After helping the business launch into the US market last year, Lizzie Young is leaving her role as APAC CEO and global growth officer at WeAre8. 

Young cites time zones as her reason for leaving, with her global role seeing her work across Australia, the UK, and the USA. She plans to take a break before securing her next role.

Wrapping up on Thursday, Young will be succeeded by chief commercial officer Danika Johnston. Johnston’s new title will be WeAre8 Australia’s managing director, and expanded role she said she is “excited to be taking on.”

“We are most certainly at that point where we are pivoting from startup to scale up. I look forward to building on the success we have already had working with some of the biggest brands in this market, the advertising commercial support to our business from day one, has always impressed and excited me,” Johnston added.

The platform currently has 2.5 million global users, with the ultimate goal being to grow to a user base of 80 million people – or 1% of the global population. 

On the ground in Australia, global chief marketing officer, Luke Robinson, and global chief financial officer, John Rohl, continue their roles in the executive team.

Next month the platform will mark the second anniversary of its launch into the UK market. In August, the platform’s launch into the USA was backed by 16 charities as well as publishers and media companies Warner Bros. Discovery, PinkNews, The Independent, and LADbible Group.

“There’s lots of organisation behind the scenes when you’re collaborating with lots of different partners,” Young told Mediaweek at the time. 

“But I think that’s actually in our DNA, and it’s been a real point of difference for us to go to market and look for people and brands who are mission aligned, to look for publishers and work with them so that they can help be part of the mission.”

See Also: Going Global: Behind the WeAre8 launch into the US market

Earlier this month, WeAre8 founder and chief executive Zoe Kalar announced her name change from Sue Fennessy. Posting on LinkedIn, Kalar wrote that “Zoe, with its Greek origin meaning ‘life’, is the perfect name for me as I enter this new and exciting chapter.

“I am choosing my name, and diving into life, embracing everything that it brings.”

When the lift doors open on floor 17 of ARN’s new Sydney office space, the first thing you notice are two glowing pink screens adorned by Kyle and Jackie O‘s faces. After entering the offices, the second thing you notice is the expansive view over Sydney Harbour. 

Welcome to floor 17

Sydney putting on a show for ARN employees

The broadcaster is in the process of moving all of its operations over to the new North Sydney home after 38 years in Macquarie Park, in what ARN’s chief content officer Duncan Campbell tells Mediaweek is, “the end of an era, but the beginning of quite an exciting new era.”

The new Sydney offices are very sleek, with everyone working from identical curved monitors that match the neutral colours of the overall office design – not that you’d need to add much when you have floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the city. 

There is also an outdoor area with a BBQ, and hotdesks making the most of the view.

The balcony space

Hotdesks along the window for those who would like to soak up more of the view

Each meeting room and general working area is named after an iconic part of Sydney, with small signs hanging from the ceiling to tell you when you’ve moved from Manly, to Bondi, to Newtown, to Circular Quay. 

The jewel in the crown is Kyle & Jackie O’s studio, the biggest studio on site, which is hard to miss and comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect of the duo’s new home. As well as the harbour view, one wall is entirely lit up with the show’s imaging, as is the animated ring around the large overhead light.

The production area outside the K&J studio

Home of the pair themselves

Covering the windows overlooking the harbour is $300,000 worth of high-tech mesh that can pull up images and mimic other screens, turning the window space into whatever the pair feel like. Campbell said the installation of this tech is an Australian first. 

The mesh that runs along the length of the window in the K&J studio

The mesh at work along the left wall

With the 17th floor housing KIIS, it’s a quick trip down the central staircase – that the ARN team installed to avoid having to take the lift every time they had to pop in between floors – to the floor housing WSFM, CADA, and the commercial team. 

Downstairs, the layout is very similar, with the Jonesy & Amanda studio directly underneath Kyle & Jackie O. Similarly, the WSFM day studio sits underneath the KIIS 106.5 day studio. CADA can be found a short hop away, in a studio down the hall from WSFM. Despite these studios still having the finishing touches put on them, it’s obvious that they’re just as high-tech – although perhaps with fewer sparkles than their upstairs neighbours. 

Back on the ground floor, the ARN reception space is on the cusp of opening and features a ceiling full of bubbles that catch the light from the colourful window tint. 

ARN’s reception

Behind the reception, the space opens up into a wider room that Campbell says will be used for meetings with the entire team, as well as a communal kitchen space. The ground floor also includes meeting rooms, soundproof recording studios, and a studio that will be used for filming video content.

The communal space

And some of the very colourful meeting rooms

“Everyone who’s come here has said that they knew it would be good, but they didn’t realise it’d be quite as good as it is,” Campbell says.

“They’ve done a great job with the design, the colours are not going to date. Everyone has the same screens, which is fantastic. 

“It all looks really good. People are impressed by how much better it is than they thought it was going to be – and of course, the view is the big selling point.”

Almost a year ago to the day, Forbes Australia editor-in-chief Sarah O’Carroll stood on a stage, in front of 1,600 women, and was greeted by smiles. She was 10 seconds into her opening speech at the inaugural Forbes Women’s Summit, and she’s been trying recreate that feeling of connection ever since.

Next week, she’ll get her chance at the second Women’s Summit, headlined by speakers including actor Yael Stone, Professor Megan Davis – who was one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – founder of ModiBodi Kristy Chong, consent activist Chanel Contos, and CEO of Xero, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.

While O’Carroll often focuses on what went wrong or what can be improved, she felt different after last year’s Summit, which her team launched “exactly six months to the day” after launching the Forbes brand in Australia.

“When I left the Forbes Women’s Summit, I said, ‘tickity tick, job well done’ … women in Australia really were craving this new business network that they didn’t really feel they have had,” O’Carroll tells Mediaweek.

“What I realised after the last Summit was I almost did a disservice to the 1,600 women in the room, not to continue on that community.” 

This time around, she’s going to ensure she capitalises on the networks formed at the conference, and nurture them afterwards in the form of a networking community, Forbes Women. She’ll be speaking to a smaller room – the event has moved from Sydney’s ICC in Darling Harbour to Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh Bay, which has a capacity of 1,000 people – so the primary goal “wasn’t to sell more tickets.”

