The organisation behind Sydney’s Koori Radio has come under scrutiny after a Deloitte audit raised concerns about how funds were managed during the tenure of its former chair and treasurer, John Leha.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the review covered expenditure between January 2022 and October 2023, including $250,000 in government funding earmarked for studio upgrades.

Deloitte reported that the grant money did “not appear to have been transparently managed”, adding that incomplete records made it “challenging” to confirm whether funds had been spent “in accordance with its intended purpose.”

Auditors also found $217,000 had been transferred to a debit card in Leha’s name. More than $41,000 of that went on travel, including $13,000 in Uber fares, with further costs for accommodation ($23,000), food ($11,400), and smaller charges such as $400 in ATM withdrawals and $350 on car detailing.

While Deloitte stressed there was no evidence of misappropriation, it noted some spending, particularly the “significant” use of Uber, “may not be genuinely business-related.”

The organisation has now been banned from applying for state government grants.

Governance under pressure

Leha, who served as chair and treasurer of Gadigal Information Service Aboriginal Corporation (GIS) from 2019 until a no-confidence vote in April 2023, stepped down amid separate bullying claims.

In early 2024, Aboriginal Affairs NSW issued GIS with a non-compliance letter that barred it from applying for state funding for two years.

Emails from March 2024 show the organisation’s interim CEO Tony Duke described the situation starkly: “We are an organisation in chaos and a critical situation financially,” he wrote, citing unpaid bills of more than $200,000 and noting that work funded by the government grant “has not been done and the funds are not readily identifiable in our bank accounts.”

Moving forward

The turbulence has raised broader concerns about member contributions, with reports that membership fees went missing and direct debit payments could not be traced.

Despite this, GIS’s current chair Dallas Wellington has stressed that the organisation is rebuilding. “Like many grassroots community organisations, there is a vulnerability that comes with the territory,” he said

“But we are now a strong and viable organisation that every day goes from strength to strength.”

But according to The Sydney Morning Herald, insiders say the operations are in “dire straits” and “chaos”.

Wellington added that the board and staff are focused on embedding “systems and best practices to ensure that our organisation is appropriately governed and managed in a culturally respectful and publicly accountable manner.”

Mediaweek has reached out to Koori Radio for comment.

Main image: John Leha

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Colin Fassnidge reckons life on My Kitchen Rules isn’t as wild as it once was. “Well, me and Manu (Feildel) are old. We used to be young. Now we’re grey,” he told Mediaweek.

These days the judging pair take a more measured approach, especially after Feildel’s knee reconstruction.

“He used to do a lot of training and now he’s looking after his health. So when we’re travelling together, I drink a lot less now when I’m with him out of respect,” he said.

Settling into the formula

For Fassnidge, the partnership with Feildel really clicked once they started fronting the Australian and New Zealand versions of the show together.

“I think between us we worked out a good sort of duo. We know what works and what doesn’t,” he said.

For Fassnidge their recipe for success is simple: “We just be ourselves”.

He continued: “We don’t really play the game too much that we maybe used to years ago, we just call each other’s bullshit out and we just want to see a good show.”

The shift came as both judges matured on screen and off. “In the early days, we 100 per cent played to the camera because when you’re young to TV, you think that’s what they [the audience] want. And then life comes along and you have kids and you’re like, that’s not who I want to be,” Fassnidge revealed.

Sponsors, seafood and car crash moments

This year’s season will be backed by big-name sponsors including Woolworths, Spotlight, SharkNinja, Schweppes and Toscano, with brands embedded across episodes.

Fassnidge says the food mix is already shaping up. “Usually I like all the spicy dishes and there’s lot of that. There’s also lots of seafood, I think, this year. And then obviously you’ve got your old mate who calls himself the Meat Master [couple Michael & Rielli], who cooks something that I don’t have a problem with, but 90% of the people watching the show will.”

The cast is just as eclectic with six teams stepping up and bringing a mix of real food, family stories and, inevitably, disasters. As Fassnidge put it: “It’s like when you go to a big family Christmas, an hour in, everyone’s very happy. And then two hours in, it’s starting, people are starting to niggle each other.

