GFK Radio Ratings Survey 1, 2024

Sydney

• 2GB #1, Fitzy & Wippa with Kate lifts, Here comes 2UE, WSFM dips

See Also: Sydney Radio Ratings 2024 Survey 1: 2UE jumps to its highest share in nearly a decade

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Melbourne

• Ross, Russ and Christian again in charge, KIIS tumbles, Nova spike

See Also: Melbourne Radio Ratings 2024 Survey 1: Ross, Russ and Christian again in charge, KIIS tumbles

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Brisbane

• SCA owns market as B105 and Triple M boom, Nova and KIIS back off

See Also: Brisbane Radio Ratings 2024, Survey 1: B105 and Triple M take top spots for SCA

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Adelaide

• MIX back at #1 overall, Triple M still #1 brekky, David and Will climb

See Also: Adelaide Radio Ratings 2024, Survey 1: MIX 102.3 back at #1 to start the year

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Perth

• MIX catches Nova, Nathan, Nat & Shaun still brekky #1, Triple M & 96FM dip

See Also: Perth Radio Ratings 2024, Survey 1: Nova drops to #2 as Mix 94.5 rises to #1

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Bastion has acquired digital creative agency AnalogFolk, a year after AnalogFolk’s CEO Matt Robinson and chief strategy officer Ben Hourahine acquired the agency from its UK parent company through a management buyout.

Robinson will assume the position of managing director of digital brand, while Hourahine will take on the role of chief strategy officer of digital brand.

Bastion CEO Jack Watts said the acquisition aligns with the agency‘s continued growth ambitions.

“Welcoming AnalogFolk Australia into the Bastion family is a significant milestone on that journey and an opportunity for us together to redefine the landscape of digital marketing services,” he said.

According to Robinson, since taking control of the agency, he and Hourahine have explored a range of partnerships before finalising an agreement with Bastion.

 “Bastion, with its wide array of deep specialists under one roof, from creative, code, data, research, PR and social, reputation, strategy, experiences and beyond, offers the perfect ecosystem for our clients to benefit from the enhanced scale, while staying true to the independent and innovative capabilities of AnalogFolk,” said Robinson.

Hourahine added that he has long been a fan of Watts and Bastion’s ‘think wide’ philosophy.

“It gives us the true scale and global reach we’ve been craving while maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit and agility that have been hallmarks of our journey so far.”

See also: AnalogFolk Australia becomes a fully independent agency after management buyout

The AnalogFolk team will augment Bastion’s digital offering, including digital customer and tech experience, led by Tim den Braber, and digital transformation led by former ABC News director Gaven Morris, who launched Bastion’s Transform division in 2021.

The remit will also involve elevating Bastion’s strategic marcomms services, led by Angela Morris.

See also: Nathan Saville joins Bastion as general manager of research and data division

 –

Top Image: L-R: Matt Robinson, Jack Watts, and Ben Hourahine

TAB had a problem. The wagering and gaming company originally had a monopoly in Australia, before overseas corporate bookmakers entered the market, backed by the scale of their parent companies. TAB went from leading the space to falling down the pecking order.

“The brand itself was very much seen as a legacy brand for your mum and dad betting on racing in the local pub, or the local standalone TAB,” Tabcorp head of marketing, Luke Feddema, told Mediaweek.

“There was a real need to completely position TAB to appeal more to that younger 18-34 audience that we were under-indexing in.”

To re-launch the brand, the Newsamp team turned to elections. The Great Sport Debate gave audiences a QR code to scan so they could vote, once and for all, on what Australia’s national sport was.

By spreading the word using News Corp’s print and digital titles – and driving engagement using techniques such as suggesting to Melbourne that NRL was the real national sport – the campaign recorded 104,000 entries voting for about 20 mainstream sports and about 50 less obvious ones.

“To get people participating and joining the debate, we needed to create a fairly open and inviting environment to allow that to happen,” Ed Faith, GM client strategy and solutions, Newsamp NSW and QLD said.

“Once you got the debate underway and people are starting to really think about what might constitute the national sport, that’s when you can come in and say actually, it’s all sports, and we’re on for all of them. It’s almost like a gear change.”

The final piece of the puzzle was exactly that, with the follow-up ‘Sport is our Sport’ campaign driving home TAB’s connection with punters, no matter what game it is they’re watching. 

Describing the results, Faith said the campaign had produced “really exceptional outcomes” that the team were “very proud” of.

Feddema backed this up from Tabcorp’s perspective, saying that that month when the campaign launched, TAB’s first choice metric was the highest that it had been since testing started. 

“It was the highest recall that we’ve had since we started testing – we started testing in 2021 and this is easily our highest recall campaign. It recorded our highest appeal metric for any campaign we tested, and the highest percentage of active engagement achieved as well.”

Faith attributed a significant part of the campaign’s success to having media partners like News Corp who can drive real influence as part of the media channel mix. 

“If you think about all the different tactics and channels that we used in this campaign, you wouldn’t be able to get an outcome like this if you briefed us or any other media partner as one channel,” said Faith.

“You get a better outcome when you allocate a greater proportion of your attention and budget toward an influence partnership. I don’t mean influencers and social media, I mean a partnership that can drive meaningful influence with an audience because of the affinity that they have, and the relationship that they’ve earned over time.”