“What I want to do from this one is to continue that community in the forms of Forbes Women, which I’m going to launch at the event, which will be a community that will continue on an ongoing basis to really help build on those connections,” O’Carroll says.

O’Carroll and Christine Holgate

It’s powerful to see that many women in business at a conference and on stage, O’Carroll says, but she hopes the upcoming Summit on Tuesday 26 March also maintains the intimacy she felt last time. During her interview with Christine Holgate, the former CEO of Australia Post, “she just opened up as if we were sitting in a sitting room. And even though there were 1,600 women watching, you could have heard a pin drop.”

NAB Private Wealth returns as presenting sponsor, and Kyndryl is a platinum sponsor. Forbes’ commercial partners “have that opportunity to collaborate with us across all the platforms and engage with this ambitious Forbes community we are really carefully fostering.”

O’Carroll sees Forbes’ overall event model as a pyramid, with Forbes Club – an “exclusive small group … which has criteria for entry” – at the top, then Forbes Forums – “workshop based forums, but it’s more intimate, probably between 100 and 200 people” – and the Forbes Women’s Summit and Forbes Business Summit.

“There’s loads of other ideas that I have,” she admits, including, “creating a new membership-based community, in print, in person“.  O’Carroll wants to recreate the feeling in the room at the Women’s Summit, or at the Forbes Australia launch party in 2022. There, she saw stalwart investor David Paradice talking to Craig Blair, co-founder of Airtree, and Forbes’ first issue cover stars, ‘billion dollar brothers’ Robbie and James Ferguson.

“There were just all these different types of people who would never normally be talking to each other … And I thought, ‘this is what it’s all about.'”

Roy Morgan data from February shows business and financial magazines increased readership by 27.9%. In 2023, Forbes reached 271,000 readers, which was “better than we expected”.

“When we were launching Forbes in Australia, the idea wasn’t to launch a print magazine, because just launching a print magazine in 2022 wouldn’t be ideal.

“The magazine is like a window into the Forbes world that we’re creating. And we’ve been extremely encouraged by the partners and the advertisers that have come on board.”

O’Carroll is just two weeks away from being at Forbes for two years. In that time, she’s learned, “It’s not easy. it’s been a bit of a wild ride, and it was a steep, steep learning curve.”

“What I did really learn was the strength of the Forbes brand,” she says. “It was my job then to really be the custodian of that brand and make sure that I localise it and do justice to the 105 year heritage it has.

“You’re always wondering, ‘do people need this’, [and you] never know until it’s out there. But people needed … some of the best entrepreneurial stories in the country.”

She’s focused on hiring the right people, calling out managing editor Stewart Hawkins, ex-AFR and Bloomberg, and creative director Huw Reynolds, who previously worked at Harper’s Bazaar.

“When I was looking for a creative director, I didn’t want somebody who’s worked in business publications, and has been putting pictures of men in suits outside a building [on front covers],” she explains.

“We’re telling business stories in a new and beautiful way. And design is a big part of that, especially if you want a magazine to survive.”

As for what’s next, O’Carroll is determined to build communities around her readership and event attendees, introduce more Lists alongside the likes of the Australian Rich List, and to not shy away from innovation and experimentation, just like the entrepreneurs on which Forbes reports.

“There’ll be lots more on the horizon. We’re not afraid, and especially our CEO [Michael Lane] is not afraid, to innovate and move fast. You have to keep trying and moving fast. We’ve launched so many things in the last 18 months, and some go better than others, but we’ll just keep moving.”

Mediaweek has continued to recruit some of the industry’s most influential leaders to judge the 2024 Next of the Best Awards.

Among the cast of new, cross-industry judges is: Hannah Sturrock, head of engagement at Advertising Council Australia; Jasmin Bedir, CEO at Innocean; Chris Freel, group sales director, Australia at oOh! Media; Peter Vogel, CEO at Wavemaker; Nicole Bence, chief commercial officer at Nova; Kirsty Muddle, CEO at Dentsu Creative; Corey Layton, head of digital audio at ARN and iHeart Radio; Alex Derwin, chief creative officer at BMF; Lara Brownlow, head of channel sales and partnerships, APAC at LinkedIn; Pauly Grant, chief people officer at Publicis APAC; Chris Walton, managing director at Nunn Media; and Jason Tonelli, CEO at Zenith.

The final batch of judges will be announced next week.

Mediaweek Next of the Best entries are due on 2 April.

The Next of the Best Awards celebrate current and future leaders based on the impact and contribution they are currently making to their company, sector, or the wider industry.

This year’s awards have removed the age-based criteria and will now will recognise individuals across the industry who demonstrate influence and leadership skills in driving the industry forward – whether through innovative thinking, new approaches to content, driving culture, pushing boundaries or providing inspiration to others.

The awards categories span all areas of the media, advertising and marketing industry, including ad tech, audio, creative agency, data & research, marketing, media agency, new business, sales, social media, TV, PR and publishing.

There are also awards recognising the individuals driving culture within organisations, in addition to the change-makers and overall leadership award.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony on 13 June 2024 at the Ivy Ballroom.

Click here for more information.

Whether it’s building a gaming company to challenge Nintendo, working in Hollywood, or running a football league backed by the likes of Natalie Portman and Serena Williams, Julie Uhrman believes the key to building culturally relevant brands is a compelling story.

“It’s all about storytelling, right?” Uhrman, the president and co-founder of US women’s soccer team Angel City FC, told Mediaweek.

“It’s telling the story of your players, of your community and of your team. We have 26 incredible athletes whose social reach is much greater than that of Angel City.

“We tell the stories of our communities alongside our players so consumers connect with them. If you do that, then they want to come watch the team and spend their dollars supporting them.”

Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman at HBO’s Angel City Premiere

Before her involvement with ACFC, Uhrman made her name as a prominent entrepreneur in the tech and gaming sectors, and as an executive in Hollywood, working for Lionsgate Entertainment.

Many would also recognise her as the CEO and co-founder of OUYA, a gaming console company that broke crowdfunding campaign records by raising $8.6m, intending to challenge gaming giants Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. 

