Business of Media
Jury resumes deliberations in Sarah Palin case against New York Times
A U.S. jury on Monday resumed deliberations in a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times by Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate, in a case seen as a test of longstanding protections for American media, reports Reuters.
Palin is suing the newspaper and its former editorial page editor James Bennet, arguing that a 2017 editorial incorrectly linked her to a mass shooting six years earlier that wounded Democratic U.S. congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
Jurors deliberated for about 2-1/4 hours on Friday without reaching a verdict. The trial before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan federal court is in its eighth day.
Australian creatives rule ‘Super Bowl’ of marketing
Rewarding, rare and daunting is how a pair of top Australian creatives describe their experience of leading the charge on one of the most talked about ad spots of the Super Bowl LVI, reports News Corp’s Pippa Chambers.
Sydney-based chief creative officers and partners at Special Group Australia, Tom Martin and Julian Schreiber, spearheaded the star-studded and humorous Uber Eats ad, shown during the National Football League championship game.
Seen as a pinnacle moment of US advertising that is beamed across the globe, the Super Bowl has become just as well known for its big brand marketing antics and half time entertainment as it has for the game itself.
Amazon and Spotify mull bids for London-listed podcaster Audioboom
Amazon and Spotify are considering rival takeover approaches for Audioboom, the London-listed podcasting group which has seen revenues and its share price surge during the pandemic, reports Sky News UK.
The two digital behemoths have been exploring bids for Audioboom in recent weeks, and could decide whether to make formal offers as soon as this month.
The London-listed company counts Casefile True Crime of the US and the UK’s Cycling Podcast among the partners to which it provides commercial services through its advertising technology platform.
Its Audioboom Studios division produces content such as F1: Beyond the Grid and What Makes a Killer.
The Casefile True Crime podcast is the clear leader as the most popular podcast in Australia. Audioboom also has two other podcasts ranked at #11 and #12 in the latest Podcast Ranker for January 2022. Audioboom is part of the iHeartPodcast Network in Australia.
Agencies look to cash in on podcasts’ IP gold rush
As Hollywood fully buys into podcasting, multimillion-dollar deals are the norm for the crème de la crème of shows, while a growing audio advertising marketplace has allowed more podcasters to make a good living off their work as the industry is expected to exceed $2 billion in ad revenue next year, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s J. Clara Chan.
The major talent agencies have jumped on the train and are building out their audio divisions, with agents increasingly working on podcast deals with clients.
“The deals are getting more complicated. The businesses are getting more complicated. There are more players,” Oren Rosenbaum, head of audio at UTA, tells The Hollywood Reporter. Rosenbaum, who brokered major deals like Alex Cooper’s exclusive three-year deal for Call Her Daddy with Spotify for a reported $60 million, says Spotify “fast-tracked” the move toward exclusivity and platform-specific content, even if it wasn’t necessarily the first to do so. With that has come an extra layer of complexity in partnering clients with studios and distributors with differing interests and needs.
Agencies
CHEP Network announce MD promotion and managing partner hire
CHEP Network has announced the promotion of Jonny Berger to managing director and the key hire of Mariana Rice to managing partner.
Berger’s new role comes just 10 months after joining the agency as a managing partner from Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Rice joins the Sydney management team and takes over Berger’s managing partner role.
Jonny Berger
CEO of CHEP Network, Justin Hind said of Berger’s appointment: “Jonny is a world-class agency leader, who over the last 12 months has had a big impact on agency performance and culture. I couldn’t think of anyone better to stand proudly alongside of, as we continue to evolve CHEP into our next era of growth and innovation.”
Hind said of Rice: “Mariana is an inspirational leader of people, her wealth of experience leading significant and diverse client portfolios will bring an incredible strength and intellect to the CHEP executive team during this exciting time of growth.”
Berger said of his new role: “I am humbled, excited and only a little terrified by this amazing opportunity.
“Joining CHEP last year as the business took another evolution has been a hugely rewarding experience and I’m grateful for the support of Justin, Mariana, the rest of the Exec team and each and every Chepper as we take this next step forwards together,” he added.
Mariana Rice
Rice commented: “I’m really looking forward to the next era of CHEP. I’ve seen the agency grow and evolve over the last six years, and I believe CHEP is well and truly set up to continue doing great creative work for our clients, while being the most rewarding place to work for our people.”
This comes after CHE Proximity officially announced its rebrand to CHEP Network last week.
