, Lisa Muxworthy, Ally Foster and Liz Bourke – The Lehrmann Trials – news.com.au
The Sydney Morning Herald Newsroom – Bondi Junction Coverage – The Sydney Morning Herald online & across Nine Publishing

Outstanding Political Reporting

Andrew Probyn & Bailey Kenzie – The Immigration Directive – Nine Network
Ewin Hannan – John Setka vs the AFL – The Australian
Paul Garvey and Rhiannon Down – Direction 99 Debacle – The Australian

Outstanding Reporting on Human Rights, Social or Religious Affairs

Alexi Demetriadi – Hate Speech in NSW – The Australian
Four Corners Guarded Team – Guarded – Four Corners ABC
Linton Besser, Ronan Sharkey and Brendan Esposito – Rainbow Lodge – ABC

Outstanding Reporting on the Environment

Daniel Clarke – Kangaroo Island Environmental Disaster – Ad Hoc Docs, Foxtel/Binge, The Guardian, Network 7
Kamin Gock, Angus Grigg and Lesley Robinson – Snowy 2.0 and The $2 Billion Mistake – ABC
Sean Mantesso, Hellena Souisa, Sally Brooks and Raffa Athallah – The Price of Progress: Inside Indonesia’s Nickel Rush – ABC

Outstanding Sport Reporting

Jeremy Story Carter – She Can Play – ABC
Julian Linden – Under the Surface – The Daily Telegraph
Tom Decent – The Secret Zoom Call That Brought Down a Wallabies Coach – The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age

Outstanding 3 Headlines

Jakeb Waddell – AH, KANE HAS DONE IT AGAIN, NO CHANCE IN VFL, TAKES ONE TO NO.1- The West Australian & Seven West Media
Jason Walls – THE CREPES OF WRATH, THE WRIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, COPS PICK RACE-ISM CAR – NT News
James Silver – YOU WANNA PIZZA ME?, HEENEY MEANIE MIGHTY SHOW, SACRE BLEURGH – News Corp

Outstanding Team Player or Mentor

Gareth Harvey – Nine Network
John Lyons – ABC
Kathryn Wicks – The Sydney Morning Herald

Scoop of the Year

Andrew Probyn and Bailey Kenzie – The Immigration Directive – Nine Network
Clementine Cuneo, Mark Morri and Josh Hanrahan – A killer in the ranks: Cop Wanted Over Paddington Double Murder – The Daily Telegraph|
Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard and Amelia Ballinger – Pezzullo Text Scandal –  60 Minutes, The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald

Regional Broadcast Reporting

Daniel Clarke – Kangaroo Island Body of Work – Ad Hoc Docs, Foxtel/Binge, The Guardian,Network 7
Micaela Hambrett and Joanna Woodburn – Dust Up, Cadia Gold Mine Investigation – ABC
Toni Ambrogetti and Michael Evans – Grooming and sexual abuse of Narrabri student Dean Gray uncovered – NBN/Nine

Student Journalist of the Year

Chloe Bell – The University of Queensland
Jonathan Weitz-Freeman – University of Technology Sydney
Yasmine Alwakal – University of Technology Sydney

Young Journalist of The Year

Bailey Kenzie – Body of Work – Nine News, The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age
Ellie Dudley – The judges’ war with the DPP – The Australian, News Corp |
Gillian Lantouris – Body of Work – Nine News, The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age

PRINT/TEXT

Outstanding Columnist

Annabel Crabb – Hitting A Nerve: Three Columns – ABC
Christopher Dore – The Front Dore – The Nightly, Seven West Media
John Silvester – Melbourne Crime – The Age

Outstanding Feature Writing

Bill Ormonde – Out of the Darkness – ABC Landline and ABC online
John Lyons – Body of Work – ABC News and ABC online
Tim Elliot – Eyes on the Prize – Good Weekend Magazine, Nine Publishing

Outstanding Travel Writing

Catherine Marshall – Prime Mates – The Sunday Age
Fiona Harari – Budapest, Magda and Me – The Australian
Tracey Croke – Silicone Boobs, Queer History and Sydney’s best LGBTQIA+ bars with Kiama Blowhole – Adventure.com

Racing Writer of the Year

Ben Dorries – Damien Oliver” The GOAT” retirement exclusive + body of work – News Corp
Ray Thomas – Tom Magnier – Revealing interview and feature story – News Corp
Ray Thomas – Storm Boy and his group of eclectic owners aiming for Golden Slipper glory – News Corp

Outstanding Digital Innovation

Alex Lim, Katia Shatoba and Thomas Brettell – The Mullet is Alive and Well in AFL – ABC News
Hedley Thomas and The Australian Podcast Team – Bronwyn – The Australian
The Visual Stories Team, Use of AI – The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age