“Three hours in, your auntie’s falling over in the driveway, your uncle’s gone home. He’s got the s**ts. And, you know, it’s all coming. Like, there is a little bit of a car crash and a little bit of cooking. And everyone can relate to someone in that group,” he said.

Fame versus family

Despite his long tenure on television, Fassnidge’s daughters are unimpressed.

“My kids have asked me to give up TV because apparently I’m cringe. So I have a very good barometer in my house of like keeping my ego in check because I don’t even exist in my house,” he laughed.

But the honesty doesn’t bother him. “It’s kind of a nice way to get you through life,” he said. “I like being at home now and just cooking. In the old days, I was at everything. Now I’m like nah.”

Training for TV

Filming the series takes a physical toll, with long nights and early flights becoming the norm.

Fassnidge explains: “You have to be mentally fit for this, because it all starts in March or April. So, you’re sort of getting fit, like eating good and exercising and getting lots of sleep, because once you go on the road your sleep patterns are totally out of whack. You get to bed at three in the morning, then you’re on the flight back home at nine a.m. Then you come home and you’re the grumpiest person in the world, apparently. Then you do it all over again.”

He added, jokingly: “We’re athletes now. We’re slightly pudgy athletes.”

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The Mediaweek Media Agency 50 list has been shaped with input from a distinguished advisory board, whose perspectives on leadership, client impact, culture, and industry capability informed the development of the 2025 framework.

The advisory board’s role was consultative – helping Mediaweek define the values and criteria by which leaders will be recognised.

The final selection and ranking remain the responsibility of Mediaweek’s editorial team, ensuring independence and integrity.

The 2025 advisory board includes:
• Philippa Moig, CEO, UnLtd
• Sam Buchanan, CEO, Independent Media Agencies Australia
• Sophie Madden, CEO, Media Federation of Australia
• Darren Woolley, Founder and Global CEO, TrinityP3
• Rowena Millward, Growth and Capability Expert
• Virginia Hyland, former CEO, Havas Media Network

The redefined Media Agency 50 ensures that both independents and global holding groups are recognised on equal footing. Leaders will be celebrated for their creativity, their culture, their resilience, and their contribution to progress, rather than size or scale alone.

Alongside the revamp of our Media Agency 50 list, the annual Mediaweek 100 will also have a new approach. Five new lists have been introduced to replace the single 100-name list: the Power 20, the Growth 20, the Innovation 20, the Influence 20, and the Impact 20.

Together, these lists provide a broader and more inclusive showcase of the leaders redefining today’s media landscape.

Event details

The 2025 Mediaweek 100, including the Agency 50, will be revealed at a gala event on Friday, 24 October 2025, at Crown Sydney’s Pearl Ballroom.

Submissions close 24 September 2025 (11:59 pm AEST). Enter here.

Tickets for the event are available now.

The 2025 Mediaweek 100 and Media Agency 50 are proudly supported by News Corp Australia, Perion, and QMS

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A new food and drink publication, Crumb Wire, has launched in Australia with a focus on accessible, everyday food culture.

The site covers restaurant news, features, profiles, events and retail updates, while also tracking social media’s role in shaping food trends.

Founder and editor Pallavi Mathur has a background in communications, with roles at Clear Hayes Consulting, the National Library of Australia and hospitality businesses in both Australia and India. Writing, she said, was her first passion.

Mathur said: “To me, food is inherently egalitarian – it doesn’t discriminate and it should never be gatekept. Australia’s food culture is so rich and diverse, spanning everything from a good old Sunday sausage sizzle to a fine dining rating system unique to the country.

“Crumb Wire was built to reflect that spirit, just as it lives and breathes here: on our social feeds, in our suburbs and in our conversations.”

“My Nani (grandmother) ran a small-batch pickle business in North India, building recipes that were treasured in the community. She had over 15 recipes of Indian pickles – everything from mango, turnip and carrot to jackfruit and stuffed chilli. I remember the wonderfully chaotic energy of the kitchen when we’d visit in the summer months.