Tabcorp head of marketing, Luke Feddema

Looking back at the campaign, Faith said ‘Sport is our Sport’ highlighted the importance of creativity and what the team do at Newsamp.

“We had a number of tactical solutions that could facilitate a debate about sport, but it wasn’t until we sat down and really used our insights, strategy, and creative thinking processes to crack the insight that it’s actually elections that we want to be looking toward.

“The takeout is to think laterally. When you’ve got a problem to solve in one category, the answer is probably in another category so if you think laterally, you can find that answer. You can reframe that for what the client and category problem is trying to solve.”

The results are already starting to translate into measurable impact for Tabcorp, with Feddema saying, “We’re already seeing a really positive impact in share, particularly amongst younger audiences. 

“Shifting brand perception for TAB at scale is a long game, but I’m already starting to see some green shoots showing.”

See Also: Newsamp: Putting the Spotlight on relevance and data

–

Top Image: Ed Faith

Avenue C has been appointed to the QuickBooks media account, taking over from the incumbent, UM.

This comes after the independent media agency recently won KitchenAid. Avenue C will manage all media for the account, excluding SEM, for the software brand.

QuickBooks, an accounting software package developed and marketed by Intuit, has been a staple for small and medium-sized businesses, accountants and advisors since its introduction in 1992. Offering both on-premises and cloud-based versions, QuickBooks facilitates various financial functions such as business payments, bill management, and payroll.

Jane Merrick, marketing director at Intuit Australia, the developers of Quickbooks, said Avenue C’s offering to the brand was a unique proposition within the Australian market.

“The level of industry knowledge relevant to our category and proven success in growing similar business’s bottom line impressed us from the outset. This coupled with what we feel was an unparalleled strategic direction within the pitch process, gave us the confidence that the partnership will enable us to deliver on our commercial objectives.”

“This appealed to us over the multiple layers of seniority and complexity in a traditional media house, where continuity can get lost throughout the go-to-market process,” Merrick added.

Will Chapman, managing partner at Avenue C, said the agency was looking forward to its working with the accounting solution company and showcasing its offering in the Australian market.

“From the moment we met Jane, AJ and the team we knew we were the right partner for the Intuit business – they are an awesome team with similar values to our business, as well as a challenger brand anchored in reaching Aussie SMBs, accountants and advisors – so right within our wheelhouse.”

Last month, Avenue C was appointed to handle all media planning and buying for KitchenAid. 

The independent media agency won the account from Havas. Havas Play will continue to manage the brand’s creative.

See also: Avenue C appointed to KitchenAid’s media planning and buying account

Compiled by Jasper Baumann and Tess Connery

Meeting In The Middle and conquering cancel culture along the way

In 2019, Cancel Culture was the Australian Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year, and the phrase also made the shortlist for word of the decade in 2021.

In an increasingly divided world it seems to be getting harder and harder to listen to others’ views with an open mind. 

Tackling this phenomenon head-on are SCA’s Fifi, Fev & Nick anchor Josiah Shala, and producer Renee Buckingham, who come together on In The Middle.

The pair met working together and became good friends. During the pandemic, Shala says they used to go for walks to switch off, and “have really deep conversations with each other about life and the world.” 

Shala: “It was post-COVID, when everyone was really butting heads on everything – we both realised that on these walks, we were so different yet not judging each other. 

“A couple of weeks later, we were having a similar conversation on the phone. One of us said that would be an incredible podcast, and then we said, alright, let’s do that. We just made it happen.”

The podcast covers everything from getting the COVID-19 vaccine to when, exactly, it’s ok to start putting your Christmas decorations up. Choosing a topic to tackle week to week, Buckingham said it’s a combination of what’s going on in their lives as well as what’s happening in the wider world. 

Buckingham: “We ask each other, what are you really passionate about right now? 

“Josiah is getting married this year, and the way he views marriage is very different to how I would view it. It’s really what’s happening in our personal lives and then what’s topical online.”

The good thing about opinions is that they can be changed when presented with more information – Shala compares two episodes the pair recorded about the pandemic a year apart, saying “it was so different, even after just 12 months.”

Josiah Shala and Renee Buckingham

With almost a year of the podcast under their belt, the pair have a list of lessons that they’ve picked up along the way. 

Shala: “Probably the biggest thing that I’ve learned is my mind opening up to other people’s lifestyles, because you do surround yourself with like-minded people. That’s naturally what humans do. I don’t have to be best friends with Renee’s friendship circle, but I can be open to not judging them and realising they’re cool as well.”

Buckingham: “Reflecting on the two episodes that we’ve done on COVID vaccines, I was pretty cutthroat and pretty cancel culture about anti-vaxxers for quite some time. There are constructive decisions that go on behind the scenes that we as a society are so quick to judge.

“Also through Josiah’s grandma, who’s a big listener of the show, I’ve realised I swear a lot!”

Ultimately if listeners walk away from In The Middle with a new perspective on how others live, then the pair say they have done their job. 

Shala: “People forget that at the core of it, we are all people. The podcast is saying ‘Josiah is allowed to not have the vaccine, he’s allowed to support Trump, it doesn’t mean he’s a bad person’. It just means we’re different, and allowed to feel differently.”