Regional Reporting Print and Online

Madeline Link – Bullying, forgery, lying’: ex-volunteers claims against What Were You Wearing? Australia – Newcastle Herald/Australian Community Media
Oliver Jacques – $32 million Griffith tax fraud – Region Media Group
Tijana Birdjan, Dan Proudman and Jake McCallum – DV Horror – The Dubbo News, News Corp

KENNEDY AWARDS TELEVISION/VIDEO

Outstanding News Camera Coverage

Fletcher Yeung – Volunteer Doctors Evacuate Wounded Soldiers in Ukraine – ABC News
Nine News Camera Team – Coverage of Bondi Stabbings – Nine News
Paul Peric – Murdered in Mexico: Callum and Jake Robinson – Nine News

Outstanding Nightly Television Current Affairs Reporting

Hannah Sinclair – NDIS Investigation – A Current Affair, & Nine Network
Alison Piotrowski – Murdered in Mexico: Callum & Jake Robinson – Nine News
Peta Credlin – Unearthing the Full Uluru Statement – Sky News Australia

Outstanding Television Current Affairs Reporting – Long Form

Agnes Teek and Colin Cosier – Finding Yusuf – Dateline, SBS
Amelia Ballinger and Nick McKenzie – The Power Player, 60 Minutes, Nine Network
Anne Connolly, Amy Donaldson and Jessica Longbottom – Careless- Four Corners, ABC

Outstanding Television News Reporting

Ben Lewis – October 7 Attacks – SBS World News
Chris Reason – Israel-Hamas War – 7 News
9News & Current Affairs Team- Nine News breaking/rolling coverage of Bondi Stabbings – Nine Network

Outstanding Documentary

Dora Weekley, Orly Danon, Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters – Revealed: Ben Roberts-Smith Truth on Trial – Stan
7 News Digital Team – The Devils Outback Playground – 7 Plus and YouTube
Katrina McGowan, Janine Hosking, Mat Cornwell and Carrie Fellner – How to Poison a Planet – Stan

AUDIO JOURNALISM

Outstanding Podcast

Hedley Thomas and The Australian Podcast Team- Bronwyn – The Australian
Michael Bachelard, Ruby Schwartz – Trial By Water – The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age
Paul Farrell, Mario Christodoulou, Benjamin Sveen, Leila Shunnar and Ingrid Wagner – Stop and Search – Background Briefing, ABC

Outstanding Radio News and Current Affairs

Allyson Horn – Israel/Gaza – ABC News
Ben Fordham, Mark Levy, Will Bottom and the 2GB team- Bondi Junction Attacks – 2GB Sydney
Peter Ryan – Demise of the Flying Kangaroo. Sacked Qantas workers win David vs Goliath battle, airline’s reputational crisis deepens. – The World Today, ABC News Daily – ABC Digital & ABC Radio

PHOTOGRAPHY

Outstanding News Photography

Karim Bauer and Ben McDonald – Westfield Bondi Stabbings: Aftermath of Terror – Matrix Media Group
Mick Tsikas – Tears for Albo – Australian Associated Press
Patrick Hamilton – Bondi Westfield Tragedy: Mother of a Mass Murderer –  Daily Mail Australia

Outstanding Portrait Photography

Steve Robson – Rohan Thomson – (Freelancer) The Australian
Jonathan Carroll – Big Dan – The Newcastle Herald/Australian Community Media
Eddie Jim – Fighting, Not Sinking – The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald

Outstanding Sports Photography

Robert Cianflone – Matildas Mania – Getty Images
Nick Moir – Birdsville Rodeo – The Sydney Morning Herald
Eddie Jim – Light and Shadow – The Age

Top photo: 2023 Kennedy Award winners

Tickets for the 2024 Kennedy Awards Gala available here.

Paramount has promoted Travis Kirk to the newly-created role of commercial partnerships director – ad sales, Sydney.

Reporting to Paramount Australia’s national digital sales director, Diane Ho, and general manager – ad sales, Nick Bower, Kirk will be responsible for driving and enhancing premium sponsorship revenue streams across Paramount Australia’s broadcast (Network 10) and digital (10 Play and Paramount+) media.

Kirk started his media career as an intern at Network 10’s Brisbane office and in 2017, at 25, he became Network 10’s youngest ever group sales manager.

Kirk said: “Paramount Australia’s best-in-class sponsorships and partnerships set the industry standard, demonstrating our commitment to excellence and innovation. I am thrilled to step into this new role, where I will have the opportunity to strategically drive forward-thinking initiatives and deliver outstanding results for our clients.

“Through the collaborative efforts of our talented broadcast and digital teams, and with the support of our transformative ad products, we are well-equipped to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations.”

Kirk will steer client and agency relationships and spearhead Sydney sponsorship responses. His focus will be on streamlining integrated linear and digital ideas using Paramount’s ANZ Brand Studio.