“So much of our bond was built around food. Before she passed, she willed her handwritten recipe books to me. I like to think that legacy lives on through Crumb Wire.”

Prior to launching Crumb Wire, Mathur built her career in communications, having previously worked as a Public Relations Consultant for Clear Hayes Consulting and the National Library of Australia.

Crumb Wire publishes five days a week, Monday to Friday, with a newsletter in development. The title is building its commercial network and is seeking founding advertisers.

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Television crocodile wrangler Matt Wright has been found guilty on two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice, following the 2022 helicopter crash in Arnhem Land that killed his co-star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson paralysed.

The Outback Wrangler star faced three counts in the Northern Territory Supreme Court but was only convicted on two.

He could face jail time.

Guilty verdicts delivered

The jury found Wright guilty of lying to police about fuel levels and asking Robinson to falsify flight records.

A third charge – alleging Wright encouraged someone to destroy the helicopter’s maintenance records – was left unresolved, with the jury unable to reach a verdict.

Wright was granted bail shortly after the decision was handed down on Friday afternoon.

Testimony from the pilot

Much of the trial hinged on Robinson’s evidence.

He told the court that while recovering from a coma, Wright and his wife visited him in hospital and asked him to change flight logs.

“I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things,” Robinson said.

He admitted to poor record-keeping practices himself, but said they were common in the Territory’s helicopter industry. “Everyone looked at Matt as an idol,” he added. “He’d say ‘jump’ and they’d say ‘how high?’”

Families and police respond

Outside court, Danielle Wilson, widow of Chris Wilson, said the verdict represented “an important moment in a long and painful journey.”

She noted her family was preparing for their fourth Father’s Day without him: “Once again, there will be an empty seat at the table, a constant reminder of all that has been taken from us.”

NT Police Detective Senior Sergeant Corey Borton praised the jury’s work and the three-year investigation. “My investigation team has spent three years on this job and got the result that we did. It’s a matter for appeal now. So [there’s] not a lot more I can say.”

A battle over credibility

The defence sought to shift blame toward Robinson, painting him as an unreliable witness who ignored warnings and partied heavily.

Senior counsel David Edwardson told the jury: “Matt Wright has gone from the face of Darwin tourism, to now sitting in the dock with his fate in your hands.”

Judge allows bail

Despite the seriousness of the offences, Acting Justice Alan Blow granted bail, noting the likelihood of an appeal. “It would ordinarily be my practice to remand in custody at this stage on an offence of this seriousness … but this is a different situation,” he told the court.

At 46, Wright was not accused of causing the crash itself, but of attempting to interfere with the investigation that followed. The case now moves into its next phase, with the prospect of an appeal on the horizon.

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A new kind of pressure is building in marketing departments across Australia and New Zealand. You can feel it in shifting briefs, shortened timelines and a mounting sense that yesterday’s campaigns are already out of date. Culture is moving faster, and so are the expectations of the audiences that brands are trying to reach.

It’s no longer enough to deliver personalised moments. The opportunity now is to tap into broader movements and shape conversations, not just react to them. That shift demands a new kind of content engine: one that’s fast, fluid and built to move with the times.

The acceleration isn’t just a gut feeling. It’s a reality fuelled by AI. Not just as a tool for marketers, but as a force reshaping how consumers think, search and engage online. Adobe research already shows 71% of consumers expect brand interactions to be tailored to their needs, and on top of that, they want content that’s instant and deeply tied to what’s happening right now.

We’ve entered a world where algorithms reward what’s new, not what’s evergreen. The shelf life of campaigns is shrinking, and marketers who can’t adapt are watching their brand visibility and investment decay in real time. Remaining in the picture relies on systems built to operate at the speed of culture, blending the best of human creativity with the power and pace of AI.

The AI effect on consumer expectations

Search was once a moment of intent. That is, entering keywords or phrases to generate results that satisfy a need from brand discovery or education through to purchasing. However, that journey is now punctuated by AI-powered experiences and conversational interactions. More web users start with an AI assistant, with research showing that 90% of Australian users say it’s improved their shopping experience.