Buckingham: “My goal for people would be to either feel seen, or see other people, and get curious. I think people are so stuck in their habits and their ways, people say to me ‘how do you sit in a room with him? I can’t believe he said that’. It’s not comfortable, it’s not easy, but also we actually need to value diversity within reason within society for us to function.”

[Listen to In The Middle here]

Bounty Parents delivers first podcast with Julie Snook and Carla Bignasca

Hosted by media personalities and real-life mums Julie Snook and Carla Bignasca, Every Parent Has A Story To Tell is a five-part series that shares unique experiences from parents of all walks of life, through poignant interviews and stories with well-known and everyday Aussie parents, to explore how different communities approach parenting. 

The podcast covers themes ranging from separated parenting and toddler immunity to same-sex parenting and fussy eaters, with special guests including world champion athlete, doctor and mother of six Jana Pittman; same-sex parents of Gogglebox Australia fame Kevin and Bob; accredited practising dietitian Marianne Tomlin; and other mums and dads who have gone through unique and diverse parenting journeys. 

Are Media head of beauty and parenting, Alicia Melville, said: “Bounty Parents has been providing trusted information and support to parents and parents-to-be for decades, with our engaged community turning to us through each stage of their journey. While family dynamics have evolved, the need for trusted, relevant information has not changed.”

[Listen to Every Parent Has A Story To Tell here]

Podcast Ranker: Cheers to the Happy Hour debut

February’s Podcast Ranker data has rolled in, with ARN’s Casefile True Crime returning to its previous home of top spot.

According to Triton Digital, Casefile was downloaded 2,212,055 times across the month, and recorded 878,248 monthly listeners.

Spinoff podcast Casefile Presents: The Easey Street Murders debuted at #104.

January’s number one podcast Shameless dipped a place to come in second, and Mamamia Out Loud rounded out the top three.

In fourth place was The Kyle & Jackie O Show podcast, up two places as the duo announced the date for their expansion into the Melbourne market. 

Nine new podcasts debuted in February. The highest debut came from Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki at #16, in the first ranker since the pair made the jump over from Spotify to LiSTNR.

Other debuts include Wondery’s MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories at #73 and SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show at #149. 

[Read more]

The Inspired Unemployed begins billboard battle in Spotify marketing first

For the first time, Spotify has handed over the marketing reins to its podcast talent, with the stars of The Inspired Unemployed Podcast launching a billboard battle, Mediaweek can reveal.

The duo behind the podcast, Matt ‘Falcon’ Ford and Jack Steele, will take turns to take over a billboard to make fun of each other, playing off of in-jokes with listeners. The first billboard, unveiled this week, gives Steele the opportunity to take aim at Ford’s height. Ford will get his turn in two weeks as the billboards swap out. 

The whole process, from the ‘making of’ the billboards, to their unveiling and the story behind each, will be documented on social channels and the podcast itself. 

Spotify’s head of podcasts, Ben Watts, told Mediaweek: “The Inspired Unemployed Podcast is one of our most successful and we are invested in growing its audience to continue building on that success.

“At the core of that success is the mateship and playful ribbing the boys give each other. Those who are already tuned into the podcast regularly will be familiar with the ongoing joke taken at the expense of Matt’s height – something he hates.

“The idea was to use the billboard stunt to showcase their unique chemistry to find out what the podcast is all about to people who aren’t familiar.”

[Read more]

LiSTNR unveils AdTech Hub, adtech suite for agencies and brands

LiSTNR has launched an advertising technology suite of innovations and services called LiSTNR’s AdTech Hub. 

The AdTech Hub will offer commercial opportunities in digital audio for agencies and brands. The new suite leverages LiSTNR’s owned and operated model with its known user base of 1.8 million-plus listeners. 

LiSTNR’s AdTech Hub’s ‘big three bets’ include increased personalisation and targeting, extensive dynamic creative optimisation, and an Australian-based CDP and first-party data clean room solutions and services. 

SCA’s chief commercial officer, Seb Rennie, said: “LiSTNR’s new and advanced AdTech Hub brings together the massive reach and audience of digital audio across LiSTNR’s owned and partner brands, without geographic boundaries. LiSTNR’s AdTech Hub will enable the measurement of every campaign’s ROI across an unrivalled audio ecosystem.

“This will ensure our advertiser’s budgets go further, and engage more people, more effectively. It is a game-changer for the audio industry, business owners, marketers and media agencies.”

[Read more]

Acast’s integrated marketing campaigns for podcast advertisers

Acast is leading new approaches to integrated marketing campaigns for podcast advertisers around the globe. 

A recent study by Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights found half of weekly podcast consumers follow their favourite podcasters on social media. According to the same study, this number increases to 68% when looking specifically at podcast listeners between the ages of 18 and 34. 

Simultaneously, as podcasters and fans have explored their love for the medium across various channels, advertisers have seen the value of multichannel campaigns. In 2023, Acast saw a 46% increase in advertisers booking multichannel campaigns from the year before. 

To meet the demand, Acast reported their expansions of strategic recommendations and campaign execution for podcast advertisers across video, social media live events and more for scale and impact.