Rod Prosser, chief sales officer at Paramount ANZ, said the creation of the role represents a “commitment by Paramount Australia to fully leverage our cross-platform offerings and deliver holistic value to our clients.”

“Travis’ market expertise, reputation for delivering exceptional client outcomes, and outstanding leadership, makes him the ideal choice to lead our premium revenue initiatives,” he said.

“His uniquely calm and thoughtful approach ensures consistent and impressive results, and we look forward to witnessing his leadership skills flourish in this newly established role.”

Kirk’s appointment comes as Paramount Global and Skydance Media agreed to merge in July.

The definitive agreement forms a “New Paramount” with the company saying the transaction “combines the Skydance Investor Group’s financial resources, deep operating experience, and expertise in cutting-edge technology with Paramount’s iconic IP, deep film and television library, and linear and streaming platforms that reach millions of viewers.”

The newly merged company will be led by David Ellison as chairman and chief executive officer and Jeff Shell as president. Ellison founded Skydance in 2010.

See also: Paramount Global and Skydance Media to merge

Connecting Plots has teamed up with Chartered Accountants ANZ to launch the platform, Make Epic Things Happen, to encourage a younger generation to pursue a career in accounting.

As consideration for the profession and student enrolment in accounting degrees at universities have declined, the platform aims to reverse this trend.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Chelsea Wymer, Chartered Accountants ANZ chief marketing officer, said. “From launching partnerships with Year13, YES and Explore Careers to establishing this new platform, we are still in the early stages of a much longer journey to change perceptions and drive consideration of a career in accounting.”

Through qualitative research, Connecting Plots discovered that students don’t think a whole lot about their future profession, nor do they know or care much about accountancy. But they are incredibly passionate about their interests, which are wide and varied.

The task at hand for the creative agency was to show them how a career in accounting could help turn these passions into their career.

“From out in the field to festivals, from global conservation to gaming, the new campaign provides context for the real work of accountants that our audience can understand, relate to, and aspire to become,” said Connecting Plots creative partner, Matt Geersen. “We wanted to inspire the next generation to see that people in accounting make epic things happen every day.”

The new work launched in cinemas in July ahead of the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere.

The campaign will continue to roll out across careers events, online video, YouTube, Meta, Instagram, and TikTok, OOH, and targeted display media over the coming months.

CREDITS

Client: Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand
Chief Executive Officer: Ainslie van Onselen
Chief Marketing Officer: Chelsea Wymer
General Manager, Brand: Rachael Rankin
Head of Brand & Creative Services: Al Gounder
Senior Manager, Brand: Jess Elwood Smith
Creative Lead: Michaela Ashford
Creative Agency: Connecting Plots
Chief Executive Officer: Tom Phillips
Chief Creative Officer: David Janson
Creative Partner: Matt Geerson
Senior Art Director : Alexa Burchell
Senior Copywriter: Lisa Jackson
Integrated Strategy & Planning Partner: Tim Collier
Client Services Director: Emma McJury
Group Account Director: Dan Larcombe
Account Director: Roshani Mehta
Creative Operations Director: Sarah Miller
Freelance Stills Producer: Emma Shaw
Production Company: Killa Kreative
Director: Darwin Schulze
Executive Producer: Louella Campbell
Assistant Director: Adam Saunders
Producer / 1st AD: Zac Perry
Photographer: Toby Burrows
Media Agency: Involved Media

QMS has launched its first Paris 2024 Olympic partner 3DOOH full motion campaign for Patties Foods. The Four’N Twenty Official Pie of the Australian Olympic Team campaign sees the brand light up QMS’ new digital large format site at Emporium Melbourne.

The full motion 3DOOH creative has been developed by QMS’ inhouse creative services team, QUBE. Running throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the creative sees a 3D hand reach from within the billboard, grab a Four’N Twenty pie, and take a bite. 

The execution is part of Four’N Twenty’s recently launched creative, Being a Fan is Hungry Work.

QMS chief sales officer, Tim Murphy, said it was “incredible to be able to partner with such an iconic Australian brand like Four’N Twenty, push the boundaries of DOOH and create a show stopping execution on our newest screen in the heart of one of Australia’s busiest retail precincts.”

“Brought to life by our inhouse creative services team QUBE, this 3DOOH execution is another great example of how our clients are taking full advantage of our market leading digital network to make an impact during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” he said.

Patties Food Group’s chief marketing and growth officer, Anand Surujpal, added: “Our ambition for the brand is to create iconic moments that capture the attention of Australia, further entrenching us as a heritage brand that continues to evolve with our audiences.

“Working with OMG’s United, TBWA\Melbourne and QMS’ QUBE team, we jumped at the opportunity to capture the many hearts – and stomachs – passing through Emporium Melbourne. Harnessing the dynamic power of 3DOOH, we’re excited to remind Aussies that our pies are here to support their hunger, no matter what time they are barracking for the green and gold.”