Audiences also increasingly consume media through an algorithmic lens. They’re scrolling through shorts and reels across multiple platforms, where what’s trending trumps what was relevant last week.

This shift is conditioning users to prioritise speed, novelty and cultural alignment, where static content, no matter how beautifully crafted, has less chance of breaking through.

The decay of static campaigns

Performance marketing was once a well-oiled machine. Brands could rely on consistent formats, predictable results and steady testing cycles. But today, even the best-performing ads are wearing out faster.

Why? Because the algorithms that once optimised for conversion are now optimising for customer signals and cultural momentum. They boost what’s trending, reactive and resonant in the moment. That’s bad news for slow-moving marketers. At best, a campaign created six weeks ago might feel stale by the time it launches. It’s likely much worse, where paid media might never see the light of day because it’s been buried by more culturally attuned content.

Meanwhile, micro-creators, meme accounts, and AI-assisted storytellers are outpacing entire marketing departments, beating the algorithm and testing multiple concepts daily, while brands get bogged down in approval cycles. This is performance marketing in 2025: if you can’t respond to emerging conversations as they unfold, intersecting flashpoints and real-time trends, you’re losing ground.

One clear barrier? Speed. At Adobe, repurposing content used to take as long as creating it from scratch, leaving campaigns to go stale and audiences to tune out. Using AI-generated updates to headlines, images and copy, we’re now adapting content across channels in two to three days, rather than two to three weeks, while still ensuring we maintain brand integrity.

Creativity needs a new production flow

To survive in this new environment, marketers need new creative infrastructure and new ways of working. Top brands are asking: Can generative AI help my creative team, or will it just create more noise? Welcome to the new world. Performance marketing is now part brand newsroom, part cultural war room, where AI surfaces real-time signals and social trends; where creative teams launch new campaigns in hours, not weeks; where copy and visuals are versioned, localised and adapted using generative AI tools; and where paid media teams deploy content in bursts, testing and iterating based on immediate feedback. Three-week turnaround times once made it near-impossible to capitalise on cultural moments or seasonal spikes. But by compressing timelines into days or even hours, Adobe has unlocked new levels of responsiveness and, in doing so, enjoyed a 9% lift in ROI.

Another example is a partnership between Adobe and The Coca-Cola Company. Known as Project Fizzion, Coca-Cola are using a customised Adobe Firefly generative AI model, allowing in-house designers to train AI to generate on-brand content at scale while preserving creative intent. The goal was to reduce misinterpreted brand guidelines and ensure consistency, ultimately increasing speed to market.

This is performance marketing that operates at the speed of culture. It’s about moving fast and building fluidity into your creative DNA. It’s about doing more with less, and how marketing teams are scaling campaigns without scaling headcount.

The new creative superteam

The spectre of AI overshadowing creativity remains, but the most effective marketing strategies will emerge from the combination of human and AI skillsets. While AI tools can produce endless variations, help model performance, localise and personalise at scale, human instinct is still essential for cultural nuance, for tone, and for storytelling that makes the audience feel something.

Together, marketers and machines can intercept emerging conversations, instantly develop multiple creative directions, personalise content without compromising brand voice, and ship ideas the same day they’re sparked. When AI is used to accelerate creativity, rather than replace it, it becomes the ultimate competitive edge.

We know from first-hand experience. Adobe’s historical content creation efforts were driven by human intuition, limiting opportunities for optimisation and consistency across campaigns. Using AI to analyse individual asset attributes, then tying those features to performance data, revealed the elements that drove the highest engagement.

For example, at Adobe, we applied insights to assets on our website, showing a specific template colour in Adobe Express drove higher engagement. We increased the number of templates using that colour, increasing downloads by 35%.

From moments to movement

The most successful brands today aren’t those with the biggest budgets, they’re those that can show up in the right moment with the right message in a way that feels both native and meaningful. And that’s what moving at the speed of culture means. It’s not just fast production, it’s smart, emotionally intelligent responsiveness. It’s about listening harder, iterating quicker and staying visible where it matters most: in the feed, in the conversation and in the here and now.

AI is already rewriting the rules for how people find, expect, and experience content. The brands that embrace that reality and build creative environments to match won’t just keep up. They’ll lead.

