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Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade, taking in the Melbourne edition of Compass. And below, a down day on the Unmade Index.
You should be at next year’s Compass. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the day to make a decision. If you sign up for an annual membership before the end of today you’ll get a $50 gift voucher.
Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025.
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
‘We should be prepared for rage’ - Compass Melbourne on the rise of activism
The final stop on Unmade’s six-state Compass tour of Australia was Victoria, for a feisty conversation around the state of the industry, the Campaign Brief imbroglio and the state of the Melbourne radio wars.
Today’s podcast features highlights. The speakers were Gold’s breakfast host Christian O'Connell, NAB’s CMO Thomas Dobson, CHEP’s executive strategy director Nomfundo Msomi, and Kimberlee Wells, CEO of TBWA.
As has been the case in several states, the topic of Campaign Brief’s all-male coverage of the creative industry was nominated as the industry’s worst moment of the year. Wells told the audience: “The industry's biggest loss, controversial, I know, is Campaign Brief.”
In October the publication experienced a fierce backlash after publishing a review on Australia and New Zealand’s top creative talent featuring 20 men and no women. It triggered a debate about the masthead’s behaviour over many years.
Many agency groups took the decision to stop submitting their work for publication on the Campaign Brief blog. The controversy appears to have given momentum to the local operation of Little Black Book to fill some of the void.
Wells, also a board member of industry association the Advertising Council, went on: “And it is not because of the changes that are being made, but I think there's a lot of questions being asked at the moment around what becomes the central dialogue for creativity in the industry.
“And it's something that I know we're certainly grappling with at the Ad Council. So there are a lot of changes that needed to be made, but we need to make sure as a result of that, we're not actually losing creativity and a space for creativity to be elevated and to be celebrated across the board.”
Msomi added: “As far as our biggest gain, it's the opportunity to have difficult conversations as an industry. So we've been talking about representation and opportunities for women, minorities, people from different ethnic groups, diversity within our industry.
“I'm really hoping that after we go away for the two mandatory weeks where Australia shuts down, that we come back with that same fervor in place.
“This is an opportunity. It's uncomfortable for some people, and for others, it is exhausting. We've gained the chance to really talk and to be vulnerable if we want to save the industry.
“We've lost, and we continue to lose women. Let's acknowledge that it's happening under our watch. But more than just losing women, I think we're losing the trust of women as an industry to make change.”
On the topic of advertising creativity, Melbourne was another edition of Compass where panellists nominated Telstra’s work this year as a plus for the industry. Msomi told the room: “I'm going to take the biggest win as being Telstra. I think there's a lot of lessons in that for all of us around the importance of brand, the importance of craft the importance of getting back to creativity - and the importance of not listening to everyone in your organization who wants to have a point of view on the work, but actually backing your own gut.”
Melbourne has also been home to the biggest radio story of the year - ARN Media’s decision to network the Sydney-based The Kyle & Jackie O Show into the city on Kiis. While maintaining its lead in Sydney, the show has failed to find an audience in Melbourne.
ARN stablemate O’Connell, whose own show on Gold has regularly topped the FM ratings, argued that while the battle has been great for drawing attention to radio, some stations have been wasting money on short term promotions rather than focusing on the quality of their shows. He said: “It's just really interesting - people are talking about it. Breakfast radio still matters to people which I think is really great for my industry.
“The loss for the industry is how a lot of the other shows I go up against are chucking so much money at buying listeners - big, noisy cash giveaways. I understand why they do that; I've never done that - I think it's about deepening the connection you have with the audience. I think it's transactional and I think actually it's hurting radio.
“The big noisy cash giveaways to me is dumb, moronic radio.”
The panel also tackled the rise of retail media (Dobson was sceptical); rebuilding business confidence in a tough economy, the next wave of agency consolidations, and predictions of a rise in consumer activism.
In prescient comments which she made before the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thomson in New York, Msomi warned: “I think we should be prepared for rage. I think the bubbling under, and now bubbling over, of the real palpable rage that we feel in our industry and in our society, I think it's not going to die down.
“With anger comes activism, and with activism comes change.
“There's this misnomer that people who are activists and people who are trying to change things are always upset and that their anger is not productive. But that's how you get International Women's Day, that's how you get Black History Month, from organizing and from actioning that rage into something more.”
* The next stop for Unmade’s Compass roadshow is Auckland on Tuesday February 18, at NZME’s iHeart Lounge on Graham Street. Tickets are on sale now.
How Unmade’s 2024 Compass tour has unfolded:
Unmade Index sinks
The Unmade Index retreated by 0.48% yesterday, to land on 431.7 points.
Among the worst performers was Nine’s real estate platform Domain, which lost 1.2% yesterday. Domain’s market capitalisation has sagged by 17% since the ousting of CEO Jason Pellegrino two months ago
Audio stocks Southern Cross Austereo and ARN Media both went backwards yesterday, by 0.9% and 0.7% respectively.
Ooh Media beat the wider trend, rising by 1.7%
Time to leave you to your Thursday.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio.
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today: Hugh Marks firms up for the ABC as Matt Stanton makes an inside run on Nine; Plus, what we learned this year, and what we’re expecting in 2025.
This is the perfect time to upgrade your Unmade membership
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025;
* Members-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Do it before the end of next week, and we’ll give you a $50 gift voucher of your choice too. Upgrade today.
Hugh Marks for the ABC?; Matt Stanton tightens grip on Nine; James Manning returns; and our 2025 predictions
The Australian seems confident Hugh Marks is about to be named managing director of the ABC. As its Media Diary column puts it today: “Here’s one rumour that just won’t go away, and we reckon it’s true: Hugh Marks will be the new managing director of the ABC. As far as media rumours go, we’re almost certain it’s rolled, gold, wheat.”
Marks was a transformational boss for Nine, overseeing its evolution from a TV network to Australia’s largest media company via the takeover of Fairfax Media. In the podcast we discuss whether there’s room in the ABC management for both Kim Williams as chair and Marks as MD.
Also today: we discuss acting Nine CEO Matt Stanton’s tightening grip on the role, and the return of former Mediaweek owner James Manning to media after a long absence of 17 days.
We look back on a year of AI ubiquity and a media downturn. And in our predictions we talk about taming the platforms, the return of jingles, and the rise of AI agents.
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design, and podcast production. The cicadas were not their fault.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s episode of the Unmade podcast features the fifth stop on our Compass tour, when we visited Adelaide. Plus, further down, the Unmade Index sinks further while Vinyl Group buys Concrete Playground.
You should be at next year’s Compass. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, why not do it today? Your annual membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
* PLUS: If you subscribe before the end of next week, you’ll also receive a $50 gift voucher of your choice
“A big disappointment” to cancel Campaign Brief?; Uncredentialled CMOs; and too many client pitches
Unmade’s Compass roadshow rolled into Adelaide last month for a lively discussion on the big industry topics.