While OUYA couldn’t compete with gaming’s big three, Uhrman says her experience in Hollywood and the gaming world is very similar to her role working at a football club.

Venture capitalist Kara Nortman and actor Natalie Portman co-founded Angel City FC alongside Uhrman, but Portman’s name is just one among a sea of celebrity A-list investors. 

Reddit co-founder and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian is the lead investor, while his wife, Serena Williams, is joined by many famous investors including Jessica Chastain, Candace Parker, Christina Aguilera and Gabrielle Union.

While Uhrman stressed that having so many famous names attached to the team does not detract from the brand, she admitted it makes it harder. 

“One of the challenges of having over 60 investors that are athletes and celebrities is that it’s important that we walk the talk,” she said.

“If we say we’re going to have an impact, we must show it because we don’t want it to negatively reflect on the brand. We don’t want anyone to feel like they are supporting Angel City in name only.

“Every one of our investors, including Natalie, doesn’t get anything special. In fact, they all have to buy tickets for our games, they need to support women’s sports. It keeps the bar really high because we want to do right by our fans.” 

Founded in 2020, Angel City has reached over $55m in sponsorships to date, and reallocates 10% of those sponsorships back into the community, driving initiatives supporting equity, essentials, and education in Los Angeles. In essence, Uhrman explained, it’s more than just a sports team. 

“We were founded on the idea of really driving towards the equity for women, gender equity, pay equity and visibility for women’s sports.

“We developed Angel City uniquely to allow our mission and capital to coexist, where we want to have a positive impact on the community as mich as we want to have a positive impact on the sport and hope that one really drives the other.

“Everybody that touches Angel City FC, not only is working to make our community better, but is also investing in our team and our players and our experiences in the brand.”

Leading with initiatives that are bigger than sport is paramount for the club’s fans, who care about supporting teams and brands whose values align with their own.

“When someone supports Angel City, they’re not just supporting the team playing on the field,” she said. “They are supporting equity essentials and education in the environment, which are just some of our initiatives at the club.

“A supporter of the team also supports treating women athletes the way male athletes are treated not only from the physical facilities they receive but also how they travel and their coaching and medical staff.

“Your fans are going to come back because you have shared values.”

Uhrman believes sports teams cannot just be about building a dynasty or winning championships.

“In fact, that is the outcome of something that could be much greater, which in our case, is really changing the game. It’s investing in women’s sports and investing in the community and not sacrificing one for the other.” 

Welcome to the industry HOT List of 2024, where Mediaweek Marketing & Agency Editor-At-Large and Founder and CEO of TrinityP3 Marketing Management Consultancy, Darren Woolley, highlights and acknowledges the media and creative agencies, the industry bodies and events turning up the heat.

Autumn is upon us. Longer, cooler nights. Shorter days. But while the weather may be cooling, the advertising, marketing and media industries are still running hot with ideas and innovation as we look at those adding the heat and making a difference on this month’s Hot List. 

Sizzling HOT

Agencies

Congratulations to Clemenger BBDO, Mediabrands and OMG on closing the gender pay gap according to the WGEA Gender Pay Gap Data released late last month. For the others, there is some way to go to ensure there is less than a 5% gap.

By way of an incentive, we read that in the USA, the class action against Disney, taken by 9000 women paid less than their male counterparts is moving forward with the very real possibility the company will be required to compensate the women for wage theft.

Very Hot

Industry Bodies

There are several ways you can measure the effectiveness of an industry body such as the IMAA. One is in their ability to promote an increasingly diverse number of independent media agencies, enriching the whole industry.

The other is the industry award recognition they garner. In the past two years, across the ever-increasing number of awards for Media Agency of the Year in Australia, independent media agencies have won four out of six of the Awards. These agencies include hatched, Match & Wood and This is Flow, who won their second late last month.

Such a healthy and vibrant selection of media indies provides a richer selection pool and greater choice for clients.

HOT

Advertiser

NRMA is on fire appointing Accenture Song to overhaul its end-to-end customer experience (CX). The appointment mobilises talent from both global and local pools within Accenture Song to leverage the broad disciplines for an integrated model, across marketing, CX, digital, design, and communication.

This must be the first proper, committed attempt at full-funnel involvement from an agency.

Also HOT

Creative agencies

How do you launch a Ute into the Australian market almost a year before the first one hits the road? For Innocean and their client Kia, the answer was a Ute full of Australian sporting legends.

Twenty Australian sporting icons launched the most Australian vehicle ever with the most die-hard of sporting fans celebrating being able to name all twenty of their sporting heroes. One thing we can agree on, it is great they didn’t name the new vehicle, Utey Mc Ute Face.

Making a difference? Going above and beyond? We would love to hear from you – send details to [email protected].

 Criteria for making the Mediaweek Hot Lists
• Making a difference to clients, staff, the industry, and society at large

UM has promoted Adam Russell to the newly-created role of Melbourne general manager. He will begin in the new position on 1 April and retain his remit as client lead on Kmart and OnePass.

Russell joined the Mediabrands media agency in 2017, and was most recently group account director. Before that, he was at WPP’s MediaCom for almost six years.

Russell will report to CEO of UM Australia, Anathea Ruys, who said he is “well respected in the Melbourne media industry”.

“As many people know, I am a true Melburnian with a soft spot for both the city and its people and I am looking forward to working alongside Adam as he and his team continue to build on the amazing award-winning, creative work they already do for clients including Kmart, OnePass, Vanguard, AGL, HBF and Seek among others,” she said.

“Adam strives to be better at his craft every day, his naturally curious mind means he is a creative problem solver, enabling him to design commercially-driven solutions for our clients: pivotal for success in our industry.”

Russell added that “turning up to work is all about being the best you can be and sharing your commitment to the job with your team and clients”.

“The media industry is such a diverse and creative environment where people from all walks of life can establish a fantastic career; and by taking on this new role, I am especially excited about the expanded opportunities I will have to mentor and coach the industry’s next generation of professionals.

“It’s a privilege to be offered this leadership role, I can’t wait to make a difference.”

A month ago, Mediaweek revealed that veteran head of trading Andrew Murray had left the business after 20 years, alongside a small number of redundancies made across both the Sydney and Melbourne offices.