“Over the years Acast has continued to refine its multichannel offerings because of increased demand for advertisers looking to spread their message across a variety of platforms. Most recently at Acast we’ve also seen more and more podcasters show interest in working with brands to monetise not only their podcasts, but also other media where they connect with their dedicated audiences,” said SVP of the creator network at Acast, Veronika Taylor.

Advertisers using Acast’s self-serve ad platform will be able to see podcasters available for creating video campaigns as well as audio.

Barack and Michelle Obama enter the podcast world, exploring the history of America’s reconstruction era

The History Channel is developing a new podcast with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground, Pushkin Industries and Audible. 

The currently untitled eight-part podcast will explore the history and legacy of America’s Reconstruction Era.

From 1863 to 1873, America had the opportunity to reimagine American society from the roots of its economy to the nature of citizenship itself. The podcast highlights the missed opportunities and complicated legacy of that period while also looking ahead at the lessons that can be gleaned for the future. 

“In highlighting stories and presenting the facts of our shared past, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable, we aim to inspire listeners to ask questions, bring new perspectives, and spark ideas of change that will move our nation forward together,” said Paul Buccieri, president and chairman of A+E Networks. 

The podcast will be released in 2024. 

Virtual try ons could be the future of online shopping, allowing consumers to try on clothes and accessories virtually before making a purchase, Google and J.Crew have told SXSW Austin.

Google senior director of product management Lilian Rincon said: “We see in the stats that 60% of people return an item, because they thought it was going to look different … there are some gaps we need to address as an industry.”

Returns can be driving by sizing uncertainty, colour discrepancies, and the inability to physically try on a garment, explained Rincon and Danielle Schmelkin, chief information officer at J.Crew Group.

Google Trials, enabling virtual try ons, can alleviate this pain point, Rincon proposed.

“In the past, you probably saw Photoshopping of an image,” she said.

“Google trials is actually using bleeding edge, generative AI technology. And the interesting thing about this is we do a custom photo shoot with real people, men and women of all sorts of different shapes and sizes. To put a finer grain on the technology, this is a type of generative AI, it’s a diffusion based model that is generating every pixel.

“The user chooses a model, and then the output … it’s so accurate.”

Schmelkin noted the increasing use of J.Crew and Madewell’s physical stores as trial and style check hubs, fuelling the transition to online shopping as the new norm. 

Focusing on data-driven approaches, she highlighted the importance of understanding consumer behaviours and enhancing the shopping experience across various channels. That includes considering not just the products, but occasions, in search results.

“We’re finding more and more people are getting a lot looser on how they’re searching for things. And we want to make sure you can find what you’re looking for. This helps us tremendously, it helps with search, it helps with our filtering and it helps with SEO tremendously. So someone going on Google could get to that shirt faster. 

“When we start touching on personalisation, it’s really to give you the best experience and the best kind of probability to find what you’re looking for. Because if you find it, you might like it. You might think of us next time.”

Rincon added that since COVID, even when shoppers buy in store, they are using search and the online CX to check availability and feel sure of their purchase before they make it.

“We see, for example, that 60% of customers will look up a product to find out that it’s in the store before they go buy it. That’s a pretty high percentage, actually. And this is a new phenomenon, let’s say since the pandemic.

“The other thing that we see at Google is not just in shopping but across the board, people have learned to use ‘Near Me’. So an example that happened to me, this last holiday my Christmas tree base broke, and I needed a Christmas tree. It was making a giant mess. I need a Christmas tree base like right now. And I typed, ‘Christmas tree base near me,’ and I was able to see what are the local hardware stores or whatever that carries something that I want to use. So now that’s become really much more of a habit.”

—

See also:

SXSW Austin 2024: Mastercard spends 70% of marketing budget on experiences because ‘your product and service is completely incidental’

SXSW Austin 2024: Delta, eos, and Pfizer CMOs on ‘aggressively’ embracing AI

SXSW Austin 2024: Creators lack professionalism, ‘don’t even understand what they are really selling’

SXSW Austin 2024: Paramount CTO on winning gen AI arms race

SXSW Austin 2024: Meghan Markle and Katie Couric on using your voice and sexism in TV

“As our new artificial colleagues become more commonplace, we need to start reframing the conversation from ‘what can AI do?’ to ‘what can humans do with AI?'” Boston Consulting Group’s managing director and partner Julie Bedard has said.

Bedard was speaking at SXSW Austin alongside Slack senior vice president Christina Janzer and Greenhouse chief product officer Donald Knight about the impact of AI on the employee experience.

“When Slack implemented AI in our platform across various fronts, one of the key features was summarisation,” Janzer explained.

“This AI feature is now one of the most widely used across the board. For example, if you go away on holidays and come back to a channel full of messages, with a press of a single button, the whole channel can be summarised into the top 10 points of what you need to know and prioritise while you are away – genius. Previously, you would spend days just getting back up to speed. Personally, that is the level of productivity we all need in our lives these days.”

While 1 in 4 employees currently utilise AI tools, and 80% acknowledge their productivity-enhancing capabilities, a palpable apprehension about AI’s potential implications persists. The panellists agreed that mindfulness is needed around the tech’s limitations, and the ethical considerations.

“The need for inclusive approaches in AI development to ensure that the resulting technologies effectively serve diverse populations and address a wide range of societal needs” is essential, Knight said.

