Network 10 has won a last-minute bid to reopen former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against the Network and Lisa Wilkinson, pushing back the judgment originally set down for Thursday.

Taylor Auerbach, a former producer for Seven’s Spotlight program – which Lehrmann provided interviews for in 2023 – will take to the stand on Thursday and allege that the show was provided with confidential documents that Lehrmann had in an “e-brief” for his criminal trial, but which were not tendered in court.

Speaking in court on Tuesday, Network 10’s lawyer, Matthew Collins KC, said Auerbach had named Lehrmann as the source of the evidence leak.

This evidence includes approximately 2,300 pages of text messages between Brittany Higgins and her former partner, Ben Dillaway.

Auerbach swore to three affidavits, seen by Mediaweek, over the weekend. In one, Auerbach said a Cellebrite extraction report of texts was “provided to me by the applicant by either WhatsApp or AirDrop.”

A second affidavit describes a dinner between Auerbach, Lehrmann, and Spotlight executive producer, Mark Llewellyn.

“During our meal, Mark said to the applicant ‘Do you have the documents from the criminal proceedings?’. The applicant said ‘Yes I do.’ Mark and I discussed what arrangements would have to be made for the applicant to gain access to Seven’s offices in Martin Place so he could copy his documents,” the affidavit reads.

“I observed that the applicant had in his possession a large lever arch hard back folder containing what I saw to be around 500 pages of documents printed on both sides. I viewed some of the documents that were being copied and could see that they were exhibits from the applicant’s criminal proceedings.”

Other fresh allegations from Auerbach surround the Seven Network providing financial incentives to Lehrmann to secure the two Spotlight interviews.

Whilst the company’s decision to pay for Lehrmann’s rent in Sydney had already been widely reported, new allegations include that Seven paid for “perks” including $10,300 on Thai massages, several expensive dinners, and a $401.83 round of golf in Tasmania.

Auerbach also alleges that in January 2023, “Monies paid by the applicant for illicit drugs and prostitutes… at a brothel in Surry Hills were reimbursed to the applicant by Seven.”  

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee told the court on Tuesday that he would reopen the trial because, “this is clearly fresh evidence.”

In December, The Walkley Foundation revoked the finalist status of Seven’s Spotlight interview with Bruce Lehrmann for the 68th Walkley Awards in response to the revelation that the Network had been paying Lehrmann’s rent as part of an exclusivity agreement. The Foundation said at the time that “the entry did not accurately describe the extent of benefits provided to Mr Lehrmann in exchange for interviews, information and exclusive access.”

See Also: Walkley Foundation “revokes finalist status” of Seven’s Spotlight interview with Bruce Lehrmann

A Seven spokesperson said the Network strongly denies the allegations, and highlighted that, “the claims in the affidavits have been presented unchallenged.”

“We strongly reject the false and misleading claims relating to the broadcast of material in the Spotlight program. Seven has never revealed its source or sources and has no intention of doing so.

“Seven notes Mr Lehrmann’s court testimony last year that he was not the source. Furthermore, Seven did not condone or authorise the alleged payments to Mr Lehrmann referred to in the affidavits.

“As has been previously reported, the person involved admitted to the misuse of a Seven corporate card and all unauthorised expenses were immediately reimbursed.”

Lehrmann is currently suing Network 10 and former The Project star Wilkinson for defamation in relation to a February 2021 interview with Brittany Higgins. In the interview, Higgins made the allegation that she had been raped in an office of Parliament House.

Whilst he was not named, Lehrmann claimed that his name was “widely trafficked as the culprit on social media and the internet generally”. His lawyers have echoed that message, saying that it was “notorious in Parliament House and elsewhere that Mr Lehrmann was the person alleged to have assaulted Ms Higgins.”

Residential property portal view.com.au will soon bring finance propositions to market with its banking partner, ANZ, according to chief executive officer and former Domain chief, Antony Catalano.

“The industry is fed up with the status quo,” said Catalano, claiming View is the first genuine challenger to Domain’s number two position, behind global real estate company, REA.

“While REA continues to cement its number 1 position, Domain’s audience has stagnated and we’re seeing some agents downgrading or dropping them from their advertising schedule due to high costs, underperformance and questionable return on investment.”

In February, Domain reported $175.3 million in revenue in its 2023 half-year financial results. The majority-owned Nine Entertainment company reported strong numbers across the business, with residential revenue up 29%. Media, developers, and commercial revenue also increased by 15%.

Jason Pellegrino, Domain’s chief executive officer, said at the time: “Through the volatile trading environment of the past three years, Domain has maintained the pace of our business strategy evolution. We have responded to the changing environment while continuing to innovate for the future.” 

Catalano’s comments came off the back of February IPSOS data indicating View as one of the fastest growing residential property portals in Australia, with 102% growth in unique audience since October.

Catalano stated the market has responded well to the portal’s freemium proposition, offering a “true alternative” to the traditional listings model.

The site launched on 30 September 2023. In addition to Catalano, its staffers also include seven former Domain executives who helped elevate the competitor to a $2.2 billion listing on the ASX.

Paul Tyrrell, View’s chief marketing officer, credited the recent spikes in growth to its latest marketing efforts and broadcast partnership with Channel 7’s AFL coverage.