Our speakers were:
Taylor Martin, chair of the Adelaide Advertising and Design Club Awards, and GM of Simple integrated marketing. She’s also on the committee of She Creates championing women working in the communications industry here in Adelaide
David Penberthy, co-presenter of 5AA’s Breakfast with David & Will and News Corp columnist .
Erik de Roos, Executive Director of Marketing for South Australian Tourism Commission.
And Jamie Scott, Managing Director, of Showpony and former AADC co-president.
Among the debate points, Taylor Martin flagged the controversy over Campaign Brief - which was slated for only featuring men in its rundown of creative talent - as the industry’s loss of the year.
But Jamie Scott argued that the debate that followed was a lost opportunity for the industry to commit to real change. He added: “When Campaign Brief apologised and said they would commit to change, they were still cancelled by half the industry. So the very behaviours the industry was looking for was then punished. People said ‘Oh we’re going to cancel our subscription anyway’. So that was a big disappointment.”
Meanwhile, Erik de Roos called out the rise of uncredentialled marketers calling themselves ”chief marketing officer”.
“I could start a company tomorrow and hire some kid from the street and call them chief marketing officer, and that’s fine. It’s a conversation we need to be having as an industry.”
Unmade Index takes another hit
The Unmade Index had a second day of triple basis point decline on Wednesday, losing another 1.62% to land on 438.7 points.
Amongst the larger stocks, Ooh Media had the worst of it, losing 3.3% despite the good news that it has won a stay of execution on its Auckland Transport contract, which expires on December 31. Auckland Transport has decided to restart the tender process, meaning the contract, which Ooh Media was likely to either lose or renew on much less profitable terms, will be extended.
Meanwhile Nine is once again trading below a $2bn market capitalisation.
* As Unmade was about to go out of the door, Vinyl Group announced it had agreed to buy Concrete Playground for $3.5m in cash and $1.5m in shares. It said Concrete Playground had made EBITDA profits for the year of $1.5m on $4m turnover. Concrete Playground founder Rich Fogarty will leave the business.
Time to leave you to your Thursday.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio. (Special thanks to Team Abe’s for doing an amazing editing job on cleaning up our back-up recording)
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today: We analyse the big news that Omnicom is set to take over Interpublic Group in a giant deal which would remake the advertising industry; Should Nine sell its radio stations?; and is the government about to finally make up its mind about designating Meta?
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass , all returning in 2025.
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Here comes Intercom
News broke last night of a deal which would remake the agency landscape. Omnicom is negotiating a takeover of Interpublic. It would create a new industry leader. We consider the global and local implications, and ask whetehr it will change the timeline for the replacement of Omnicom Media Group’s outgoing CEO Peter Horgan.
Also today, we discuss whether Nine should sell its radio network.
And are we finally going to see movement from the government on its decision whether to designate Facebook owner Meta under the News Media Bargaining Code.
Further reading:
* Wall Street Journal: Advertising Firms Omnicom and Interpublic Nearing Merger That Would Reshape Industry
* Madison & Wall: Omnicom-Interpublic M&A Report: Analysis and Considerations
* Mi3: Kristiaan Kroon firming as successor to Omnicom Media Group CEO Peter Horgan
* Unmade: The fateful eight: How Publicis, WPP, Omnicom, Dentsu, Havas, IPG, S4 Capital and Enero rank
* Australian Financial Review: Exits, cuts and Smooth FM: Nine mulls future of 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR
* The Australian: D-day on the horizon for Meta: Stephen Jones set to make a call on news media bargaining code
* Capital Brief: Google renews news deal with Country Press Australia
* Unmade: How Google bought the silence of Australia’s media establishment
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week.
We’ll be back with more on Wednesday.
Have a great day
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s episode of the Unmade podcast features the fourth stop on our Compass tour, when we visited Perth. Plus, further down, bad news on the economy tanks the Unmade Index.
You should be at next year’s Compass. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, why not do it today? Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Taxing the platforms, shaking Perth out of creative complacency, and the ‘b******t’ about what it really takes
The fourth stop on Unmade’s end of year Compass tour took the team to Perth, for an entertaining panel featuring five veterans of the WA media and marketing scene.
Clive Bingwa became MD of Nine Perth six years ago after a media agency career including 303 and IPG Mediabrands. Steve Harris is CEO of Perth’s biggest agency, The Brand Agency, as well as being a board director of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of WA and of Fremantle Football Club. Taryn Hare is Executive Manager, Brand and Customer Strategy at Bankwest and was previously at 303, and part of the Brand Agency team that launched Bunnings Warehouse into the UK. Meg Coffey is the Founder of State of Social and managing director of digital marketing agency Coffey & Tea. And Amber Martin is the cofounder of the Hypnosis creative agency after stints at Wieden + Kennedy in London, and Host in Singapore.
The conversation ranged from the lessons to be learned from the elites sidelining Donald Trump to what it really takes to succeed in the industry, and the barriers that creates for mothers.
The lessons of the US election
On Trump, Harris - who traveled to the US to watch the election unfold - argued that the media failed to capture some of the nuance. “Trump is grossly misrepresented by the Australian media. I think it's a sport to show the 10-second sound bite where he said something and not show the 30 seconds or the 60 seconds around that. And so I think everyone missed it.”
Hare observed: “The fact that someone with that history is leading the free world is because Harris and her team potentially underestimated the needs of common people and campaigned on things that weren't that relevant Listening and truly understanding customers and what they need is the real lesson here.”
Coffey argued that poor media literacy contributed to the result. She said: “I think media literacy has never been more important, and I think that we've lost track of that.”
Whi is Google getting a free pass?
The debate moved to the topic of Australia’s relationship with social media. Harris pointed out that the negative impacts of social media only moved up the news agenda once Meta had decided to stop paying publishers.
He said: “If you look at the big media war on social media, particularly the big major media companies, it wasn't really an issue until Facebook stopped paying under the Media Bargaining Code. When they were taking several hundred million dollars from Facebook, then it was okay. Well, it wasn't okay, but it wasn't an issue.”
Harris suggested that Google is getting preferential treatment in news coverage of the social damage it contributes to because it still gives money to publishers. He said: “I’m not a big fan of Facebook for a range of reasons, but I just think it's worth noting everything you read is about Facebook. Google's getting a free reign because Google maybe still pays the money towards the media bargaining code.”
He added: “Why don't these companies pay their fair share of tax? We wouldn't need a media bargaining code if they paid proper tax and they were structured correctly.”