While AI has disrupted traditional job roles, its rise has only highlighted the need for proactive employee training and development.

“It is crucial to note that the technological advancements have not resulted in the replacement of human workers, but rather in the acceleration of existing tasks,” Knight added.

See also:

SXSW Austin 2024: Mastercard spends 70% of marketing budget on experiences because ‘your product and service is completely incidental’

SXSW Austin 2024: Delta, eos, and Pfizer CMOs on ‘aggressively’ embracing AI

SXSW Austin 2024: Creators lack professionalism, ‘don’t even understand what they are really selling’

SXSW Austin 2024: Paramount CTO on winning gen AI arms race

SXSW Austin 2024: Meghan Markle and Katie Couric on using your voice and sexism in TV

Australians are still sceptical of their trust in NGOs, businesses, government, and media, despite slightly improving from ‘distrust’ to a ‘neutral’ position over the last year.

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer found that Australians’ level of trust has risen to 52%, up from 48% last year.

Overall, Australians believe establishment leaders are not trusted to tell the truth and are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things that are false or gross exaggerations, according to the results.

Distrust in government leaders went up three percentage points to 59%. It was the same with business leaders, rising five points to 59%. Journalists and reporters saw a small increase of two percentage points of distrust, to 59%.

Australians believe government regulators lack an adequate understanding of emerging technologies to regulate them effectively at 64%, according to the barometer.

Nearly all APAC countries said that innovation is poorly managed. In Australia, 50% of respondents agreed with the sentiment; only 17% believed innovation is being well managed while the remaining 33% were indifferent.

Warren Fernandez, CEO of Edelman APAC, said that most Asian societies have an edge on innovation and technology because of the higher levels of trust in government and business among their people

“To harness this advantage, our leaders must ensure that the already advanced rollout of technologies, such as artificial intelligence and green energy, are seen to be inclusive and working in the interests of the broad sweep of society.”

NGOs are trusted in 12 of the 28 countries surveyed, according to the barometer. This did not include Australia, which was grouped with countries in the neutral position at 58%, but it did see a small improvement of five percentage points from last year.  

Scientists were found to be trustworthy when it came to telling the truth about new innovations and technologies among Australians at 71%. However, scientists were just outranked by peers or “someone like me” at 73%.

In the APAC region, 58% reported doing their own research on technology and innovation, while in Australia, that figure was 43%.

Unlike Australia and the rest of the world, in the wider APAC region, most people trust important institutions and embrace new and emerging technologies.

Foxtel Media has unveiled the line up of new and returning brands sponsoring the highly anticipated 2024 NRL season.

The top-tier line up of sponsors include Sportsbet, McDonald’s, CBUS, KIA, KFC, TAB, VB, McCain, Ford, Red Rooster, Harvey Norman, Jim Beam, Chemist Warehouse, Toyota Material Handling, Telstra, Musashi, Drummond, Hungry Jacks, Steel Blue Boots, AAMI, Toyota and Ashley & Martin.

This comes after Round One kicked off in Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium, with four clubs— Manly Sea Eagles playing the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and Sydney Roosters against the Brisbane Broncos—competing in the exciting double-header NRL Telstra Premiership.

The Manly Sea Eagles and Sydney Roosters both emerged victorious from the games and broke records for the Foxtel Group, becoming #1 and #2 most-watched NRL games of all time.

Round One also emerged as the highest opening NRL round of all time across Foxtel Group platforms.

The much-anticipated Brisbane Magic Round in May is expected to impress audiences with unprecedented scale and entertainment, with every live game across the round ad-break to Fox League.

This NRL season will have unmatched commentary and analysis program line up on Fox League’s dedicated 24/7 channel. Fox League and Kayo Sports will also air 121 exclusive matches this year.
 
This includes shows such as NRL360, Face to Face, The Matty Johns Podcast, The Fan, The Late Show with Matty Johns, and Sunday Night with Matty Johns.
 
Martin Medcraf, director of Sports Sales and Brand Partnerships at Foxtel Media, said Foxtel’s technology and premium environment will added to the excitement of the season ahead.
 
“With our commitment to no ad breaks in live play, reduced ad clutter and high quality programs, we’re confident this is another record breaking season. It’s an incredible time for our partner brands to reach unparalleled audience numbers and to add to the fans viewing experience,” he added.
 
See also: Mediaweek sideline eye Las Vegas: Delany tosses the coin, Lachlan Murdoch walks the boundary

MasterChef Australia is ushering in a new era, with the brand new season introducing international stars, 22 home cooks and an all-new judging lineup.

MasterChef Australia premieres Monday, 22 April at 7:30 pm on 10 and 10 Play.

Andy Allen will join the show alongside three new judges including alumnus Poh Ling Yeow, food critic and journalist Sofia Levin, and multi-Michelin Star award-winning chef, Jean-Christophe Novelli. 

This season of MasterChef Australia is returning to Hong Kong for the first time since season one 15 years ago. 

The 10 cooking show will film three episodes in the culinary hot spot, which is home to 77 Michelin-starred restaurants and over 15,000 dining establishments.

MasterChef Australia judges Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli, and this season’s crop of home cooks will experience the city’s cuisine, flavours on offer, iconic landmarks and bring the city’s intrinsic east-meets-west culture to viewers. 

