Agencies
Icon Agency names Gabrielle Gray as general manager
Icon Agency has announced the appointment of Gabrielle Gray as general manager.
The business consultant is the first person to step into the role of general manager for the integrated communications agency.
Gray first joined the agency in late 2021 in a consulting capacity to manage finance and resourcing for a number of key client accounts and made an immediate impact.
The newly appointed general manager brings more than 20 years of experience to the role. She will lead the commercial strategy for the business and drive efficiency and growth.
The General Store welcomes Jo-Anne Hui-Miller as content and insights director
The General Store has welcomed Jo-Anne Hui-Miller in the newly created role of content and insights director.
Hui-Miller, a former retail journalist and editor, will be responsible for driving the thought leadership and content strategy for the creative agency and its clients in the future.
The newly appointed content and insights director brings more than 15 years of journalism under her belt. She was previously managing editor of premium content at industry publication Inside Retail Asia-Pacific, where she led a team of journalists producing in-depth analyses, trend reports and news stories across online and print.
Prior to her tenure at Inside Retail, Hui-Miller reported on the business sector for titles including the Sydney Morning Herald, Telstra’s Smarter Business Ideas and edited a range of B2B publications.
BCM Group promotes Shaun Egan and Sam Boyd as joint creative directors
BCM Group has announced the promotions of Shaun Egan and Sam Boyd as joint creative directors.
Egan and Boyd, both highly awarded, have been at the independent creative and media agency as a senior creative team for nearly three years after joining from VMLY&R.
They have been a creative duo for more than 10 years, working across clients including Coca-Cola, Qantas, Nestle, Powerade, Lexus, AGL, NatWest Bank, Suncorp Group, Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Tatts Lotteries, Isuzu, TAFE, QUT, Australian Government, QLD Government, Climate Council and more.
Egan and Boyd’s work has been recognised at award shows both internationally and locally including Cannes Lions, D&AD, LIA, Spikes, AMI, AWARD and BADC.
MediaCom NZ launches Creative Systems and welcomes Nick Licence
MediaCom New Zealand has announced the launch of Creative Systems and welcomed Nick Licence, who will be leading the new capability.
This comes as the agency prepares for the official launch of the new agency proposition EssenceMediaCom, a move that signals the new shape of the agency in New Zealand.
Creative Systems integrates media with data and tech-enabled creativity to drive brand relevance and accelerate growth for brands. The expanded capabilities form part of the strong foundation that will power the combined EssenceMediaCom agency, which will come to life in January 2023 when MediaCom will merge with Essence globally.
The range of services offered by MediaCom New Zealand now includes Branded Entertainment, Content & Partnerships, Influencer Marketing, SEO, Sports & Entertainment, and Esports & Gaming.
Television
‘You don’t hold a hose’: Tracy Grimshaw’s best interviews, from Scott Morrison to Don Burke
A great loss for Australian television and a great relief for dodgy tradies, politicians and disgraced celebrities: Tracy Grimshaw is stepping down as host of A Current Affair (ACA), reports Nine Publishing’s Meg Watson.
The 62-year-old broadcaster announced the news during Monday’s show, saying that, at the end of the day, she’s “just a bit tired”. And, looking back at her work over the past four decades, it’s easy to see why.
After more than 40 years at Channel Nine, including 17 years in the top job at A Current Affair, Grimshaw has long been one of the most recognisable and respected interviewers in the country – capable of both incredible empathy and excoriation when required.
From Scott Morrison to Don Burke, she’s held her fair share of people’s feet to the fire over the years, but she’s also created space for ordinary people with extraordinary stories. Here are a few of her greatest hits.
Bid for new (C) Lack of Consent classification for popular TV and films in Australia
Movies and TV shows would warn viewers about non-consensual romantic and sexual interactions under proposed new classification guidelines, reports News Corp’s Nicole Madigan.
Consent advocacy group, Consent Labs, is campaigning to introduce a new classification — (C) Lack of Consent – the first ever classification to call out lack of consent on screen.
With new research revealing 57 per cent of Australians are unable to recognise non-consensual acts in popular films and TV shows, the new classification aims to help viewers understand the difference between consent and lack thereof.
Oklahoma TV news anchor has partial stroke on live broadcast
An Oklahoma TV news anchor suffered a stroke live on air as she read the news about the cancellation of a Nasa rocket launch, reports The Guardian.
Julie Chin, who works for an NBC station in Tulsa, started to stumble over her words as she read from a teleprompter over the weekend.
Despite trying to finish her report, Chin stumbled and stammered over her words and then said: “‘I’m sorry, something is going on with me this morning and I apologize to everybody.” She then passed the broadcast over to the weather forecaster.
Chin then did not return on air. She was taken to hospital.
Sports Media
Did Nine bid include sacrificing the NRL?
Nine’s audacious 11th-hour bid to wrest the AFL broadcast rights from Foxtel and Seven was ultimately too little, too late, reports News Corp’s James Madden.
But according to sources close to the contract negotiations, Nine’s pitch – which was tabled over the weekend by the network’s chief executive Mike Sneesby – provoked a conversation about how Nine could possibly juggle holding both NRL and AFL rights given the certain clash of key games each weekend.
It was unclear how Nine would satisfactorily broadcast blockbuster AFL games on Thursday and Friday nights when it is already committed to airing NRL matches at the same time.
Nine categorically denies it considered dropping its long-term commitment to the NRL.
What the new AFL broadcast deal means for you, the clubs, and the game
On paper, this looks like a stupendous deal for the AFL, the clubs and, in due course, the players, reports Nine Publishing’s Jake Niall.
The $4.5 billion over seven years from 2025 – which is a long way ahead of what the NRL receives from Foxtel and Nine – will allow the AFL to keep 18 clubs solvent, pay players – men and women – and to keep the game affordable for members.
The AFL can continue to fund Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast at well above the other clubs, can keep the smaller Victorian clubs competitive with the monster teams, ensure that AFLW moves to full professionalism and spend more money on the game’s development in NSW and Queensland.
Gillon McLachlan’s last broadcast deal will have all manner of consequences, not only for Australian football but for cricket and conceivably tennis and the rugby codes. The AFL has entrenched its position as the country’s most powerful sporting code, in commercial terms; there will be fewer dollars for cricket, in all likelihood.
See Also: Seven and Foxtel retain the AFL broadcast rights in new deal
What the AFL is likely to spend its extra broadcast money on
The AFL has struck a mammoth broadcast deal with Seven and Foxtel worth $4.5 billion over seven years, reports 3AW.
Sports reporter Jon Ralph said it’s likely the extra money will be mainly used to pay for a Tasmanian team by 2026.
“I think they will tick off a Tasmanian team, and I think that could be as early as Brownlow medal day.”
Carey exploring legal options as police investigate Crown incident
AFL great Wayne Carey is expected to demand an apology from Perth’s Crown casino over its handling of an incident that led to him being escorted from the venue with a bag containing a powdered substance, report Nine Publishing’s Chloe Saltau, Hamish Hastie, and Patrick Hatch.
WA Police on Tuesday launched an investigation into the incident.
Carey met with his lawyer on Tuesday afternoon to explore legal options. A source close to the dual North Melbourne premiership captain, who did not wish to be identified, said his main concern was not that he had been suspended from Crown venues for two years, but the assumption that the substance that fell out of his pocket while he was at a gambling table was illegal.
A second source with knowledge of the situation said Carey’s grounds for complaint were that he was not given a chance to say what the substance was before he left the venue.