Raising the bar on creativity
The dual themes of the economic slowdown and the level of advertising creativity in the Perth market came together after Hare nominated raising the bar as a key topic that needs to be discussed. She said: “The issue that I talk about a lot is how we raise the creative quality in a market like Perth, where there are so many forces working against us.
“It's very small. There are lots of businesses here that are the sole business in their vertical. They don't have to try as hard.”
Harris agreed: “I think Perth is very comfortable. It's been easy to make money. It doesn't matter if you're selling coffee, selling cars, building homes, selling real estate, whatever you do in Perth in the last 15 years, it's an easy, easy economy.
“And we've become a bit lazy.”
The painful truth about finding career success
Meanwhile Harris nominated his own unspoken conversation: “I don't think honest conversations are had about what it takes to be really, really successful. Everyone sits around and talks about your doona day, your mental health day, your right to disconnect.
“And it's all b******t. If you want to be really, really successful, you don't see any Olympic gold medal winner saying, ‘I didn't train because I wanted a doona day’.
“If you want to be really, really successful, you're going to have to make sacrifices, you're going to have to work harder than other people, it's going to hurt, it's going to be painful. There are things that aren't going to be nice but you'll get to be really, really successful. And I just don't think those conversations are had in any sense because they're just politically incorrect and everyone shies away from them.”
Bingwa, agreed, saying” It’s a tough industry, it’s very competitive and there are no short cuts.”
Amber Martin took a different tack, arguing that the industry loses women who become mothers. She said: “An important conversation that we need to have is around how hard this industry can be though when you're a woman and you have a baby and you try and come back into this industry, which does expect you to work really, really hard to reap the rewards.”
She went on: “In our industry we're not seeing very many women at the top despite them making up the bulk of this industry that we work in, and I wonder if that's because we have this culture of ‘you have to work really hard to reap the rewards’ which I agree with, but what does that look like? Is that about presenteeism, is that about being in the office all the time? What can we do to make that an easier transition for women once they've had children?
“It's just too hard to have work-life balance and come back and work in a job like this.
“I get a lot of satisfaction out of my baby, but I get a hell of a lot of satisfaction out of working in advertising as well. I don't want to give it up, but gosh, it's hard.”
Slowing economy drags on Unmade Index
The Unmade Index sank by nearly a full percentage point yesterday as the market digested implications of new numbers indicating slumping gross domestic product growth.
Advertising spend is disproportionately affected by economic performance, and the Unmade Index fell more badly than the wider ASX All Ordinaries which lost 0.3%
Nine fell back below a $2bn market capitalisation after losing 0.8%. Southern Cross Austereo had the worst day on the index, losing 3.7%.
ARN Media moved in the other direction, improving by 3.6%
Time to leave you to your Thursday.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio. (Special thanks to Team Abe’s for cleaning up what was poor audio recorded at the venue.)
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition, the government helps the ACCC muscle up against the platforms as Meta belatedly acts on scammy celeb ads; The Monkeys nostalgia as they rebrand to Droga5; acting on AI content kleptomania; and the end of the TV ratings year, but did anybody notice?
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass , all returning in 2025.
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
It turns out Meta thinks it can do something about scam celebrity ads after all
In today’s conversation: the government says it will give the ACCC more powers to take on the platforms; a fortnight after promises of a duty of care law, Meta discovers that there is more it can do about scam ads on its platform after all; Disrupt Radio makes its monthly pledge that more funding is on the way; Seven claims victory in the annual TV ratings.
Further reading:
* Australian Financial Review: Labor targets Meta, Apple, Amazon and Google with tough new rules
* The Australian: Labor grants ACCC new powers to crack down on digital platforms
* Unmade: End of term, end of government?
* The Guardian: Meta to force financial advertisers to be verified in bid to prevent celebrity scam ads targeting Australians
* The Australian: Disrupt Radio in final talks to resume live broadcasting
* The Australian: Seven gets the eyeballs, but not the advertising dollars
* The Australian: The Monkeys: From congealed blood to the world stage
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design, and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s episode of the Unmade podcast features the third stop on our Compass tour, when we rolled into Sydney. Plus, further down, the board of radio network SEN signal that they want to be dealt into the deal-making action.
You should be at next year’s Compass. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, why not do it today? Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Transparency deprioritised: ’If there are dodgy agencies out there, those two probably deserve each other’
The third chapter of this year’s expanded six-state Compass Roadshow rolled into Sydney earlier this month with four of the industry’s most high-profile people.
Telstra CMO Brent Smart has been the client behind some of the industry’s most talked-about advertising work this year. Peter Horgan chairs the Media Federation and is the outgoing CEO of Omnicom Media Group. Lou Barrett leads sales at News Corp Australia. Jasmin Bedir is CEO of creative agency Innocean and founder of gender equality initiative Fck the Cupcakes
An early topic was the price of not doing distinctive work.
According to Smart: “I think the really brave marketers are the ones who create boring things. That’s super brave.”
Later in the conversation, he expanded on the point: “The bravest markers are the ones doing boring, invisible marketing.” Of the Telstra work, Smart said: I don’t think it’s brave, I think I’m commercially smart. I do it to drive a commercial result. I don’t do it for vanity or to win awards. I do it because it’s more commercially effective to be creative.”
Meanwhile Horgan flagged the challenge of procurement departments driving down agency remuneration. He told the room that his challenge of the year was : “Pushing back on weaponised procurement, which means we don’t need humans any more in the communications ecosystem, trying to push back on that reductive narrative.”
He added: “Two years ago the revenue was easy… and the humans were hard. This year, humans aren’t easy, but the revenue is bloody hard.”
Smart argued that it is in brands’ best interests to avoid simply chasing the lowest cost with agencies.. “Screwing down your partners is not how you get discretionary effort from your partners. A lot of clients forget we can pay an agency a fee, but the bit you can’t buy is their passion and how much they care, and that’s a good commercial decision.”
For Bedir, a theme of the year was the rise of generative AI. “I am deeply concerned about gen AI. What I hear from clients is there’s a lack of governance in most organisations. There’s so many suppliers trying to peddle you stuff that magically makes your problems go away. That’s the latest gold rush.”
Accountants on the march
And Barrett warned of a media landscape dominated by CEOs who had come up through finance. Recent months have seen Seven West Media, Nine and Southern Cross Austereo all put their chief financial officers in the top chair
Asked to nominate a challenge for the industry, Barrett said: “The rise and rise of the CFO. With so many CFOs running media companies now, I worry we’re going to end up with a lack of creativity.”
Bedir also warned that the industry is struggling to find diverse new talent: “I’m concerned about the pathway of getting people in to the industry. If you’ve got the same group of people we end up with the same outputs.”