—

Top image: Russell and Ruys

Gender equality movement, F*ck The Cupcakes (FTC), is launching an all-year-round program called Yeah the Pies to start conversations between men on the topic of gender equality.

Yeah the Pies invites men from the Australian marketing and media industry to attend the event on the 11 April for an afternoon of cooking, conversations, and actual change – all while baking pies. 

F*ck The Cupcakes has partnered with Paramount, Infinity Bakery, and Bloke Coaching. 

Hosted by MasterChef winner and mental health advocate Brent Draper, and professional coach Iain Schmidt, the event will see men bake. As they do so, they will be encouraged to start real conversations and then celebrate at an after-party with pies.

FTC founder and Innocean Australia CEO, Jasmin Bedir, said: “We’ve struck a chord with our sentiment that International Women’s Day is meaningless if women continue just to talk to other women. But it is incredibly difficult to get men at scale engaged in the topic of gender equality, which was confirmed by the Gender Pay Gap data released earlier this month.

“The ‘Yeah the Pies’ program will be a blueprint for organisations to engage men the right way so IWD 2025 is not again another room filled with women and cupcakes.”

FTC wants to engage what it has identified as the 30% of ‘the movable middle’ men in the Australian population. They are surveyed as successful, educated, and likely exposed to new ideas through their children. They are men that FTC believes are most likely to change in response to its efforts.

The latest FTC campaign aims to provide this group of men with a real-life event to drive the gender equality agenda, starting with the men in the advertising and media industry. 

Event details:

Date: 11 April
Venue: Innocean Australia, 40-50 Francis Street, Darlinghurst
Time: Late afternoon

Men within the industry can register their interest here. 

Buried under some of the hype from the FM networks last week was an impressive performance of Ace Radio AM music stations in Sydney and Brisbane.

Mediaweek reported on the Survey 1, 2024 ratings surge at both Sydney’s 2UE and Brisbane’s 4BH. The stations form part of the Ace Radio offering.

The company is privately owned by Rowly and Judy Paterson, who are based in Western Victoria. The head office is in Melbourne and run by chief executive Mark Taylor.

The company has grown to include 21 radio stations, The Weekly Advertiser newspaper, Ace Digital and Ace Direct Sales, and it employs over 200 people across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.

While it has studios in Melbourne and Mornington, the announcers for Magic, 2UE, and 4BH broadcast from home.

Ace Radio chief executive Mark Taylor

Ace Radio’s metro play

In 2022, Ace started running the frequencies owned by Nine Radio – Magic 1278 in Melbourne, 2UE in Sydney, and 4BH in Brisbane.

Mark Taylor told Mediaweek: “We lease three stations from Nine Entertainment. We consider them ours now. ACMA consider us in control. The stations form part of what we call the Magic Network.”

Internally at the broadcaster, it’s labelled Ace Metro. For advertisers and listeners though, the expanded east coast reach of the stations is the Magic Network.

As Ace starts its third year running the metro stations, Taylor said the new additions haven’t had a major impact on the business, yet.

“We have a good performer in 4BH in Brisbane, and steady performance in Sydney at 2UE. To be honest, Magic in Melbourne has been a bit of a struggle. We have two AM stations in Melbourne [3MP and Magic 1278] and we have to make sure format-wise they are very different. Yet they still both need to appeal to a 55+ audience.”

BBQ Bob Gallagher making breakfast magic at 4BH

Making Melbourne Magic, 3MPs’ chequered past

Taylor recalled how in its early days, prior to Ace ownership, 3MP had a focus on engaging an audience in Frankston and the Morning Peninsula. These days, it’s an area of 300,000+.

“Someone then got a hold of the station and tried to turn it into a talk station and then turned it into this and turned it into that. The idea when we bought 3MP was to return the station to the Peninsula.

“If you listen to 3MP for a couple of hours on any day you will soon realise where it’s targeted. Every ad break is local to Rosebud, Frankston, et cetera. We have offices and studios down there in Mornington.”

While Taylor speaks about the 3MP Peninsula focus, he also notes it’s a “Melbourne-wide station” that reaches right across Australia’s biggest radio market.

As to Magic, Taylor explained: “Magic has a total Melbourne focus and is a Classic Hits station. It’s older than [ARN’s] Gold and WSFM that have moved a little bit younger over the years. Magic is there for the baby boomers who love their 60s, 70s and 80s.

“Occasionally in some of the themed programs there might be something from the 90s and the listeners will soon ask us what’s happening,” he laughed.

As to the audience as identified in GfK Survey 1, 2024, 3MP’s average audience age is 50, said Taylor. “It was 49 in Survey 8, 2023. Magic’s average audience age this year was 56. 3MP is a little younger and skews more female. Magic skews more male.”

Trevor Sinclair driving rising breakfast ratings at 2UE

Brisbane and Sydney shine

Taylor: “The two stations we are really excited about are 4BH and 2UE.” The Brisbane station outrated ARN’s KIIS 97.3 in Survey 1. The former Sydney home of Laws, Jones, and Hadley is shaking off several recent failed formats as share lifted dramatically to outrate SCA’s 2Day and Triple M.

“I hope it wasn’t a one-off result,” said Taylor. “All indications are that 2UE will hold at that point. We had some tactics in place to increase time spent listening.

“It’s important to note that both 4BH and 2UE are #1 time spent listening stations in Brisbane and Sydney – all formats, music and talk. In Melbourne, 3AW is #1 time spent listening, but Magic is the #1 time spent listening music station. Even higher than Gold.

“Maybe 2UE has found its niche in Sydney for people who might otherwise listen to smoothfm, but who find it maybe too new and trendy. They prefer a solid base of 60s, 70s and 80s music.”

Regional radio shake-up

The carve up of the SCA regional stations between ARN and Anchorage should not have a major impact on the Ace regional business.

“Most of our regional markets are solus,” explained Taylor. “We do cross over with SCA in Albury. Also with SCA and [regional radio operator] Kevin Blyton in Gippsland. But it’s only for about 30% of our coverage area in that market.

“What happens with SCA and ARN stations outside metro markets is not going to really impact our regionals too much.