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“Don’t put all your eggs on attention,” Atomic 212°’s Chief Strategy Officer, Asier Carazo, told Mediaweek about the main learning from the Publicis Groupe agency’s new report, Deeper Than Attention.

The report examined ad receptivity, or how open audiences are to engaging with advertising initially, and showcased the impact of shifting from traditional attention metrics to a nuanced understanding of consumer attitudes using the agency’s market research platform, Sonar.

“Human behaviour should be at the core of everything we do as media and creative agencies, so why don’t we look a little bit more into that and try to understand what happens when people are consuming advertising.”

Strategy Director Sam Bessell explained that while attention research is new to the industry and Atomic 212° saw the gap in doing research in the space.

Carazo added that this research uncovers an “uncomfortable truth” about the industry’s work- “people are hard to reach, and people do things to avoid seeing that.”

He said that despite the number of campaigns that are out in the market, audiences don’t see them.

“Real consumers might not even see the ads because they are doing a series of behaviours to avoid seeing those ads, and I think it’s very important that now we have a data point that understands what people are doing in each channel and to what extent.

“It’s not a nice thing for a lot of agencies to talk about people avoiding what we do, but I think we have to talk about it because people pay a ridiculous amount of money monthly for subscriptions to just avoid seeing the work.

“The better you have an understanding of human behaviour, the more effective your advertising will be.”

Atomic 212° on understanding the ad journey

Among the findings, which surveyed 1,500 Australians aged 18 and over in May 2025, the report identified that some platforms typically dismissed as “low attention” environments actually outperform on receptivity, offering untapped value for advertisers.

Cinema and Out Of Home are “low attention” channels that performed well in ad receptivity and attention because both environments were physical formats that are hard to avoid.

Carazo noted that the findings help paint the picture of the life of an ad and to maximise its chances of being in the mind of a consumer.

Atomic 212’s research also segmented Australian audiences into four distinct behavioural types based on how they avoid ads, content controllers – using skip ads feature on platforms, space evaders – physically avoid ads by leaving the room or turning away, focus shifters – stay present but shift attention elsewhere, and ad-free subscribers – pay to avoid ads entirely.

Bessell said these categories were important in understanding where the audience is stepping off in the ad journey and how improvements can be made.

“If it’s proactive, media is really important in the planning, but if it’s reactive, creative becomes really important. This is the bridge from ad receptivity to the current attention metrics in place. Reactive behaviour needs creativity to maintain that engagement.”

Helping Atomic 212° clients hit targets

A wide range of Atomic 212 clients have used Sonar to improve their strategy. Carazo said the feedback has been positive because it puts the research in their hands.

“The reports they get from us are way shorter than a report that you would get from a big research company. They go straight to the point, have a clear recommendation, and we also manage the media investment.”

He highlighted BMW, a long-standing client of Atomic, as a brand that has benefitted from Sonar for the past few years.

“Sonar has informed everything they do from a media, marketing perspective, even to the point that we were able to prove constant demand in vehicles within different segments, so they moved away from communicating launches and then being more always-on.”

Sonar helped Tourism NT shift from attracting tourists in the 50+ age demo via TV to reaching them on YouTube and TikTok.

Carazo said it helps effectively “break cliches and pre-assumptions that we had on the audience and using the power of data to make those recommendations.”

Bessell also noted that O’Brien has had success with Sonar in widening their market beyond decision makers with their cars.

“We’ve demonstrated that they were such a market leader that they needed to keep looking beyond their current target audience.”

Making ad receptivity standard

Carazo believes that ad receptivity should become a standard input as it provides better insights into human behaviour and improves how it is planned.

“For us, it is definitely going to be a standard. For others, they want to conduct their own research; if they want to tap into Sonar, they absolutely can.

“It is our duty as agencies to continue to understand what audiences are doing, and this is a great way to use it to understand and also put it into action.”

Bessell added: “We still feel that this is the attention economy and discussion is still growing, and we believe is an emerging area of study that should be taken seriously.

“We really want to implement this and recommend anyone else in that everyone else in the industry do the same.”