And Horgan also flagged as a problem for the industry, the issue of brands investing less in understanding their media investments, He said: “Transparency is a double edged word, which needs to be owned on the client side as well.
"It’s not the focus that was. There’s a bell curve of clients out there who have ten person team, haven’t been able to sell expertise they need to board and are not able to sell the expertise to the board. You do the maths. If there are dodgy agencies out there, those two probably deserve each other.
And Barrett added as an issue: “Over reliance on social and platforms. These guys are not paying taxes in Australia. They are not paying for content.” She added: “I’m not talking about Google, I’m talking about Meta.”
Smart also acknowledged that he had learned a new lesson this year, having not previously given enough priority to influencing the staff of the brands where he has worked. He said: “Something that is often overlooked by marketers is, make your staff proud to work for the brand. That has an incredible impact on how they show up. I wouldn’t have thought as much about that in the past. But I’ve seen some incredible impact.”
Unmade Index rises as SEN tells the M&A market: Deal us in
The Unmade Index nudged upwards for a second day on Wednesday, while SEN Radio’s owner Sports Entertainment Group used its AGM to signal that it wants to be a player in media deal making.
SEG’s chairman Craig Coleman told shareholders that the company has been tidying up its balance sheet including selling Perth Wildcats and its New Zealand station SENZ. SEN has reduced its net debt to $13.3m and delivered an EBITDA profit of $9.6m in the last financial year.
Coleman told investors: “We are now well positioned to be an active participant in beneficial media consolidation moves.”
However, although SEN said it was on track to improve its profitability in this financial half, it said the radio market remains tough. “Our media division is seeing a tightening in the economy with businesses feeling the impacts of a lingering slowdown which is not isolated to any particular industry.”
SEG is the smallest of the ASX-listed audio players with a market cap of $64m, compared to ARN’s $225m and Southern Cross Austereo’s $130m.
SEN’s share price did not move after the update yesterday, after seeing a drop of 8% the day before.
The Unmade Index closed 0.41% down on 451.6 points.
Time to leave you to your Thursday.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio. (Special thanks to Team Abe’s for cleaning up what was poor audio recorded at the venue.)
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today: The marketing industry reels at the sudden death of Lisa Ronson; How much more will get done on media policy as Canberra enters its final sitting week?; ARN Media prepares to make mischief at today’s Southern Cross Austereo AGM; and we explore the theory that Paramount should buy Seven
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass;
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Industry in shock at sudden death of marketer Lisa Ronson; SCA faces bumpy AGM; what next for Seven?
In today’s conversation:
* The marketing community was shocked to learn yesterday afternoon of the sudden death of Lisa Ronson.
* SCA’s AGM is likely to be a tricky one today, with shareholders including rival ARN Media set to turn the heat on the board;
* With just one more week left in Parliament, most mooted media reforms are likely to fizzle out;
* Here’s a theory: Could the best owner for Seven Network be Paramount?
Further reading
* Mi3: Vale Lisa Ronson: Former Medibank, Coles, Tourism Australia CMO dies
* Unmade: Canberra time
* Australian Financial Review: Big tech’s warning on rushing teen ban on social media
* Michelle Rowland press release: Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024 will not proceed
* Australian Financial Review: ‘Vested interests’ frustrate gambling ad reforms
* The Australian: SCA to be hit with ‘first strike’ at AGM
* Australian Financial Review: Southern Cross hit with first strike, with chairman under pressure
* Sunday Telegraph: Channel 7 discuss hosting a rugby league show in 2025
* The Australian: Seven West Media: could this be as bad as it gets?
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week.
We’ll be back with more on Wednesday.
Have a great day
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition. Today’s episode of the Unmade podcast features the second stop on our Compass tour, where we took the temperature of the Brisbane media and marketing community. Plus, further down, in the Unmade Index, SCA’s share price spike begins to unwind.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, why not do it today? Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Trust, finding consensus in the fractious TV market, and Facebook’s declining relevance for marketers
Last week saw Unmade’s Compass tour hit the Eastern seaboard with the Brisbane edition of the event delivering an excellent conversation.
Among the topics was the opportunity that a more complicated marketing environment creates for brands that are good at what they do. Jonathan Kerr, Chief Growth Officer of Budget Direct observed: “I like complexity. I’m tired, but I like complexity because best navigator wins.”
Meanwhile Cath Brands, CMO of B2B pricing specialists FlintFox, raised a topic that has come up a number of times during Compass: growing scepticism towards the effectiveness claims of some of the global digital platforms. She observed: “As a marketer, Facebook is so 1980s in my mind. I’m over it as a platform from an advertising perspective.” However she acknowledged that other Meta brands are still drawing audiences: “The cool kids aren’t on Facebook but they are on Instagram.”
Michael Crutcher, now a PR executive and a former editor of the Courier Mail said the industry needs to start talking about “the looming war between social media and mainstream media in Australia”, with Meta and potentially Google dropping out of their news funding deals. He added: “And 2025 is going to be nuclear for that.”
Meanwhile, Simon Murphy, chief strategy officer for Publicis Worldwide Australia, suggested that social media is benefitting from a decline in public trust in established news outlets. He warned: “There's a crisis of trust and social media definitely plays into that space. They're filling that void.”
Kerr, who is one of the biggest buyers of TV advertising in the country also had a warning for the TV networks: “I am annoyed with TV. It’s really sad to see the way they can’t come together. I always say ‘never be hard to buy’. We’re at the point where it’s worth coming together to make it so that it’s a much more tradeable, understood medium. TV is such a wonderful medium if you want to deliver a brand narrative and a story so I think it would be truly wonderful if they said ‘Let’s save this together’.”
* Jonathan Kerr, Chief Growth Officer, Budget Direct
* Cath Brands, CMO, FlintFox
* Michael Crutcher, Director, 55 Comms
* Simon Murphy, Global Strategy Director, Publicis
* Jennifer Garner, Senior VP of sales, Epsilon
Unmade Index flattens as SCA recovery runs out of steam
A day after Southern Cross Austereo’s share price unexpectedly spiked upwards by 12.6%, it lost 5.2% yesterday, taking it back down to a market capitalisation of $130m.
It was a mixed day for Australia’s listed media and marketing stocks. Nine gained 0.4%, while Ooh Media lost 0.4%.
Among the broadcasters, ARN Media had the best day, gaining 2.9%.
The Unmade Index finished the day flat on 447.5 points.
Time to leave you to your Thursday.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio.
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition, we prepare for a big week of media legislation in which the government will try to make the social platforms responsible for those scammy crypto ads featuring deepfake David Koch, and to push through its age-gating legislation. We also recap the week in AI and ask whether new platform Bluesky is about to hit critical mass as a Twitter replacement.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);
* Members-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Welcome to the human race: How Bluesky is taking off
A key fortnight for media law lies ahead in Canberra. The government will attempt to legislate around age limits for social media, and to force the platforms to take more responsibility for scam ads. The timeline is tight, with just two more sitting weeks of Parliament before the long summer break.