The campaign follows Nike’s Winning Isn’t For Everyone campaign celebrating the Matildas at the Emporium site. The work was the first to feature on the new site, with creative by Amplify and media by Mindshare.

The 9Network’s TV ratings for the Saturday broadcast of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (up until 2am Sunday AEST) secured a National Total TV Reach of 9.576 million across Channel 9, 9Gem and 9Now.

The TV ratings period included tennis Gold and a windsurfing medal too.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 8 Night Session (7pm-9pm) was Australia’s No.1 program with Total People and all key demographics. It registered a National Total TV Reach of 4.215 million, a Total TV National Audience of 1.636 million and a BVOD audience of 199,000. In this session, Australian Athletics made an impression, as three-time Olympian Kurtis Marschall advanced to the final in the Men’s Pole Vault, and Abbey Caldwell triumphed in the Women’s 800m Repechages to secure her spot in the final.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 8 Night Session 2 (9pm-10:30pm) was Australia’s No.2 program with Total People and all key demographics. The broadcast, showcasing Aussie doubles duo Matt Ebden and John Peers delivering one of the most remarkable comebacks in Olympic tennis to win gold for Australia after a 28-year wait, secured a National Total TV Reach of 3.783 million, a Total TV National Audience of 1.512 million and a BVOD audience of 196,000. Audiences were also treated to the Hockeyroos winning their final Pool B matchup against Spain 3-1.

Australia wins Gold at the tennis

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 8 Afternoon (3pm-6:59pm) dominated its timeslot across Australia with Total People and all key demographics. It achieved a National Total TV Reach of 3.546 million, a Total TV National Audience of 813,000 and a BVOD audience of 87,000.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 8 Late (10:30pm-12am) dominated its timeslot across Australia with Total People and all key demographics. It achieved a National Total TV Reach of 2.699 million, a Total TV National Audience of 875,000 and a BVOD audience of 122,000. Viewers celebrated Men’s Windsurfer Grae Morris, who secured silver – Australia’s first medal in windsurfing in 32 years. They also cheered as the Men’s Water Polo team clinched a thrilling 9-8 victory over Hungary in the preliminary round.

9News was Australia’s No.1 bulletin of the night with all key demos and Total People. The combined TV ratings for the national bulletins achieved a National Total TV Reach of 2.676 million, a Total TV National Audience of 1.412 million and a BVOD audience of 137,000.

TV ratings shares: The 9Network was the No.1 network across the 5 City Metro with Total People and all key demographics, securing shares of 58.1% with People 25-54, 63.4% with People 16-39 and 51.9% with Total People.

9Now was the No. 1 CFTA BVOD platform across Australia with Total People and all key demographics, with massive shares of 85.6% with People 25-54, 87.3% with People 16-39 and 83.8% with Total People.

Check daily TV ratings for each day of Paris 2024 here.

Instagram has announced Off The Handle, the Meta-owned platform’s first Australian video podcast series.

The series, which marks a major investment in original content for Instagram, was launched on Wednesday at an event held at Meta’s Sydney offices. The day featured a panel discussion with podcast host Rudy Jean Rigg and Aussie musician G Flip.

In each episode, Rigg asks guests about how they tackle various aspects of their lives and careers, answering all the questions audiences have – and some they didn’t know they had – about the people behind the handle. Guests will also bring along an item they love (or don’t) so audiences get to know them better.

See also: Exclusive: Instagram flies Off the Handle with launch of first Australian podcast
 

Rudy Jean Rigg and G Flip speak at the Off The Handle launch event

G Flip joined host Rudy Jean Rigg live on the couch at Meta HQ

Episode one features Aussie musician G Flip, with the season also seeing Rigg sit down with Eras-tour opener Girl In Red, singer and competitive swimmer Cody Simpson, singer-songwriter Jessica Mauboy, Australian it-girl Sopha Dophaa, comedian Tim Collins, and best friends, entrepreneurs and foodies Bridey Drake and Jiny Maeng – with more guests to be announced.

Off The Handle episode one featuring G Flip is streaming now on all podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, with exclusive content released on Instagram @OffTheHandle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Girl In Red

Jessica Mauboy

Sopha Dophaa

See also: Instagram shares tips and product updates with First Nations creators at Meta HQ

This week’s Meeting of the Minds sees Jessica White and Jazmine Sey from full-service digital agency Dept reveal their leadership heroes, current streaming binge, and career goals.

The Mediaweek series showcases diverse perspectives, thoughts and opinions by bringing together two different points of view from an industry rookie and an experienced expert.

Jessica White, VP, Creative & Media, Dept Australia

Favourite podcast/read – My Favourite podcast is Performance Marketing Unlocked. It’s a UK podcast that comes out fortnightly. It helps me keep my finger on the pulse of the digital marketing world and has some really inspiring marketers as guests.