See also: Sportsbet, Maccas, Sony, Jim Beam: Foxtel Media unveils new and returning sponsors for 2024 AFL season

Domain reports $175.3 million revenue, as print and digital go up

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Top Image: Antony Catalano

Roger Dunn has joined Australian premium spirits company Diageo as its global lead for retail media and performance media.

The news follows Dunn’s recent departure as SVP of business development for retail media tech company Citrus Ad in Asia-Pacific and Japan. In this role, he oversaw sales strategy and served as the business development lead for retail media in these regions.

Dunn wrote on LinkedIn: “Excited to play my part at the global leader in premium drinks, one of the most exciting consumer product categories, also with the opportunity to add a new client-side perspective to my retail media experience.

“I look forward to building on my recent Asia-Pacific and Japan experience with an expanded remit across the globe.”

Diageo owns over 200 brands, with sales in nearly 180 countries. Its brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Tanqueray, Baileys, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, and Don Julio.

Dunn’s previous roles include head of retail media, ANZ at Criteo, eCommerce lead at WPP AUNZ, and general manager of GroupM Commerce. He is also the founder and principal consultant of Retail Media Consultancy, the specialist retail media advice and consultancy practice he launched in 2023.
 
Additionally, Dunn is an active member of the industry as a member of IAB Australia’s retail media committee and a previous Interactive Board Member for the MFA.
 
Last year, he took part in the IAB fundraising pantomime Addy Lala and the MOOD Tea Thieves, playing the shopkeeper, a ringleader for the retail media camp.

The booming retail media sector is predicted to grow to up to $3 billion by 2027, according to PwC. GroupM’s This Year Next Year’ report predicted retail media will grow 8.3% in 2024, and forecasted that by 2028, retail media revenue will exceed linear TV and CTV combined.
 
See also:
IAB Australia unveils cast of Adland’s first ever industry pantomime “Addy Lala and the MOOD Tea Thieves”

IAB launches foundations of retail media e-learning program
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Top image: Roger Dunn

For several decades, advertisers have demonstrated their fear of missing out (FOMO) on the lowest media rates through media auditing and media trading exercises when pitching. But now it seems a new fear has crept into the media buying relationship: FOFO – fear of finding out.

Almost from the time procurement turned their attention to media trading, bringing with it their commodity trading mindset, marketers have been fearful that their agency is not buying media as cheaply as their competitors are buying. This gave rise to the media auditor, who regularly checks that the media rates the agency is buying against a pool of other media rates. It also gave rise to the media trading exercise during the pitch process, where media agencies were given several trading scenarios they would need to commit to a rate position on.

Both strategies were designed to alleviate the marketers’ FOMO that someone else was getting a better rate on media. Both were incredibly time or cost-consuming or, likely, both. At best it was a waste of time and effort, while at worst it drove agency behaviour that was counter-intuitive to effective media planning and buying.

But at the recent ANA Media Conference last month in Orlando, Florida, a new fear was articulated to the marketing, procurement, and agency audience: Fear of Finding out. FOFO.

A concept, I suspect, that more than a few Australian marketers may be suffering from.

Since the heyday of media auditing, much has changed. Instead of trading becoming more transparent following the realisations in 2015 that it wasn’t, it has become more opaque and murkier. Kickbacks, arbitrage, brand safety, and ad fraud all continue to plague the media landscape and the relationships between marketer, their agency, and the media.

Take programmatic media as a high-profile example. Successive industry reports commissioned by the ANA in the US and ISBA in the UK point to a lack of transparency in the media supply chain with estimates of 20% and much higher being unaccounted for along the way.

Couple this with concerns over ad fraud and the continued influence of bad actors gaming the media supply chain to literally steal billions of dollars from advertisers’ media budgets. Of course, some in programmatic media will point out that a percentage of this is IVT (invalid traffic). But how much is and are the advertisers paying for it? If so, it is still fraud, but the latter due to apathy or ignorance.

And this is the problem. Caveat emptor – let the buyer beware – is the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods being purchased, and does not appear to be the case when it comes to media. Where is the advertiser in all of this?

This is where FOFO has come to the fore in discussions on media trading. While there is much industry talk about addressing the issues, there has been little action, until now.

It is not surprising when you think about it. What marketer wants to raise their hand and tell their CFO or CEO that they have just discovered that perhaps a third, or even half, their media spend resulted in no-one seeing it? Possibly not a great career move.

Besides, the media agency will reassure you that they are doing everything to make sure this is not happening to your media investment, and then show you the numerous brand safety reports and ad fraud reports that you are paying for to justify it.

But where that dynamic has changed is with those marketers with the ability to take their programmatic media planning and buying in-house. Suddenly they have not just the access, but the incentive to address the issues that have plagued them for years and have felt trapped in being able to address. Damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

Suddenly their in-house media efforts are delivering significant improvements in transparency, delivery, and effectiveness. What better way to justify the investment of taking control of their media buy than providing proof of improved efficacy? And more importantly, return to a work of FOMO rather than potentially career-ending FOFO.

See Also: Woolley Marketing: Is the customer a moron?