Also in today’s podcast: Coke turns to AI for a reboot of its Christmas ad, and Perplexity starts to monetise its search.
And as X is increasingly recognised as a tool in Donald Trump’s victory, the exodus to Bluesky is under way.
Further reading:
* Minister for Communications: Minimum age for social media access to protect Australian kids
* Australian Financial Review: Why this former TikTok executive wants a strict social media ban
* Minister for Communications: New Duty of Care obligations on platforms will keep Australians safer online
* Unmade: Why the sudden hurry on social media?
* Forbes: Coca Cola’s AI-Generated Ad Controversy, Explained
* TechCrunch: Perplexity brings ads to its platform
* ABC News: Why X users are jumping across to new platform Bluesky in the wake of US election
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design, and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today we share the highlights from the opening chapter of this year’s Compass roadshow. And further down, the Unmade Index’s green streak comes to an end.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Brand fame, burnout and doing more with less
Unmade’s six-state Compass roadshow kicked off in Hobart last week.
Today we share highlights from that first session. The discussion, recorded in front of a live audience, featured Ally Bradley, GM of Southern Cross Austereo in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and the NT; creative Chas Bayfield; Lindene Cleary, CMO of Tourism Tasmania, Abe Udy, founder of audio production house Abe’s Audio; and Simon Crerar, editor-in-chief of SmartCompany.
The evening kicked off with a warning from Bayfield that timidity from brands in their advertising is a far bigger risk than controversy because unremarkable advertising will not be seen. “The big challenge is invisibility,” Bayfield warned.
Other topics in the debate, moderated by Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, included the journey of Tourism Tasmania’s ‘Come Down for Air’ positioning, the business challenges being faced by SmartCompany and other publishers, the effects of burnout on over-stretched teams, and the threats and opportunities offered by AI
For those curious about the reference to Blackcurrant Tango, this was Bayfield’s famous 1998 ad, ‘St George’:
The Compass roadshow continues next week. We’re in Perth on Monday, Adelaide on Tuesday and the tour concludes in Melbourne on Wednesday. Tickets are on sale via this link.
Unmade Index slips back into the red
The Unmade Index’s four-day winning streak came to an end yesterday with falls almost across the board for media stocks.
Among the larger businesses, Southern Cross Austereo has the worst of it, losing 2.8%. Audio rival ARN Media dropped 2.1%
The Unmade Index lost 0.69% to land on 429.8 points.
Time to leave you to your Thursday.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio.
We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition, we ask whether Donald Trump’s podcast strategy will signal an advertising shift; we look back at the Seven and Nine AGMs, and forward to the ABC, Seven and Are Media upfronts.
f you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Did Joe Rogan put Trump over the top?
Just a week ago, the consensus was that the US election was too close to call. Now, everybody is an expert on why a Donald Trump victory was inevitable.
One underplayed factor was the strategy of Donald Trump’s team to make him available on several podcasts including The Joe Rogan Experience. With podcasts skewing younger and more male than most mainstream media, will Trump’s victory change how marketers see the medium?
Also today, Seven West Media and Nine set very different tones at their AGMs; and we look forward to the ABC, Are Media and Seven’s 2025 scene setting upfront events.
Further reading:
* Google Trends: ‘Did Joe Biden drop out?'
* Unmade: Index bottoms out as TV networks share a gloomy outlook
* The Saturday Paper: ‘The mighty and powerful Joe Rogan’
* Pivot: How Trump will impact media
* Joe Rogan Experience: #2219 Donald Trump
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’r taking a scheduled publishing break tomorrow while I travel to Compass Brisbane.
We’ll be back with more on Wednesday.
Have a great day
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s interview features Australia’s most talked about business writer, Joe Aston, whose book on Qantas has dominated the political cycle for the last ten days.
Also today, in the Unmade Index, Seven and Nine held their AGMs, taking different approaches to acknowledging their failings.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* Complimentary tickets to all of Unmade’s events, including HumAIn (2025), REmade (2025), Unlock (2025), and Compass (November);
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
‘No amount of PR can fix the operations of a company that is failing’: Joe Aston on how profit-chasing caught up with the Qantas brand
Today’s conversation with Joe Aston takes place where brand, business, and lobbying collide.
His book The Chairman’s Lounge contains the most detailed examination yet seen of the Qantas-operated network of invitation-only lounges for politicians and the business elite.
Across Australia’s capital cities, alongside the well signposted Qantas Club and Qantas Business Lounges, is a third type of lounge, hidden behind mirrored doors, with word ‘Private’ written on them.
The Chairman’s Lounge isn’t just a space with an a la carte menu and top shelf wine; being invited to become a member means a range of travel perks. No matter what type of ticket they buy, a Chairman’s Lounge member will likely be upgraded when they fly.
At the very least, they’ll be sitting in the front row of economy. Ever noticed those smartly dressed people enjoying the extra leg-room of row 4, being greeted by name by the cabin crew and handed a glass of something nice from the business trolley? Chances are they’re CL members.
And for influential politicians travelling internationally, CL status means buying an economy class ticket and sitting in a first class seat.
The Chairman’s Lounge has been an incredibly effective lobbying tool, allowing Qantas more access to politicians than any other business in Australia. Says Aston: ”What the Chairman’s Lounge does is make Qantas the most powerful lobbyist in Canberra.”
And that’s without taking into account the bosses who bend their company travel policies towards Qantas, even if other alternatives are cheaper. As Aston puts it: “It’s worth every cent. The operating costs aren’t that high compared to what it gets people to do, and that is spend millions and millions more than they otherwise would”.
Aston’s book covers the period where underinvestment in operations began to catch up with the Qantas brand. He is critical of the board for failing to hold former CEO Alan Joyce to account as the brand deteriorated. That includes Australia’s most famous adman Todd Sampson. “I do think it is ridiculous that he's still on the Qantas board - he proved to be completely useless when it mattered.Not, by the way, more useless than than anyone else, and not less useless: just as useless.
Theres a risk of burying the lede in this interview. His Rear Window column in the Australian Financial Review was often an agenda setter. So what will he do next?
Aston hints that he may launch a newsletter of his own: “Doing my own reader-funded content is something I’ve thought about.”
He acknowledges that his style of writing on the edge puts him in danger of attracting threatening letters from defamation lawyers. “It’s all a risk calculation,” he says. “It’s how much revenue you can generate and is it enough to just pay for whatever litigation costs come your way. “
Index bottoms out as TV networks share a gloomy outlook
The Unmade Index recovered marginally on Thursday after hitting another all-time low the day before.