I also love Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In book. Although it came out years ago, it is still so relevant today for young women moving up the ranks.

Current streaming binge –  I am really into Outer Range with Josh Brolin. Never thought I’d get hooked on a Western series, but here I am binge-watching it religiously and only have one episode left!

Guilty pleasure content –  It has to be Selling Sunsets. The houses are amazing, and the drama is hilarious, but I also love how BOSS the women are. They own who they are (often totally outrageous, way too dressed up). They also really know their shit and won’t back down for what they think is right.

What do you have on repeat –  I could watch The Blindside with Sandra Bullock over and over again. It’s such a beautiful story about hope, hard work, trust and family, not to mention another strong female breaking the norms.

Best career advice –  Never stop learning. Never try to blag your capabilities, get comfortable knowing you will not know everything. Nor should you. And surround yourself with people smarter than you.

Leadership hero – I look up to Dimi Albers. Dimi is an incredible leader. He is the perfect combination of big-picture thinking and visionary, while also understanding the granular detail required to make things happen. He balances empowerment, autonomy, and trust with mentorship, hard work, and good old-fashioned fun.

Best training course/session – Advertising Council Advanced Strategy. I learnt so much from that course that I’d strongly recommend it even if you don’t want to be a strategist.

I wish someone had told me – If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying to improve! People always say it’s okay to make mistakes, as it’s the best way to learn, but I wish people encouraged me to make mistakes, to try new things, and to fail fast. The faster you fail, the faster you learn!

Favourite place to network – At award events. Everyone is always buzzing with energy, they are proud to be there, to talk about their wins and to be inspired by smart people, ideas and brands.

Something that’s surprised you about the industry? – The industry is changing so quickly, we have to help our clients keep up or they’ll fall behind. We have to look at how to use technology to supercharge our initiatives – to be more engaging, more insightful, more efficient. I’m surprised to hear brands are still investing in free-to-air TV and struggling to find a budget for digital experiences. Traditional advertising vs investing in retail media, or a personalisation engine!

What is your hot take on the industry – We need to run towards technology to help get the most out of our marketing spend. To help our clients get ahead. Whether that is with AI, Commerce tools, analytics or a personalisation engine. Technology is an effort multiplier, embracing technology will supercharge our efforts and help us engage with our audiences on a deeper more authentic level.

Career goal for 2024 – Integrate technology into everyday problem-solving, whether for my own efficiency, my teams’, or my clients’ benefit.

Jazmine Sey, Marketing & Office Coordinator, DEPT Australia

Favourite podcast/read – I don’t have a particular favourite book, but I enjoy books written by chefs, bakers, and foodie people in general!

Current streaming binge –   The Boys S4, House of the Dragon S2, and The Bear S3 are all in my current streaming binge. They are all very different shows but I love each series in their own funny, dramatic, and intense way.

Guilty pleasure content – The Royal Family and its history after I watched the TV series The Crown on Netflix.

What do you have on repeat – Taiwan food and travel vlogs on YouTube are my current rotation as it’s my way of researching for my upcoming holiday! But I also enjoy watching NPR Tiny Desk Concerts and Hot Ones interviews.

Best career advice – Be open to learning new things even though it may be out of the scope of your responsibilities or comfort zone. The ability to learn is so invaluable.

Leadership hero –  Marjan Straathof is my leadership hero! She is a marketing and big-picture visionary and that inspires me. Juggling the responsibilities of her role and family life, but is always there for after the entire DEPT global marketing in all regions of the world and different timezones!

Best training course/session – Post-grad and additional training are things I’m very keen on doing in the future. I graduated from university at the end of 2023.

I wish someone had told me – The company culture and the people you work with at a company are so important to your mental health and play a huge part in enjoying the work you do. I’m so grateful that DEPT is a fantastic place to work at.

Favourite place to network – Big events with activations like SXSW Sydney are my favourite because you meet so many different people from various industries and fields.

Something that surprised you about the industry – The economic conditions of the industry play a vital part in the creativity and innovation process. More times than often companies must seek to produce more or achieve the goal at a higher rate with fewer resources than previously.

What is your hot take on the industry –  The power of diversity and recognizing that inclusive representation isn’t just a moral imperative but a strategic advantage. While progress is being made, there’s still a gap in truly reflecting the diverse Australian society and culture in marketing, advertising, and leadership roles.

Brands must seek to authentically embrace diversity not only to resonate more deeply with consumers but also with internal and external teams and stakeholders.

Career goal for 2024 –  Integrate tech automation into simple tasks and planning to maximise efficiency. Starting with my email inbox!

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To take part in future editions of Meeting of the Minds, please email: [email protected]

Past editions of Meeting of the Minds.

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Top image: Jessica White and Jazmine Sey

Ahead of the new season of Thank God You’re Here airing Wednesday 14 August, Network 10 has launched an outdoor marketing initiative in partnership with JCDecaux and Wavemaker.