“What it might impact is who our rep company is. At the moment we are being repped by SCA. Does the takeover mean we go back to ARN? If so, we have been there before. We have found them to be both pretty good.”

See also: SCA and Ace Radio announce national sales representation and program supply partnership

Radio ad dollars

“Agency revenue is down at the moment, as it is for everybody,” explained Taylor. He noted the majority of Ace ad dollars come from direct sales.

“Direct remains a really important part of our business. In regional it’s as much as 80% of the business, and similar in metro too. When you rely on direct you are really in charge of your own destiny.”

Older audiences turning to apps

“Our audience listening trends are similar to Nine Radio,” said Taylor about how audiences are tuning in.

Historically a mix of AM and FM in regional markets, Taylor said most of the listening now comes via the FM signal however it’s delivered.

“We promote DAB+ and streaming [listening options] heavily. That pays off for us when we see figures indicating heavy usage of our apps and strong DAB+ listening.” The Ace stations constantly plug app downloads and reinforce the AM stations are stereo on DAB+ receivers.

“Smart speakers are having a major impact as these stations have heavy at-home listening. For 2UE 75% of people listen at home.”

For the immediate future, Ace Radio is working on its remaining FM regional conversions.

Regarding metro markets, Taylor admitted: “Two of our metro stations are performing well financially, we need the other two to improve.”

Full-service creative content studio OK COOL has launched in the APAC region following its success in the European and US markets. 

Ellen Fox, former head of operations at OK COOL London, steps into the role of managing director APAC. The new position sees her return home to Australia after six years working alongside founders chief brand officer Jolyon Varley and chief creative officer Liz Stone.

Fox said she was “extremely excited” to bring the studio’s offering to the APAC region. She added that early conversations with brands and social platforms have indicated a demand for a specialised social media offering that brings cultural insight, creativity, and production expected of an above-the-line campaign to content.

“What also has me buzzing is the level of talent in local creatives, producers, directors and content makers – the rest of the world has been sleeping on APAC.”

OK COOL was founded in the UK in 2015. It started as a boutique content house and has since grown into a global creative content studio network made up of 50 strategists and creatives, with studios in London, New York, and now Melbourne.
 
The studio works with brands like Spotify, Nike, Tag Heuer, Gucci Beauty, and Heineken.

OK COOL’s service offering spans social media consultancy, full-service creative concept and content production, creator and talent management, digital experience, and implementation.

Anya Gully, ex-Havas and Big Red Communications group business director, helped lead the content studio’s move into the region. A creative director will also join the studio in the coming months.

OK COOL’s initial focus will be expanding its presence in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and South Korea.
 
Jolyon Varley, chief brand officer of OK COOL, said the studio recognises that modern brand building takes place in social. “It’s a place where brands become ‘human’, and humans become ‘brands’,” he said.
 
“We manage this brand building through platforms that promote chaotic evolution. These platforms are culture ‘petri-dishes’, environments in which a brand participating in a new trend or speaking to a new niche audience can unlock exponential growth and opportunities. We look forward to continuing to unlock these opportunities for our new APAC clients.”

Ogilvy has appointed Kent Wertime as the global CEO of Ogilvy One – the new name for Ogilvy’s customer experience offering.

Wertime has clocked nearly 25 years at Ogilvy, and will take on the new role alongside his responsibilities as co-CEO for Ogilvy APAC.

Across Australia and New Zealand, approximately 200 people will work within Ogilvy One, working closely with the specialist teams at Bower House Digital and Verticurl, the marketing technology services agency Ogilvy acquired in 2013.

Jason Davey, chief experience officer of Ogilvy Network ANZ, will lead Ogilvy One in the region, alongside a number of other senior Ogilvy leaders, ensuring all existing clients can access the agency’s capabilities.

Davey said the team has already made impressive efforts over the last 12 months in bringing together Ogilvy’s capabilities for some clients.

“Now is the time to accelerate taking the powerful combination of capabilities we’ve assembled as Ogilvy One to our clients in Australia and New Zealand.”

Davey noted that in a challenging economic market, brands and businesses increasingly need to engage meaningfully with their customers.

“Ogilvy One helps brands design distinctive relationships with their customers, led by creativity, powered by data, supercharged by AI and built to cut through the clutter of cookie-cutter approaches we see out there. Our expertise in building distinctive brands sets us apart from the consultancies and other agencies,” he added.

Wertime, the new global CEO, said consumers dictate their relationship with brands, from discovery to purchase, by choosing their points of interaction.

“With a deep understanding of brands and full-dimensional view of consumers coupled with award-winning creativity and a strong data and technology backbone, Ogilvy One is uniquely positioned to design valuable relationships for brands that are impactful, relevant, and enduring.”

Ogilvy One’s focuses include customer acquisition, service design, continuous commerce, and CRM and loyalty.

The wider Ogilvy One leadership team includes Roberto Fara, who will take on an expanded role as the global creative experience lead and will retain his role as chief creative officer of Ogilvy Spain, along with Rajesh Midha (NoAm), Clare Lawson (EMEA and chief client officer), Ab Gaur (APAC and CEO of Verticurl; global chief data and tech officer, Ogilvy), Mauro Caggiano (LATAM), Jason Davey (AUNZ), Ravi Pal (CTO), and Nate McNabb (Global Partnerships).

Devika Bulchandani, global CEO of Ogilvy, said the new leadership team elevates founder David Ogilvy’s direct marketing approach and reaffirms the commitment to designing relationships based on ideas that create enduring value exchanges between consumers and its clients’ brands.

“Over the last decade, companies invested heavily in technology, but that alone is not the solution. In today’s hyper-commoditized world, brands need to design relationships that create differentiation and relevancy with their consumers. That’s where the exponential power of creativity plays a vital role.”

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Top image: Kent Wertime

Australia has been bumped out of the top five to take sixth place in the 2024 WARC Media 100 rankings for the world’s most awarded media campaigns and companies.

The USA is this year’s top country, followed by the UK, India, and Germany, with Canada taking fifth place. 

Last year, Australia was fourth on the list, behind the USA, followed by the UK and India.

In this year’s rankings, Australia’s top campaign was FitChix for egg supplier Honest Eggs Co. by VML Melbourne, Mindshare Melbourne and Sydney, which took #15 in the rankings.

