On Sunday night, Channel 10’s The Sunday Project unveiled the launch of the Shift 20 Initiative. The initiative – led by the Dylan Alcott Foundation – sees 10 of Australia’s biggest brands coming together in support of disability representation. The brands have united for the ‘Unignorable Adbreak’, swapping out key scenes in their advertising to include a person with disability.

See Also: Dylan Alcott: Why the Shift 20 Initiative “would have changed my life”

Australians with disability make up almost 20% of the population. Yet in advertising, they are only represented 1% of the time.

The brands altering their spots are ANZ, AAMI, Bonds, Kia, McDonalds, Oral-B, nib, Pantene, Uber, and Weet-Bix. 

Tourism Australia, Virgin Australia and TikTok have also come on board as foundation partners.

This initiative was conceived by Special and the Dylan Alcott Foundation over two years ago. Mediaweek caught up with marketing representatives from four of the participating brands to find out why they have thrown their support behind the Shift 20 Initiative.

What motivated you and your brand to get involved with the Shift 20 Initiative?

Dean Norbiato: “Simply put, our motivation was heavily influenced by Dylan Alcott, who has long been a Kia ambassador. He’s a tremendous human and we not only support him directly, but also partner with his Abilityfest music festival in Melbourne, so helping push the Shift 20 Initiative made perfect sense for us.”

Anna Lam: “Here at P&G, we are committed to creating a more inclusive world for everyone – both inside and outside the walls of our company – to ensure our business, and our brands, are representative of the rich diversity of the consumers we serve. “Oral-B and Pantene were so inspired when we first heard about the Shift 20 Initiative, we just knew it was something we needed to be a part of. I believe our brands have a responsibility to share true representation in our advertising and hearing the statistics was challenging. We knew we needed to be a part of making a lasting change for people with disabilities.”

ANZ’s Shift 20 campaign

Andy Morley: “Hearing Dylan’s story about the self-perception challenges he felt from never seeing anyone with a disability on TV was a good reminder to us of the significant impact advertising can have. It’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly, and we believe in celebrating all people through our communications, so when Dylan shared the idea we were immediately in. We’re proud to join nine other high profile brands in Australia to underline why representation matters.”

Chris Donald: “Since Dylan was appointed as nib’s brand ambassador and Chief Motivation Officer in June,  nib has been a proud partner on several initiatives in Dylan’s advocacy and disability work, to help improve our own workplace inclusion, advertising, and accessibility practices for people with disability. The Shift 20 initiative is one of them. Normalising seeing and hearing people with disability on-screen and in advertising is important. And, we can’t underplay the positive benefits representation has on health and well-being, as well as other benefits, like job opportunities and inclusion in the workplace. 

Has your brand’s approach to advertising changed as a result of the Initiative?

Dean Norbiato: “Shift 20 has definitely opened our eyes to the underrepresentation of people with a disability in advertising. We are committed to using our new Seltos campaign as a catalyst for change and to be more inclusive in our future campaigns and communications.”

Anna Lam: “Whilst we have always tried to ensure we take an inclusive approach to our advertising; the Shift 20 Initiative really did challenge our thinking on this. As one of the world’s biggest advertisers, we recognise our responsibility to drive meaningful, long-lasting change – and signing our latest ambassador for Oral-B represents the next step in our representation journey.”

Maccas’ Shift 20 campaign

Andy Morley: “Not explicitly, diversity and representation are always key considerations for us at Uber, but this campaign has helped deepen our motivation to progress further, and advanced the conversation across the industry. We also believe the most interesting advertising comes from telling the most interesting stories, and often people with unique backgrounds or situations have some of the most interesting and inspiring stories to tell, so it makes for better advertising. I sincerely hope it will encourage other brands who are not foundational partners to think closely about why representation matters.”

Chris Donald: “Our involvement in Shift 20 has only reaffirmed the importance of collaborating, listening,  and learning from people with lived experience to ensure people with disability are appropriately represented in our advertising. It’s just the beginning, and we acknowledge we  still have a way to go.”

How will you be working to ensure disability representation in your advertising in the long-term? 

Dean Norbiato: “The first step is being aware of the underrepresentation, which, I hope, the Shift 20 initiative will do for not only our brand but other brands that are not part of the campaign. The second is turning this awareness into action and we are committed to increasing our disability representation well into the future. In turn, we hope this will also motivate more talent with a disability to seek careers in acting and production.”

Anna Lam: “As two of our biggest brands, Oral-B and Pantene are leading the way and are working to ensure representation of people with disabilities is a part of our advertising inclusivity framework right across our other brands in Australia.”

AAMI’s Shift 20 campaign

Andy Morley: “People with disability use our products every day and we know we can improve our product experience for this part of the community. Improving their product experience will always be our primary focus. Having the most accessible product is unapologetically our north star but just as we can continue to improve on our product, we can also continue to improve on representation in our marketing.”

Chris Donald: “We’re committed to increasing disability visibility within our communications and advertising.  Plans are already underway to include more talent with disability in our marketing materials,  including planned content with our ambassador and Chief Motivation Officer, Dylan Alcott.  We’ll also continue to feature Rae, the actress who featured in our ad campaign this month  as part of the Shift 20 launch, in our TV ad rotation throughout the rest of the year.”

What would your message be for other brands looking to join the Shift 20 initiative?

Dean Norbiato: “It’s never too late to be part of the solution.”

Anna Lam: “Oral-B and Pantene are examples of how brands can partner and join the Shift 20 Initiative. When something is unknown, it can be daunting. I would encourage other brands to lean in, learn, and take the first step towards greater representation of people with disabilities by joining the Shift 20 Initiative.”

WeetBix Shift 20 campaign

Andy Morley: “This is a great moment for us all to drive enduring positive change… Get on board!”

Chris Donald: “I’d encourage all brands to consider joining Shift 20. With more than four million people living in Australia with disability, we have a responsibility as businesses who contribute to the advertising space to produce content that represents the whole community. It also just makes good business sense to create inclusive content for the very people who purchase  our products.”

For more information, head to the Shift 20 Initiative website.

Creative + PR Agency  Credits

Agency: Special Australia
Partner/CEO: Lindsey Evans
Partners/CCO: Julian Schreiber & Tom Martin
Partner/CSO: Bec Stambanis
Partner/CSO: Dave Hartmann
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Fitzgerald
Creative Director/Creative: Adam Ferrie
Creative Director/Creative: Peter Cvetkovski
Copywriter: Shaun McFarlane
Art Director: Bella Plush
Managing Director, Melbourne: Sarah Raine
Managing Director, Special PR: Alex Bryant
Senior Business Director: Felicity Touzeau
Business Director: Priya Addams Williams
Business Director: Nick Darrigan
Creative Strategist: Kate Wilkinson
Head of Film & Content Production (Syd): Sevda Cemo
Head of Film & Content Production (Melb): Sophie Simmons
Lead Producer: Charlotte Wren
Head of Stills Production: Nick Lilley
Director, Digital: James Simmons
Digital Producer: Gigi Song
Head Of Design: Adam Shear
Designer: Sarah Ristevski
Designer: Maggie Webster
Finished Art: John Rivera
Comms Strategy Director: Georgia Thomas

By Dylan Alcott

Growing up, one thing I struggled with when I turned on the TV, the radio, or picked up the newspaper, was that I didn’t see or hear anybody like me. I saw non-disabled people. The only time I saw people with disability was as a result of a tragic car accident – the person looking sad and helpless in a wheelchair, deterring you from speeding. I used to believe this stereotype was my destiny in life – and it used to break my heart.

For nearly one in five Australians, this is the reality they still live with almost every single day. Because despite there being almost 4.5 million Australians living with disability, we are only represented in one percent of global advertising. One percent.

But with almost 20% of our population living with some form of visible or invisible disability, we make up a significant percentage of the consumer market. We’re eating at Maccas, we’re getting rideshare, we’re wearing undies, we’re opening bank accounts and we’re washing our hair – but right now we can’t see ourselves, and are left out when it comes to representation in advertising.

When it comes to inclusion of people with disability, advertising done properly is listening to those people’s lived experience, but also understanding the massive opportunity of having representation of the whole population in your brand’s work.

Being more inclusive for customers is not just the right thing to do, it’s good for business, with recent research by TRA, showing a commitment to representation to be not only socially beneficial, but also economically, with 49% of respondents more likely to purchase from brands showing fair representation for people with disability. In short; when people living with disability see people who look and sound like themselves, not only are they more likely to buy the product or service being advertised, but so too are those around them – mothers, fathers, siblings and friends, who have also been impacted by disability.

We really wanted the inclusion of people with disability to become the norm, which is why, working alongside thirteen of Australia’s most prominent brands, we’ve founded the Shift 20 Initiative.

The Shift 20 initiative demonstrates the importance of visibility on-screen, by encouraging brands to commit to fair representation of disability. Initially, we’re changing a scene within ten of our founding brand’s current ads to include a person with disability, but we hope to go far beyond that, providing resources and consultancy for brands on how to be more inclusive long term. This is all whilst providing opportunities and opening doors for people with disability to be themselves and see themselves on screen, creating employment pathways for people with disability both on-screen and behind the camera.

What we are doing here is different. It’s innovative, it’s productive, but most importantly we’re empowering our talent to be themselves, to consider new career paths, to act, to thrive, to get out there and to know that they matter just as much as anyone else. We don’t think people understand how powerful that is. Not just for our community, but for you, for everybody to learn.

Seeing people like me on TV would have changed my life, and that’s what is so powerful about this initiative. The talent are not famous people with disability, instead, they’re ordinary people doing ordinary things; eating breakfast, brushing their teeth, going to work and buying insurance.

We hope working in the way we have, valuing the skills and talents of those with disability in the same way we would anyone else, and partnering with the brands who are approaching this with such enthusiasm, we can shift perceptions when society thinks of people with disability. We want people to not only think of gold medal Paralympians or someone in an accident to pity. Instead, we want everyone to see normal people just like them. We want non-disabled kids to watch these ads and see someone with a disability as their equal, and not lesser than. Hopefully, on a wider scale, this will encourage everyone to have a different perspective, so you might then hire someone in your business with a disability or see someone in a bar who is blind or deaf and ask them on a date.

So, what can brands do? It’s pretty simple. Value talent with disability and look to be inclusive of the nearly one in five Australians with disability. Have greater representation in your ads, help build the talent pool both in front of and behind the camera, and show this to be a valid and possible career path. Gather resources and use the information at shift20.org to educate your teams. Include people with disability in the conversation by taking advice from those with lived experience on how to best represent us. All we really want is for you to allow us to show you who we really are.

