It’ll take teamwork to make the new media dream work
It’s going to take a mindset shift from protectionism to partnership to save Australian media companies. Ben Willee, executive director of media and data at advertising agency Spinach, explains. Australian publishers are like the Wallabies – plenty of talent, plenty of heart, but always one step behind when it comes to working as a team. […]
Is selling the soul of your brand to AI worth it?
Not if your customer is a living, breathing, emotion-filled person. Our ECD Dom Megna looks at the right and wrong uses of AI in your retail creative. When it comes to AI in your creative, the temptation to go there is so great. Just the potential of the thing. It’s hypnotising. As a copywriter and […]
What to learn from Bunnings’ move into Australia’s $3bn retail media market
With the power to unlock revenue growth beyond sales, retail media is rapidly evolving into a multi-billion-dollar sector. The monetisation of retail assets has come a long way since department stores like Myer and David Jones first sold physical space within their stores. Starting with catalogues and evolving into multiplatform media offerings, Woolworths and Coles […]
Marketers reveal their top trends for 2025: AI, community, experiential stores
The retail marketing landscape is more dynamic than ever, so understanding which trends are worth pursuing – both from the consumer’s and the business’s perspective – and which ones are just noise, will be critical to achieving growth in the year ahead. “If I were to lay a one-way bet, continued commercial pressures and shrinking […]
What does the future hold for Australian department stores?
Australia’s department stores are at a crossroads. Once the go-to for everything from fashion to homewares, they’re now struggling to stay relevant in a world of online shopping, specialty retailers, and shifting consumer habits. Competition has never been more fierce and while data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed an uptick in department-store sales […]
Perspective – Advertising is like riding a high-speed rollercoaster missing half the track
Back in 2020, I gazed into my crystal ball to see what 2021 would bring. Preparing to do it all over again this year, I dug up my comments to see if any still held. It seems everything and nothing has changed in the past four years. Advertising is less like an industry and more like […]
How retailers can thrive amid inflation: Strategies for the holiday season
As we approach the busiest time in the retail calendar year, one question looms: How can retailers revive sales in a landscape of unstable inflation and changing consumer habits? The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures show inflation has fallen to within the RBA’s target band at 2.8 per cent – the lowest in 3.5 years. This […]
There’s no such thing as a Meta full-funnel strategy
It will be no surprise to you, dear reader, that agencies can be self-serving. Creative agencies want clients to make big ads, digital agencies want clients to build websites or apps and media agencies want clients to spend on programmatic. I get it, it’s tough out there so agencies are doing anything they can to […]
Is EDLP a better strategy during tough times?
The results are in and brands like Kmart and Officeworks are demonstrating that everyday low prices (EDLP) are one way to stay afloat through a retail recession. Nicole Miranda explains. With claims Australia has been in a retail recession for 18 months, year-end result headlines are spruiking a consistent storyline of net profit losses – […]
Is outdoor and radio stealing budget from TV?
Does a digital billboard have the same impact as a video ad? Ben Willee says no. And that’s likely why the latest SMI figures have seen an about-face in OOH investment. The July SMI figures reminded me of my first week in advertising. I asked my boss Peter Hickox why our clients spent most of their money […]