Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i AdNews

To reflect the current magazine's investigative feature on consultancies and their impact on adland, here we call on The Monkeys - who were perfectly positioned to take on the challenge, given they were acquired by a consultancy in 2017. AdNews editor Pippa Chambers spoke with the agency's group chief creative officer and co–founder, Scott Nowell. Thoughts on the consultancies brief? We thought we were probably in a good position to be part of something involving the consultancies as we’ve got a great story to tell with Accenture. Initial thoughts were around how do we convey what an exciting time this can be in the industry, and how do we do something that suggests things are going to be different in a big, positive way? How did you know you'd landed…

It's been six months since you joined APN Outdoor from Adshel. What were the priorities on your agenda from day one? My priority was quite simple: build on the strong market–leading portfolio that we have. We underwent a rebrand in my first three weeks in the role which allowed us to employ a new tone. This was a significant departure from what the market was used to hearing and seeing from APN Outdoor, and has provided us with a springboard to achieve our brand and business ambitions. APN Outdoor has gone through some recent changes of leadership with yourself and James Warburton joining. How are you seeing the business evolve? We have three key pillars that are informing our strategy and the evolution of the business: transformation of our business…

Michael, why did you start this company? Initially Steve Rogers started Revolver, then I joined in 1999 and we became partners. The reasons why we started working together was purely a shared sense of what we wanted to achieve. I loved Steve’s work even in the early days; he was masterful then and even more so now. Since then, having Pip Smart (who is absolutely her name’s sake) come in as EP with me in Revolver and Josh Mullens who deftly started and is running the Will O’Rourke side, we now have a roster of directors and creative executors that is truly (as much as I hate the term “world–class”) world–class. What services do you offer and how has this evolved? Revolver still remains focused on high end commercial film…

What is the most common concern you are getting from clients right now? Our clients continue to be concerned over the growing share of dollars that the duopoly continues to take. There is definitely a sense of frustration that there isn’t a level playing field as reflected in  some of the  media owner submissions to the current ACCC inquiry. Clients are uncertain of how to work with the duopoly on their own terms. AppNexus has said that “you can't create an open marketplace from inside a black box”, what do you mean by this? Our goal is to become the most trusted and transparent marketplace in the world for quality digital advertising. For this to be true, both buyers and sellers need to  understand and have  visibility over every  participant…

“They’re nibbling at the edges of some programmatic capability, but it’s not at scale.” Peter Horgan There’s no denying that Accenture Interactive’s 2017 acquisition of The Monkeys has been the most high profile consultancy move in Australia. The $63 million sale sent shock-waves through the industry with at the time, 10-year-old The Monkeys widely recognised as one of Australia’s best agency. Always ahead of the curve, the buyout was an indication of what was to come in the consultancy/agency space. A year later and The Monkeys has reaped the benefit of its partnership with Accenture, enjoying its most successful year yet, with rampant growth, the launch of a Melbourne office, and landing big clients in the region such as Australia Post, Holden, CrownBet and Asahi Beer. Monkeys CEO Mark…

“It would be incredibly arrogant and naive to say that we’ve arrived, achieved, and proved who we are.” MD Chris Kay In the last 12 months, 72and-Sunny has grown to a staff of 24 across Sydney and Singapore, landed a place on the Optus roster and tapped Shane Warne to create its first completely local piece of work for eBay. Optus was the first big, local win for the agency, with the other brands on its roster — Google, eBay and Dropbox — coming from its global network. It won the gig with Optus without a pitch and launched its first work in April. Scoring the telco business was a big milestone for the agency, but managing director Chris Kay said 72andSunny didn’t celebrate the win, choosing instead to…

CHE Proximity’s latest campaign for Carsales is as complex to explain as it was to create. In fact, it was so intricate it broke Face-book’s API, according to the agency’s chief creative officer, Ant White. “In five days, the campaign created 550,000 unique ads; Facebook couldn’t keep up with the amount of content that was being uploaded,” he revealed. “So, we had to go back and design a piece of technology that would allow it to be uploaded because nothing like this had ever been done before.” The campaign paired pre–recorded footage of comedian Kai Smythe with the seller’s own photographs of their car via a purpose–built algorithm that automatically pulled in the seller’s name, car type, price and odometer reading, to create a unique car ad for each Carsales…

Whether it be Videology’s US bankruptcy last month, Rocketfuel’s job cuts and share price quibbles in 2017, or AdRoll’s shock Australian staff cull, it’s been a challenging path for certain ad tech companies. However, it’s important not to let the negative overshadow some of the great success stories, such as the way certain firms are tackling transparency head–on and the way companies are becoming braver at speaking out against the challenges they face, such as the duopoly of Facebook and Google. “ Major buyers and sellers are uncertain about who they can partner with in the long run. Who will be left to help them take on the duopoly, and increasingly, Amazon?.” Samuel Tan Despite some woes at ad tech companies, with AdNews also recently hearing about Australian redundancies…

“Consultancies can be the Martin Sorrell of 2018,” was the bold statement made by AdWeek editor James Cooper on a recent podcast. “The consultancies out there have little or no debt and have tonnes of cash so can acquire businesses much easier than an agency holding company could,” he said. The comparison to WPP’s former boss and consultancies may seem peculiar at first, and one that Sorrell himself would probably dispute, but there is no denying the two forces have shaped, or are shaping, what advertising looks like today. Sorrell, whose 30–year reign came to an end earlier this year in a shock resignation, built the advertising holding group model — one which is now broken and in need of reconstruction. In the 80s, WPP set off on an acquisition…