Because the thing we’d love Australia to learn out of this campaign is that we as people with disability, we shop, we eat, we travel, we work, we’re great talent, we’re just normal people. But only when given the opportunity to be ourselves.

–

Top Image: Dylan Alcott 

When The Daily Telegraph splashed news about Kyle and Jackie O’s new radio contract across its front page the first reaction of many in the industry was “as if”.

News Corp celebrity columnist Annette Sharp reported on Saturday that Sydney’s #1 FM radio team was insisting “on a massive $200 million joint deal to remain at KIIS for another 10 years”.

At first glance, this seemed like a very ambitious overreach in a new contract negotiation.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson are already the highest-paid talent in Australian media with an estimated $5m each annually, plus incentives, for their radio work. That salary is topped up by extras like TV work and commercial endorsements.

Sandilands runs his own King Kyle business and this year Henderson revealed entrepreneurial flair with the launch of the Besties business.

Radio insiders however have indicated that the battle to resign the duo has been underway for some time with ARN and their former employer SCA both in it, almost literally, up to their necks.

There is speculation both broadcast networks are ready to meet the new demands, with the radio hosts now having to decide to stay at their current home, or return to Sydney’s Hit Network station 2DayFM.

ARN v SCA: Who can best afford $200m?

There is not a lot separating the competing ambitions of Australia’s two biggest commercial radio networks. SCA has the edge in terms of the number of stations with 99 and representation for another 34, while ARN has close to 60 stations in over 30 markets.

In terms of radio revenue, SCA is in front again with $372m in FY 22/23, delivering earnings of $92.2m. ARN posted revenue of $315m in its FY22 delivering earnings of $86.5m.

Both companies are building ambitious digital plays packed with podcasts that are still losing money. SCA’s LiSTNR burned through $15.2m last financial year, while ARN’s iHeartPodcast network lost $12m. Both media companies are forecasting profitability for those divisions by the end of 2024. The addition of The Kyle and Jackie O Show podcast would help speed both outfits toward profitability.

In the past, Sandilands told Mediaweek he and Jackie may not always be with a traditional radio broadcaster: “I have [previously] had a conversation with the head of Spotify in the US. A very informal chat about radio and what we do on our show. Also, Amazon has asked where are we at with contracts. I have said I am really happy on radio at the moment.

“iHeartRadio is doing well for us and gets the reach out around the world which I love. I am really happy with ARN, but I don’t know what the future holds. The show may stay with ARN, iHeartRadio might turn into something different, or Amazon may come along and say we’ll give you all this.

“[Any new deal] won’t be just money driven. I don’t want it to be too hard or for people to have to pay to hear us. We should always be free. I don’t mind if it was on a platform. If iHeartRadio said they want to film it like TV and then charge people to watch it, I’d say that’s OK.”

See also: Insiders guide to Australia’s #1 commercial FM radio show

Gemma O’Neill with Jackie Henderson

Kyle and Jackie O contract negotiation teams

The radio announcers each have a management team. Kyle Sandiland’s day-to-day manager is former radio producer Bruno Bouchet who is also managing director of the King Kyle group.

Jackie Henderson is looked after by former radio producer-turned-network executive Gemma O’Neill who is also managing director of Besties Australia.

When it comes to contract time though, the hosts really role up their sleeves.

In a revealing interview with Mediaweek at the end of their first contract period with ARN, Sandilands explained how contract talks begin and who is in the room:

“Ciaran Davis [ARN chief executive] and Duncan Campbell [ARN chief content officer] from ARN, and myself with [manager] Bruno and Greg Sitch, our lawyer and one of the best entertainment lawyers in the world. I will go to the first meeting where it is all just cakes and smiles. I will leave and tell Greg and Bruno what I want and how I want it.

“They will then argy-bargy back and forth because I can’t put up with it. My demands are always fair, never outrageous. A lot of other people will think it is outrageous.” He’s not wrong this time around too!

Sandilands explained the ARN contract with the radio stars runs to 300 pages. The fine print print includes can’t be fired for any reason. “That’s right,” he explained. “It’s always somebody else’s fault, not mine.”

Sandilands and Henderson claim to sign off on every KIIS employee that comes and goes, “including senior management”. Sandilands added: “They can’t sell the place and have some loser show up. I have to agree.”

Bruno Bouchet with Kyle Sandilands

Sex sells, so less censorship?

In Annette Sharp’s News Corp report, she noted the hosts were hoping for “less censorship”. That is something that will be hard to change as it’s almost become a broadcast licence requirement for a show that drifts close to the edge on most days of the week.

The Kyle and Jackie O show employs censors who have hands hovering above dump buttons to take any potentially license-threatening content off the air. Some regular listeners are surprised how little that dump button is activated with regular revelations about the sexual habits of the hosts, their over-sharing staff and even more oversharing listeners going to air.

Mediaweek is way too prudish to give any more detail, but it’s one of the decisions any new employer needs to make. What is their appetite for revealing sexcapades and how might that impact any commercial agreements.

Howard Stern money

In terms of the Australian market, Kyle and Jackie are certainly in the same league as US broadcaster Howard Stern. In 2020 it was reported by the Associated Press that Stern reached a five-year deal with SiriusXM to continue making his show for the satellite radio company through the end of 2025.

Terms were not disclosed. However, Forbes magazine has reported that Stern was already making US$90 million a year. With a population nearly 14 times the size of Australia, that puts the KIIS hosts on a similar footing.

Sandilands revealed in the past the hosts get bonus payments that are triggered from survey to survey. Those include extra dollars when ranked #1 FM, also something he called a “share of profits” bonus. During 2020 when there were less radio surveys, there were fewer #1 FM bonus payments.

On the other side, ARN “fines” Sandilands when he takes more than an agreed number of sick days. That explains why recently he has been on-air despite not sounding one hundred percent.

How much does he lose? Quite a bit. Sandilands revealed how much he was penalised financially for missing a show. “$28,000 a day it costs me [in 2020]. I only get 11 sick days a year. Last year they penalised me $250,000.”

Brandcast 2023 saw the YouTube and Google team pull out all the stops for its first time back at the Hordern Pavilion for its upfront on Thursday.

YouTube delivered a sleek and punchy presentation that celebrated the success of its creators, such as Mike’s Mic, and revealed the latest viewer trends and product updates.

Marketing expert Mark Ritson also took to the stage to lead a panel discussion featuring Kathy De Lullo, senior marketing manager of Mondelēz International, and Lucinda Barlow, head of international marketing at Uber, to discuss each brand’s recent campaigns and how both achieved long and short term business results.

After all the spectacle and stats – the company seemed to have successfully delivered its one key message for attendees – “YouTube can do it all.”

Media buyers from holding companies and independent agencies shared their thoughts and opinions with Mediaweek about YouTube’s offering, what stood out in the presentation and whether YouTube can really do it all for their agency.

Mark Zala – digital director – Avenue C.

While Google kicked off Brandcast in spectacular style, it was striking how their key message weaved throughout the entire event, was one anchored in simplicity. Not to be taken as an insult, but this felt like YouTube going back to their roots and reminding the market exactly what made them so successful, and still does to this day.

They are the pre-eminent video streaming platform with unrivalled reach and a breadth of content that positions them as a utility and not just a video platform. In my view, this part was crucial and set the tone for the rest of the evening’s content. Yes, there was the all too frequent gimmicky stats around how effective their platform is for brands, overly scripted on-stage ‘exchanges’ between speaker and guest and of course the excessively casual use of ‘AI’ littered throughout their dialogue.

But at every turn, their messaging would always gravitate back to their core USP of being the video platform for all purposes, all occasions, all audiences. Unlike previous years where YouTube have talked up their ‘premium’ content offering (e.g. YouTube Select) in an effort to fend off attacks from the networks who criticise their lack of professionally produced and editorialised content, this year was rather muted.

In fact, they proudly embraced their reputation as the home of UGC, albeit dressed up in slightly more flattering terms as the home for ‘content creators’. This is 2023, after all. I actually think their approach was incredibly smart but also carefully pragmatic.

When talk inevitably turned to the economy and the pressure brand marketers now face to make their media more accountable, there had already been several very compelling arguments made that YouTube can act as a turnkey solution for all your video needs.

Want to address the decline in linear TV? 11m Aussie adults streamed YouTube on their TV last month; want to engage with consumers in moments that matter? YouTube offers an unparalleled ‘diversity of content’ for brands wanting to enter the conversation with consumers at the right time; want to appeal to Gen Z’s and cut through culture? We have YouTube shorts for that. While Google acknowledged that other video platforms do their one core competency well, they want you to know YouTube can do it all.

There wasn’t as much product hype as I expected, but again I think this was an intentional move to keep the brand message front and centre. That being said, there were a few advancements worth calling out; paused content ad experiences being one and the imminent launch of 30s non-skip pre/mid rolls in CTV (YouTube select only) the other.

The latter has been discussed in the industry for a while but this was the first acknowledgment of a roll out in this market, and I do see a lot of value for brands with minimal disruption to the user experience (we’re often served 2x 15s back to backs so no real palpable change in the viewers eyes).

Jane Combes – national head of strategic investment and partnerships – OMD

• Thoughts on the event, the offering, the biggest selling points, and the innovations presented:

YouTube intently focussed on persuading the market that they do it all – it was a bold declaration that they can be anything to anyone, delivering both mass audiences at scale, with a seat at the table in both water cooler moments and niche content that can’t be found elsewhere. They drove the narrative that rich content full of unparalleled creativity and diversity is on offer and YouTube is in the business of shaping a place that matters to people. Passion and creativity combine and with rapidly morphing audience trends, coupled with the explosion of content and a need for human connections, brands can look to YouTube to deliver any format, any screen and any audience, to deliver business results that matter. 

The event was slick, pointy and bold. The content definitely didn’t hold back in its key messaging: “Be where it matters” and “YouTube works”. This key theme threaded throughout the content with a clear and unapologetic challenge to advertisers to re-think YouTube investment levels, at the expense of Television.

On the night, the overall push on brand results and diversity of content felt like it had more magnitude than any push to drive take up of innovations. Although the new CTV solutions (30” non skip and pausable ad experience) will no doubt provide immediate sources of growth for the platform as they look to bolster the big screen experience, in a bid to compete for TV dollars.