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Darren Woolley is Global CEO of TrinityP3, Australia’s largest and most influential independent marketing / pitch consultancy and is well known to the advertising industry. Founded more than 20 years ago, TrinityP3 has a significant presence in Australia, where it leads the pitch process for many of the country’s leading advertising accounts as well as having offices in London, New York, and Zurich.

If global markets embrace independent out of home (OOH) verification, the channel can “start to demand more” ad spend, Veridooh co-founder and co-CEO Mo Moubayed has told Mediaweek, as he eyes international expansion.

“If we can overcome this minimum standard that CMOs are demanding, be it independent verification, then the out-of-home industry globally could be on a better playing field than other channels, which have some broad issues,” he said.

“I would love to see this become a norm globally, so out-of-home can start to demand more spending from advertisers, rather than just the 4% or 5% we’re currently seeing today.”

‘We’re always interested in other markets that are also interested in us’: Expansion plans

Veridooh independently tracks, measures, and verifies the performance of OOH advertising campaigns with its proprietary SmartCreative technology. The adtech company – founded by Moubayed and Jeremy Yang in 2017 – is the preferred verification partner for IPG Mediabrands, Omnicom Media Group, and GroupM in Australia. Its clients also include global brands such as Google, Amazon, Mercedes, Pepsi, Unilever, Sony, and McDonald’s.

Since launching seven years ago, the business has opened a global office in London, and is currently investigating further expansion plans.

“We now have over 30 people headquartered in Australia, looking after Australia and New Zealand. We’re very excited about our success in these countries and feel like we’re just getting started,” Moubayed said.

The UK and the US are “natural progressions” for expanding the business, with Moubayed highlighting the UK’s market similarities regarding media ownership and makeup.

“We’re always interested in other markets that are also interested in us. If a market interests us, it might make us move there faster.

“Independent verification is very new to out-of-home. So, we do some education, and for each market, there is some ramp-up time getting agencies and advertisers up to speed with our world-first tech, but once that happens, it moves pretty quickly.”

Any further expansion will preserve the vision, though: to  “build products that will help grow the out-of-home industry in the short and long term.”

Moubayed said that Veridooh has made some strategic hires, such as Nick Wong, chief of staff, and Alexander Fleming, head of marketing, to help the business prepare for its international expansion. The adtech company also hired Prashand Menon as group business director for New South Wales and Queensland.

Making OOH the ‘most attractive’ channel

OOH is the “most attractive” channel to invest in, Moubayed argued. “No other channel does big attention-grabbing creative that is hyper-localised, demographically targeted lower funnel advertising.”

Moubayed also noted that the modernisation of technology and OOH’s performance marketing capabilities serve advertising needs up and down the funnel.

He highlighted the recent Thinkerbell campaign for Lion that carried out sharp, one-off tactical brand-building executions around the arrival of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during her Eras Tour of Australia.

Moubayed said that modern marketers expect measurement and performance as a base standard and added that media planners and marketers’ teams use out-of-home in a “more sophisticated way.”

The programmatic out-of-home industry is growing every year, Moubayed said, and will likely become more pronounced. Overall, outdoor ad spend was up 15.1% in 2023, and down just 0.4% in February in a soft market, according to Guideline SMI figures released yesterday. Programmatic OOH, meanwhile, grew double digits.

Of Veridooh’s ambitions, Moubayed said: “From campaign automation that removes digital dispatch error through independent verification to measure reach and share of voice in the real world. That’s where we want to be.”

‘Record growth’: The rest of the year

Looking towards the rest of 2024, Moubayed said the team has a very clear focus: to give agencies and advertisers the confidence to invest further in out-of-home.

“We’ve helped out-of-home grow locally for the past five years in Australia with record growth quarter by quarter. Interestingly, we’re already seeing the effect of Veridooh on industry growth in other markets that we have entered in the past year, and we think we’re going to see a similar trajectory in these markets.

“We believe 2024 is going to be super exciting, not only Veridooh but out-of-home in general.”

See also: Travis Kelce invited to “real footy” in latest Tooheys work via Thinkerbell

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Top image: Mo Moubayed

Guideline SMI has reported results for February 2024 continue to indicate a soft start to the calendar year with total ad spend.

An analysis of media agency February data indicates the market is back 6% year-on-year. The lower Australian ad demand contrasts to record and near-record results in other ad markets.

Outdoor sizzles on lukewarm BBQ

In Australia in February, Guideline’s data indicates outdoor again emerges as the best-performing media. Outdoor recorded a small year-on-year decline in demand of just 0.4%. Within the outdoor sector, retail outdoor, programmatic outdoor and transit all reported double-digit growth.

Digital ad spend was back 3.1%, but within that social media bookings were up 5.9% and programmatic bookings returned to growth, up 4.7%.

Guideline SMI APAC managing director Jane Ractliffe (pictured above) said the February result for the Australian market varied significantly from that seen in other sophisticated media markets. Guideline’s US team reported record US ad spend in February.

“We’ve also seen a 7% increase in Canadian ad spend in February to a level only exceeded in 2018 when there was the Beijing Olympics. In China, ad demand grew 12.5% in February and is now up 6.7% this calendar year after a tougher 2023,’’ Ractliffe explained.