The next best-performing local campaign was LEGO City Goes Nitro by Initiative Sydney for The LEGO Group in #31. Meanwhile, Flipvertising for Samsung Galaxy by CHEP Network Sydney took #43.

In the top agency category, Initiative Sydney claimed #12, ahead of Mindshare Melbourne at #22, and CHEP Network/ Sydney Clemenger Group at #50.

The annual Media 100 Ranking reflects the work that was awarded by the most important global and regional media shows in 2023. The awards tracked are determined by a yearly global panel survey and in consultation with the WARC Rankings Advisory Board.

Amy Rodgers

Amy Rodgers, head of content, WARC Creative, said the WARC Media 100 serves as inspiration on how a campaign’s use of media can impact brand success and society.  

“A number of this year’s top campaigns leveraged partnerships to engage and amplify its impact with audiences.”

“Second place campaign, ‘Pre Loved Island’, partnered with UK TV show Love Island to bring second hand clothes into the mainstream, while Argentine NGO Alma worked with footballer Leonardo Sigali to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. Dove’s ‘#TurnYourBack’ also partnered with 68 influencers, including Gabrielle Union, to drive its message of body positivity further.”

This comes after Australia placed #6 in WARC’s Creative 100 rankings last week.

The ‘most creative’ local campaign was The First Digital Nation for the Government of Tuvalu via The Monkeys Sydney, which placed fifth.

Read more: Australia ranked #6 most creative country: WARC

Work has begun on the Eastern Suburbs leg of oOh!media’s Premium Sydney network, with the first bus shelters installed in the affluent suburb of Woollahra. 

Set to go live in April, the Woollahra offering will include a fully digital OOH network with large format and full motion anamorphic screens, as well as a network of small format digital portraits in the CBD and eastern suburbs. 

Robbie Dery, chief commercial operating officer at oOh!, described the Woollahra installation as a project that “demonstrates our continued commitment to make public spaces better by investing in high quality street furniture infrastructure for the benefit of all citizens commuting or living in this exclusive part of eastern Sydney.  

“We are now well advanced in construction and excited about how it, combined with Sydney Metro and the Metro Martin Place will combine as part of the Sydney Premium network to deliver advertisers the most premium audiences with just one Out of Home supplier.”

Funded by oOh!media and powered by renewable energy, Woollahra’s new digital street furniture network features 77 LED screens placed across 10 of Sydney’s eastern suburbs: Double Bay, Bellevue Hill, Darling Point, Point Piper, Vaucluse, Watsons Bay, Rose Bay, Paddington, Woollahra, and Edgecliff. 

The Sydney Metro City and Southwest line will also become a part of the Premium Sydney network, reaching commuters at eight CBD stations: Barangaroo, Martin Place, Gadigal (Pitt Street), Crows Nest, Victoria Cross (North Sydney), Waterloo, and new Metro platforms at Central and Sydenham.

This line will also include the Sydney Metro Martin Place precinct, home to Macquarie’s global headquarters. 

Earlier this month, oOh! renewed Australia’s largest single street furniture contract, partnering once again with Victoria’s Department of Transport and Planning. 

The 17-year partnership oversees street furniture across metropolitan Melbourne, and the renewed contract will see oOh! convert hundreds of classic format panels to digital LED screens in a digital transformation program.

QMS recorded a 20% audience increase in February compared to January this year, and a 6% rise in the 2023 average across the City of Sydney’s 33 suburbs as a result of Taylor Swift’s tour, the Lunar New Year, and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.

The digital outdoor company reported a 21% lift for the Sydney CBD, as audiences in Newtown and Eveleigh jumped 81% and 26%, respectively. Other suburbs also recording double-digit rises include Potts Point (21%), Glebe (19%), Elizabeth Bay (16%), Woolloomooloo (16%), and Paddington (13%).

A high number of people who came from interstate for Taylor Swift’s Sydney concerts contributed to the strong numbers for the City of Sydney – up a strong 28% on the 2023 average and up 21% on January 2024.
 
Lunar New Year in Sydney’s Chinatown saw a 60% surge in audience numbers on weekend evenings compared to a week earlier and a 34% increase across the full weekend.

Mardi Gras had a similar impact, with audience numbers up 20% on the festival’s weekends, including a massive 76% jump in interstate visitors. The Oxford Street precinct saw the biggest gains, up 38% across the entire festival and up 74% in the evenings.

Olivia Gotch, QMS general manager, City of Sydney, said the “triple whammy” of Taylor Swift, Mardi Gras, and Lunar New Year showcased why Sydney is a major event capital of Australia.
 
“Our digital-first City of Sydney network sits right within the heartland of this event mecca, enabling brands to authentically engage with their customers across the most digitally-advanced, data-enabled out of home network in Australia. Its design, scale, reach and influence are world-class and, as the velocity of audience uplift shows, it is an incredibly powerful marketing channel,” she said.
 
The QMS City of Sydney digital street furniture network reaches 2.6 million people every week, two-thirds of whom live across the Greater Sydney region.

EMG/Gravity Media has appointed Scott Kinlyside as managing director of Australia following the merger of the two broadcast companies earlier this year.

In the role, he will oversee strategic leadership and operational and financial management to drive the company’s growth. The business’ recent projects include Recent projects include The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, Australian Idol, The Masked Singer, Australia’s Got Talent, Deal or No Deal, 1% Club and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here for Australia, UK and Germany.

Kinlyside brings 30 years of production and operational experience to the role, across the media, technology and creative industries. He was previously the business administration and commercial director for Gravity Media’s Australian business, and oversaw commercial and business development initiatives, business processes, and leadership of the company’s finance, HR, and legal functions.

“Beyond our technology and facilities, each member of our team plays a vital role in our success, and we have some of the most talented people in the business supporting our clients. I look forward to cultivating new partnerships, developing our service offerings and pushing the boundaries for a vibrant future,” he said.

Peter Bates, CEO of the UK, USA, Australia and Middle East, welcomed Kinlyside’s appointment and added: “Together, we are poised for an exciting chapter in EMG / Gravity Media’s story, and we look forward to the prosperous future ahead under Scott’s leadership.”