• Is Google/YouTube an attractive investment, and is there anything that stood out that might move the needle on the amount advertisers spend with Google/Youtube?

A clear stand out was Ritson’s panel. Clients were both encouraged and challenged to think differently about the platform, with the aim of walking away fully confident that “YouTube works”. Kathy De Lullo openly shared how attractive her investment in YouTube has been for Cadbury – with clear, tangible brand and sales results over a key time of year.

The results that were shared, and the fact that such a traditional TV heavy brand went ‘all in’ and got exceptional results, will definitely leave advertisers considering the move to (at a minimum) test and learn. The results-based case studies were clear, focussed and the narrative was convincing. We are seeing more and more of this in market at the moment – with advertisers looking for solid business results that are scalable, rather than just one-dimensional media solutions.

Mark Ritson with Kathy De Lullo and Lucinda Barlow

The complexity and competitiveness of the market and current economic climate means investment decisions are being more scrutinised than ever, and the investment needs to work hard. With so many competitors, particularly from a video perspective in market, all vying for the same eyeballs and dollars, it’s not surprising YouTube is directly targeting linear TVs share of the investment pie.

Agencies and clients are increasingly looking for guaranteed outcomes, ideally measured as part of a holistic screens approach, based on category specific nuances in brand safe environments – it’s a lot to ask, but the market is shifting in this direction as a necessity. Whether or not the market will be as brave enough to move volume as Cadbury has, will depend on the follow through from Google.

The market is still adapting to measurement challenges, cross screen approaches, brand safety and suitability guidelines and more. As YouTube said themselves, it is complex, and complicated and we are running at pace, with a lot of variables to navigate. Shifting the needle may in this instance, just be about thinking differently and evolving the consideration set.

Chris Parker – chief executive officer – Awaken 

Yesterday’s announcements at YouTube’s Brandcast event in Sydney signified a transformative shift in the digital advertising paradigm. Mel Silva’s insight on YouTube’s versatility, catering to both micro-enthusiasts and mainstream audiences, establishes its unique position in the media landscape.

1. AI-Powered Precision:
YouTube’s new AI-backed tools promise advertisers an enhanced creative process and more impactful campaign results. This push towards AI ensures advertisements are timely, relevant, and resonate with viewers.

2. The Promise of Demand Gen:
Caroline Oates’s introduction of Demand Gen across YouTube platforms emphasizes YouTube’s commitment to spotlighting advertisers’ best content. This harmony between compelling assets and audience engagement is set to redefine the advertising experience this year.

3. Embracing Short-Form & Connected TV:
With the 30-second YouTube Selects Non-Skips on Connected TV, advertisers are being presented with an avenue for ensured viewer engagement. The expansion of the YouTube Select range with the Shorts line-up provides advertisers dynamic ways to remain at the forefront of viewer consciousness.

4. The Revolutionary Pause Experience:
The innovative Connected TV Pause Experience allows brands a unique opportunity. By interacting with audiences during streaming breaks, YouTube offers a fresh dimension in brand-audience engagement.

Caroline Oates

Tangible Outcomes:
Lucinda Barlow and Kathy De Lullo’s discussion provided real-world evidence of YouTube’s dominance. De Lullo’s Cadbury campaign spotlighted YouTube’s edge over traditional TV, emphasizing digital platforms, especially YouTube, as advertising’s future. Barlow’s remarks on Uber’s brand health reinforced this shift towards digital prominence.

In Conclusion:
Caroline Oates encapsulated the sentiment by spotlighting digital video’s power, with YouTube at the helm. These innovations attest to YouTube’s pulse on digital shifts. Over the next year, these formats will undeniably offer advertisers unmatched audience engagement opportunities, heralding a more synergized advertising future.

Greg Cattelain – head of biddable media – Spark Foundry

YouTube’s content diversity is a fantastic reflection of our society. Younger consumers want advertising and programs that are authentic, inclusive, and endorsed by people they see every day on their favourite platforms. When leveraged well, YouTube is a great opportunity for advertisers to be part of culture, and a much quicker rate than in the past.

At the YouTube Brandcast event, YouTube repeated the mantra that TV audiences are declining. While a broken clock is right twice a day, we do need to recognise that TV audiences are genuinely at a tipping point. BVOD is not making up for linear TV’s shortfall, and while the ad-supported tier of subscription TV is promising in terms of the scale it could unlock, we are not there yet.

On the other hand, YouTube Connected TV consumption is now as important as mobile in terms of impression share with 11 million households watching YouTube on their TV.

But when it comes to advertisers, not all content is equal. While it is easy to focus on the premium and brand-suitable content, the platform has a lot of content that is unsuitable for advertising. Using technology to curate content is increasingly important for advertisers who want to have a presence on YouTube.

Format wise, the reintroduction of the 30-second non-skippable (on CTV) makes perfect sense; allowing YouTube viewed on TV to deliver the TV ad experience too. The introduction of an ad when pausing the video is another demonstration of YouTube’s ability to innovate based on user behaviour; this will be a good addition to its Performance Max product, helping to generate conversions for advertisers.

The ramp-up of advertising on its short-form videos, YouTube Shorts, will allow advertisers to extend the use of the vertical video execution they are producing for social. The potential of Shorts for YouTube is massive from a revenue standpoint, being able to eat the lunch of social media platforms.

There is something to be said about the uniqueness of the YouTube platform and its ability to deliver both long and short-term goals for advertisers. In a time of audience fragmentation, advertisers have a lot to gain by experimenting further with the right level of investment.

Agency specialists can add value by helping advertisers deliver both long and short-term goals in a brand-suitable and safe manner. Helping marketers to understand how to leverage the formats and placements the platform has to offer, as a means of achieving the desired outcome, is the critical role agencies need to play.

Trent McMillan – founder and chief digital officer – Kaimera

YouTube’s annual Brandcast event is an opportunity for the company to spotlight its most recent innovations to advertisers. The 2023 edition of Brandcast painted a picture of YouTube’s commitment to AI, creator content, and expansive reach:

AI-powered video

YouTube’s increasing investments in AI promise to aid advertisers in creating highly effective video ads. Their utilisation of AI to sift through video content identifies and highlights the most engaging segments. With this data, advertisers can strategically position their ads for optimum viewer engagement.

Creator content

A significant spotlight was on creator content. YouTube postulates that content from creators is not only more engaging but also radiates authenticity, distinguishing it from traditional advertising. Aided by YouTube, advertisers are now finding it simpler to collaborate with these creators for sponsored content. 

Reach

With a staggering user base of over 2 billion globally, YouTube’s reach is unparalleled. Capitalising on this, they are launching new ad products, specifically tailoring them for connected TV audiences.

Advertisers should undoubtedly be cognisant of the above trends as they strategise their video advertising campaigns. Additional insights from the event also revealed that YouTube is witnessing a spike in connected TV device viewership, solidifying its standing as a formidable channel for all stages of the advertising funnel.

However, the entire event left me with a feeling of an omission. It was noteworthy that they touched upon aligning CTV ads with the timeless TV 30-second format, a mainstay since the 1960s. Yet, despite the continual emphasis on their prodigious reach and pivot to CTV, a conspicuous gap was evident in the discussions around integration with the broader industry’s measurement and reporting tools.

Platforms like VOZ and ACR have evolved into industry linchpins, providing a sophisticated understanding of audience engagement. Their conspicuous absence in the dialogue felt jarring. While I might have been overly optimistic in anticipating Google/YouTube’s alignment with these industry standards, this oversight made the otherwise comprehensive event feel incomplete, slightly dampening its impact for me.

In essence, while YouTube continues to make strides in the right areas, ensuring advertisers can effectively engage their target audiences, there are still areas for further alignment and integration with the broader advertising landscape.

See also: Brandcast 2023: YouTube and Google unveil its insights, new solutions and outlook ahead

–

Top image, left to right: Mark Zala, Jane Coombes, Chris Parker and Greg Cattelain

Are Media made a slew of new announcements, new launches and a big return at its upfront, Ignite 2023, on Friday at The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ recently opened North Building.

Are Media unveiled its strategy to transform the company into an omnichannel content commerce powerhouse.

Key elements of the strategy, which was revealed at an event for nearly 200 marketers and media agency partners at the Art Gallery of NSW, include a new digital destination and content commerce hub for The Australian Women’s Weekly, a new Home Beautiful digital marketplace, and the creation of 10 million first-party data connection points by 2024: offering niche insights into valuable high intention audiences.

Are Media also announced the return of the print edition of ELLE magazine – a title for stylish, creative young women – and introduced its new positioning: Where connection ignites intention.

Are Media chief executive officer, Jane Huxley, said the transformation of the company was built on its powerful content and brands that attract “audiences of intention”.

“Our omnichannel brands have never been more important: a deep read in print, a quick browse online, or a snack on social. Content and brands are providing connection like they never have before. And we know more about our audiences than ever before. The age of data is well and truly upon us. We dive deeply into data daily so we can meet our readers where they are and give them what they need at any time,” she said.

“What we know about our audiences is that they come to us with more intention than ever. They are looking for content to inform what they do and what they buy. They are looking for beauty advice, money advice, retirement planning, travel, recipes to cook – and they have the highest intention of all, which is to do something next.”

Jane Huxley

Huxley said the new positioning, Where connection ignites intention, signals Are Media’s strength and future.

“Our brands have influence, and that influence drives intent with our audiences. They will take action after they consume content, particularly if it’s from a trusted brand like marie claire, beautyheaven, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Home Beautiful or our other market-leading titles,” she said.

“Our business models are aggressively evolving to map closer to the intention of our audiences, as we have begun to expand our offering in video, lead generation, affiliate marketing, marketplace, licensing and merchandising.”

Andrew Cook, Are Media director of sales, said the company’s content and the engaged audiences that consume it across lifestyle, beauty and home brands offer advertisers an opportunity to connect with audiences across the funnel.

“Our omnichannel brands deliver trust, authority and influence across every stage of the marketing funnel,” he said.

“We have a proven ability to deliver strong results at the top to middle end of the funnel – driving active awareness, deep consideration, intent and evaluation – using our trusted brand voice, our influence and that powerful connection we have with our audiences.​ A lot of hard work has gone into our capability at the bottom end of the funnel.

“We can now fill the funnel from brand awareness through to action and advocacy, helping our advertising partners close the loop,” Cook said.

