Unmade podcast. Ben Willee discusses the short and long-term media outlook
This week’s Unmade podcast features Ben Willee, GM and media director of Spinach Advertising. The interview, with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, focuses on the short term and long term media outlook (Without predicting a recession, Willee is considering for the eventuality); he offers his interpretation of the first results from reporting season; and he assesses the importance of […]
Will the war on inflation crash the JB Hi-Fi party?
It was a case of right place, right products, right time for JB Hi-Fi, a brand that has raked in ample coin during Covid lockdowns. The retailer had what everyone wanted for a life that revolved around the home. TVs, computers, stuff to shut the kids up – JB was our saviour. Coupled with a […]
Why brands need to meet inflation with empathy
In May, the Australian retail sector recorded its fifth consecutive month of growth, with retail spending experiencing a 10.4 per cent increase over 12 months and a 0.9 per cent increase for the month. It wasn’t all good news, however, as higher prices contributed to the growth, particularly in food retailing and hospitality. With Australia […]
Is digital OOH headed the way of display advertising?
When programmatic came for digital display, CPMs plummeted. With more agencies trading digital out-of-home programmatically, is the same thing going to happen in the OOH sector? Spinach’s Ben Willee assesses the opportunity and asks what it means for advertisers. I know it sounds ridiculous but once upon a time, we used to ring up sales reps to […]
Ethics and empathy: It’s time to go hard on soft measures
The four Ps – product, price, place and promotion – have been the strategic marketing pillars of business for longer than even I’ve been in the game. Their use, and attendant monitoring of their progress, create the hard measures on which retailers and brand marketers live and die. Seemingly ‘soft and fluffy’ attributes, such as […]
Is personalisation the new loyalty program?
According to KPMG, ‘earn and burn’ loyalty programs are losing their lustre and instead, the way forward is for retailers to pursue personalisation at scale. But this is a circular argument. The irony is you need some sort of loyalty program to generate the data you need to truly personalise your offering and then, maybe, […]
Is now the time to go direct to consumer?
Of all the habits consumers have established in the past two years, some are more likely to stick than others and the uptick in online shopping is certainly one of them. Even people that were ‘tech fearful’ prior to Covid lockdowns – like my 85-year-old mum – have become more comfortable with the online shopping […]
Is Disney+ getting into bed with advertisers a sign we’re reaching peak streaming?
The streaming giants have been bleeding money on content but so long as they were growing, investors didn’t seem to care. With subscriptions starting to level off, the deep pockets of advertisers are looking mighty fine to the streamers. Disney+ is the first to jump but will others soon follow? Ben Willee has some thoughts […]
Ben Willee discusses how the stock market views media companies
It is financials reporting season, with Seven West Media, Domain, Ooh Media, HT&E and Enero all reporting half-year results over the past two weeks, with Southern Cross Austereo and Nine Entertainment Co to report today also. Spinach general manager and media director, Ben Willee joins the news chat to break down the importance of the reporting period, how the market is perceiving Seven compared to Nine, […]
Key takeaway from half-year results? Focus on consumer trends
It was always going to be a volatile earnings season and with Australia’s largest listed retailers revealing their performance in recent weeks, there are some mixed feelings. Brands that successfully surfed 2020’s first wave of Covid-impacted consumer behaviour changes have now learned that was the best and longest ride. These businesses have since had the […]