“We have always expected a softer period in Australia up until at least Easter. Ad demand will likely to pick up in the second half when tax cuts and key sporting events – such as the Paris Olympics – combine to lift demand.’’

SMI Guideline ad spend data for February 2024

Australian ad demand was mostly impacted in February by large declines in ad spend from banks and the communications categories.

The automotive brand category dropped by 10% despite a 50% increase in bookings to the electric vehicles subcategory.

Media owners were missing in action too with category ad spend almost halved with a steep decline in ad spend from TV and radio stations.

The good news from SMI Guideline

There was strong double-digit growth from food/produce/dairy advertisers. Ad spend from the toiletries/cosmetics category soared 42.9% YOY.

Ractliffe noted the local FYTD results were more positive with a decline of 2.1%. This represents a small fall against last year’s record period. In that time outdoor ad spend has achieved the strongest gains (+12.1%) while total digital bookings are up 3.6%.

See also: “Very hard not to grow” – Guideline SMI predicts growth for Australian ad market in 2024

By Angela Smith, founder and chief brand officer, AFFINITY

Chances are, if we asked you whether you’re into taking risks, especially in the context of your business, your brand, or your marketing choices, you’d say no.

That said, most businesses want to grow. And to achieve growth, something needs to change. Yet change is that one thing we humans fear. It’s a fear driven by uncertainty because the outcomes are unknown. Given we all like to feel we’re making good (read calculated decisions), this can lead to an unhealthy inertia.

Staying put, following the herd, doing what’s been done before, whilst “safe” in the short term, are risky decisions in themselves. And given the speed of competition, an untimely demise could be a by-product.

Elon Musk sums it up bluntly: “…this is how civilisations decline. They quit taking risks. And when they quit taking risks, their arteries harden.”

So, what to do?

We’re hard wired to minimise risk, yet our instinct to survive may well destroy our businesses. Risk, done well, is smart. It can be managed, it can be ‘calculated’. It’s the uncertainty we despise.

I saw this quote in one of my favourite blogs and the penny dropped.

From Nate Silver in The Signal and the Noise (2012):

Risk, as first articulated by the economist Frank H. Knight in 1921, is something that you can put a price on.

Uncertainty, on the other hand, is risk that is hard to measure. You might have some vague awareness of the demons lurking out there. You might even be acutely concerned about them. But you have no real idea how many of them there are or when they might strike. Your back-of-the-envelope estimate might be off by a factor of 100 or by a factor of 1,000; there is no good way to know. This is uncertainty.

Risk greases the wheels of a free-market economy; uncertainty grinds them to a halt.

So, risk gets an unfairly bad rap. Are you hungry for taking risks you can put a price on, knowing sometimes they will go sideways, but in the long run you’ll end up way in front?

If your ambition includes measurable and sustainable growth, you will need to take on risk.

The art of risk taking is in slowing down, and making space to think critically in order to make some smart bets, having considered all possible angles. Our instincts will scream no, don’t risk it.

But you’re risking more by not doing something.

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Top image: Angela Smith founder and chief brand officer of AFFINITY

Think HQ has branded itself as ‘The Positive Change Agency’ under a new strategic positioning.

The full-service integrated agency‘s refreshed brand and visual identity was designed and implemented by its in-house creative, design, production, and technology teams.

Think HQ has also opened a second site at its South Melbourne headquarters, a purpose-built creative space. Think HQ now has close to 100 team members across its Melbourne and Sydney offices.

Jen Sharpe, founder and managing director of Think HQ, said the agency’s last 13 years have been about committing to inclusive communications that create positive outcomes for people, places, and the planet.

“This refresh tells our story and shows our dedication to actively listening and involving community in all of our work.”

She noted that the agency’s refresh means the agency is not defined by one particular service offering after building up its in-house integrated capabilities.
 
“This is a significant step change for the agency as we enter our next phase—it perfectly captures Think HQ and CultureVerse and reflects our dynamic, diverse, and authentic people who are the driving force of everything we do. We know that while competitors will flirt with the idea of ‘purpose’ or social impact, no one else in the market comes close to who we are and what we do.”

Andy Lima, Think HQ’s chief creative officer, said the refresh reflects the Think HQ and CultureVerse brands’ vision of delivering communications that support the change needed to create a more equitable, healthy, and sustainable future for everybody.

“The brief was simple yet challenging to realise: We required ease of application by the whole group while representing our diverse service offerings,” he said.

“As the parent brand to CultureVerse, Think HQ is constantly evolving and adapting to meet the challenges of our changing world. Our brand architecture reflects that. While both brands share a common purpose and values, CultureVerse offers unique aspects, including its community engagement approach and leading reputation in the multicultural sector.

“Our sustained growth over the years meant we needed synergies across both brands while maintaining their autonomy to remain competitive in their respective markets.”

News Corp’s News Sport Network has joined forces with ad-tech platform, Partnerbrite, to transform partnerships with fan-targeted digital campaigns on social, video, and display channels. 

Developed in the UK, Partnerbrite bridges the gap between data-rich sports organisations and targeted marketing campaigns, enhancing fan-brand connections.

The collaboration will bring together News Sport Network’s large sporting audience and relationships across all major sports and brands in Australia with Partnerbrite’s platform and increasing client base of top-tier brands and sporting brands globally. 