“Consider the opportunity for a brand to tap into Are Media’s whole of business offering – from events, shoppable media and content, in-store connection at retail and product sampling to new parents through our Bounty Bags to beauty reviews, product licensing and custom books. We can even warehouse and fullfill products through Are Direct. All of this supported by our research, data and targeting capabilities along with our custom content and creative solutions services,” he said.

“It’s simple: leverage our relationships with your customers. Our brands have spent years building the type of trust that can turn customers into fans, and that’s a very powerful thing,” Cook added.

Andrew Cook

The Australian Women’s Weekly and Home Beautiful launch new websites

The Australian Women’s Weekly and Home Beautiful will launch new stand-alone websites, formerly part of the Now to Love online entertainment centre.

The new website offers a premium lifestyle experience for users and will boost the brand for content commerce.

The Australian Women’s Weekly has created a digital product that works to educate and inspire women to live their best lives, with content delivered when and where they want it. 

The new digital destination is live now, and the key elements include news, the Royals, lifestyle, health, beauty, money and travel.

Nicole Byers, Are Media general manager – Lifestyle, said: “womensweekly.com.au will not only grow and deepen the connection we have with our existing audience of over 2.4 million, it will also enable us to reach and inspire a new cohort of Australian women who value quality content.

“It will provide trusted advice on everything from financial planning and travel to health and beauty, as well as The Weekly’s trademark interviews and in-depth investigations. The site will not only be a platform for information; it will provide a community for Australian women who want to find out more about the things that matter most to them with content that aligns to the values and standards they have come to expect from The Australian Women’s Weekly brand.”

The new website is a strong complement to the dedicated food site womensweeklyfood.com.au, which is home to 14,000 triple-tested recipes.

The Australian Women’s Weekly marketplace is also set to launch later in 2023 with products specially curated by The Weekly team.

Are Media has also announced that a fully integrated e-commerce marketplace for the Home Beautiful consumer will launch in 2024.

The marketplace will be a new addition to the standalone Home Beautiful website launched in July.

Elle Lovelock, editor in chief, Home Beautiful, said: “We know our Home Beautiful audiences love to shop and the new marketplace is set to ignite purchase intent across active home decorators and shoppers. We are excited to complete this thriving ecosystem, offering the next logical step for consumers and through the funnel opportunities for advertisers.”

As part of Are Media’s digital strategy, its portfolio of 15 websites will be moved to new platforms for optimised user experience, streamlined content creation and content commerce by mid-2024.

All of Are Media’s websites support the full digital advertising ecosystem, from sponsorships and rich media display to commercial content, social media, e-commerce, video and EDM solutions.

Nicole Byers in conversation with Christine Holgate and Ronni Kahn, AO

Nicole Byers took to the stage to lead a panel discussion with Toll Global Express CEO Christine Holgate and OzHarvest CEO and founder Ronni Kahn AO to discuss how they have each overcome hardship.

The audience saw a full circle moment as Holgate shared that at her lowest point, she had a Ronni Kahn spoon that reminded her of Kahn’s strength and that kept her going. 

Kahn explained that the significance of the teaspoon is based on a quote from an Israeli author who said that in the event of a massive fire: “You can run away, you can write an angry letter demanding the perpetrators get punished, or you can go and get a bucket. If you can’t find a bucket get a jug, if you can’t get a jug, get a cup. If you can’t get a cup, get a teaspoon.”

At the end of the inspirational panel, Kahn generously gave away a spoon to a member of the audience.

Nicole Byers with Ronni Kahn and Christine Holgate

ELLE Australia print magazine returns in 2024

ELLE Australia will make its comeback in 2024 as a print magazine. With 45 global editions, ELLE is one of the world’s largest fashion brands, with 37 million social media followers and 70 million unique browsers internationally.

Are Media will publish two editions of ELLE Australia next year (autumn/winter in March and spring/summer in September), growing to four editions in 2025.

Nicky Briger

The decision to revive the print product after a three-year absence follows the success of ELLE.com.au, which has an average of 270,000 unique visitors and 530,000 page views a month, reaching a total Australian audience of over 1.4 million across all touch points. On social, ELLE has 749,000 followers on Facebook, 302,000 on Instagram and a fast-growing TikTok channel.

Nicky Briger, Are Media general manager – Fashion and Beauty, said: “ELLE is the fashion bible for Gen Z and millennial smart, savvy, stylish women who love to shop. They’re keen early adopters and what to be first to know everything so they can share that knowledge with their friends. With that in mind, ELLE brings them the now, new and next in fashion, beauty and lifestyle, but it’s also at the centre of the cultural conversation, bringing them everything from news, views and entertainment to social issues and politics.”

“Print is seeing a resurgence globally, especially in the luxury and fashion space, so we’re thrilled to be bringing back the much-loved magazine – something tangible to have, hold, read and leaf through.

“Over the past three years, ELLE.com.au has become Australia’s premium digital destination for the style shopper and trend setter. Leveraging our signature smart, trusted voice, ELLE.com.au blends editorial engagement with style, knowledge and authority to offer guidance and advice, all with a strong point of view. And now it’s time to give her more!,” she said.

“Because the ELLE reader is highly social, active, success-driven and considers herself a leader in her world, the magazine will reflect that with six key content pillars, from spectacular fashion, beauty and shopping to lifestyle, culture and water-cooler zeitgeist reads,” Briger added.

Naomi Smith and Sally Hunwick have been appointed the brand’s Fashion and Beauty directors respectively. Both have four decades of experience between them, having worked for multiple luxury brands, including Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, ELLE and marie claire throughout their careers. Naomi and Sally will work across ELLE and marie claire. The ELLE editor will be announced in the coming week. 

The return of ELLE magazine strengthens Are Media’s fashion and beauty portfolio, which includes marie claire and Girlfriend.

Nicky Briger chats with Bruna Papandrea and Jodi Matterson

After announcing the return of ELLE Australia, Nicky Briger led a panel discussion with Australian film and TV producers Bruna Papandrea and Jodi Matterson. The trio discussed the history of their production company, Made Up Stories, and how they tell women’s stories.

Bruna noted that the projects she’s the most proud of are the ones that took ages “because we didn’t give up”. She added: “Australian women do so well internationally because we don’t wait for someone to tell us we can do it, we just do it.”

Reflecting on their work and success achieved so far, Matterson shared: “We have so many great moments, but because we’re always so focused on what’s next, we never stop to look at what we’ve achieved.”

Nicky Briger with Bruna Papandrea and Jodi Matterson

Susan Armstrong with Matildas star Courtnee Vine

Also taking to the stage was Are Media’s general manager of entertainment Susan Armstrong in conversation with Matildas star Courtnee Vine. They discussed the Matildas’ recent efforts at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, being part of a strong team, and what’s next.

Launch of Social Currency Playbook study

Are Media announced the launch of the Social Currency Playbook, Are Media’s flagship thought leadership study for 2023.

The study found pace and proliferation, post-truth and misinformation, privacy protection, and integrity and governance are the four major forces framing evolution in the world of women’s content on social media.

Completed in partnership with Australia’s leading cultural insights agency, The Lab, the research gives brands the power to create compelling content across all social platforms with emerging trends identified. The Playbook is designed to provide practical insights for brands looking to drive connection, attention, and ignite intention with women across social media including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest.

It includes insights on how to connect with women in nine key content areas from fashion and beauty to homes and interiors, plus light-hearted content that makes women feel good – something they highly value.

Natalie Bettini, Are Media’s head of research, said: “Women are favouring vulnerability and authenticity over unachievable, aspirational images and videos. TikTok and BeReal have altered expectations around how we ‘show up’ and share parts of ourselves online. Understanding how to connect with women across social platforms is now mandatory for brands looking to drive growth, and as the experts in understanding women, we’re very proud of the insights the Social Currency Playbook provides.

“At Are Media, we are prioritising short-form visual content to ensure compelling visual storytelling leaning on imagery, video and infographics over text. We are also being creative with how to reimagine long-form content within the confines of the Instagram grid.

“Most excitingly, the Social Currency Playbook is fully aligned with our own content commerce strategy. The project found new parameters of how social media consumption blurs the lines between ecommerce, marketplaces and live shopping,” she said.

Andrew Cook, Are Media director of sales, said: “To connect with someone, you need to understand them truly, fully and deeply. Are Media is globally recognised for our market-leading research on women. In 2024, we will undertake one of our largest pieces of research work to date.

“This will be a project that demonstrates ‘how she shops’. The study will provide insights into how to connect with female audiences of intent. The study is set to explore the different touchpoints in the consumer journey and the role of different types of advertising, content, media and platforms on driving purchase decisions. This will add to our library of over 50 pieces of research about women, more than any other media owner in Australia.”

Are Media recently announced its expanded partnership with market research company Roy Morgan to gather worldwide audience insights from its social media channels that are currently not available anywhere else.

Under the partnership, Are Media’s social media audiences across Instagram, Facebook and other social platforms will be included in Roy Morgan’s official Single Source database, giving advertisers a more accurate profile of its social audience, to deliver commercially driven social campaigns that engage the right audience.

Ramsay Street is back open for business with the brand new chapter of Neighbours premiering on Monday, September 18, at 4:30 pm on 10, and 6:30 pm on 10 Peach and 10 Play.

The lives, loves and challenges of the residents of Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia, a fictional suburb of Melbourne – will pick up two years after the finale in 2022. 

Neighbours has run for over three decades and helped launch the careers of many household names such as Margot Robbie, Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, and Russell Crowe. 

The new season will see never-before-seen families move into two new homes while much-loved favourites from Neighbours’ storied past will also return, including actors Mischa Barton and Guy Pearce. 

The new series will also feature Alan Fletcher, Annie Jones, Candice Leask, Emerald Chan, Georgie Stone, Jackie Woodburne, Lloyd Will, Lucinda Armstrong Hall, Lucinda Cowden, Marley Williams, Naomi Rukavina, Rebekah Elmaloglou, Riley Bryant, Ryan Moloney, Sara West, Shiv Palekar, Stefan Dennis, Tim Kano, and Xavier Molyneux as series regulars.

April Rose Pengilly, Ian Smith, Jodi Gordon, Melissa Bell and Trevor the Dog will feature as guest stars. 

Mediaweek sat down with Rick Maier, head of drama & executive production, Paramount ANZ and Jason Herbison, Neighbours’ executive producer to discuss the new season and how the show’s content has evolved over three decades to stand out as fresh and exciting. 