The future of consumer behaviour and dynamics

Carazo said he hopes to see conversations build with clients who want to access Sonar and build their audiences to discover the type of ad receptors and levels of ad receptivity across their existing audiences.

He also noted that they are having conversations with creative agencies, including Publicis Groupe’s Leo and Saatchi&Saatchi.

“We want them to benefit from this; media and creative always have to work together. This is an extra opportunity to build a bridge between media and creative, and design that connected platform.

“I think this is right at the centre of the ethos of Publicis’ Power of One. I want to make sure that everything we do is useful for creative agencies.”

He noted that some Sonar whose creative agencies are not part of the Group also use the dashboard and see the data in real time.

“This has been a game changer, but also for marketers in empowering them and giving them something new they can learn from that they feel that they have the right partner because we are asking the right questions. We’re quite proactive, ahead of our time in understanding consumer behaviour and dynamics.

Bessell added, “This research gives us and marketers an added level of understanding about attention that they otherwise wouldn’t have had, and we want to make this available to our clients.

“We’re really excited to make this a bigger part of our discussions with them in our planning, and we hope the industry starts to acknowledge perhaps something that they were unwilling to do for such a long time.”

Top image: Asier Carazo and Sam Bessell

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Nine Entertainment Co. has named Martyn Roberts as its next Chief Financial Officer, with the appointment to take effect on 8 September 2025.

Roberts will report directly to CEO Matt Stanton as he steps into the senior finance role. News of his appointment came a day after the company delivered its full-year results.

Roberts brings long experience in financial and corporate strategy roles across ASX-listed and global consumer businesses.

He was most recently CFO at Ramsay Health Care, and previously held the Group CFO post at Coca-Cola Amatil. Earlier in his career, he worked in senior roles at Woolworths and Louis Vuitton.

Stanton said the appointment is a strong fit for the business: “I am delighted to welcome Martyn to Nine. He brings extensive experience across a range of consumer-related industries, which together with his financial pedigree and ASX-market experience, makes him a great fit with Nine.”

The transition also marks the end of Graeme Cassells’ tenure as Acting CFO.

“I’d also like to acknowledge Graeme Cassells who stepped into the role as Acting CFO, and was a great support to me particularly as we worked through Nine2028 and the sale of our stake in Domain. To ensure a smooth transition, Graeme will remain with Nine until his retirement at the end of the year,” Stanton added.

Looking ahead

Roberts said he is joining the business at an important time: “Nine is a great Australian company and I’m excited about joining the team. The recent sale of Domain has left the Group with a strong balance sheet to capitalise on its leading market position in media in Australia.

“I am similarly convinced of the growth opportunities of the business and look forward to working with the Board and Matt and the team to ensure we can optimise the performance of Nine’s portfolio of media assets.”

Roberts is also a board member of the Group of 100, a leading representative body for CFOs, and is active in shaping financial and regulatory frameworks in Australia. A chartered accountant in England and Wales, he completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) at the University of York.

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Krista Walton has been promoted to New South Wales agency sales director at oOh!media, stepping into the role after six years as group business director.

Walton brings more than 20 years of experience across Out of Home, publishing and brand partnerships. During her time at oOh!, she has played a central role in shaping agency strategy and driving commercial results.

“Krista is an exceptional leader whose impact is felt across every corner of our business,” said Mark Fairhurst, chief revenue officer, oOh!media. “Her commitment to our customers, combined with her ability to inspire and develop high-performing teams, makes her the ideal person to lead our agency sales function in NSW.”

Fairhurst added that Walton’s deep category expertise and strategic mindset reflect the calibre of leadership within the business.

Walton will officially take on the new role in mid-September. She succeeds Lanai Wiadrowski, who is departing after more than a decade with the business. Walton will report to Wade James, who rejoined oOh! in July as group sales director.

Alongside her new leadership responsibilities, Walton will also co-chair oOh!’s Gender Equality DEI Committee, underscoring her ongoing contribution to equity and inclusion in the media industry.

