2017
11/Apr
My Blog Posts
2016
30/Mar
The following is an excerpt from my presentation to the Melbourne University MPH group for their Health Promotion course. It was presented on 30/03/2016. It includes highlighted slides/videos and edited text.
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2015
10/Sep
September 10 is “R U OK?” day in Australia, an initiative that seeks to encourage people to check up on their friends and family by asking how they are in aid of suicide prevention. It is, without a doubt, a very important and worthy cause and one very close to me, which is why I am conflicted about whether I think it is a positive or negative initiative.
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2014
28/Dec
In the lead up to this weekend’s Mardi Gras in Sydney, ANZ has commissioned a number of ‘GAYTMs’ around Sydney. The transformed ATMs include a variety of different designs, colours, patterns and sequins. From unicorns and drag queens to rainbows and tattoos, each GAYTM is a riot of colour and textures to celebrate the festival. But at the heart of this much-publicised brand gesture is an overarching showing of support for diversity.
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2014
28/Dec
A recent print campaign by Volkswagen has honed in on the message that it’s impossible to focus on the road while texting. The campaign is beautiful in its simplicity of message and continues the VW tradition of incredibly intelligent communications.
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2014
28/Dec
Few Australians would be aware of Derek Jeter and his long and illustrious baseball career. But almost all of us would be aware of the New York Yankees, probably the biggest sporting team brand in the world (save for maybe Manchester United). Jeter has been the face of the Yankees for 20 seasons and is set to retire at the end of this one. Nike has paid tribute to the shortstop and in doing so, aligned itself with the population of New York and the wider sports community.
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2014
28/Dec
Earlier this year, Camden Borough Council came under fire for their “Camden Bench”, a design inspired to dissuade drug deals, bag theft, skateboarding and littering. But the design was also heavily criticised for stopping homeless people from using the bench as a place to sleep at night.
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2014
28/Dec
A growing trend in short-term brand activations is getting traction, not just in Melbourne, but everywhere. “Pop Ups” are becoming a viable way for businesses and brands to utilise spaces in short term experiments, to keep themselves fresh, keep pushing ideas and trial things that may give them a long term edge and leg up.
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2014
28/Dec
Bottled drinks of all varieties are often the topic of conversation, especially in sustainability circles. Whatever your feelings are about our mass consumption and the effects of plastic pollution on the planet, plastic bottles are currently a necessary evil. And at the top of it all is the humble bottle cap (pun absolutely intended). However, brands are starting to think about new ways to utilise the bottle cap to educate us, connect us and give us more reasons to keep reusing their products.
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2014
28/Dec
A budget airline in the Philippines has recently shown that advertising doesn’t always require big bucks to see a big return on investment. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a simple idea, executed with intelligence.
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2014
28/Dec
Ogilvy Brazil and Sol de Janeiro are training tattoo artists to spot signs of skin cancer, raise awareness and encourage Brazilians to get checked. The campaign is driven by Ogilvy Brazil and supported by sunscreen brand Sol de Janeiro, and the agency recruited 450 tattoo artists to come to training and lectures by an oncologist.
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2014
28/Dec
A recent University of Queensland study has illustrated just how prevalent alcohol brands are on social media, and how their marketing strategies are reaching consumers in an environment far less regulated than traditional advertising. Using follower insights, brands are able to push messages at times most relevant to viewers inviting them to interact directly with the brand. But are these practices breaking regulations or are they a simple evolution of the advertising landscape?
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2014
28/Dec
Pepsi Max UK recently installed augmented reality bus shelters as a way to engage with people sitting around waiting for public transport. Admittedly, the craftsmanship is stunning, but the question that jumps out is, what’s their point?
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2014
28/Dec
The new Sydney lockouts have been widely reported across the media as a way to curb alcohol and drug related violence. The idea is not new — Melbourne attempted to implement it in 2008, and it was reversed after only three months. The first wave of reports is showing signs that behaviour patterns are not changing, just the timing of incidences. So there is a deeper issue to address; one that can be better communicated as a means of education than simply shutting doors. Just like the 2010 road safety campaign, Kings Cross club owner John Ibrahim has enlisted the help of friends to tell the youth of today: don’t be a dickhead.