MW: Neighbours has run for more than three decades, from the very first season to the brand-new season, how has the show’s content evolved?

RM: All dramas change over time and respond to the way we see the world. Neighbours has been arguably one of the more progressive dramas in the last ten years. Whilst Neighbours has never been issue-based, the team have always been mindful of current trends and shifts in thinking. We’re all very proud of that progression.

MW: How does the new season of the show stand out as fresh and exciting?

JH: The return of the show has given us a wonderful opportunity to reset the world of Ramsay Street. We decided on a two-year time jump which gives us a great kicking-off point – what has changed and what has stayed the same? With cast changes, new sets, new locations, and some upgrades in technology, it feels like a wonderful new chapter.

MW: What do you think makes the show so popular throughout the years it’s been on air?

RM: Jason Herbison (Executive Producer) and his team at FMA always put the audience first. They respect the Neighbours extended family and always look for opportunities to reward the audience. Some characters will leave a long-running serial and are never heard from again but that doesn’t happen with Neighbours. Hopefully that sense of “family” flows through to the audience. The senior cast are also the best in the business at fostering and supporting new talent. It’s no accident Neighbours has been able to launch so many careers on both sides of the camera. It’s the culture. Everyone involved wants to pay it forward.

JH: Neighbours is a special show. While the storytelling style has evolved over the years, we’ve never lost our heart and our sense of community.  It’s a heightened world at times but it’s also warm and relatable. A world our viewers want to spend time in.

Jason Herbison and Rick Maier

MW: What can viewers expect from the brand-new season?

RM: New and returning viewers can expect some brilliant stories, shock twists, great romances and a very exciting new group of young actors coming to Ramsay Street. And that’s not to mention Mischa Barton or the return of some much-loved favourites from the past.

JH: We begin the new series with a time jump and a surprise wedding, which really sets the stakes for what’s to come. There are new characters and explanations for why some other characters have departed, but is all as it seems? As time continues, we’ll begin to realise there is more than meets the eye and past events have had a big bearing on the future.

MW: How do you want the new season to resonate with viewers?

RM: If audiences like what they see – and, as I said, this is a show always made with the audience in mind – then I’m sure we will have Neighbours on our screens for years to come. It’s a privilege to have any association with such an iconic program.

JH: I want our existing viewers to feel as though they’ve got their show back and I want new viewers to dip into the world and hang around.

The series will launch on Prime Video Australia and New Zealand on Monday, 25 September. This will follow the series premiere on Amazon Freevee and Network 10 on Monday 18 September.

The series is produced by Fremantle Australia.

Neighbours premieres Monday, September 18 at 4:30 pm on 10 and 6:30 pm on 10 Peach and 10 Play. 

See also: Chris Sebastian to helm the theme song for the new era of Neighbours on 10 and Prime Video

Following News Corp’s recent release of their annual Food Corp 2024 Trend Forecast, Mediaweek caught up with to Laura Simpson, digital director at taste, to talk through the highlights in further detail.

On the table for discussion were the success that News Corp has seen with video, how values shaped by the pandemic and the rising costs of living has impacted consumer food behaviours, and what has come of some of Food Corp’s 2023 predictions.

The Golden Age of entertaining

Looking back at last year’s Forecast and how it reflected the 12 months that followed, Simpson described “the Golden Age of entertaining” as the one trend that was “almost more bang-on than we expected.”

See Also: News Corp Australia reveals the food trends to expect in 2023

Like all trends contained in the forecast, this prediction had been created in conjunction with the Growth Intelligence Centre (GIC) at News Corp. Simpson elaborated, “That has played out in almost all aspects of what we were looking into: all aspects of food, and how people are cooking at home.”

According to Simpson, the GIC reported “this massive trend towards people; that they’re not dining out as much due to cost of living pressures. They’re eating at home.

“We overlaid that with all the data points that we’re seeing, and that we have access to a Food Corp, and we can see that there were so many of these ‘entertaining’ searches, ‘entertaining’ queries, ‘entertaining’ trends creeping in.

“That’s come up, and it’s still going.”

Looking to the near future, Simpson added, “We were looking last week at food trends and entertaining. 

“Usually, we see that start in about October, but it’s already started, again, for September. So I think that’s a good indication of what kind of Christmas we might have.”

The blended life

Post-COVID, Simpsons says that, “All our work routines have changed. 

“Some people are working from home, some people may be living with their parents when they hadn’t previously. There was a COVID baby-boom, so they could be cooking for extra people.

“That actually shifted the cooking patterns that we can see.”

She continued, saying that, “Previously, there were very specific things that we could see – this happens on a Monday, this happens on a Tuesday – but now there’s been a blending across the week.

“For instance, the weekend starts on Thursday, and finishes probably on Monday night, with Saturday as a big, big event-based cooking day, which we hadn’t previously seen before.”

Shifting consumer values and behaviour

For most Australians, the rising cost of living is at the forefront of concern, and as such, a challenging time for many brands to navigate the current market.

Simpson commented, “In our data we can see that there’s a trend towards more kinds of budget ingredients. When we post budget content, it tends to resonate better.”

She suggested that the current environment may actually be an opportunity for brands; “At the beginning of the Trends Forecast we talked about consumers ‘protecting their premiums’, so there’s been this rise of the discerning consumer.

“Obviously people’s belts are tightening, and people are really being cautious about spending, but there are opportunities for them to spend on the things that they really value.

“So it’s a case of brands looking at what the value is in their offering, and how they can be in the consideration set by tapping into what those little personal premiums that people are attaining are.”

Talking further to the values of the present day consumer that are informing their food choices, Simpson observed that long-term health is a big focus. “During COVID, there was a bit of a health reset, where people were thinking, ‘well, I just want to eat to live. I want to eat to have a long, healthy life.’

The ultimate goal for brands in this market is to speak to the growing desire for, in Simpson’s words, “long-term health, convenience, and having those moments that people can seize and really cherish.”

The rise of video

With News Corp Food Network citing 341 million social video views achieved over the last financial year, the importance of video seems imperative.

As Simpson asserts, “About 80% of our recipe content is now underpinned by video. Vertical video is the number one storytelling medium that we’re focused on. Our team on Food (and I know this goes for the whole of News Corp) is completely digital, and largely vertical video focused. So it cannot be understated.”

The rise of video Simpson attributes to COVID, and further, “it also accelerated during the rise of platforms like TikTok, and Meta’s Reels offerings.”

See Also: Meta launches Facebook Reels in Australia

With the video data that they accumulated, Food Corp were able to debut video trends in this year’s Forecast, revealing that 82% of Millennials turn to video when looking for new recipes or tips. Additionally,  74% of consumers have purchased a product after watching Reels.

In light of this, Simpson stated, “If you’re not in video now, you need to be within the next few months, because there’s a lot of catching up to be done.

“That’s where we as Food Corp come in. From an FMCG perspective, we have a lot of expertise in food, as we know, but we’ve also got a lot of expertise in video that we have built up over the past five to seven years. 

“We’ve been doing videos for quite a long time, and we’ve got a lot of learnings.

“Not just from a storytelling perspective, but also driving the action after people have watched the videos, so we’re looking at the shopability of video, providing that bottom of funnel solution.”

What’s next?

Looking ahead, Simpson detailed the next evolution for Food Corp; “A lot of people think of us as food, but food is life in a way, so where we’re gonna be focusing on extending our expertise is into kitchen-adjacent categories.”

She concluded, affirming, “During a cost of living crisis, trusted environments like Food Corp are really important for people who maybe don’t have as much money as they had previously, to do research and to leverage the expertise, so that they know when they are making purchasing decisions, they’re going to be making the correct ones.”

See also: Brodee Myers-Cooke: What the 2023 News Corp Food Trends Forecast tells us about the future of food

Clemenger BBDO has launched ‘Yes Makes It Possible’ – a campaign for the Yes vote for constitutional recognition and a Voice to Parliament for Indigenous Australians after recently being appointed to the Yes23 account.

The brief Clemenger BBDO was given was to create clarity and take politics out of the equation. To focus on combatting misinformation in the media, and ultimately rally the country to vote Yes on October 14 to give Indigenous Australians a voice.

The large-scale integrated campaign is running across multiple channels including TV, outdoor, press, and social.

The TV commercial features a young Indigenous boy asking questions such as: “Will I grow up in a country that hears my voice?” and “Will I be healthy – and live as long as other Australians?”

It continues: “Will I get to go to a good school? And learn my people’s language? Will I be seen beyond the sports field? Recognised by the decision-makers of our country?” With the tagline: Yes makes it possible. 

The TV commercial launched on Sunday 17 September with social and OOH airing on Monday 18 September and radio on Wednesday 20 September. Regional press will back up the campaign from Monday 18 September. 

Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin said: “This advertisement portrays hope and optimism that we can unite as a country and make Australia a better, fairer country through a successful Yes vote. 

“It epitomises what this referendum is all about – listening so we can lock-in a stronger future for Indigenous Australians in areas such as health, education and employment.”

Clemenger BBDO CEO, Dani Bassil said: “This has been the most exceptional agency project I’ve been involved with in quite some time. It’s truly brought out the best of everyone at Clems and I am also very grateful to all our production partners for their support. Now we need Australians to vote yes and give our Indigenous communities a voice they deserve. A huge thank you to the Yes23 team and the board for trusting us with this.”

The new TV Commercial can be found here.

See also: YES campaign secures ‘You’re the Voice’: John Farnham classic helping to change history

Media Movers across the industry include:

• Shannon Molloy has returned to news.com.au as a senior reporter, based in Sydney.

• Ardent is continuing its expansion by adding to its Sydney team and client portfolio in the first quarter of the financial year.

The North Sydney-based full-service marketing agency has welcomed Adrian Wang as digital designer, Mark Kratochvill as digital strategy manager, Patricio Churruarin as paid social manager and Kerry-Ann Henrico as public relations account manager.

Read more: Ardent welcomes new additions to its Sydney team and client portfolio

• Laura Anderson has returned from maternity leave and is now a Journalist / Newsreader for ARN, based in Brisbane.

• The National Indigenous Radio Service has welcomed Nance Haxton as a senior reporter.

• XPO: The Mars Agency has announced the appointment of Gavin McColl as eCommerce director.

The newly created senior role is designed to enhance the shopper and activations agency’s digital commerce capabilities, with digital commerce taking an increasing stake in the commerce journey.