Kinlyside’s appointment comes after a slew of leadership changes at EMG/Gravity Media. This includes Warwick Lynch as chief financial officer, Stéphane Vermersch as chief transformation and M&A officer, Sean Seamer as chief commercial and strategy officer, Wendy Stanborough leading HR.
 
Meanwhile Peter Bates, Bart De Maeyer and Bruno Gallais take on regional CEO roles leading EMG/Gravity Media teams in key global territories including UK, The Netherlands, and France, respectively.
 
In Belgium, EMG/Gravity Media’s operation will continue to be led by Dirk Theunis, Rene Steinbusch will continue to lead the Germany operation and Claudio Cavalotti will continue to lead the Group’s operation in Italy and BOOST Graphics.
 
Shaun Gregory, chief executive officer of EMG/Gravity Media, said the appointments mark a significant step in strengthening the company’s position as an industry leader, driving growth in the broadcasting, media, and production landscape.
 
“The new leadership team’s combined expertise aligns seamlessly with our vision for the future and their collective skills, experience and strategic vision will be instrumental in steering EMG/Gravity Media through the exciting opportunities that are ahead.”
 
See also: Live broadcast companies EMG and Gravity Media merge
 
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Top image: Scott Kinlyside

Thrive PR & Communications has made three senior appointments in newly-created roles.

Ashleigh Bruton joins the agency as integration director, Chloe Jeffers will take the helm of Thrive Melbourne as business director, and Natalie Liebmann as associate director in Thrive Sydney.

Burton’s appointment will see her lead the agency’s in-house creative, social, and content function in Australia and New Zealand and drive 360-degree storytelling alongside the PR teams. 

Leilani Abels, Thrive CEO, said that Burton’s experience in integrated communications, advertising, content, and social media could enhance its teams and drive data-led creative content and social-first opportunities for its clients.

“Combining these functions under the one agency is in high demand by clients where they gain greater value with their budgets and higher returns,” she said.

Burton spent the past four years at Publicis Groupe leading a team of digital specialists, and for 10 years prior to that, worked across Australia, New Zealand, Asia-Pacific, and North America markets.

Burton said she was looking forward to joining the leadership team to spearhead the integration offering across digital, social and creative, and working with the Thrive team across Australia and New Zealand.

“Leilani and the executive leadership team have cultivated a truly unique culture at Thrive, with an impressive roster of some of the world’s leading brands. I can’t wait to drive the evolution of Thrive’s integrated communications model,” she added.

Thrive Melbourne has also strengthened its position in the Victorian market with the appointment of Chloe Jeffers who takes the helm as business director. 

She brings two decades of experience in integrated corporate and consumer communications. Abels called her a “first class leadership appointment” for the team. Jeffers’ experience has been across almost all major categories with deep experience in FMCG, retail, government, and sport.  

Jeffers said: “With such a brilliant Melbourne team to lead, I look forward to adding even greater value to our existing clients and bringing new business into the Melbourne team so we can continue to keep the heart of Thrive’s homeland beating fervently.”

Thrive Sydney has also created a new role with Natalie Liebmann joining as associate director and 2IC specialising in big brand consumer PR. She spent over seven years at iD Collective Sydney, where most recently she was general manager. Her expertise over the last decade has been in FMCG, tourism, liquor, consumer tech, fashion and retail.

Abels welcomed Liebmann to the team and a stand out addition to the team with exceptional strategic campaign experience and a “solid black book to get things done.”

Liebmann said: “With an incredible reputation and client portfolio, I look forward to working with Leilani and the executive leadership team, as we continue to strengthen Thrive’s offering and diversify client categories. Championing the Sydney team alongside Niall Hughes, there’s also immense opportunity to grow and build on the team’s passion and expertise, as we work together to build a thriving future.”

Abels concluded: “Thrive is a dynamic place to work with a people-first culture and high performance mindset. We welcome Ashleigh, Chloe and Natalie with open arms into the Thrive family. I know they will be making an impact for years to come and are limited by nothing at Thrive.”

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Top image, left to right: Ashleigh Bruton, Chloe Jeffers, and Natalie Liebmann

Despite being eliminated from the show, 20-year-old Ivana Illic is grateful for the opportunity Australian Idol has given her, as well as the new group of friends she has made. 

In a post-elimination interview with Chattr, Ivana revealed that the group of contestants of which she was part was an important part of her journey.

“The group of friends that I’ve made, it’s crazy to think that during the Top 30 week, I only spoke to one person and now I’m really close to the rest of them,” she said. “I think everyone was a bit more shy and didn’t even really know each other yet. But I’m so happy that it turned around.”

This “close-knit” group of performers have helped each other throughout the entire journey, particularly when someone needed a shoulder to lean on.

“I think if we didn’t have that, that side of things, it would be a lot uglier,” she said.

Before making it to the top six on Australian Idol, Ivana found success in another singing competition, and she won. 

“I was on a little TikTok show last year called Undiscovered and I ended up winning the competition,” she said.

“To enter, you had to write a song and make a music video to go along with it and whoever had the most impressive pairing won studio time and an EP, working with producer James Angus. 

“I ended up winning that and as a result, I got to go in and write some songs and produce them all. So now I have some songs lined up ready for release as well as the ones I’ve released just before I started on Idol.”

The Australian Idol Grand Final will see Australia choose their Idol winner between Denvah Baker-Moller, Amy Reeves and Dylan Wright. 

The elimination episode recorded a total TV national reach of 1,496,000, a total TV national audience of 860,000, and a BVOD audience of 65,000.

Across 46 days on the beaches of Samoa, 10‘s Australian Survivor: Titans V Rebels saw 12 Titans take on 12 Rebels. In the end, the top three came down to two Titans and one Rebel – Caroline, Mark and Feras –  but only one could take home the title of Sole Survivor and the grand prize of $500,000.

In the last Immunity Challenge, playing for the power to decide who would sit next to them at the final Tribal Council, the final three stood on narrow pegs fixed to a giant wheel. The wheel turned at regular intervals forcing their feet onto narrower pegs, whilst they were surrounded by fire, resulting in sweaty palms and feet.