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2014
28/Dec
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been doing the Internet rounds, as they try to raise money for the East Congo Initiative and Water.org. In a collaborative effort, the two celebrities offer the chance to hang out with them on a ‘best friend double date’, and tickets started at only 10 dollars each (in essence a donate-to-charity raffle). Similar to crowd-sourcing, the more tickets you buy (the more you spend), the greater reward you get — aside from the opportunity to win the major prize. But what sets this apart is their fantastic campaign video, which does wonders for both the charities and their personal brands.
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2014
28/Dec
Last week, the second largest American drugstore chain, CVS, announced that it was dropping tobacco products from its 7600 nationwide stores. It’s the first move by any of the big drugstore chains to stop selling tobacco products, and the effects will likely be far greater than the immediately quantifiable $2Bn initial decrease in annual sales.
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2014
28/Dec
Today in America, it’s Superbowl Sunday — probably the biggest sporting event in the country and one of the top few in the world. Last year the Superbowl was watched by over 108 million viewers in America alone. It’s also the single biggest event on the Advertising calendar. It’s expensive (4 million dollars for a 30 second spot) and it’s competitive. But a win in the Advertising Superbowl is a big win for brands. At the time of writing, the game hasn’t even started, and already Doritos has won the Superbowl.
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2014
28/Dec
With the Sochi Winter Olympic Games fast approaching, we’re starting to see lead up advertising. As a life long skier and winter follower, the Olympics are the highlight of my sport watching calendar (especially since the X-Games doesn’t make its way to Australia). Most of the advertising in the lead up is around the network coverage or the event itself. But Procter & Gamble have used it as a platform to deliver an emotionally charged brand message.
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2014
26/Dec
Effective communication in advertising will often result, at best, in a small change in consumer behaviour. While this change often has a product driven focus — buy this, try this, consider us — the predominant message generally doesn’t require the audience to drastically change their routine. The task for any anti- communications, however, is much more difficult.
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2014
26/Dec
Seth Godin is a very highly regarded author in the business and marketing world. His well-known book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works — and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All often receives rave reviews. Even the title poses an interesting question in my mind: is it acceptable to ‘deceive’ an audience to prove a point, especially one that leads to a better, socially focused outcome?
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2014
26/Dec
Earlier this year, Skype launched the Stay Together Campaign: an online call to action for real people to share their stories about how Skype lets them stay in contact. As is always the case with ‘real’ stories, the emotions runs high, even in the over produced world of made-for-Internet video. Campaigns of this nature frequently run the fine line between emotional resonance and too heavy handed, but Skype’s fourth installment packs a punch.
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2014
26/Dec
There is no doubting the influence of Google in everyday society. It is one of the few tech-based words to become a verb and is all pervasive in our daily lives. What Google has in spades and why it is such a powerhouse, is data. Every search term we use, every click we make, what we do and when is tracked by Google to constantly refine our online experience. So while this information is predominantly used to personalise our experience, when one looks at the data en masse, some interesting, hilarious or unfortunately, seriously saddening insights become apparent.
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2014
26/Dec
Over the last few days, the Internet has been abuzz about the stunt-based advertising for Carrie, a Stephen King novel and remake of the 1976 horror movie. The prank is fairly simple in concept: a girl loses it over a spilled coffee and then applies telekinesis to throw a man against a wall and scatter tables and chairs around the coffee shop. The actions are true to the movie — the main character uses telekinesis to terrorise her small town and the prank is elaborately planned and executed. It is a fantastic illustration of intelligent, strategically-driven stunt based advertising.
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The following is an adaption of a presentation to fifty Master of Public Health students at Melbourne University. It includes all slides, videos and a rough transcript. It took around an hour, followed by thirty minutes of questions.
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