News Sport Network and Partnerbrite will work to sell their offerings together, work with brands to identify appropriate properties in the sports industry to invest in and work with sporting partners to identify appropriate commercial partners for available categories. 

News Sport Network managing director Michael Wilkins said: “We think the product is innovative and could be a game changer for brands and how they engage with audiences in the sport sector.

“With our own deep relationships across many sporting bodies as well as with many household brands, we think we can collectively enhance the current way brands invest and leverage their relationships in sport.”

Partnerbrite has already made ground in the UK and US with a number of major clients including Premier League clubs Everton and Crystal Palace, as well as beginning to work with some NFL franchises.

“What makes Partnerbrite so innovative is we can now target rights-holders’ audiences, without data ever being shared, putting a more tailored and measurable digital solution at the heart of the sports industry,” Partnerbrite co-founder Nick Lockwood said.

“This solution, including campaigns across paid, programmatic and video content, offer a level of fan engagement that extends beyond the reach of traditional sponsorship methods, and brings sport’s offerings into the new marketing mix where digital is at the forefront.

“This approach enhances the value of the sports partnership, allowing a full funnel approach and ensures sports fans receive more relevant and engaging content.

“This is why News Sport Network is the natural partner for Partnerbrite in Australia given their expertise in the industry. It’s also apparent we both have a desire to grow our business by focusing on better serving brands and the sporting industry at large.”

Partnerbrite also recently secured investment from TTB Sport Capital, where former England Cricket Test Captain Sir Andrew Strauss is executive chairman. 

Australian Associated Press (AAP) and Google have partnered to combat misinformation and disinformation in Australia and New Zealand.

The new program, launched on International Fact-Checking Day, aims to increase the news wire service’s capacity to provide fact-checks, ensuring accurate and reliable information is provided to over 380 publications across both countries to benefit all online users.

AAP FactCheck is an editorial unit of the national newswire, Australian Associated Press and has been debunking misinformation and disinformation in Australia since 2019.

It will also analyse global misinformation trends and produce video explainers. The editorial unit will also translate fact checks into different languages (Arabic, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese) for distribution to local news outlets and social media.

The new partnership increases the speed and quantity of the work, which will also anticipate misinformation trends that have appeared in other parts of the world before they emerge in Australia and New Zealand.

Lisa Davies, AAP CEO, said the information environment has never been more challenging for journalists, newsrooms and audiences alike.

“This partnership with Google will see AAP FactCheck’s capacity expand significantly, reducing the harmful mis and disinformation Australians are encountering every day,” she said.
 
This new agreement will also see AAP produce social media content aiming to build broader media-literacy skills online.
 
Uma Patel, Google AUNZ’s News Lab Lead, said the initiative builds on an important partnership between the two organisations. She noted that Google’s partnership with AAP is leading the way against misinformation and disinformation.
 
“AAP has a strong record of calling out false and misleading claims in Australia and New Zealand, we’re excited to see their work grow and reach more people.”

This is not the first time AAP and Google partnered up. Last year, the news wire service and tech giant teamed up to give Indigenous publications free, fact-based journalism addressing referendum falsehoods.
 
See also: Google and AAP partner to support First Nations media address referendum myths

The launch of AAP and Google’s fact-checking program comes as Meta revealed its plans to shut down its monitoring tool, CrowdTangle, after August 14.

The decommissioning of the tool comes ahead of the US presidential elections in November and is set to be replaced by a lacks the same functionality and which news organisations will not have access to, according to The Australian.

Melanie Smith, director of research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, to the publication that restricted access to CrowdTangle will severely limit independent oversight of harms and “represents a grave step backwards for social media platform transparency.”

The fact that AMEX has signed on for another year supporting News Corp Australia’s delicious. Month Out is “extremely significant,” and “definitely not something that we take for granted,” according to Harriet Nash, strategy director, Newsamp NSW Consortium Agencies.

After three years as the naming rights sponsor, American Express returned for a fourth year as Naming Rights Sponsor and exclusive finance partner of delicious Month Out 2023 – building on the brand perception and consideration lifts reported by Kantar. In 2023, the campaign saw the best ever uplift for message association across any News sponsorship campaign, up +11 points (18% exposed vs 7% control). Intent to dine out at participating restaurants was up +12 points (32% exposed vs 12% control). 

“We’ll always go above and beyond to deliver the best value that we can to our long-standing partners,” Nash told Mediaweek.

“There’s also a lot of research on the effectiveness of that long-standing brand affinity as well. If you’ve got that affinity, consumers do notice that over time – you can see that in the results that we’ve provided.”

There was one overriding challenge for the team regarding the launch of the 2023 Month Out.

“In the context of increased cost of living, how could we get consumers to dine out at participating restaurants and support local businesses whilst driving consideration, membership and usage for American Express?” Nash explained. 

The way to do that was to “maximise every touch point within the delicious ecosystem, but also take it further than delicious as well.

“We have our prestige network and our wider news network, we have partnerships with Foxtel and a lot of editorial PR and marketing support as well. So for us, it was all about the physical events themselves, then maximising the brand footprint and extending to a wider audience using our broader network.”