Yesterday saw The Unmade Index lift by 0.15% to land on 424.2 points. The Index, which tracks the value of Australia’s ASX-listed media and marketing sector, began at the start of 2022 on a nominal 1000 points.
Both Nine and Seven West Media held their annual general meetings yesterday.
Nine’s chair Catherine West used a significant her address to shareholders to acknowledge that the company still needs to do more to address its problematic culture within its newsrooms.
SWM’s chair Kerry Stokes dedicated one paragraph of his address to tell his shareholders that his company has now modernised its culture, and four paragraphs to complaining about the ABC’s coverage of the problem.
Nine told the market that after an Olympics boost, TV revenues have returned to the 10% rate of decline seen in the previous financial year. It warned “we are seeing no tangible signs of improvement to date”.
Seven said its revenues are likely to be down about 6.5% for the half.
Nine’s market cap grew slightly yesterday, up by 0.9% to $1.75bn. Seven West Media lost 3%, to land on $239m
Meanwhile, Ooh Media recovered by 2.1% and Southern Cross Austereo was up by nearly 1%. ARN Media went in the other direction, losing 4.2%.
Time to leave you to your Friday.
I’ll be back tomorrow with Best of the Week.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition: Can a loveable monster make Myer’s Christmas?; The launch of AI-driven search in Australia creates a new peril for news publishing; and Nine’s chair faces a shareholder rebellion.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes a complimentary ticket to this month’s Compass roadshow, plus all of Unmade’s 2025 events, including HumAIn, REmade and Unlock (2025).
You also get our member-only content and our paywalled archives; and your own copy of Media Unmade.
As Myer parts with Clems, it launches their last Christmas campaign; Zero click comes to Australia; and Nine’s board readies for rough AGM
With the Christmas retail season more crucial than ever for the advertising sector, Myer has launched its Christmas effort, featuring a bovver-boot wearing monster called Humbug. And will the decision of Myer to pitch its creative account open the door for a reunion?
Speaking of bovver boots, we also discuss Google’s local launch of AI Overviews and OpenAI’s decision to turn on web search.
And we discuss today’s report in Capital Brief that Nine’s chair Catherine West faces a shareholder vote against her reappointment.
Further reading:
* The Australian: Myer kicks off Christmas season with playful campaign
* Little Black Book: Myer Pitches Creative Account
* Little Black Book: Ant Keogh, Paul McMillan, and Michael Derepas Leave The Monkeys Melb to Launch Agency
* Unmade: Can ChatGPT’s new search offering see past paywalls?
* Unmade: News Corp kicks off its first big AI legal battle
* Google: Introducing AI Overviews in Australia, a new generative AI experience on Search
* The Australian: Nine chair Catherine West set for re-election at AGM this week
* Capital Brief: Nine shareholders urged to 'hold directors accountable' for toxic culture
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today, ahead of his visit to Australia for next month’s IAB Leadership Summit, we talk to IAB Tech Lab’s CEO Tony Katsur about the state of play in digital advertising. And the Unmade Index approaches a new low.
Only Unmade’s paying members get full access. They were entitled to a ticket to today’s inaugural Unlock conference in Sydney. They also get an invitation to our Compass: Reflections and Projections event, taking place across six states throughout November. Next year they’ll also be able to join us at our AI-focused conference HumAIn (Q2 2025) and at our retail media conference REmade.
They get full access to our archives, which go behind the paywall after two months. Feeling jealous of all that access? Maybe that should be you. Upgrade today.
‘Data provenance is going to be one of the top issues in 2025 and 2026’: What IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Katsur worries about
Being the boss of IAB Tech Lab, the standard setting body of the digital advertising industry, must be a frustrating experience. With more responsibility than power, the IAB attempts to shepherd its members towards agreed tech standards including around audience measurement.
In the rise of the open web, the industry broadly agreed about specs like standard ad sizes and audience measurement. In Australia, the IAB endorses Ipsos as preferred currency, and before that Nielsen.
In CTV (connected TV) though, in Australia and around the world, there’s no such consensus. That includes Foxtel at the centre of a coalition of streamers pushing for a solution from Kantar, while OzTAM, owned by Seven, Nine and Ten, takes a different direction with VOZ (Virtual Australia).
Then there’s the issue of global platforms who want to apply their own measurement and standards to their walled gardens, which tends to deliver them the results they want.
Today’s podcast guest is IAB Tech Lab’s New York-based Tony Katsur, talking to Unmade’s Tim Burrowes. Katsur be speaking on standards at the IAB’s Leadership Summit in Sydney on November 20.
Katsur is a veteran of the digital advertising economy having worked for some of the industry’s formative players including DoubleClick, MediaMath and Rubicon Project before joining IAB Tech Lab three years ago
In the wide ranging conversation, Katsur describes himself not so much as a sherrif of what was a wild west, but a constable, imploring his constituents to do the right thing.
On CTV he observes: “There are companies that may believe that they're a walled garden, but they're not. Therefore they think they can go it alone with their own proprietary forms of measurement.
“There are a lot of companies out there that think they’re a bigger deal than they are, and think they can measure themselves or have their own proprietary measurement standard.”
Among the other topics discusses are the threat that the large language models of AI pose to the intellectual property of media owners; why data provenance will be the key phrase of 2025 and 2026; whether the preparation for cookie deprecation that never came was wasted effort (he argues not); and reasons to feel optimistic for publishers.
* Tony Katsur will be speaking at the IAB Australia Leadership Summit on November 20
Unmade Index hovers over the trapdoor
The Unmade Index slipped to within a fraction of a percentage point of a new all-time low yesterday. The index, which plots the movement of Australia’s ASX-listed media and marketing companies, lost 0.51%, to land on 437.7 points. It’s previous all-time low of 437.4 points came six weeks ago.
The index was pulled down by shifts at the top of town, with Nine losing 1.3% and its majority owned real estate platform Domain dropping 1.7%. Nine is now trading at its lowest point since April 2020.
It was a better day for the audio players, with ARN Media gaining 2.8% and Southern Cross Austereo up by 3.1%.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio. The Unmade team are all in Sydney today for our Unlock conference. And we’ll be back with a text-led edition tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition, Seven West Media and News Corp lobby for government help on funding; households make the switch to ad-funded tiers, and we look ahead to the final upfront events of the year.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including Unlock (this Thursday October 31), Compass (across November), HumAIn (Q2 2025) and REmade (Q3 2025);
* Member-only content like this post; and all of our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Fighting disinformation by funding news: Media bosses stop up the rhetoric; Ad-supported TV back in vogue
After last week’s softener from the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, Australia’s big media players are moving into lobbying overdrive. Seven will argue this week that the giant digital platforms are a force for evil; while News Corp’s boss is arguing that the little end of town cannot be the solution.