McColl, previously held the role of head of experience and eCommerce at Resolution Digital, joins after a four-year stint in the same role for OMD. His background extends to retailers, with significant experience across Coles, Target and Officeworks.

Read more: XPO: The Mars Agency welcomes Gavin McColl as eCommerce director

• Daniel Butkovich has joined REA Group as a property journalist.

• Kyle Rodda has taken up a new role as a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

• Howatson+Company has welcomed Andrew Drougas as managing director – Melbourne. 

Chris Howatson, founder and CEO, said of the appointment: ”I’ve had the pleasure of working with Drougie for many years. He deeply cares about his clients and how to grow their business.

Read more: Howatson+Company appoints Andrew Drougas as managing director – Melbourne

• Richard Clune has stepped down as editor-in-chief of Kanebridge Media’s Robb Report ANZ.

• Courtney Borrett has started at Pedestrian Group as an E-Commerice writer.

• NOVA Entertainment has announced the promotion of Mandi Tapp to Brisbane sales director, following almost 14 years in the business, including most recently her role leading the local direct sales team.

Beginning at Nova in 2010 as business development manager, Tapp’s new role will see her responsible for the day-to-day sales function in the Brisbane market as they continue to provide clients with all-of-audio solutions across NOVA’s radio brands (Nova 1069 and Smooth), streaming and podcast assets.

Read more: NOVA Entertainment promotes Mandi Tapp to Brisbane sales director

• Barrier Truth has welcomed Stuart Kavanagh as their editor.

• Grace Nakamura has moved across to ABC Western Queensland’s newsroom as a journalist.

• Venetian Media Group (VMG)’s full-service marketing agency, Yakkazoo has appointed Rosie Thompson-Jones to lead its experiential and events division. 

In the new role, that is effective immediately, Thompson-Jones will nurture Yakkazoo client relationships and drive new business opportunities. 

Read more: Yakkazoo welcomes Rosie Thompson-Jones as head of experiential and events

• Anna McGovern has joined Sky News Australia as a producer.

• John Buckley has started at Capital Brief as the media correspondent. 

• ABC Science has welcomed Jackson Ryan as a Science and Tech reporter. 

• Matt Dyktynski has announced that he will be stepping down from Mix94.5’s breakfast show after eight years. His final show on the station will be Friday, 15 September. 

Commenting on his departure, Dyktynski said: “I have loved every moment being a part of this Perth institution and I know Mix94.5 will just keep going from strength to strength.

Read more: Matt Dyktynski steps down from Mix94.5’s Breakfast Show after eight years

• Alexandra McDivitt has finished as chief sub-editor for taste.com.au after four years in the role.

• Emily Algar has joined RUSSH as their beauty editor.

• Prevention has welcomed Zoe Meunier to the team as editor.

• Gitika Garg is now an assistant editor at Domain Review. 

• Josie Taylor has stepped in as the acting editor / investigative journalist for ABC Central Victoria for the next six months.

• Alison Martin is now editor of the Colac Herald. 

• ABC Western Plains has welcomed Catherine James as a reporter. 

Staff changes in Foxtel’s Entertainment Divison:

• Chief Content and Commercial Officer Amanda Laing has expanded her portfolio to include Entertainment.
• Alison Hurbert-Burns is the Executive Director of Binge and Commissioning and Content at Foxtel Group.
• Lana Greenhalgh is the new Head of Scripted.
• Howard Myers is the Head of Unscripted.

• Sarah Keszler is now a journalist at Channel 7 Brisbane.

• Anthony Dodd is now a television news reporter at WIN TV Canberra.

• Nick Sinis has joined the Star News Group as the editorial coordinator.

• Are Media has announced the appointment of Lisa Hudson to the newly created role of general manager – homes, effective from October 16.

Hudson is an experienced executive, with a career that spans magazines, newspapers, and digital media.

Read more: Are Media appoints Lisa Hudson as general manager – homes

• Chloe Kent has been promoted to editor of the South Gippsland Sentinel-Times.

• Charles Dally-Watkins has finished as a reporter at Channel 7 Sunshine Coast.

• Tess McClure has finished as The Guardian’s New Zealand correspondent.

• Henry Milic has finished as a news reporter at ABC Eyre Peninsula. 

Earlier this year, Seven News moved out of its Martin Place studio facility to move in with the rest of Seven West Media in Sydney in the inner west. The new Seven News studio set up there are now two control rooms. The smaller of the two facilities is used for Seven News, while the bigger, more manual control room, is used for Sunrise and The Morning Show.

The most notable difference when walking around the new facility is the space available. The Martin Place news HQ was well located in the Sydney CBD, but it was a cramped space with not a lot of room to spare. Staff were crammed into every available nook and cranny.

See also: Sunrise officially makes the move to Seven’s new newsrooms and studios in South Eveleigh

“We have two controls so we can have one on standby,” explained Seven’s head of news and current affairs Craig McPherson. “Given time zone differences there are occasions where we can have two control rooms running at the same time doing two different programs for two different markets. It’s something we haven’t had in the past, but it’s good that we do now.”

Craig McPherson

Ratings: Seven News closes the gap in Sydney

The day I visited McPherson at the new Seven News studios, Nine released comms that claimed it had won the year for 6pm News in Sydney. It’s not a claim McPherson disputed. “They have won Sydney,” he told Mediaweek. “The gap [between Nine and Seven] is closing. We are now about 3,000 viewers behind Nine on average nightly this year. We were close to 30,000 behind last year. We are happy with the progress in Sydney, but we haven’t won it and that is one of our main challenges.”

Although not looking for excuses, McPherson noted in Sydney Nine has the NRL in winter, the market’s highest-rating radio station, 2GB, and newspapers. “That is not a bad ecosystem. We feel we certainly match them, now it is just about getting over the top of them.”

Correspondent Chris Reason crosses live from the newsroom

Seven clear leader in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth

“Adelaide is having its best year since OzTAM started,” said McPherson, as he referred to evening news performance in other metro markets. “Our long-time newsreader there retired which led to a change of presenter and it has been an outstanding success.” Rosanna Mangiarelli and Will Goodings started presenting the Adelaide 6pm news in January this year.

“Perth continues to be very strong, Brisbane is not dissimilar to Sydney, with a close margin. Melbourne is flying for us where we have one around 50 weeks in succession.

“Overall this has been Seven News’ best year in over a decade across the five-city metro markets. When you include regional and our digital assets we are the #1 news brand in the country, bar none.”

It’s a race that continues every day. “It’s a never-ending finish line. You might be winning, but you’ve never won. You might be losing but you’ve never lost. We are careful not to get over-confident as we are in a dogfight every day for audience.”

Mark Ferguson closing the gap with Nine in Sydney

Outside of the 6pm hour

Including the key 6pm hour, Seven commits to 9.5 hours of news daily. The Latest is a floating late-night news bulletin presented by Michael Usher five nights a week – no Friday or Saturday bulletins.

“It would be nice to have a permanent timeslot, but the way programming is I can’t see that changing,” said McPherson. [Programmers] Angus Ross and Brook Hall are supporters of the program.” The Latest can go to air as late as post 11pm to as early as 9.30pm. “10.30pm is where we’d like to sit and we get there about half the time.”

“We start at 5am daily with News, then Sunrise from 5.30am, The Morning Show from 9am and then News at 11.30am.” The newsroom gets a breather between 12 noon and 4pm when there is an hour of news, with The Chase Australia the buffer between that and the 6pm bulletin.”

Master control at Seven News Sydney

No FTA Seven News channel

With Nine confirming it will run a dedicated FTA news channel during the Paris Olympics, how does Seven feel about turning its operation into a 24-hour beast across the primary channel for nearly half the day and then a multi for the rest?

“Could we [run a dedicated news channel]? Of course, we could. Would it cost that much money? Probably not. Would it make any money? Probably not. With a population of 26m we already have two news channels [ABC News and Sky News Australia].

“I’d love to do it. I have put forward a proposal for one. But right now we are more concerned with consolidating where we are and continuing to grow that audience.

“We have more Australians than ever watching our products on all platforms. Our year-on-year numbers for TV only are down slightly, but compare the number that is watching on all places and we are up.”

Matt Shirvington with his Sunrise colleagues Edwina Bartholomew, Natalie Barr and Mark Beretta

Keeping personnel changes to a minimum

Consistency of product is key to consistent ratings. Seven finds good talent and keeps them in place. Apart from the aforementioned change in Adelaide, bringing in Matt Shirvington to co-host Sunrise was the only other major talent move this year.

“Sunrise actually had two major changes in recent times with Sam Armytage departing a couple of years previously and then David Koch leaving,” reminds McPherson. “Shirvo was the right guy at the right time for us and he has done an outstanding job. The show continues to go from strength to strength in what was a seamless transition. We are well placed for the years ahead with the team we had.”

As to other potential replacements for Koch, McPherson confirmed Basil Zempilas was in the running.

“Of course, he was. Weekend Sunrise should be seen as a part of the succession plan for the main show. It’s not a closed shop obviously as Matt came in [from Seven News] and he was doing one or two days a week when David wasn’t here. Basil was part of the conversation when he was around.”

See also: Basil Zempilas in campaign mode, juggling TV and radio, and what’s next?

The Morning Show hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies

The Olympic broadcaster no more

There are many Australians who might only remember one Olympic Games that wasn’t on Seven – London in 2012 – which was shared by Nine and Foxtel.”

When asked how Seven might cover Paris next year, McPherson replied, “We are still working that out.”

Could we see duelling breakfast shows on either side of the Seine in 2024 with Seven offering a spoiler? Unlikely! “It would be a waste of money for us,” McPherson said decisively. “We will give it a decent crack, but in terms of putting the whole Sunrise show over in Paris it’s not going to happen,” he added.

McPherson said he is not swayed by any argument that covering an event Seven doesn’t have will only help the opposition. “Everyone knows where and when the Olympics will be next year. It’s a similar argument when someone asks are we pushing audience to State of Origin when we cover it on news or Sunrise. No, I don’t believe so. People will either watch it or not. We can get a little bit too sensitive about things like that.”

McPherson did mention the challenging Paris 2024 time zones. “That’s a Channel Nine problem, not ours.”

News is still a live attraction…mainly

Despite the growth of on-demand viewing, audiences largely still want to consume news programming when it goes to air. “I’m quite buoyed that we haven’t lost significant [live] audience. It has almost plateaued. The 6pm numbers indicate it remains appointment viewing. Despite all the other options, I’m confident as much as hopeful, that will continue.”