Last year’s campaign played a dual role too, positively impacting the AMEX brand, with credit card intention up 12% (33% exposed vs. 21% control). delicious.com.au, the site achieved its largest digital audience on record during May 2023, with expanded reach against 25-39 year olds, with readers 34% more likely to visit a participating restaurant.

“A long haul partnership meant we were able to maximise media and PR value, making the 2023 partnership bigger and better than ever, building on the long standing affinity between the delicious. and American Express brands,” Nash said.

“The success of this campaign also demonstrated the appetite of consumers to get back to dining and experience real live events after a couple of rocky years for the industry.”

See Also: Brand perception ‘green shoots’ for TAB by thinking outside of the category

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Top Image: Harriet Nash

• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens with $5,601,525 in its first week, averaging $11,092 over 505 screens.
• This weekend, the Australian box office made $15,403,885, up +59% from last week’s $9,691,662.

TOP 5

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – $5,601,525 (debut)

In the latest entry to Warner Bros.’ Monsterverse, Godzilla and King Kong have decided to put aside their differences from their last battle to team up to take on an undiscovered threat. It hasn’t been too favourable with critics, currently holding a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes but on the flip side, holds a strong 93% audience score. The film took $5,601,525 in its opening week, averaging $11,092 over 505 screens.

Synopsis: The almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla confront a colossal, undiscovered threat that challenges their very existence and ours.

2. Kung Fu Panda 4 – $3,376,888 (debut)

Jack Black returns to voice Po, the Dragon Warrior in Universal’s fourth outing of martial arts madness. The film has already made $132.9 million domestically in the US. The film took $3,376,888 in its first week, averaging $6,878 over 491 screens.

Synopsis: Po goes on a thrilling journey as he dives into the wonders of ancient China. His passion for martial arts and insatiable appetite collide in the most unexpected ways.

3. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – $1,907,593 (1)

The film is a sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and serves as a continuation of the 80s films, featuring the return of the original Ghostbusters from the 1984 film. The film took $1,907,593 in its second week, averaging $4,258 over 448 screens.

Synopsis: The Spengler family and the original team are back at the iconic NYC firehouse, unveiling a cutting-edge lab to kick ghost-busting up a notch. 

4. Dune: Part Two – $1,786,267 (2)

Originally scheduled for release at the end of 2023 but delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Dune: Part Two opened exclusively in theatres, compared to the first film, which opened day and date in theatres and on HBO Max in 2021. The film took $1,786,267 in its fifth week, averaging $5,413 over 330 screens.

Synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

5. Wicked Little Letters – $672,348 (4)

Studiocanal’s Wicked Little Letters is based on the true story of the Littlehampton letters and currently holds a favourable 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. Starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, the movie brought in $672,348 for its second week in cinemas, averaging $2,436 over 276 screens.

Synopsis: A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a farcical and occasionally sinister scandal in this riotous mystery comedy. 

Top 6 – 10

6. Crew
7. Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life
8. Immaculate
9. Tillu Square
10. Exhuma

Nature’s Own has partnered with Channel 10’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here to spotlight mental wellness in a new sponsorship integration, via Omnicom Media Group’s Foundation.

The integration is the first of its kind for Sanofi’s Nature’s Own and aims to stand out in a competitive natural vitamin category.

Jono Carroll-Goldin, head of brand and innovation at Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, said: “At Nature’s Own, we’re inspired by nature every day and help Australians support their energy, sleep and mental wellness with our array of vitamins and supplements.

“The perfect synergy with the show’s celebrities who live deep in nature and battle stress, tension and endurance, so we’re delighted with this partnership that will expand our reach and connect with a new audience in such an impactful way.”

Nature’s Own will rescue campmates when they need it most. In times of high stress, no sleep, and building tension on the show, Nature’s Own will provide a respite in the jungle.

Kim Dolengowski, head of strategy at Foundation Australia, said: “The big connection opportunity was to play into the power of emotion. I’m a Celeb is a jungle filled with heightened moods with viewers enjoying a range of feelings from their couch. We loved that this environment felt completely unexpected yet synergistic for the brand.”

The partnership includes an in-show integration featuring a branded challenge with a reward, a custom-built TVC tying in IAC creative elements, as well as other bespoke commercial placements throughout the series.

The in-show integration airs on 11 April 2024.

Media agency: Foundation Australia

Jaime Mills, planning director
Cheyne Cleaver, strategy manager
Kim Dolengowski, head of strategy
Ashleigh Lockton, account manager
Savannah Taylor, senior account executive
Stephanie Pratt, business director
Louis Mayne – head of investment
Liz Wigmore – managing director
Avril O’Neill, entertainment partnership account director
David Milligan, senior social and innovation manager
Erin Fletcher, director of projects & operations, entertainment partnership

Advertiser: Sanofi

Alana Wall, brand manager
Mark Ho, global brand lead – wellness
Samantha Lewis, brand activation
Adele Baret, digital lead – brand & innovation
Will Dashwood, digital marketing manager
Claudia Dambra, zone brand lead
Tracey Peters, media and agency relations lead
Jono Carroll-Goldin, head of brand and innovation

The Australian and HarperCollins Australia have announced the creation of a major new literary award for Australian storytelling.