If there’s more money to be made in media agencies, why are consultancies investing in creative agencies?   “If you’re going to play in a cash–rich environment, you would think consultancies would invest in the media space, especially the digital media space,” Woolley said. “The fact that consultancies have invested in the creative space seems to indicate they’re using the investment to understand the landscape from a creative point of view, where if it was a business play, the absolute opportunity is to invest heavily in media.” There are a few reasons why consultancies aren’t racing into media buying and it has something to do with the murky supply chain that P&G CMO Marc Pritchard called out last year, according to Deloitte Digital partner David Phillips. Speaking at the AdNews…

CD: What do you get when a mountain man squares up against a mountain goat in an epic battle to one–up each other? A great piece of film. This spot was shot beautifully, edited masterfully and the soundtrack is inspired. Hats off to all who took part in the production. The casting was equally great (both the man and the goat). Plus, it’s a clever demo for the ruggedness of the Holden Colorado. AF: I’m normally an acerbic bastard when I’m doing these, but the first ad I’m looking at is Holden’s ‘Not to be Outdone’ and it’s fucking great. It also puts to bed the myth that a client can’t change its spots. It can. All it takes is Ant Keogh involved in some capacity. The casting, direction and…

CD: Visual manifestations of our inner worries/anxieties are a well–trodden path in advertising, but Toyota has managed to keep this one fresh and extremely watchable. The insights of each of the ‘bothers’ around buying a car are spot on (I’ve experienced them all), and the little monsters that represent them are really entertaining and well–executed. Wrapping it all up in “Drive Happy” is a nice payoff. Great spot. AF: There’s a moment. It’s happened in couches, pubs, multicoloured breakout rooms and filthy offices across the country. It’s a beaming smile followed by the words ‘let’s personify the human emotion with a thing!’ This moment is followed by a hearty back slap or manly hug. It’s a magical moment because the ad in question seems somehow more creative, more fun; it’ll…

Age is but a number McCann Australia presented its recent ‘Truth About Age’ global study, with guest speaker, world champion bodybuilder 75–year–old Janice Lorraine, sharing her incredible story. Spotify in the house AdNews entered the Spotify House, an engaging example of how Spotify and its commercial partners target listeners. Can you ‘Spotify’ one of the AdNews team here? Reaching the summit Everything from women in cricket to the long history between DDB and Maccas was discussed at the AdNews Media + Marketing Summit in Sydney. Jump online to get your Melbourne tickets now. The sound of Sirens The best Australian radio ad of 2018  has been revealed at this year’s Siren awards. Ray Ali and Carlo Mazzarella from Clemenger BBDO Melbourne won gold and silver at the awards…

“We were excited by the AutoAds concept straight away; it’s a perfect marriage of tech brilliance and creativity in a marketing campaign. Personally, I fell in love with the concept at first sight because it appeals to the innovative DNA within Carsales, and was a perfect way to bring our brand personality to life. AutoAds is a modern take on our Carsales For Sale Sticker, which we send to our sellers to get the word out that their car is for sale. At Carsales we felt that if we created a fun, unique and personalised free ad, our sellers would be willing to share it with their friends, and in the process, Carsales would have the privilege of being present in a positive and engaging way on people’s social media…

Executive producer Pip Smart When I joined Revolver eight years ago, of course I was aware of both the professional and personal reputation of Michael and Steve and of the company overall. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside them for these years, on the best work in the country and around the world. The small handpicked team at Revolver is tight–knit, hard–working and all genuinely very good friends. We spend time training people up through whatever interest and strengths they show. So, when surrounded by such commitment, enthusiasm and straight–up talent, it’s easy to enjoy coming to work every day. Experiential project co–ordinator Isabella Vitelli To be a part of Revolver/Will O’Rourke is something I am very proud of — from working on the front desk…

1 Australia to roll out 'world-leading' addressable TV solutions this year 2 Disney Reviews $18m media account 3 Gruen: Dee Madigan slams Westpac ad as 'complete bullshit' 4 Ben Sharp resigns from ADMA after two weeks 5 Agencies shortlisted in Hyundai media review 6 Telstra's Belong hands $30m media account to OMD in closed review 7 Adland Secrets: Confessions of a media network adman gone solo 8 Videology bankruptcy won't impact Australia 9 AdNews investigation: How marketers use social media platforms 10 APN Outdoor reveals Young Lions finalists…

CD: Nice looking ad. Not totally sold on the insight around the confused, conformed, conned conservative masses not thinking for themselves. I guess if I was racing through a beautiful European city with no cars or people on the roads, I wouldn’t have to think. But, this in itself has me feeling conned. Ahh advertising, how would I make decisions in life without you? AF: The second I see the words ‘Overseas model shown’ I see the sad, lifeless eyes of a creative watching endless loops of a car driving on the wrong side of the road around a series of European roads. These have to be edited together and ‘regionalised.’ The common technique is to bung on a soundtrack that ends with your strapline (Don’t hold back!) Or, as…

CD: A really lovely, emotive story. Nicely shot and produced. It took me on a beautiful ride through all the uncertainties that we have all faced at one time or another in life. The tears were welling up all the way until the tagline “For Sure” appeared, then I quickly snapped back into the world of advertising. The line, although short and snappy, just didn’t complete the emotional journey of the spot. AF: I’ll bet $100 that the agency stuck the soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on the animatic that sold this, as I’ve been trying to sell that for years and I can recognise it anywhere. This is one of those spots directors love to make and clients love to see. It’s some sort of life…