Supported by their loved ones who had come to see them, Feras, Caroline and Mark endured the challenge for over two hours and fifteen minutes, until Mark bowed out. Caroline and Feras continued to hold on, but after two-and-a-half hours Feras beat out Caroline to win Individual Immunity.

At Tribal Council, Feras’ vote was the only one that counted and sealed Mark’s fate as the final member of the Jury.

On the last day at camp, Feras and Caroline celebrated with a breakfast before the final Tribal Council.

The final two faced the Jury and pitched their cases. Caroline thought the Jury might have seen her as a weak link throughout the game, but she was underestimated and took out massive threats and split up power couples. Feras pitched to the Jury that he had formed alliances from the beginning and stood strong with them, knowing when to use players as his shield and when to emerge as a big player on his own.

In the end, it was Feras who took out the title of Sole Survivor and the grand prize of $500,000. 

See Also: ‘There’s a lot of luck involved’: Australian Survivor’s Raymond reflects on final three

Australian Survivor’s Raymond Chaney has revealed his thoughts on the competition upon being eliminated, revealing that he thinks Mark has done “nothing” this season. 

“I think there’s a lot of luck involved with something like Survivor,” Raymond said in a post-elimination interview with Chattr. “To Mark’s credit, “None of us really saw him as much of a threat, so he’s coming off probably as more of a threat in the show than how any of us perceived him because Kirby and Feras were running rings around him post-merge.”

Raymond revealed that Mark didn’t come off as a threat to other players during filming, because the moves he pulled barely ever worked out. 

“He’s done nothing. He’s done nothing… but again that’s all part of Survivor, perhaps that was part of his play.”

At Raymond’s Tribal Council, Mark won the immunity necklace, and it was clear that he and Caroline were voting together, which meant the result would either be a split vote, or Feras or Raymond would be sent packing.

With two votes on Caroline and two on Raymond, they were given a fire-making challenge to decide who was eliminated, which Ray ended up losing. 

However, Mark came for Feras at tribal, intending to make him look bad in front of the jury.

Mark on Australian Survivor

“Mark was trying to do all this stuff to make it look like Feras was untrustworthy and it was obvious jury pandering,” Raymond said.

“The fact that he was trying to demean Feras at my final tribal council it’s like, well you’re obviously trying to play up something.”

Raymond continued, saying he tried to get Mark to voluntarily take part in the challenge, even though he had immunity.

“I was there going, if Mark really wants to look good in front of the jury, then I’m gonna make him look like the most boring, blasé person on the planet, and I did that.

“I was like, ‘Mark, you know you have a chance now to beat me at fire, why aren’t you doing it? Why don’t you actually do something in this game that actually works for a change?’”

“And he was like, ‘But why would I do that?’ I was like, ‘Because it looks like you haven’t done anything in this game.’”

Raymond’s Australian Survivor elimination episode recorded a total TV national reach of 1,098,000, a total TV national audience of 670,000, and a BVOD audience of 98,000.

TV Report March 19, 2024:

Nine TV Report

Married at First Sight

Nine’s evening began with homestays continuing on Married at First Sight. 

Sara and Tim settle into Sara’s Sydney apartment before meeting with Tim’s best man and most contentious friend, Ben. In a private chat, Tim fills Ben in on the details of Sara’s betrayal, and Ben warns Tim to be cautious moving forward.

Jack is ready to show the Gold Coast to Tori and it is clear that Tori will be the one to make the move in order to progress their future together.

Jade and Ridge woke for a day of family bonding with Jade’s family over a traditional South African barbeque. However, Ridge gets a grilling by Jade’s family on whether he can step up as a mature father figure to Jade’s daughter, and make the move to the Gold Coast.

Jack treats Tori for lunch to meet up with his two nearest and dearest friends, his personal training clients. Friend Lizz puts the spotlight on Tori and attacks her values, calling her a “walking red flag” whilst Tori waits for a silent Jack to stand up for her.

Sara organises a day out for Tim on a boat, reminiscent of their wedding day. However, Tim can’t get Sara’s cheating off his mind and decides to broach the subject with her. Sara defends herself and breaks down as she questions how many times she must repent for her mistake.

As Homestays comes to an end, it’s a cause for celebration as Jack arranges a final date for Tori to toast their time together. However, Tori can’t shake Lizz’s earlier interrogation and proves for reassurance from her groom, questioning Jack why he didn’t stand up for her, and why he won’t consider moving to her state instead. 

Jack doubles down on his position that he won’t be moving. Tori is stunned, but the mood shifts when Jack surprises her with a romantic gesture. 

A Current Affair

Over on A Current Affair, the program looked inside the black market of backyard solarium salons and met with a great-grandfather who was living in a caravan after a bust-up with a builder.

Seven TV Report

Highway Patrol

Over on Seven, Highway Patrol saw officers Anthony Season and Paul Holtzinger pull over a duo who had swapped seats in their vehicle trying to skirt the law. 

Home & Away

Before Highway Patrol was Home & Away as Valerie spun more lies, Theo called for help and Tane faced the consequences.

10 TV Report

The Project

The Project on 10 welcomed Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia, former Haas F1 principal Guenther Steiner and comedian/author David Walliams. 

Australian Survivor

On 10’s Australian Survivor, Feras took home the title of Sole Survivor and was crowed the winner of this season, taking home a grand prize of $500,000.

The final endurance battle saw the castaways putting their bodies to the test as they stood on narrow pegs fixed to a giant wheel, which turned at regular intervals forcing their feet onto narrower pegs. 

Feras’ pitch to the jury ultimately won him the title as he expressed how he had formed alliances from the beginning and stood strong with them, knowing when to use players as his shield and when to emerge as a big player on his own. 

ABC

7:30

On 7:30, the program looked into calls to scrap Victoria’s $2 billion venture capital fund and also highlighted the taxi industry and how it is celebrating a major court victory, while still fighting for its reputation. 

SBS

Who Do You Think You Are? Aus

Last night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Aus welcomed Shakespearean actor and movie star Dame Judi Dench as she began her quest with her father, Reginald Dench, who never spoke of his experiences during WWI, as she tried to find out how he won his gallantry medals.