“I’m thrilled to be stepping into this role at a business and a sector I’m so deeply passionate about,” Walton said. “It’s a real privilege to lead such a talented team and to build on the strong momentum we’ve achieved in the first half of the year.”

Walton also acknowledged the support of Wiadrowski, with whom she worked closely over the past six years.

The appointment comes as oOh! continues to expand its network footprint across Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including the rollout across Waverley and the Northern Beaches.

Top image: Krista Walton

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Podcast advertising has moved from niche to mainstream in recent years, yet for many marketers it still feels like unfamiliar territory.

Those thinking about branching out into the podcasting territory are usually faced with questions such as
do you try and match brands with the show or the host? Is it safe to advertise on true crime programs? or how long are people really listening for?

Acast is hoping to close that knowledge gap with the launch of its new Ads Academy, a free learning hub designed to make podcast buying clearer and more accessible.

Henrik Isaksson, Acast’s Regional Managing Director for ANZ, told Mediaweek the move reflects a global want for education.

“That need when it comes to podcast buying isn’t necessarily just in Australia, it’s everywhere,” he said.

“What seems to happen quite a lot in emerging mediums like podcasting is that depending on who you talk to, you’ll get a different story on how to best utilise the medium. And that’s what we wanted to set straight. Because this is what we do. We’re a podcast business.”

Two courses, two levels

The platform offers two courses: Podcast Advertising 101 is for newcomers, covering the basics of reach, frequency, formats and measurement. While Podcast Advertising 201 digs into advanced tools such as retargeting, programmatic buying and omnichannel optimisation.

“What you’ll be able to pick up when you go through the two different modules is obviously the basics, which is the podcast 101… and then the second one talks more about advanced measurement, retargeting, programmatic buying, like it gets quite comprehensive,” Isaksson explained.

Marketers who complete the modules and pass the final exam receive certification. Isaksson has even taken the courses himself. “I found them really useful. And this is what I’ve been doing for the last almost 18 years.”

Building on past education efforts

Acast has a long history of pushing education in podcasting. When the company first launched in Australia in 2017, it partnered with Nova Entertainment to teach advertisers about the medium.

“Back then there wasn’t companies doing podcast advertising at scale,” Isaksson said. “What we did in conjunction with [Nova] was to educate the market on the valuable audiences in podcasting, regardless of what they listen to.”

He argues the parallels with other media are obvious.

“Brands have no issues advertising on 60 Minutes on TV, and some of the subjects that they talk about are really serious, if not worse than a 50-year-old murder investigation. But they have no issues with that. Our job in this is to educate and prove that the money invested in podcast advertising, regardless of genre, is well invested.”

Crime, audiences and brand safety

That education effort extends to brand safety, particularly in genres like true crime, which remains one of the most popular categories with Australian listeners, topping the latest podcast ranker.

“We’re not really seeing the whole issue with monetising true crime,” Isaksson said. “The audiences in true crime are super, super valuable, and brand safety in podcasting is inferred.”

Acast relies on technology to address sensitivities. “We’ve got technologies that prevent certain ads from showing up in certain shows,” he said. “We’ve taken this and made it into a scalable solution for both direct advertisers and programmatic advertisers.”

Technology and content hand in hand

While Ads Academy focuses on education, Isaksson is quick to point out that growth in podcasting is driven by both technology and creativity. “Good content will always prevail,” he said. “If you make a good noise, the audience tend to follow.”

YouTube’s rise as the largest podcast platform illustrates the point.

“They’ve become the biggest go-to destination for podcast consumption in the world, by chance, they didn’t even try,” Isaksson noted. “And they have businesses like Apple and Spotify doing everything they can to grow these user bases. So to answer your question, I think it’s a combination of both.”

Connecting creators and advertisers

Acast’s open model means it doesn’t produce content but instead provides hosting, distribution and monetisation services for creators.

“We don’t own any of the content that we distribute and monetise. We don’t make podcasts,” Isaksson explained. That ranges from grassroots podcasters on Acast Open through to high-profile names like Mitch Churi, who recently launched his new show with Acast support.

Finding the right audience remains central to the company’s pitch. “Audience buying in podcasting isn’t necessarily anything new, but defining what the audiences are and what tools you’re using, that’s when it gets a little bit tricky,” he said.