The show was last in Hong Kong during season one in 2009. Since then, the Hong Kong food scene has flourished and cemented itself as a world-class culinary hub, with everything from street eats all the way up to award-winning fine dining.

MasterChef Australia will be travelling to the city in association with the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Cathay Pacific Airways.

MasterChef Australia judge Andy Allen said: “I’ve never been to Hong Kong, but I’ve been really interested in the place for a long time. That’s because I see the city’s array of food is off the charts: it’s a melting pot of different cultures, bold flavours, and one-of-a-kind ingredients.

“Blending Michelin-starred restaurants with bustling street markets, it seems to have this world-class food culture going on. It’s so good that now myself, the other judges, and contestants can finally get amongst it this season.”

MasterChef Australia is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (a Banijay company). Format created by Franc Roddam and represented internationally by Banijay Rights. 

MasterChef Australia premieres Monday, 22 April at 7:30 pm on 10 and 10 Play. 

Announced in 2022 at Nine’s Upfront, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars has set a premiere date of Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will be pitted against Australian business mogul Janine Allis as Australia’s newest entrepreneur hopefuls look to turn their dreams into reality.

With an investment of $250,000 each, they will be on the hunt for Australia’s most innovative new food and drink ideas to mentor and invest in.

Contestants will first pitch their concepts hoping to win a place in the competition and their dream investor. Only 14 spots are up for grabs, meaning they need to put their best foot forward to impress Gordon and Janine for the chance to be selected for one of their teams.

The two teams will then have to fight to survive and compete in various high-pressure challenges. The losing team faces an intense grilling from Gordon and Janine where one team member will be eliminated.

For a place at the top, they need to prove they have what it takes across all the essential elements of running a successful business including customer service, marketing, sales, branding and event management. 

The winning entrepreneur from each team will take home a cash prize of $250,000 investment, as well as a one-year mentorship program from either Gordon or Janine as their investor.

Gordon Ramsay said the competition highlights the most exciting food and drink ideas in the country, some of which may have never been heard of before.

“Viewers will see what Australia has in terms of Food Stars, and these businesses are going to surprise you,” he said. 

Janine Allis said: “Food Stars showcases some of these extraordinary concepts and products, and viewers will get to see just what they’re made of. It is one hell of a journey.” 

Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (A Banijay company) and Studio Ramsay Global (a FOX Entertainment company), for the 9Network.

Enigma has appointed Ciaran Miller-Stubbs as executive director and Matt Ennis as creative director, bolstering its creative and client teams.

Miller-Stubbs, formerly of The Monkeys and Emotive, will lead the independent agency’s Sydney team. Ennis, who was previously at Havas, will work on creative across the agency from Enigma’s Newcastle office.

Jack Mason, Enigma’s managing director, said: “Both men have led stellar careers, receiving accolades and industry kudos for their efforts. Their appointments bring significant expertise to our team, bolstering our management, while also deepening our client offering.”

Miller-Stubbs brings 15 years of creative agency experience to the Enigma team. He was most recently at Emotive, where he was the client services director, responsible for the NRL, Wotif, The Glenlivet and NSW Government accounts.

Prior to that, he spent almost six years across two stints at The Monkeys, leading MLA’s Lamb and Beef accounts, as well as Canadian Club, Jim Beam, and Amazon.

“There’s so much potential in Enigma’s full-service model, and being a true independent brings a real point of difference to the market,” Miller-Stubbs said. “I’m stoked to be shaping things for the agency and our clients.”

Ennis, a multi-award-winning creative, joins the agency from Havas Host Australia, where he worked on iconic campaigns, including Air New Zealand’s “Bring on Winter”, which captured the attention of Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin and received global news coverage.

He was also instrumental in launching a new global tourism platform for Fiji, listing Neighbours’ most famous Ramsay Street house on Booking.com to celebrate the show’s finale, and leading the creative team to victory in the hotly contested Ikea pitch. Ennis also helped create the top-charting true crime podcast, Crime Interrupted, for the Australian Federal Police.

“I’m really excited to be part of Enigma, given its status as a genuine full-service independent,” Ennis added. “Their broad capabilities create an interesting creative sandbox that makes it a great place for groundbreaking work to flourish. I can’t wait to add my own expertise and ideas into the mix for our clients.”

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Top image: Ciaran Miller-Stubbs and Matt Ennis

delicious. and American Express will partner for the fifth consecutive year on American Express delicious. Month Out 2024. The month-long event will return May 1–31 in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Supporting partners for the event include Galliano and NON along with voco Melbourne, Hotel Indigo Brisbane, and Hotel Indigo Sydney. 

News Corp Australia’s The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail (QLD), The Advertiser and Sunday Mail (SA) are also on board to help inform consumers about the offers and experiences available throughout May.

The Month Out will be supported by a fully integrated three-month marketing and editorial campaign. 

American Express delicious. Month Out will officially launch on Wednesday May 1, with a Long Lunch on Loftus Street in the Sydney CBD, as well as free and ticketed events at Jacksons on George.

Additionally, the American Express Shop Small Dining Village returns, and will pop up out the front of Customs House.

delicious. editor-in-chief Krysia Bonkowski said: “Every May, the entire delicious. team clears its calendar for our biggest month of the year. Held across thousands of venues, American Express delicious. Month Out is an all-out celebration of Australia’s dynamic dining scene. From great-value restaurant meals through to lavish foodie events, our program offers something for every taste and budget. 