A bus shelter in Bondi Junction has been designed to capture attention, featuring an illuminated Network 10 logo, a 3D build of the Thank God You’re Here blue door, and a motion-sensor peephole that plays the show’s TV commercial.

The bespoke Thank God You’re Here bus shelter takeover will be on display at Bondi Junction until 25 August.

Andreana Walton, head of marketing – broadcast and digital, Paramount Australia, said the team were “thrilled to present this unique Thank God You’re Here experience that stops people in their tracks, made possible by our partners, JCDecaux and Wavemaker, along with our talented marketing and design teams.”

“This activation allows the public to share in the anticipation, curiosity, and excitement that our comedians experience when stepping through the iconic blue door,” Walton added. “It’s a creative and engaging way to brighten commuters’ days while building excitement for one of TV’s biggest comedies. At Network 10, we believe in innovative marketing strategies that not only promote our shows but also create unforgettable moments for our viewers.”

Lama Perin, group manager, creative and digital solutions, JCDecaux, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Network 10 and Wavemaker to bring this innovative and immersive experience to life. The 3D door build and motion-sensor peephole create a unique and engaging interaction for audiences. This activation not only highlights the iconic elements of the show, but also demonstrates the power of Out-Of-Home to captivate and entertain the public.”

Aimee Cody, marketplace director, Wavemaker, said: “At Wavemaker, we’re always looking for fresh and creative ways to showcase the great Paramount content across 10 and 10 Play. Working closely with 10, we created an unmissable spectacle that brings the magic of Thank God You’re Here to life, inviting passersby to delve into a realm where comedy meets clever advertising. A special thanks to JCDecaux and their expertise to help make our concept a reality.”

TV Week Logie Nominee Thank God You’re Here and host Celia Pacquola are back Wednesday, 14 August at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play.

Nine’s Friday primetime audience from 7pm until 9pm was the smallest since the Paris 2024 Games started a week ago.

The primetime audience for this session peaked at 2.512m for Sunday night last week and it has steadily declined across the week with five successive dips. Along the way, losing 1m viewers. Nine still has a firm grip on the biggest audiences though with share close to 50% or more in key demos.

Olympic Games Week 1 Primetime average

Saturday 27 July 1.817m
Sunday 28 July 2.512m
Monday 29 July 2.058m
Tuesday 30 July 2.034m
Wednesday 31 July 1.892m
Thursday 1 August 1.706m
Friday 2 August 1.577m
7-9pm daily. Source: OzTAM/VOZ Tortal TV Total People National Average + BVOD
For more detail on each day, visit Mediaweek’s TV ratings portal.

Friday Paris 2024 TV ratings

9Network’s TV ratings for the Friday broadcast of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (up until 2am Monday AEST) secured a National Total TV Reach of 9.189 million across Channel 9, 9Gem and 9Now. 

Rowers Annabelle McIntyre and Jessica Morrison

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 7 Night Session (7pm-9pm) was Australia’s No. 1 program in TV ratings with all key demos and Total People. It registered a National Total TV Reach of 3.839 million, a Total TV National Audience of 1.577 million and a BVOD audience of 196,000. The broadcast saw the Rowsellas Women’s Pair of Annabelle McIntyre and Jessica Morrison fight their way in a thrilling race to win Bronze as well as the battle in the pool between Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 7 Night Session 2 (9pm-10:30pm) dominated it’s timeslot and was Australia’s No. 2 program with key demos People 25-54 and 16-39. The session featured the Boomers take on Greece in the Men’s Basketball and the Stingers defeat Canada in the Women’s Water Polo preliminary’s, securing a National Total TV Reach of 2.856 million, a Total TV National Audience of 1.060 million and a BVOD audience of 172,000.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 7 Late (10:30pm-12am) dominated its TV ratings timeslot across Australia with Total People and all key demos. It achieved a National Total TV Reach of 2.318 million, a Total TV National Audience of 779,000 and a BVOD audience of 140,000. Audiences in this slot witnessed Australian Tennis champs Matt Ebden and John Peers guarantee a medal after defeating USA in the men’s doubles semi-final. The late session also saw Noemie Fox’s Olympic debut as she competed alongside sister Jess in the new Olympic discipline of Kayak Cross.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Day 7 Afternoon (3pm-6:59pm) dominated its timeslot across Australia with Total People and all key demos. It achieved a National Total TV Reach of 2.979 million, a Total TV National Audience of 649,000 and a BVOD audience of 84,000. The Afternoon session saw the opening day of the Athletics Track and Field at Stade de France, featuring 2020 silver medalist Nicola Olyslagers alongside Eleanor Patterson in the Women’s High Jump.

9News was Australia’s No.1 bulletin of the night in TV ratings with all key demos and Total People. The combined national bulletins achieved a National Total TV Reach of 2.566 million, a Total TV National Audience of 1.299 million and a BVOD audience of 147,000.