The Australian Fiction Prize will be an annual prize for a book-length work of fiction. Open to all Australian writers, the winner will receive prize money of $20,000, plus an advance of $15,000, and publication by HarperCollins Australia.

The Australian’s editor-in-chief Michelle Gunn said: “Storytelling is, of course, in our DNA, here at The Australian. We have many talented authors on our staff, writers of both fiction and non-fiction, including the extraordinary Trent Dalton and our formidable books editor, Caroline Overington.

“The truth is that this masthead has been devoted to covering the nation’s rich literary life since the very early days of the newspaper, 60 years ago. It is part of our commitment to serious coverage of arts, culture and creativity.”

Judge Caroline Overington, The Australian’s literary editor, said: “There is no greater thrill than encountering new talent, as a judge of a major literary prize. I have a real sense of eagerness, as we launch a competition to find Australia’s next great writer.”

The prize builds on the legacy of the Vogel’s Award, previously sponsored by The Australian, Allen & Unwin, and Vogel’s. One of Australia’s oldest literary prizes, The Vogel began in 1980, when entrepreneur, Niels Stevns, approached The Australian to start a literary prize. 

The judges of the Vogel’s Award, which was for young writers, had large success: the prize was won by a young Tim Winton, who would go on to win four Miles Franklin Awards; Orange Prize winner, Kate Grenville; and Andrew McGahan, who won it for Praise, which later became an award-winning film.

The prize is open to all Australian writers, regardless of age and will be open for entry in May.

Half Dome hosted a picnic for The Pinnacle Foundation, a charity organisation focused on providing educational scholarships, mentoring, and opportunities for LGBTQIA+ young Australians. 

Staff from the independent agency, clients, and special guests enjoyed a grazing table last week to support the cause.

Speeches highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community and underscored the importance of continued support and action.

Among the guests who attended were Andrew Staite, the CEO and managing director of The Pinnacle Foundation; Archie Beetle, founder and director of Queer Town; and Tiffany Damm, general manager at UnLtd.

Will Harms, Renee Murray, Archie Beetle, Andrew Staite and Tiffany Damm.

Half Dome’s clients at GMHBA Limited and Vitasoy Australia also attended the event alongside members from Equality Media + Marketing.

Renee Murray, Half Dome’s head of people and culture, said the agency embraces diversity and inclusivity and is committed to continually educating, breaking down barriers, and fostering an environment where everyone can reach their full potential.

“As proud allies of the LGBTIQA+ community, Half Dome greatly values inclusivity and it was a pleasure to host a Picnic for Pinnacle, uniting clients, teams, and friends to acknowledge the work still to be done and the ongoing challenges,” she added.

Half Dome’s event comes after the agency appointed Adrian Cosstick as its head of strategy to lead its strategic product and evolve its planning process for clients.

Cosstick brings more than 14 years of industry experience to the agency. He was previously a strategy director at Wavemaker ANZ and led the Mondelez ANZ account for five years.
 
He was also strategy director at Maxus Global, head of marketing at Draftstars Ltd, and commercial manager at CrownBet.

Cosstick’s addition to the Half Dome team will see co-founder and current head of strategy Will Harms formally move into the role of head of clients.

See also: Adrian Cosstick joins Half Dome as head of strategy

StackAdapt has launched Chinese language contextual advertising, targeting brands seeking to connect with audiences browsing Chinese content across multiple media channels worldwide.
 
The offering will be available to advertisers who want to reach Chinese-language audiences in Australia, plus New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Marketers can tailor their ads to users engaged with content in Traditional and Simplified Chinese, covering both Mandarin and Cantonese. 

The multi-channel programmatic advertising platform developed Chinese language options for three of its key features: page context AI, keyword rule targeting, and browsing audiences.

StackAdapt said the solution would appeal to mainland China-based businesses wanting to reach consumers in international markets or any brand seeking to connect with audiences browsing Chinese content around the world. The company said it currently scans 1 million web pages per day for Chinese language bid requests, and it now receives 150 million bid requests per day. 

Liam McCarten, VP of Sales APAC at StackAdapt, said the company has widened the scope for audience targeting with the Chinese language contextual advertising offering.

He noted that the algorithm will automatically detect the input – Traditional or Simplified Chinese – and use the appropriate option for targeting.
 
“There is a major advantage for advertisers looking to target audiences consuming content in another language. Placing ads in the right context can drive a big boost in performance.”

The page context AI solution enables advertisers to show native, display, and video ads to people who are browsing sites directly relevant to a brand’s product or service. The patented solution does not depend on cookies or other identifiers.
 
The adtech company’s keyword rule targeting solution enables advertisers to define specific keywords and phrases related to a campaign, allowing the advertiser to assign rules so their ads are accurately aligned with the right content. Browsing audiences enables marketers to focus their efforts on the most interested audiences.
 
McCarten said: “Our contextual products have reached a very high level of maturity, and we are pushing them even further to make our machine learning models even more powerful and predictive.”
 
“The ability to offer Chinese language contextual advertising solutions will dramatically increase the consumer base for brands around the world. Contextual targeting is important as part of a toolkit of future-proofed marketing strategies.”