“For the fifth year of the campaign, we’re thrilled to once again be working with American Express. As our naming rights partner, they have been a part of this initiative since day one, sharing our own obsession with Australia’s vibrant hospitality industry. It’s already shaping up to be the most delicious month yet.” 

American Express vice president of brand, marketing and member experience Naysla Edwards said: “Since its inception, American Express delicious. Month Out has become a highly anticipated event that celebrates the joy of dining out while providing an important boost to the Australian hospitality and dining industry. 

“In addition to hundreds of irresistible dining offers and unmissable events and experiences, we are also extending our exclusive American Express Card Member offer to more than 50,000 restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and for the first time Perth, by giving our eligible Card Members a credit back when they dine out.”

Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO) has appointed Toyah Elder as the NSW team group sales manager.

Elder’s media career began at Val Morgan Cinema before she joining digital out of home company QMS as an account manager selling across direct and independent agencies.
 
She was appointed as QMS’s first City of Sydney sales specialist, managing launch partner activations and working with internal teams to aid in the progress of the network rollout, before being promoted to senior account manager.

As group sales manager for VMO, Elder will report to NSW sales director Alex Anthony. He welcomed her to the team and noted that her appointment coincides with the company’s ongoing expansion.

“With her outstanding reputation in market coupled with her wealth of experience and energy, we know she will have an incredibly positive impact on our team and will contribute to the continued success, culture and growth of the business.”

Elder said that she was excited to join the company as it continues to grow. She said: “I look forward to working with the talented team and fostering and growing relationships with our clients and agencies.”

VMO also recently welcomed Yahoo’s former senior platforms account manager Alexandra Thilthorpe as a senior account manager and promoted Rhianna Heatley to account manager.
 
Anthony continued: “Alongside Toyah’s appointment, we’re equally as excited to welcome Alex to the team and I’m also delighted to see Rhianna very deservingly promoted to the role of account manager. It’s a testament to her hard work, tenacity, and the wonderful reputation she has built in market.”
 
Elder’s addition to the VMO team comes after the renewal of its partnership with Fitness & Lifestyle Group (FLG), which sees the outdoor media company continuing to represent media within Fitness First, Goodlife Health Clubs, and ZAP Fitness across Australia.

See also: Val Morgan Outdoor renews partnership with Fitness & Lifestyle Group

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Top image: Rhianna Heatley, Toyah Elder and Alex Thilthorpe

IAB Australia’s Ad Effectiveness Council has released ‘Ad Effectiveness Through Continuous Experiments’, the fifth module from its Marketing Measurement Innovation Series, 

The module aims to increase industry understanding of how controlled experiments allow marketers to adopt best-practice scientific methods, adding confidence and precision to marketing investment decisions.

Controlled experiments represent the most effective way to validate existing marketing activities and assess incrementality, the IAB Australia noted.

Natalie Stanbury, IAB Australia director of research, said controlled experiments have always been a robust and rigorous way of assessing the impact of advertising and marketing investment

“This paper provides the media and marketing industry with information on the types of experiments, as well as advice on running experiments and their important role in a digital advertising ecosystem with reduced data signals,” Stanbury added.

The five modules highlight real case studies and demonstrate practical examples of how the industry is moving marketing measurement beyond the cookie, including:

1. ‘Mapping the Future of Marketing Measurement’ provides an overview of the proposed reforms to Australian privacy legislation impacting ad effectiveness measurement along with a recap on the technology changes resulting in the degradation of signals required for some ad effectiveness measurement techniques.

2. ‘First-party Data Unlocking Measurement Capabilities’ is focused on how first-party data is unlocking measurement capabilities and includes information on using data collaboration platforms for measurement and guidance for quality data inputs for specific measurement techniques.

3. ‘Advances in AI and Machine Learning Powering Marketing Measurement’ outlines how these technologies and tools are currently used and how they may evolve into the future to support greater efficiencies and effectiveness of digital advertising along with faster and more granular measurement insights.

4. ‘Evolutions in Market Mix Modelling’ outlines what is driving the increased usage of Market Mix Modelling and how the technique is evolving with advances in computing power and machine learning that can provide faster and more granular insights on advertising performance.

5. Ad Effectiveness Through Continuous Experiments’ is the fifth and final white paper in the series and outlines how controlled experiments represent the most effective way to validate existing marketing activities and fill gaps in knowledge and how applying experiments should be approached as an ongoing process that can be continuously improved upon and extended across measurement activities.

The IAB Ad Effectiveness Council undertakes various activities to provide guidance to the industry on the best methods to assess the impact of marketing activities along with insight and inspiration to help marketers optimise their digital advertising investment.

The Council includes representatives from media owners, data agencies, media agencies, research companies, tech vendors and advertisers.

The Council is chaired by Yasmin Sanders of SambaTV with members drawn from Azerion, Bench, Brand Metrics, Carsales, Cint, Dentsu, Digital Remedy, Double Verify, Experian, Flashtalking, Google, Hatched Media, IAS, Insighten, Kantar, Lifesight, Meta, Milton Data, Mutinex, News Corp, Nielsen, Nine Entertainment, On Device Research, Paramount, PHD, Pinterst, Playground xyz, Publicis, REA Group, Ryvalmedia, SevenWest Media, TikTok, TotallyAwesomeTV, Tripadvisor, Yahoo and IAB Australia.