McPherson noted some people stream the 6pm bulletins, but not a significant percentage. “Our streaming number is about 50,000 out of a national viewing audience of 1.4m. There is some growth, the question is at what rate will that number grow? As people become more accustomed to watching news on an app they might realise they have the ability to watch on-demand.

“The main issue that we face is being able to capture that number in a metric.”

There has been phenomenal growth on digital platforms including Facebook. McPherson notes that Seven News has an audience of around 13m on Facebook. “Our news website 7News.com.au is the #3 news website in the country. It is the #1 site for women under 40. It is still in its infancy. We still don’t have a 7News.com.au app, but it’s not far away.”

www.scottehler.com

Spotlight on Sundays

With a smallish band of battle-hardened TV news warriors, Seven’s Spotlight has been luring away some of the 60 Minutes audience from Nine, said McPherson. “The current season has just ended, although there will be a couple of episodes to come. Spotlight has beat 60 Minutes 12 to six when the shows have gone head-to-head. We are very pleased with the result. It is a small team, but we would like to grow that.

“Working alongside EP Mark Llewellyn are host and reporter Michael Usher, [former 60 Minutes reporter] Liam Bartlett and Steve Jackson. Sarah Greenhalgh [back from four years as Seven European correspondent] starts this month working on stories for next year. Andrea Keir has been doing some freelance work. They have all been doing a great job. They execute stories in a unique way, differently to what audiences would see on 60 Minutes or A Current Affair.”

The Seven Network is claiming Sunrise has taken the title of Australia’s most-watched breakfast program on Australian screens, two decades after it first asserted the breakfast TV crown.  

Hosted by Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington (who took over co-hosting duties from David Koch on 12 June this year), the network claims it has been #1 every day so far this year nationally and in the capital cities,

The network also said that The Morning Show with Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies has achieved the same result at #1 for the past 16 years.

Seven noted that the combination of Sunrise and The Morning Show shows that Australians’ screens are tuned into the network from 5.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. every weekday, every week, all year.

According to Seven, every month, Sunrise reaches more than 4.2 million Australians nationally, with Weekend Sunrise reaching 2.9 million and the weekday The Morning Show reaching 3.2 million.

The network said that across 2023, Sunrise has increased the lead over its nearest competitor, attracting more than 30% more viewers nationally and almost 15% more in the capital cities. In regional Australia, it is 59% ahead.

Natalie Barr and Matt Shirvington

This year, Seven claims Sunrise is #1 across all capital cities; dominates breakfast viewing in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania; and reigns supreme across regional Australia. Its national BVOD audience has increased 13% so far this year.

In the capital cities, Sunrise has 46.5% commercial audience share, or 6.8 points more than its nearest competitor. Its audience share in regional markets is 52.3%, or 19.8 points bigger.

Seven also noted that the breakfast TV show also has a wide reach every month on social media and 7NEWS.com.au/sunrise.

Sunrise has a combined 2.6 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Visits to the Sunrise Facebook page have jumped 50% this year and the show has averaged 4.7 million YouTube plays a month over the past 12 months.

Seven Network director of Morning Television, Sarah Stinson, said: “To be number one across Australia, the five capital cities and in every single state is an accomplishment we never take for granted.

“Thank you to our incredible viewers who have made Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and The Morning Show Australia’s most-watched breakfast and morning programs day in, day out.

“And thank you to Nat, Shirvo, Kochie, Kylie, Larry, Matt and Monique and the entire on-air crew, as well as the passionate team behind the scenes, for their relentless commitment to keeping Australia informed, enlightened and entertained,” she said.

–

Top image: Edwina Bartholomew, Natalie Barr, Matt Shirvington and Mark Beretta

oOh!Media has signed an exclusive multi–year Out of Home deal with Tennis Australia for the Australian Open.

The extended content partnership to deliver live scores, fan moments and video highlights from one of the world’s four Grand Slams follows the outdoor advertising company’s successful Australian Open launch in January this year.

oOh!’s proprietary technology enables advertisers to integrate commercial messages alongside dynamic sport content within seconds across its nationwide digital network, bringing thrilling tennis highlights and live score updates to Australians in Out of Home environments around the country. 

Nine Entertainment and Michael Hill Jewellers were inaugural advertisers in 2023. As part of the renewed agreement, both official Australian Open commercial partners and advertisers, can leverage oOh!’s partnership with Tennis Australia to make their brands unmissable. 

Cedric Cornelis, Tennis Australia’s chief commercial officer, said: “One of the world’s biggest sport and entertainment events, the Australian Open presents three weeks of outstanding sporting prowess. As we continue to explore new ways of amplifying real-time scores and highlights, Out of Home presents an innovative opportunity to connect with tennis fans and new audiences at scale.

“We are delighted to extend our relationship with oOh! to ensure that Aussies enjoying the great outdoors in summer are kept up to date with all the exciting action from the Australian Open.”

Neil Ackland, oOh!’s chief content, marketing and creative officer, added: “The Australian Open is a major tournament on the world’s sporting calendar and now tennis lovers around Australia will be able to keep up to date while going about their daily lives in the coming years.

“For advertisers this represents a unique opportunity to integrate their brands with this content in an innovative way. This multi–year agreement with Tennis Australia further delivers on oOh!’s purpose to make public spaces better while leading Out of Home to a digital first future.”

oOh! media is currently broadcasting live scores for the 2023 Toyota AFL Finals Series and in an Out of Home first, will also feature scores and highlights from the 2023 NAB AFLW Finals Series. 

Slingshot Media and its content and creative arm, onesmoothstone, have restructured to meet the demands of a converging media environment with creative at its core.

The move comes as both Slingshot and onesmoothstone win new business including Standards Australia, Pacific Smiles, Capilano Manuka and Inspirations Paint.

As part of the changes, a new executive and senior leadership team has also been installed to drive client and agency growth by capitalising on critical thinking skills across media and creative. Jane Waterhouse, general manager of onesmoothstone and former GM of Are Media, becomes managing director of the independent media agency working alongside CEO Simon Rutherford and CIO, Simon Corbett. 

Lisa Overall, a 12-year Slingshot veteran and former head of strategy, becomes head of product and analytics, a newly created role to harness the commercial opportunities of both agencies. Molly Blacker, former strategy director at Slingshot, who has been with the agency for more than five years, has been promoted to head of creative and strategy for both Slingshot and onesmoothstone.

Former Slingshot senior strategist, Sophie Gallagher, has been promoted to creative strategy director across both agencies. 

Rutherford said: “Any media professional knows creative has the greatest impact on the effectiveness of any brand campaign, especially in video. Today a media agency is closest to the data and analytics that informs creative performance and optimises the strong assets. Along with our sought after strategic media and audience critical thinking, the new structure benefits our clients and their creative partners as we deliver more diagnostics on performance with the aim of making the creative and content dollar work harder.”

Standards Australia has appointed Slingshot for media strategy, planning and buying following a competitive pitch. Standards Australia is the nation’s peak non-government, not-for-profit standards organisation that develops standards for Australian businesses and people.

Corbett said: “Most people are completely unaware that thousands of standards are keeping them safe every day. They support the wheels of industry to turn and we will help raise its profile. We love an unsung hero here at Slingshot, so, it’s a delight to work alongside Standards Australia to help raise its profile in particularly its online eCommerce platform Standards Store.”

Anna Vuong, head of eCommerce, Standards Australia added: “The next year will be a big one for the Store as we look to raise awareness of standards in key industries and meet the access needs of end-users. It was clear right from the onset that Slingshot were the agency to help us achieve this goal.”

Slingshot and onesmoothstone have also been appointed by Pacific Smiles Group, which operates over 120 dental centres nationally, to manage media and creative. Capilano Manuka has selected onesmoothstone for creative, brand and content strategy, while Inspirations Paint has appointed Slingshot and onesmoothstone for content strategy and digital planning and buying.

Slingshot was also recently named eighth in this year Best Places to Work list. Rutherford added: “You have to work hard to maintain a great culture, it’s not easy, so it’s all the more satisfying for us to be in the top 20, three years running and now the top 10.”

See also: KOJO, The Works, part of Capgemini and Slingshot make the WRK+ list of Best Places to Work in 2023

–

Top image: Simon Corbett, Jane Waterhouse, Simon Rutherford

Bastion Reputation has announced the appointment of Campbell Fuller to the role principal consultant, crisis, risk and regulation.

Campbell is an exceptional corporate and crisis communications professional with an extensive background in crisis and risk strategy and management. He most recently held the position of executive director communications at New South Wales Treasury. Prior to this, he spent nine years as general manager communications and media relations at the Insurance Council of Australia.

Campbell has led teams of communications professionals in crisis and issues management and provided extensive advisory service to executives. He brings a wealth of experience, having also worked as a journalist in Melbourne and held leadership roles in two agencies.

The appointment continues the ongoing growth in Bastion Reputation’s Sydney office, as Campbell joins Tess Salmon, fellow principal consultant, Major Infrastructure and Industry Transition, and consultants Sally Taylor and Kaysia Thompson.

Clare Gleghorn, Bastion Reputation managing director, said: “We’re excited to have Campbell join our team to build on the strong growth in our business nationally, driven from our offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

“Campbell’s appointment builds on the significant experience and expertise in our Sydney office and is an important step in continuing to meet the needs of our diverse list of clients across Australia. Our work as trusted advisors supporting leaders during times of crisis with skill, care, and support, has always been a hallmark of our business and Campbell’s deep experience in helping businesses, organisations and leaders through their most challenging times, as well as his experience as a senior practitioner across multiple sectors, will be an asset to our clients and to our team.”

Campbell said: “I am thrilled to join Bastion Reputation. This is a rare opportunity – being part of the growth of a business that has already forged an impressive name for excellence and effectiveness.

“Australian companies and organisations are operating in challenging and rapidly changing social, economic and political times. Being prepared for a crisis – and having the right team at hand to help steer corporate leaders and their organisations through reputational and financial difficulties – has probably never been more important.

“I am excited to support the expansion of Bastion Reputation’s Sydney and Melbourne offerings while working with clients nation-wide, and collaborating with some of the most talented client-focused specialists in the communications sector.”

–

Top image: Campbell Fuller

Independent streaming TV news channel Ticker is launching five new FAST channels to complement its main news channel.

The Ticker Company CEO Ahron Young said the new channels focus on money, documentaries, cooking, active, and exclusive Insight interviews.