–
 
Top image: Liam McCarten

Monday 1st Apr 2024: VOZ Total TV Ratings Overnight Top 30 – Programs ranked on reach

Total People TV Ratings

Nine’s Married at First Sight recorded a total TV national reach of 2,763,000, a total TV national audience of 1,611,000, and a BVOD audience of 311,000.

Nine’s A Current Affair recorded a total TV national reach of 1,931,000, a total TV national audience of 1,181,000, and a BVOD audience of 98,000.

Seven’s Highway Patrol recorded a total TV national reach of 1,058,000, a total TV national audience of 560,000, and a BVOD audience of 20,000.

Also on Seven, Home & Away recorded a total TV national reach of 1,552,000, a total TV national audience of 1,002,000, and a BVOD audience of 74,000.

10’s airing of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! recorded a total TV national reach of 1,195,000, a total TV national audience of 634,000, and a BVOD audience of 53,000.

See Also: TV Report April 1, 2024: Who’s still together? MAFS couples decide fates during Final Vows

People 25-54

Nine’s Married at First Sight:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,139,000
• National Audience: 705,000
• BVOD Audience: 199,000

Nine’s A Current Affair:
• Total TV nation reach: 645,000
• National Audience: 350,000
• BVOD Audience: 58,000

10’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!:
• Total TV nation reach: 511,000
• National Audience: 299,000 
• BVOD Audience: 32,000

Seven’s Highway Patrol:
• Total TV nation reach: 321,000
• National Audience: 177,000
• BVOD Audience: 12,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 512,000
• National Audience: 331,000
• BVOD Audience: 41,000

People 16-39

Nine’s Married at First Sight:
• Total TV nation reach: 524,000
• National Audience: 316,000
• BVOD Audience: 125,000

Nine’s A Current Affair:
• Total TV nation reach: 263,000
• National Audience: 141,000
• BVOD Audience: 32,000

10’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!:
• Total TV nation reach: 228,000
• National Audience: 135,000 
• BVOD Audience: 21,000

Seven’s Highway Patrol:
• Total TV nation reach: 141,000
• National Audience: 79,000
• BVOD Audience: 7,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 241,000
• National Audience: 151,000
• BVOD Audience: 24,000

Grocery Shoppers 18+

Nine’s Married at First Sight:
• Total TV nation reach: 2,161,000
• National Audience: 1,270,000
• BVOD Audience: 250,000

Nine’s A Current Affair:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,512,000
• National Audience: 928,000
• BVOD Audience: 79,000

10’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!:
• Total TV nation reach: 901,000
• National Audience: 471,000 
• BVOD Audience: 43,000

Seven’s Highway Patrol:
• Total TV nation reach: 816,000
• National Audience: 434,000
• BVOD Audience: 16,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,200,000
• National Audience: 773,000
• BVOD Audience: 59,000

Data © OzTAM and Regional TAM 2024. Not to be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without prior written consent of OzTAM and Regional TAM.

TV Report April 2, 2024:

Nine TV Report

Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars

Nine’s evening began with episode 3 of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.

After losing the first challenge to Team Janine, Gordon was determined to even the field in last night’s challenge.

Gordon and Janine played ball with tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios to see which team an market Nick’s brand new soft drink range best, and seal the deal when it comes to securing potential product stockists and distributors.

With just 24 hours to plan, each team hosted a networking event where they first entertained they guests with an activity, before trying to convince the same seven hospitality heavyweights with a final pitch to sign on with their team. 

A Current Affair

Over on A Current Affair, Network 10 won their bid to reopen the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case while the program also met with a couple threatened with a $7692 fine over their choice of nature strip plants.

Seven TV Report

World’s Most Extreme Airports

Over on Seven, World’s Most Extreme Airports looked at some places around the world where there are historical airport design flaws like those in Gibraltar which are now only coming to light. 

Home & Away

Before Extreme Airports was Home & Away as Bree made a move she’ll regret, Kirby is onto Theo and Leah was desperate for details of her wedding. 

10 TV Report

The Project

The Project on 10 looked into politicians on notice about bad behaviour and met with actor turned director, Dev Patel. 

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

On 10’s I’m A Celebrity, it was the first tucker trial of the season and Denise Drysdale was the guest of honour, biting off a bit more than she could chew.

Frankie Muniz also had a realisation about his family during the episode, sitting down with former Studio 10 co-host Tristan MacManus for the first session of jungle Table Talks. 

He admitted that he felt as though his career had torn his family apart.

“Malcolm took us out to LA,” he said. “Me and my mum went, but my sister stayed with my dad in Northern Carolina.

“But my mum and dad ended up getting a divorce during that time. So in that sense, it’s kind of sad to think about that it really did separate the family.”

See also: “It just hit me right now”: Frankie Muniz’ devastating family revelation on I’m a Celebrity

ABC

7:30

On 7:30, Sarah Ferguson interviewed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the Australian woman killed in Gaza this week and also looked into teachers saying the ideology of Andrew Tate is driving sexual harassment and misogyny in classrooms. 

SBS

Great British Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo made his way to the Sussex village of Ditchling, where between the wars, a Roman Catholic community of artists made their home. He finds out how they made their mark on the village, the capital, and the nation’s railways.