Instead, Seven and News Corp are lobbying for the government to support the not-too-big, not-too-small Goldilocks solution of companies like, well, Seven and News Corp.
As the Australian reports, the editor-in-chief of Seven West Media, Anthony De Ceglie, will tomorrow use a Melbourne Press Club speech to attack the platforms including Elon Musk’s X, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, saying:
“Elon Musk doesn’t care about the truth. In fact, he revels in peddling lies and boasts about using his bin fire of a site to influence the US election.
“Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is seemingly happy for Meta to profit off the page impressions that child sex offenders create when they routinely use his site to prey on their next victim.
“Against these evil forces — and calling them that is not an exaggeration — there is only one true antidote. The news. The truth. The fourth estate.”
De Ceglie will also champion the idea of a tax break for producing news and current affairs content.
And News Corp’s executive chairman Michael Miller argues in The Australian today that the government should try to force Meta to go on supporting the big media players it did deals with three years ago:
“The government is at risk of abandoning the engine rooms of Australian news, which is where the bulk of the jobs are and where the bulk of important Australian stories are told,” he said.
“The parliament’s primary focus should be those deals Meta has walked away from.
As well as discussing De Ceglie and Miller’s arguments, today’s edition of Start the Week examines new numbers from Kantar which suggest a big jump in household penetration of ad-supported streaming services - up from 10% of homes to 25% in just a year; and looks across the agenda of media events over the next couple of weeks.
Further reading:
* The Australian: Seven boss Anthony De Ceglie slams government for not supporting media
* The Australian: News Corp boss Michael Miller urges government to prioritise survival of mainstream media outlets
* Unmade: Landing lights glimmer for a digital levy to fund news
* Mi3: Meta barked, Australia blinked: News Bargaining Code to be shelved as Feds prepare possible digital ad tax
* The Australian: Viewers are increasingly signing up to streaming services with advertising, Kantar research shows
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Along with revealing the lineup for the Brisbane edition of our Compass event, we today feature an in-depth interview with Mark Frain, CEO of Foxtel Media, recorded around last week’s Upfront event. Plus, a further dip in the Unmade Index.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including Unlock (October 31), Compass (across November), HumAIn (Q2 2025) and REmade (Q3 2025);
* Members-only content; and all of our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Budget Direct Chief Growth Officer, Nine MD, Publicis strategy chief and comms veteran to bring Compass to Brisbane
Cat McGinn writes:
We can today reveal the leadership panel for the Brisbane Compass event, Unmade’s annual industry meet-up, this year taking place in six states.
The panel features Jonathan Kerr, Chief Growth Officer of Budget Direct; Michael Crutcher, PR professional and former editor of the Brisbane Courier Mail; Simon Murphy, chief strategy officer for Publicis; and Kylie Blucher, managing director of Nine Queensland & Northern NSW.
The panel will be moderated by Unmade’s Tim Burrowes and the discussion will later be featured as an Unmade podcast.
Unmade’s paying members are entitled to a complimentary place at Compass, and tickets are on sale here.
Unmade’s Compass roadshow takes place across six states.
* Wednesday November 6 - Hobart, The Hope and Anchor;
* Tuesday November 12 - Brisbane, The Prince Consort;
* Wednesday November 13 - Sydney, The Sporting Globe;
* Monday November 18 - Perth, The Globe;
* Tuesday November 19 - Adelaide, Elephant British Pub;
* Wednesday November 20 - Melbourne, The Garden State Hotel.
‘We agitated for change and we didn’t get the answers we were looking for’: Why Mark Frain created the VFC
From his opening words on stage at last week’s Foxtel Media Upfront event, it was clear that boss Mark Frain hasn’t made peace with the decision made by Seven, Nine and Ten to refuse him a place at the ownership table for measurement system OzTAM.
Instead, he has gone it alone, with Foxtel building its own measurement system powered by Kantar, and inviting a coalition of streamers to join them in the Video Future Collective.
Frain sees it as the free-to-air networks’ loss: “It’s been cathartic” he tells Unmade’s Tim Burrowes. “We did request to become officially part of OzTAM from a shareholding perspective. We also discussed the opportunity to provide our data to that business where we thought we could enrich and improve the service. And unfortunately, the shareholders said no. So from there, that forced us down a different direction.”
The biggest downside of the schism is that for media agencies and brands they now have a second measurement system to contend with. Frain is unapologetic. “Any change causes some unrest”.
This new direction includes the creation of a coalition of streamers under the banner of the Video Futures Collective, chaired by Foxtel’s Toby Dewar. Alongside Foxtel, the VFC membership now consists of Amazon Advertising, Disney Advertising, Samsung Ads, SBS On Demand, Vevo and YouTube. Frain says, pointedly, “Everyone’s got an equal share of voice.”
* Declaration of interest: Foxtel provided my travel and accommodation for the upfront event, and they’ve been advertising with us this week. The podcast interview was not part of any commercial arrangement.
Unmade Index continues downwards drift
Tim Burrowes writes:
The Unmade Index’s slow stall has stretched into a week after losing another 0.74% yesterday. That followed a drop of 0.73% on Tuesday. The Unmade Index, which tracks Australia’s listed media and marketing companies has been losing ground since last Tuesday. It closed on 444.7 points last night.
Yesterday saw Vinyl Group grow by 4.6% to a market capitalisation of $111m, just behind Southern Cross Austereo’s $112m.
Ooh Media’s slide also continued, losing 2.5% yesterday to land at $641m. The company has lost nearly 9% over the last month.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio. We’ll be back with more tomorrow
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition: We reflect on the industry’s move against Campaign Brief; And Nine is hit with a historic rape claim after publishing its culture report.
We’ve upgraded Unmade’s membership. Annual members now get a free ticket to all of our events. That includes Unlock on October 31; our Compass series in November; and REmade and HumAIn next year.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership also includes members-only content, access to our paywalled archives and your own copy of Media Unmade. Upgrade today.
How Campaign Brief contributes to the problem
The dominos have continued to fall for Campaign Brief after a backlash against its perpetuation of a creative club dominated by middle aged white men.
In today’s conversation, we explore why Campaign Brief isn’t just reporting a problem, but is actively contributing, by using its power and influence to support the same club.
And also today, a new challenge for Nine, as The Australian breaks news of an alleged rape after a Christmas party.
Further reading:
* Unmade: Why won’t Campaign Brief acknowledge women (and why do male execs still support them)?
* Unmade: Campaign Grief
* The Australian: Advertising’s gender representation debate heats up as agencies boycott trade title
* Unmade: Truth and consequences at Nine?
