Tag: Media

Business information analysts IBISWorld released a list of which Australian industries and sectors will rise and fall in the year of 2011. The organic farming industry is expected to be the number one growthe industry, while wired communications carriers are expected to make the biggest fall.

The Canberra Raiders’ ‘dog sex’ scandal, the Commonwealth Bank’s premium interest rate hike and the David Jones sexual assault case were just some of the diverse incidents to make the year’s definitive list of PR gaffes. Celebrities Stephanie Rice, Matthew Newton and Lara Bingle also hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2010.

Last week, Anthill emailed a 'sponsored satirical message from the future' to 9,000 members of its 14,000-strong eNewsletter database. The message informed recipients of their success winning a fictional award from the year 2012. Responses were mixed, ranging from "This is hilarious and very clever!" to "I WOULD PREFER NOT TO RECEIVE THIS CRAP!" So, is Anthill likely to run a campaign like this again?

When this commercial for the most recent edition in the 'Call of Duty' franchise was released in early November, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cringe. The genius of the 60 second advertisement, by Omnicom Group's TBWA/Chiat/Day, is that it's for a video game but does not feature any footage of the game itself.

Frustration with tardy debtors was the obvious impetus behind this nifty invention from Belgium outfit ikki; an invoice with a voice-chip that begins to make weeping noises 20 seconds after the envelope is opened. But what's truly inventive about the 'crying invoice' is its other purpose.

With this sister-site almost live, we're now seeking progressive companies to partner with. Would you like Anthill to sell your products and services using this new sales model?

If you're wondering about the future of the internet but want more than the glib, usually poorly researched (albeit visually spectacular) YouTube memes that surface every six months, prepare to be impressed. In 20 minutes, Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker outlines the 10 most influential internet trends likely to influence the way we create, consume and exploit digital media in 2011.

After unveiling the iPogo 300, we at Stately Anthill Manor can only hope Sesame Street will attempt a send-up of the "Really?" campaign for the new Windows Phone 7. Or those Droid spots in which humans get all fuzzy inside over turning into machines. Yeah, those campaigns need an unhealthy dose of Elmo.

OK, when's the last time a mobile-phone carrier made you feel all warm and cuddly inside? Never? Yeah, us, too. With its latest advert, T Mobile UK does its doggonedest to change that.

It's always pleasing to see an Anthill contributor gain the opportunity to share his or her unique views 'beyond the hill'. In this clip, first aired on The Workshop, an online resource for business builders developed by the Whitepages, Lesley-Ann Trow shares tips on word-of-mouth marketing with Judy Leach from Limelight Illuminations.

The Old Spice commercial captured the imagination of marketers the world over by demonstrating how clever advertising can be used to bypass traditional media (and the costs). And it clearly sold a lot of deodorant. But there is one more test that any media and marketing phenomena must pass before it enters the Anthill Hall of Fame. And, yes, Old Spice now qualifies.

The darkly comedic introduction sequence, which was developed by UK stencil artist Banksy at the invitation of The Simpsons' producers, was pulled from YouTube earlier today, prompting many tech-scene observers to speculate that the clip, which is clearly critical of the program's production processes, ruffled some of the wrong feathers at Fox.

Poor Myspace. It's been on its last air-guitar-riffing, crowd-surf-groping, drug-fuelled stagger for several years now. Indeed, the only thing that has kept its face from plunging into the vomit-filled toilet bowl of obscurity has been the way musicians have used the platform to self-promote... until now.

This article is the fourth in The Anthill Guide to Online Marketing for Small Business (and Startups) series. Last time, we identified common terminology associated with online marketing and revealed how some websites artificially inflate Page Impressions. Today, we continue this theme and look more deeply into the science of online advertising, so that you may talk like an expert, and get ROI!

Booking an effective media campaign should be easy when there are a huge amount of impressions available on the Internet. But your online campaigns are becoming less and less effective as banners continue to be shown over and over to the same audience. Here are some strategies to increase your campaign effectiveness and results.

For the first article in this series, I asked 'Why are you bothering with online marketing?' My purpose, of course, was to emphasise the importance of creating measurable goals. But, be warned, even the most splashy, expensive, creative, courageous marketing initiative will fail if it is not built on a suitable foundation. To generate any interest in the online space, you must first develop a compelling reason for your target market to actually want to engage with you.

When the climatic finale of the television series ‘Lost’ aired earlier this year, BitTorrent news service TorrentFreak estimated that 15% of all torrent downloads of the final episode originated from Australia, despite the country representing only 0.3% of the world’s population. Do we blame our convict past or lack of access to legal channels?

Australian small businesses that use social media as part of their online business strategy are more likely to achieve greater revenue returns from their websites than those that don't, according to a new research report launched by Melbourne IT. The results also found mobile applications on the rise and confusion around cloud computing.

We all know David Koch as the affable, and sometimes goofy, host of Sunrise. As such, it's often easy to forget that the Channel Seven star and household name initially made his mark in the media world as a finance journalist, turned magazine publisher. Few people also appreciate the marketing thought that goes into a television program like Sunrise and the creation of a personal brand like 'Kochie'.

It was only a matter of time. Columbia Pictures has adapted the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, to create The Social Network, due for US release in October. However, it's likely to face stiff competition, with the Middle Men due for release in August. Yup, it's another tale of internet fame and fortune 'based on a real story' -- the 'invention' of ecommerce.