The change has been a catalyst for the company to “reimagine” the business around a new economy and develop a new model to ensure creativity, media, technology, and data is at the centre of their client’s growth following the Covid Pandemic.
Hind said of the rebrand: “The past two years have brought irreversible change to the way we work, shop, socialise, exercise and live life every day.
“That change has been a catalyst for us to reimagine our business around the new economy, and the development of a new agency model that will ensure creativity, media, technology, and data is at the heart of supporting our clients’ continued growth, no matter the challenge or channel,” he added.
IPG reports A$3.56 billion revenue growth
Interpublic Group (IPG) has reported A$3.56 billion (US$2.55 billion) revenue growth in the 2021 fourth-quarter report, up 11.6%.
Despite being compared to the 5.4% drop recorded in the 2020 fourth-quarter results, it was still an increase from 2019’s 5.7%
The Asia-Pacific region reported posted a strong increase to 9.7% to A$333.1 million (US$237.8 million). US organic growth was 12.1% and international 11%.
For the full year 2021, the advertising company’s report noted a net revenue of $9.11 billion (A$12.7 billion) increased 12.9% in contrast to A$11.3billion (US$8.06 billion) in 2020.
Looking to the year ahead, management highlights significant operating momentum and positioning for future success.
In addition, the IPG’s board approved 7% increase in quarterly dividend and reauthorised share repurchase program.
CEO of IPG Philippe Krakowsky said: “As is evident in our results, the combination of strategy, talent and culture we have built at IPG continues to drive a high level of innovation, collaboration and creativity.
“Our strong performance reflects more than the cyclical economic recovery, it further validates the growing role we are playing with marketers as they adapt and enhance their businesses to meet the challenges and opportunities of the digital economy.
“Our commitment to a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility remains a key priority, and the actions announced by our Board today, to increase our dividend and resume our share repurchase program, further speak to confidence in the forward trajectory of our company.
“Our strong financial foundation and performance, coupled with the talent of our people and the competitiveness of our offerings, will be key to our continued focus on further enhancing value for all of our stakeholders,” he added.
Radio
Age reporter queries awards’ integrity
The sports journalist who had a prestigious media award stripped from him after the newspaper made apologies about a story on the 2018 Adelaide Crows’ pre-season training camp has questioned why other media awards haven’t been taken off reporters who have been honoured for controversial stories, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Speaking on 3AW’s Sportsday program on Monday night, The Age’s Sam McClure said he had been abandoned by his own cohort and was not contacted by the Melbourne Press Club after the decision was made last week to “annul” his 2020 Quill in the sport news category.
His comments come after The Australian broke the story that McClure had his sports award taken from him after issues relating to his stories on the Crows’ 2018 Queensland training camp.
“Louise Milligan won an award for a story about George Pell that the High Court found that he was not guilty for – did they take that award off her?” McClure said on air with broadcaster Gerard Healy. “No, it was still brilliant journalism.”
‘Innocent party’: Ben Fordham weighs in on Jenny Morrison’s row over Grace Tame’s side eye
Ben Fordham has weighed in on comments made by the Prime Minister’s wife about Grace Tame’s infamous side-eye moment that needed more “manners and respect”, reports News Corp’s Emily Cosenza.
The 2GB journalist and radio presenter spoke on the Today show on Monday morning, saying he sided with Jenny Morrison.
“I can completely understand where Jenny Morrison’s coming from. I mean, I never quite understood what Jenny Morrison had done to upset or offend Grace Tame,” he said.
Television
Basil Zempilas to wind back Seven News duties
Sports presenter Basil Zempilas will scale back his Seven News Perth role as he seeks more flexibility in his schedule, reports TV Tonight.
Sources confirm he will appear in a ‘semi-regular’ role, but will no longer be presenting every night.
Zempilas has been presenting sport for 21 years, and is known for an exhaustive commitments including Seven News, TripleM radio and duties as Perth’s Lord Mayor.
Neighbours petition passes 50,000 signatures
An online petition to save Neighbours from being axed has now passed the 50,000 mark, reports TV Tonight.
At the time of copy there were over 53,000 signatures.
Devastated fans have taken to social media since news emerged that Channel 5 was pulling the pin on production, leaving Fremantle to try and find a new UK broadcaster.
Last week the original Neighbours theme, recorded by Barry Crocker, also topped the iTunes digital downloads.