The Ticker Company CEO Ahron Young

Five new Ticker channels

Ticker Money covers personal finance and market news. Content includes Chris Judd’s and Genevieve Day’s new program Ticker Talks Trends, plus a new show called Ticker Talks Growth, hosted by Bae Juice founders Tim O’Sullivan and Liam Gostencnik.

Ticker Chef is a new 24/7 channel featuring cooking tips and shows hosted by professional chefs, including MasterChef alumni Phil Conway and Ticker host Mike Loder.

Ticker Active is a new 24/7 channel bringing simple do-it-yourself workouts that viewers can do at home. Featuring new personal trainer hosts Sarah Mazza, celebrity trainer Jono Castano and professional footballer Aaron Evans.

Ticker Docos screens original documentaries on a new channel, bringing topics to viewers around the clock.

Ticker Insight focuses on thought leadership, bringing the best of business and industry together to discuss the biggest issues.

New programming app

The new channels are part of a new Ticker app, now available on Google Play and Apple TV, and coming soon to Samsung TVs and Comcast in the United States. The app features the FAST channels, as well as VOD content.

News anchor Veronica Dudo

Where to watch

The news channel continues to stream with global syndication partners, including FetchTV, Flash News and TelstraTV in Australia, SlingTV and FuboTV in the United States, RakutenTV and SamsungTV+ across Europe, the UK and Japan, Zee5 in India and connected TVs anywhere.

CEO Ahron Young said: “This is a defining moment for team Ticker. Never content with just one channel, we know our viewers are urban professionals making key life choices and looking for content that is designed for them.

“News is always in our DNA, but as we learned more about our audience we found that there’s an opportunity to create one place that delivers news, money, tech and lifestyle tailored to them. This is Ticker 3.0,” Young added.

Ticker Money team: Liam Gostencnik, Tim O’Sullivan, Genevieve Day, Chris Judd

The business is launching 10 new series over the coming weeks which will air across the FAST channels. They will also be streamed on the Ticker News Channel on weekends.

Chief operating officer Jed Bertalli said: “It’s been a huge effort by our entire team to launch these new channels, build new apps, relaunch our website, and create new shows and content with our fantastic new hosts. The new app gives our viewers free access to the stories and tips that help them in their everyday lives.”

Active Chef team: Mike Loder, Sarah Mazza, Phil Conway, Jono Castano

The streaming broadcaster has recently appointed Jason Cadd as chief sales officer, working with brands and businesses to get the message out to a global audience. Cadd explained: “Ticker is the destination for businesses looking to engage a precise and captivated audience. Our average audience age is 39, so they’re looking for something completely different. They’re living in the city, often working from home, using multiple devices and have no idea what a TV aerial is.”

Top photo of the team: Sarah Mazza, Phil Conway, Mike Loder, Veronica Dudo, Ahron Young, Chris Judd, Genevieve Day

See also: Ticker network announces new live programming schedule

Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album, GUTS, has stormed its way up the ARIA Albums Chart for a chart #1 debut this week, while Grinspoon’s impending Easy Detention tour sees the band surge back. 

Rodrigo’s anticipated follow-up to SOUR, which spent eight non-consecutive weeks at #1 in 2021, also lands all 12 tracks in the top 50 on the Singles Charts. Vampire jumps back from #7 to #2 – it spent one week at #1 in July – while the album’s second single, Bad Idea Right?, flies from #24 to a new peak at #3. 

Olivia scores another two tracks in the top 10, with Get Him Back! at #6 and All-American Bitch at #10, lifting her tally of top 10 hits to eight since January 2021, including three chart toppers: Drivers Licence, Good 4 U and Vampire. This week also SOUR bounces back up the Albums Chart, from #18 to #8.

Hype is building for Grinspoon’s Easy Detention tour kicking off on the Gold Coast Sunday, 29 October, as both Easy and New Detention return to the Albums Chart at #46 and #47 respectively. The return coincides with the reissue of New Detention on vinyl, celebrating the album’s 20th anniversary last year and featuring a special edition of Easy. Easy hit #4 in 1999, while New Detention topped out at #2 in 2022. Grinspoon have racked up eight top 10 albums and won two ARIA Awards.

Doja Cat’s Paint The Town Red retains the top spot on the Singles Chart for a fourth consecutive week, while BTS’ V debuts at #54 with Slow Dancing.

2023 ARIA Chart Toppers

Singles
January 2 Mariah Carey All I Want For Christmas Is You
January 9 Sam Smith & Kim Petras Unholy
January 16 SZA Kill Bill
January 23 Miley Cyrus Flowers
January 30 Miley Cyrus Flowers
February 6 Miley Cyrus Flowers
February 13 Miley Cyrus Flowers
February 20 Miley Cyrus Flowers
February 27 Miley Cyrus Flowers
March 6 Miley Cyrus Flowers
March 13 Miley Cyrus Flowers
March 20 Miley Cyrus Flowers
March 27 Miley Cyrus Flowers
April 3 Miley Cyrus Flowers
April 10 Miley Cyrus Flowers
April 17 Morgan Wallen Last Night
April 24 Morgan Wallen Last Night
May 1 Morgan Wallen Last Night
May 8 Morgan Wallen Last Night
May 15 Morgan Wallen Last Night
May 29 Morgan Wallen Last Night
June 5 Morgan Wallen Last Night
June 12 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
June 19 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
June 26 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
July 3 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
July 10 Olivia Rodrigo Vampire
July 17 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
July 24 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
July 31 Central Cee & Dave Sprinter
August 7 Billie Eilish What Was I Made For?
August 14 Billie Eilish What Was I Made For?
August 21 Billie Eilish What Was I Made For?
August 28 Doja Cat Paint The Town Red
September 4 Doja Cat Paint The Town Red
September 11 Doja Cat Paint The Town Red
September 18 Doja Cat Paint The Town Red

Albums
January 2 Taylor Swift Midnights
January 9 Taylor Swift Midnights
January 16 Taylor Swift Midnights
January 23 Taylor Swift Midnights
January 30 SZA SOS
February 6 Sam Smith Gloria
February 13 Taylor Swift Midnights
February 20 Paramore This Is Why
February 27 P!nk Trustfall
March 6 Harry Styles Harry’s House
March 13 Harry Styles Harry’s House
March 20 Miley Cyrus Endless Summer Vacation
March 27 Morgan Wallen One Day At A Time
April 3 Lana Del Ray Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
April 10 Melanie Martinez Portals
April 17 Cub Sport Jesus At The Gay Bar
April 24 Metallica 72 Reasons
May 1 Morgan Wallen One Thing At A Time
May 8 Peach PRC Manic Dream Pixie
May 15 Ed Sheeran –
May 29 Lewis Capaldi Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent
June 5 Taylor Swift Midnights
June 12 Foo Fighters But Here We Are 
June 19 Niall Horan The Show
June 26 The Teskey Brothers The Winding Way
July 3 Kerser A Gift & A Kers
July 10 Taylor Swift Midnights
July 17 Taylor Swift Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
July 24 Taylor Swift Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
July 31 Barbie The Album
August 7 Travis Scott Utopia
August 14 Travis Scott Utopia
August 21 G Flip Drummer
August 28 Barbie The Album
September 4 Powderfinger Vulture Street (20th Anniversary)
September 11 Polaris Fatalism
September 18 Olivia Rodrigo GUTS

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• The Projects unveils the Shift 20 Initiative 

Total TV Ratings, September 10

1,542,000 watched Nine’s The Block as Leah and Ash were named the winners with their bold and unique styling choices, up 31%.

1,312,000 viewed Seven’s The Voice as the Battle Rounds continued. Jason Derulo gave Callum, Alex and Andrew the option to continue as a supergroup but they declined, up 22%.

768,000 saw ABC’s season two premiere of The Newsreader, up 62%.

571,000 tuned into 10’s The Traitors: End Game, up 26%, while 479,000 watched The Traitors: Finale, up 30%.

Overnight TV Ratings, September 17

Primetime News
Seven News 891,000 
Nine News 831,000 
ABC News 529,000
10 News First 206,000 (5:00 pm)/ 147,000 (6:00 pm)
SBS World News 132,000 (6:30 pm)/ 109,000 (7:00 pm)

Daily Current Affairs
60 Minutes 515,000
The Sunday Project 170,000 (6:30pm) / 220,000 (7pm) 
Insiders 323,000 

Breakfast TV
Weekend Sunrise 192,000
Weekend Today 148,000
Weekend Breakfast 154,000 

Nine has won the night with a primary share of 26.2% and a network share of 33.9%. 7mate has won multi channels with a 2.7% share.

Nine’s The Block saw the Blockheads reveal their master bedroom and walk-in robes for 786,000 viewers. Steph and Gian scored a 10 from Marty Fox, winning the week with 29 out of a possible 30 points. Then on 60 Minutes, 515,000 watched as the show exposed Hollywood stars who are backing a convicted rapist. 162,000 also viewed  Under Investigation. 

SEE ALSO: The Block Recap Episode 25: The stunning main bedroom and walk-in-robe rooms revealed 

653,000 began their evening with Seven’s The Voice Australia. The second night of Battle rounds took centre stage. The artists on Team Jess and Team Rita competed to fight for the last two spots in the Semi-Final. 309,000 then watched Con Girl which followed serial con woman Samantha Azzopardi’s decades of deception. Another episode of Con Girl followed for 201,000 where Californian backpacker Emmy revealed more of her rollercoaster ride at the hands of Azzopardi. 

On 10, The Sunday Project (170,000 (6:30pm) / 220,000 (7pm) ) lifted the lid on the Dylan Alcott Foundation’s Shift 20 Initiative to boost representation in advertising. Then, on a repeat of Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, Graeme Hall attempted to help Humphrey with his barking problem for 156,000. FBI then followed as 124,000 watched on.

See Also: Dylan Alcott: Why the Shift 20 Initiative “would have changed my life”

339,000 watched a repeat of ABC’s Death in Paradise where Neville was left perplexed when a lottery winner was found dead, but then her body disappeared. The Newsreader then followed for 318,000 as Helen raced to cover a shocking mass shooting in Melbourne. She was seen as exploiting the tragedy and public sentiment shifted against her. A repeat of Mother and Son was up next for 86,000.

The highest rating non-news show on SBS was The Body On Somerton Beach. 131,000 watched as a well-dressed man was found dead within miles of a nuclear testing site on a tranquil Australian beach as the Cold War ramped up.