* The Australian: Former Nine junior female staffer reports alleged sexual assault involving senior male manager
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today’s edition features a fascinating exploration of how Four Pillars Gin became such a huie brand success, with an in-depth conversation with co-founder Matt Jones. Also today, we share details of the Sydney panel for Unmade’s Compass roadshow.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:
* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including Unlock (October 31), Compass (across November); HumAIn (2025), and REmade (September 2025).
* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;
* Your own copy of Media Unmade.
Smart, Barrett, Horgan and Bedir revealed for Unmade’s Compass Sydney panel next month
Cat McGinn writes:
We can today reveal our Sydney panel for our annual industry meet-up Compass, which will travel to six states for the first time.
The Sydney edition, taking place on November 13, will feature Brent Smart, CMO of Telstra; Lou Barrett, managing director of client partnerships at News Corp; Jasmin Bedir, CEO of creative agency Innocean; and Peter Horgan, outgoing CEO of Omnicom Media Group, for a lively discussion of the year just gone and outlook on 2025.
The pub conversation will also be featured as an Unmade podcast.
Unmade’s paying members are entitled to a complimentary place while tickets are also on sale here.
Unmade’s Compass will for the first time take place across six states. We’ll be announcing each state’s speaker lineup across the next few days
* Wed 6 November - Hobart;
* Tues 12 Nov - Brisbane: The Prince Consort;
* Wed 13 Nov - Sydney: The Sporting Globe;
* Mon 18 Nov - Perth: The Globe;
* Tues 19 Nov - Adelaide: Elephant British Pub;
* Wed 20 Nov - Melbourne: The Garden State Hotel.
Love and craft and marketing - how Matt Jones helped create the legend of Four Pillars Gin
A year on from a $100m exit, Four Pillars Gin co-founder Matt Jones has written a book about the business discipline behind the creation of one of the great Australian brand success stories.
Unusually for the author of a business book, Jones is not just a strategist, but one who put his money where his mouth was. Along with partners Stuart Gregor and Cameron Mackenzie, he made the decision to create a luxury gin brand, and then executed it brilliantly.
Lessons From Gin: Business the Four Pillars Way tells the story of how they did it, and offers a series of insights that anybody building a brand could borrow from. The book breaks the story into four stages - thinking, crafting, sharing and growing.
In today’s Unmade podcast, Jones shares with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes some of the lessons applied, and learned, along the way.
He makes the case that many business are underpowered in having marketing brains at the top. Like Jones, Gregor came from the communications world as owner of the PR agency Liquid Ideas. Mackenzie was the only working directly in the production of alcohol.
Says Jones: “We were far heavier in terms of creative industries, creative mindset, brand mindset, marketing mindset than 99% of leadership groups out there in the world.
“My perspective on the whole is that businesses are underweight when it comes to those voices around the leadership table. And I think that is something that we absolutely benefited from, that we valued these things that we might call brand leadership. We valued them at the heart of the business, not just the marketing strategy.”
Lessons from Gin will be published by Wiley on October 30 and is available on presale. On October 31 Jones will deliver the keynote at Unmade’s Unlock conference in Sydney where he will discuss the role of telling stories in building brands. Tickets are on sale now, or complimentary to Unmade’s paying members.
SCA moves back past Vinyl
Tim Burrowes writes:
The old order reasserted itself on the Unmade index yesterday with Southern Cross Austereo moving back past Vinyl Group.
SCA lost 1.1% to land on a market capitalisation of $111.5m, But Vinyl Group lost 4.4% to land on $111.1m.
Most acitvity on the Unmade Index was negative yesterday with Domain losing 1.3% and parent company Nine dropping 0.8%.
Seven West Media bucked the trend, growing by 3%
The Unmade Index fell 0.67% to land on 454.1 points.
Today’s podcast was edited by Abe’s Audio.
I’m about to hop onto a flight to Sydney to cover tonight’s Foxtel Upfront event. I’ll let you know how it went in tomorrow’s newsletter.
Have a great day.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe -
Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.
In today’s audio-led edition: With Campaign Brief under fire for continuing to focus only on male creatives, the industry reacts; AI exhumes movie stars; the ACCC’s exposure of Coles’ and Woolworths’ shady pricing hits their brands; and Seven defends yet another legal case.
We’ve upgraded Unmade’s membership. Annual members now get a free ticket to all of our events. That includes Unlock on October 31; our Compass series in November; and REmade and HumAIn next year.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership also includes members-only content, access to our paywalled archives and your own copy of Media Unmade. Upgrade today.
Why won’t Campaign Brief acknowledge women (and why do male execs still support them)?
The scandal of the last few days has been playing out on LinkedIn as the industry questions Campaign Brief’s ongoing emphasis on the talents only of male creatives
Campaign Brief’s latest ranking of creatives in NZ and Australia - in the gift of publisher Michael Lynch - focuses mainly on men. Even agencies featuring on the list, including Thinkerbell, appear to be asking themselves whether it’s a good idea to be there.
Thinkerbell was among the agencies highly placed. CEO Margie Reid, who is also a director of Support The Girls Australia, took to LinkedIn over the weekend to distance her agency from the ranking, writing: “Thinkerbell has not paid, created or had any part to play in the list that appeared in the latest edition of the Campaign Brief magazine or the BestAds ranking list. Nor were we contacted when the list was published.”
Creative Jet Swain put it more succinctly yesterday: “Shame on you Campaign Brief. Nothing has changed in the three decades I’ve witnessed this blatant misogyny. Your NZ lists had no women, and Australia only has Tara Ford.”
Also in today’s podcast: AI can bring dead actors back to life; but should it?; Coles and Woolworths have seen tangible brand damage from the ACCC prosecution new data from Roy Morgan Research shows; and Southern Cross Austereo is accused of ‘mocking’ its local TV news obligations.
Further reading
* LinkedIn: Thinkerbell’s Margie Reid on the Campaign Brief sexism row
* LinkedIn: Darren Woolley of Trinity P3 on the Campaign Brief sexism row
* LinkedIn: Jet Swain accuses Campaign Brief of misogyny
* Australian Financial Review: Think you know that voice? Dead celebrities are working again
* The Australian: Aldi nabs ‘most trusted supermarket’ title as Coles and Woolies suffer
* The Australian: An absence of local news in the regions is denying a voice to the people whose lives are affected
* The Australian: Seven blocks release of ‘humiliating’ docs in case against ex-producer Amelia Saw
* Australian Financial Review: Inside ARN’s Melbourne gamble on The Kyle and Jackie O Show
Today’s episode features Tim Burrowes, Abe Udy and Cat McGinn
Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.
Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Toodlepip…
Tim Burrowes
Publisher - Unmade
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unmade.media/subscribe - Visa fler