The 9Network was the No. 1 network across the 5 City Metro with Total People and all key demos, securing shares of 57.7% with People 25-54, 62.0% with People 16-39 and 48.9% with Total People.

9Now was the No. 1 CFTA BVOD platform across Australia with Total People and all key demos, with massive shares of 84.3% with People 25-54, 86.50% with People 16-39 and 82.2% with Total People.

Amplify has partnered with Design and Art Direction (D&AD) to deliver a free night school program for Sydney creatives entering the advertising, design, and creative industries.

For the third year, the global creative agency is contributing to D&AD Shift, a program to educate creative talent from untraditional pathways.

Tim Baggott, Amplify’s executive creative director, said: “As someone who took an unconventional path into a commercial creative role myself, I truly see the value in Shift as a means for creative people to foster connections and fast track their knowledge and experience of the advertising industry. Amplify is delighted to continue to support this fantastic initiative by introducing the cohort to the brand experience space.” 

With D&AD Shift’s mission to #ShiftCreativity, Amplify will educate these self-taught creatives on the foundations of brand experience and experiential marketing.

The program aims to give these creatives a system to access and flourish in the commercial creative industry.

D&AD Foundation’s director Paul Drake added: “D&AD Shift’s mission is to challenge the assumption that the best creative talent can only be found within certain universities, communities and those who have privileged networks.

“Creativity thrives from diverse minds and perspectives, and the only way this can be harnessed is by agencies and brands looking beyond the traditional access routes to get in. With the continued support of our partners such as Amplify, the Shift Sydney program is connecting a growing wave of self-made creative talent to the industry.”

D&AD Shift’s program operates in six international cities – London, Sydney, New York, Berlin, Hamburg, and Sau Paulo.

In March, Amplify appointed a new general manager in Sonja Stindl and made several hires, including Ben Somers as partnerships director.

SXSW Sydney has launched its public program for 2024, which will see Tumbalong Park transformed into a hub of creativity as it plays host to activations from brands, as well as talks, tech demos, live music, meet and greets, esports competitions, and more.

Minister for jobs and tourism, minister for the arts, and minister for music and the night-time economy, John Graham said: “Last year’s first-ever SXSW Sydney was a massive success and we’re very excited to build on that great start this year, starting with today’s announcement of the free event program in Tumbalong Park.

“The SXSW festival in Austin Texas is a global icon, Sydney’s event is fast becoming one too. It will attract visitors from around the country and the world and showcase Sydney as the creative powerhouse that it is.

“The NSW government is committed to helping people with the cost of living. This free SXSW Sydney program gives people a chance to take part in this global festival, have a great day or night out, at no cost.”

Tumbalong Park will again serve as SXSW Sydney’s free events hub, with more experiences stretching from Darling Harbour around to Chippendale and Ultimo.

Badge holders, wristband-holders, and the public will be able to access new innovations and artists, while experiencing SXSW Sydney’s core pillars: Tech and Innovation, Games, Music and Screen.

“+91 Calling!”, a single-day showcase festival of Indian creative culture will take place at the Tumbalong Park Main Stage on Sunday 20 October, featuring six acts from India and the Indian diaspora with genres spanning hip-hop, pop, R&B, club and neo-classical.

The Tumbalong Park Main Stage will also feature Ben Gillies (musician, songwriter and Silverchair co-founder) with Johannes Saam (futurist) and Tushar Apte (producer and songwriter) for a live demonstration session and performance.

Other activations set to appear at SXSW Sydney 2024 include:

• Commbank – Back for the second year in a row as a super sponsor, the new activation will see interactive challenges designed to put scams and fraud knowledge to the test. Attendees will learn ways to stay ahead in the digital age. 

• Zeekr – Global premium electric vehicle Zeekr has been announced as a SXSW Sydney 2024 super sponsor. Zeekr will be making its brand entrance and vehicle launch in Australia with SXSW Sydney through two activations: a test drive zone at the ICC Sydney and an activation at Darling Harbour.

• The Growth Distillery – The Growth Distillery has been announced as the 2024 presenting partner of The Dome, an all-new stage located at the centre of Tumbalong Park which will feature a range of experiences, including talks, meet and greets, book signings, demonstrations, surprise performances and more.

• ALL.com | Accor Hotels – SXSW Sydney’s accommodation partner, will bring to bring to life the art of hospitality inside the ALL.com Lobby at Tumbalong Park.

• Suntory Minus 196 – Suntory Minus 196 returns in 2024 and once again will be bringing its Extreme Vending Machine to SXSW Sydney.

• Intuit Mailchimp – Intuit Mailchimp presents Email is Dead, open at Tumbalong Park from October 14 through to October 20. This interactive activation brought to you by Intuit Mailchimp’s in-house creative agency, Wink, examines how email helps shape work lives, relationships, cultures and economies.