Avid Collective has partnered with measurement company Brand Metrics to provide its clients with insights into the success of their native content campaigns.

The partnership will allow the native content network’s brand partners and agencies to measure the true impact of native content campaigns, like engagement duration, impressions and reach, to fully understand brand uplift across the marketing funnel, in addition to providing digital metrics

Avid will also, for the first time, measure the impact of its native content campaigns across four key additional metrics: brand awareness, brand consideration, brand preference and action intent. It is one of the only platforms to measure brand uplift for native campaigns running across multiple publishers.

The Avid team has worked closely with Brand Metrics to ensure brand effectiveness studies can be created on written native content campaigns across Avid’s network while also supporting its publisher network on implementation.

Ezechiel Ritchie – Avid Collective

Ezechiel Ritchie, commercial director at Avid Collective, said the company aims to innovate its products and solutions at a rapid pace. He noted that a major focus for the business is developing the measurement of channel impact and providing marketers with a clear understanding and insight into the success of content campaigns.

“Following extensive research, we believe the partnership with Brand Metrics will create a cost-effective way for brands and agencies to get robust reporting on campaigns they couldn’t previously receive.

“We see measurement of native content as a critical pillar for our clients using the channel in the coming years, particularly in driving lift across the funnel. This partnership allows Avid, Brand Metrics and our clients to see that uplift.”

Gavin Merwood, commercial lead APAC at Brand Metrics, said the partnership with Avid Collective has allowed the measurement company to highlight how running native content across multiple publisher types can move the needle on mid-funnel brand lift metrics for advertisers.

“The scalable nature of our platform means Avid Collective can easily measure large volumes of campaign and strengthen its data set, as well as using the brand lift data to provide new insight to inform future campaigns.”

The partnership follows the recent launch of the Avid Platform 2.0, which makes high-quality campaigns easier through greater access, impact and scale.

TV Report March 13, 2024:

Nine TV Report

Married at First Sight

Nine’s evening began with the Final Vows fast approaching on Married at First Sight. 

While some couples are loved up, Sara is more apprehensive, as she prepares to face the group for the first time since it was revealed she had caught up with her ex. She regrets what she did to Tim and wants to continue trying to regain his trust. Tim hasn’t forgiven Sara yet but thinks they are making steps in the right direction.

As the couples head off to the Dinner Party, Andrea and Richard are yet to even get dressed, running late due to an argument. Richard thinks Andrea has ruined what they had and is blaming Andrea’s traumas from her past relationships. Andrea is furious, and the argument intensifies until Richard walks away.

When the group sits down for dinner, Andrea and Richard are asked to fill the group in on what’s happening with them. Richard explains how they have had heated conversations that “got personal” and “a bit nasty” and that Andrea has hurt from her previous relationships that’s affected them. Andrea attempts to explain that it’s not past relationships, but rather their communication style that’s the problem, but when Richard continues to blame her past, Andrea loses her composure. 

The conversation then turns to Sara and Tim and Tim explains that he gave Sara the opportunity to make it up to him. Jayden tells Tim to “run for the hills”. It starts to escalate but Tim shuts it down and asks for the group to respect his decision – he thinks the group is being too hard on her and that there’s been a change this week. 

A Current Affair

Over on A Current Affair, paradise turns to prison for a tourist town trapped by a landslide and it’s double trouble for residents as a second sinkhole emerges in a Sydney suburb.

Seven TV Report

The Front Bar

The Front Bar featuring Sam Pang, Mick Molloy and Andy Maher was next on Seven as they shared a laugh about the world AFL and caught up with stars of yesteryear and today, ahead of the second round of the AFL 2024 season.

Home & Away

Earlier in the night was Home & Away as a stubborn Remi puts his own life at risk, Eden demands the truth from Levi and Bree starts to fall apart. 

10 TV Report

The Project

The Project on 10 reported on the states’ fight over GST revenue, Clive Palmer’s titanic dream and welcomed Geraldine Hickey to the desk.

Ambulance Australia

On 10’s Ambulance Australia, the program followed NSW Ambulance crews race to a call for a slashed throat, perform life-saving CPR on teens, treat a suspected drug overdose at a brothel and rush to a potential stroke at a building site.

ABC

7:30

On 7:30, the program highlighted Lithium-ion batteries that are causing fires every day across Australia, why bank branches and ATMs keep disappearing plus looked into what Australia can learn from Finland when it comes to childcare. 

Hard Quiz

Hard Quiz saw Tom Gleeson welcomed four contestants with eclectic expert subjects including Cronulla Sharks fan Matt, Mulan lover Jessica and Doja Cat stan Elle and Brad who were into vintage roller skates.

SBS

Australia’s Sleep Revolution

On Australia’s Sleep Revolution, insomniac Dr Michael Mosley and the 30 other patients enrolled in the world-first Sleep Revolution Trial have now been diagnosed with chronic, but common sleep disorders.

See also: TV Report March 12, 2024: A new perspective forces Andrea to question everything on MAFS