“We do it through our own marketplace or we use third parties like Comscore to help find these audiences in podcasting.”

Making podcast ads easier

For Isaksson, the Ads Academy is about giving marketers a single, trusted foundation in a fast-growing medium.

“It’s beneficial to anyone who has even the slightest interest in podcast advertising,” he said. “It’s not necessarily just for Acast. We’d love for everyone to try it, regardless of how seasoned they are in the world of podcast ads.”

Main image: Henrik Isaksson

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Ferro-grad has launched a new brand platform, Energy Ferro-After, in partnership with Bureau of Everything (BoE), positioning the supplement as a faster-acting option for iron deficiency.

The campaign challenges traditional narratives by casting women as the central figures, focusing on them taking control of their health.

Iron deficiency affects almost one in three Australian women, with research showing concerns around side effects often complicate diagnosis and treatment.

Laurent De Meyer, General Manager of Wellness, noted that the campaign marks a shift in how the category is approached: “Iron supplement advertising has traditionally been functional and uninspiring.

“With our new campaign, Ferro-grad reimagines the category through the lens of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, transforming it into a powerful metaphor for the fatigue of iron deficiency. It’s a celebration of women rising, re-energised and ready to take on the world.”

The creative, developed with production company Cirkus and ex-Disney animators, uses hand-drawn animation to reimagine a fairytale ending. The approach departs from typical supplement advertising, avoiding the usual glossy lifestyle visuals.

Cam Blackley added: “We took great care in finding the right production partner to craft the idea of rewritten fairytales authentically.

“This is the kind of work that proves that you can create cut-through in any category (even one that discusses constipation) if you have an entertaining, well- executed idea.”

The campaign will run across TV, online video, YouTube and pharmacy channels.

Credits
Creative Office: Bureau of Everything
CCO: Cam Blackley
CD: Jardin Anderson
CSO: Emily Taylor
GSD: Vanessa Graham
GBD: Esther Knox
EP: Cathy Rechichi
Producer: Zorrica Blackley
Production: Cirkus
Animation Direction: Christian Greet
Storyboarding: Amber Edwards
Illustration: Amber Edwards, Christian Misola Fenis, Bo Klijn, Dilmi
Amarasinghe
Animation: Jared Beckstrand, Amber Edwards, Christian Misola Fenis, Kai
Phillip, Sophia Aizon and Ty Jepsen
Producer: Marko Klijn
Client: VidaCorp
General Manager, Laurent De Meyer
Wellness
Marketing Manager Olivia Grey

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The University of Western Australia (UWA) has appointed VML Perth and WPP Media as its new creative and media partners.

The Brand Agency, which previously held both accounts, has concluded its partnership with the University. UWA Chief Marketing Officer Haylee Felton acknowledged the agency’s contribution over the years.

The new partnership with VML Perth and WPP Media will focus on revitalising the UWA brand and strengthening its presence across student and community touchpoints.

The review process was managed by Trinity P3 and involved several top-tier agencies.

Felton said VML Perth and WPP Media stood out for their exceptional quality of thinking, creative energy, spirit of collaboration – local WA teams powered by global expertise.

“We were highly impressed by the calibre of work and the passion the teams brought to every interaction,” she said.

“There was an instant alignment of values, and we anticipate a strong and collaborative partnership with a one-team mindset.”

VML CCO Paul Nagy said UWA’s ambition to push creative boundaries and connect with its audiences in fresh and meaningful ways was exhilarating.

“The instant chemistry between the teams and a shared ambition to elevate the work to new heights has set us up for a strong long-term partnership.”

WPP Media’s Peter Vogel, said: “Partnering with UWA alongside VML, allows us to bring media, data and technology expertise together with bold creative ideas to amplify their story of academic excellence and innovation, reaching new students and shaping future leaders.”

This win for VML comes after the agency recently launched campaigns for Cuddly’s Refresh Rinse and KITKAT’s limited-edition reversible hoodie designed to blend into public transport seats, promoting its brand platform of protecting “break time.”

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