• ARN – ARN will be at Tumbalong Park with an activation showcasing its brands: KIIS, WSFM, iHeart, and CADA.

• Papa Salt – Papa Salt will be at Tumbalong Park on October 19th and will present the Australian Premiere of The Endless Summer 60th Anniversary and the debut of the Papa Salt Paloma, a new premix can.

Brand Houses returning in 2024 include Brand USA, Prime Video, and DEPT®.

SXSW Sydney takes place on 14-20 October 2024.

The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) will mark International Youth Day by hosting a webinar on social media responsibility for influencers and exploring the impact of social media on young people’s body image.

The webinar, to be held on 12 August, will explore social media best practices for influencers, talent managers/agents, agencies and brands in light of research showing the strong connection between social media content and negative body image.

Guest speakers Gemma Sharp, an associate professor at Monash University and a senior clinical psychologist, and Penny Shell, chief strategy and product officer for Zenith Media, will examine the connection between social media and eating disorders during the webinar.

“Influencers have a responsibility to be good digital citizens,” AiMCO managing director, Patrick Whitnall, said. “The power of content creators and influencers … cannot be underestimated, particularly among young people, so it’s important that our creators have a thorough understanding of the impact of their content on body image and self- esteem.

“Our focus is on giving our influencer community the tools to build more responsible social media platforms and to be leaders in this space, creating positive, empowering content for young Australians.”

Sharp will provide evidence-based strategies to promote a more positive social media environment and improve the user experience, while Snell will discuss practical media actions and best practice content ratios and behaviours.

Associate professor Sharp is the head of the Body Image and Eating Disorders Research Program at Monash University, and her research career has focused on social media and its impact on teen body image and eating disorders, along with novel treatments.

She also leads the International Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders which brings together key voices in eating disorder research globally to improve eating disorder care.

Shell has held Australian and global leadership roles in agencies and client side, and as an independent consultant in strategy, account leadership, and new business. Her expertise spans categories including retail, financial services, FMCG, luxury, sport, automotive, government, tourism/travel, beauty, QSR, and telecommunications.

Over the past 12 months, she has been leading a media industry social media responsibility initiative for positive actions on teen body image.

The Social Media Responsibility webinar is the latest in AiMCO’s series of webinars for its members. This year’s webinars have deep dived into a range of topics for creators, agencies and brands, including safe mental health content, influencer agreements, and inclusivity and diversity in the industry.

–

Top image: Penny Shell and Gemma Sharp

Thursday 1 August 2024: VOZ Total TV Ratings Overnight Top 30 – Programs ranked on reach

Total People TV Ratings

Nine’s Olympics 2024 D6 – Night recorded a total TV national reach of 3,954,000, a total TV national audience of 1,706,000, and a BVOD audience of 219,000.

Nine’s NRL – Tigers v Cowboys recorded a total TV national reach of 2,210,000, a total TV national audience of 539,000, and a BVOD audience of 84,000.

The Tigers v Cowboys match saw the Cowboys dominate, winning 48-30 at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney.

Also on Seven, Home & Away recorded a total TV national reach of 1,353,000, a total TV national audience of 739,000, and a BVOD audience of 94,000.

Home & Away saw Mali racked with guilt, Irene threw a disaster dinner party and John was at his wit’s end.

10’s airing of The Dog House Australia recorded a total TV national reach of 671,000, a total TV national audience of 291,000, and a BVOD audience of 9,000.

Terrier Penny matched up with Josan while Abbey met border collie Gecko and ten week old Ember tried to cope with Ben’s dog Bronson’s rough play style.

People 25-54

Nine’s NRL – Tigers v Cowboys:
• Total TV nation reach: 909,000
• National Audience: 214,000
• BVOD Audience: 51,000

10’s The Dog House Australia:
• Total TV nation reach: 211,000
• National Audience: 88,000 
• BVOD Audience: 5,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 401,000
• National Audience: 214,000
• BVOD Audience: 52,000

People 16-39

Nine’s NRL – Tigers v Cowboys:
• Total TV nation reach: 478,000
• National Audience: 110,000
• BVOD Audience: 31,000

10’s The Dog House Australia:
• Total TV nation reach: 82,000
• National Audience: 31,000 
• BVOD Audience: 2,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 177,000
• National Audience: 100,000
• BVOD Audience: 32,000

Grocery Shoppers 18+ 

Nine’s NRL – Tigers v Cowboys:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,660,000
• National Audience: 406,000
• BVOD Audience: 65,000

10’s The Dog House Australia:
• Total TV nation reach: 530,000
• National Audience: 232,000 
• BVOD Audience: 7,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,065,000
• National Audience: 596,000
• BVOD Audience: 75,000

Data © OzTAM and Regional TAM 2024. Not to be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without prior written consent of OzTAM and Regional TAM.