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What’s in a name?

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[Original post by Kelly-Jade Penton]

Over the part few weeks I have been working closely with Amanda Kramer (CumminsRoss) and The Communications Council to develop a business and marketing plan for a newly formed group to support what we sometimes affectionately call ‘suits’ in the Australian Advertising Community.

During this time, we stumbled on terminology used to describe what we do. Do we refer to ourselves as working in Client Service or Account Management?

To be honest, neither sat quite right with me so I decided to dig a little deeper and check out the meaning and origin of ‘service’ and ‘management’. Here’s a quick snapshot of what I found: Read More

[Job] We’re hiring a Senior Account Director #Sydney

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We’re looking for a passionate, Senior Account Director who makes stuff happen rather than waiting around for someone else to initiate. An agile, strategic thinker to join our bunch of sparky, clever people.

Working closely with all areas of the agency, clients and delivery partners, the SAD is responsible for the commercial, strategic and operational management of accounts in their portfolio. You’ll be an expert in all facets of communications (web, mobile, social, advertising, etc).

Day to day you’ll develop insightful communications strategies, manage senior client relationships to drive organic growth along with managing a small team of account managers. You’ll love guiding both clients and the team through quality execution and getting amongst the work.

In return we offer a vibrant creative culture, competitive salary and some great perks. Read More

[News] Sputnik Agency’s Brand Innovation roadshow rolls on in June.

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Sputnik’s Eaon Pritchard takes the agency’s Brand Innovation tour to Launceston and Hobart, Tasmania and Melbourne during June.

On Thursday June 21st Eaon is the guest of Australian Marketing Institute at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Launceston where he will discuss the implementation of lean marketing techniques that leverage a variety of low-cost strategies and disruptive innovations with Tasmanian business leaders.

On 28th June in Melbourne Eaon will be speaking for AIMIA at KPMG on what the near future holds for digital agencies, as their influence and responsibility within client organisations expands outside of purely digital marketing and affords opportunities to become more fully integrated partners.

Also on 28th June Eaon will be back in Tasmania, this time at The Long Gallery in Hobart discussing brand innovation and emerging cultural and technology trends at ‘What comes next?’ alongside leading market researchers Megan Ferguson, Leanne Carland and Peter Kenny, from Colmar Brunton. Read More

Will Australians pay for something that was free?

Advertising, Marketing 1 Comment

[Original post by Peter Jefferson]

The Herald Sun’s new digital pass is its first step into paid content. It will also be a test for other publications in the News stable and other traditional media globally who are attempting to monetise the digital tidal wave that is upon us. But will it succeed?

Australians have a long history of not paying for stuff that was once free. There are many examples. Tollways, parking, trips to the tip, water, pay TV. The latest bru-ha-ha is the carbon tax. Expecting those who emit CO2 to pay for it will probably bring down a government, such is the angst around paying for stuff that was once free.

The Herald Sun has adopted the age old “product trial” approach. Theirs is the digital version of a shampoo sachet arriving in the mail or being offered a small piece of cooked sausage in Coles. The aim is simple; subscribe as many as they can to a two-month digital pass prior to turning off the “free” switch. But will it work? Read More

Have memes gone mainstream?

Advertising, Brand, Creative, Marketing, Social media 0 Comment

[Original post by Sam Harris]

Richard Dawkins invented them, but the internet super-sized them. And now the question to savvy marketers is: could the meme actually be an effective vehicle to tell their brand story?

Whilst a great idea on the face of it, advertisers might want to think twice before they attempt to set a lolcat amongst Keanu Reeves’ pigeons.

Like most social marketing plays, the obvious watch-out for marketers is audience subversion, where your message quickly gets flipped by the community.

The internet is littered with the carcasses of such ‘campaigns’. Who could forget the eco-takeover of Chevrolet’s SUV competition across YouTube, or recent Twitter fails at #QantasLuxury and #Coles. Just this February, Coke was left mopping up the spills when its invitation to create a “happy story” on Facebook through a trail of one-word comments, was hijacked by ‘fans’ with a less virtuous vocabulary. Read More

We’re hiring: UX Architect [Sputnik Agency: Sydney]

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Working closely with all areas of the agency, clients and technology partners, the User Experience Architect is responsible for owning the definition, UX design, delivery and support of customer experience solutions within any campaign or project.

The primary purpose of the UserExperience Architect at Sputnik Agency is to ensure that as a business, thesolutions we deliver to our clients are the ideal marriage of creative innovation, best practice user experience and online business strategy for the client and their customer. Read More

The Voice: Australia’s best example yet of social TV

Advertising, Marketing, Social influence, Social media, Social TV 1 Comment

[Posted by Rodd Messent]

I am an addict of Channel Nine’s hit show The Voice. Such is the extent of my addiction I seriously think my housemate might kick me out of our apartment for the semi-frenzied yelling and tweeting that ensues in our lounge room each time the show airs.

It’s the first time in almost three years that such disagreement has resulted in less than civil behaviour towards one another, and it’s made me think it might be a microcosm of the large volume of online debate about the show and, correspondingly, an explanation for its success as a social TV experience.

Monday night’s first live performances saw #thevoiceau trend worldwide on Twitter and the performance of contestant, Karise Eden, reach number one on the iTunes pop charts.

Love or hate it, The Voice is arguably the best mainstream example of social TV we’ve seen so far in Australia Read More

[News] Sputnik Agency continues growth with senior hires

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Sputnik Agency has continued its organic growth in 2012 with the addition of four senior hires as a result of new business wins and organic client growth.

Kevin Durston, most recently a senior strategic planner at The Leap Agency has joined to bolster Sputnik’s planning capabilities. Prior to his last role, Kevin was the Managing Director of Steak Digital.

Joining from Sapient Nitro where she was a senior account director is Charlotte Stuart.

The creative team has also been bolstered with the addition of Mike Lee, creative group head from M&C Saatchi, as well as copywriter Katie Bowman

“At Sputnik Agency we believe that if you find the right people, great work will follow. We are delighted to have added more great talent to our team, and are genuinely excited about the work we are producing for our clients, as well as what is to come,” states Peter Bray, National Director of Client Services.

Nick Lewis, Managing Director of Sputnik Agency remarks “Sputnik has continued to make significant investments with the addition of a number of very talented people over the last 6 months, these proven performers are helping to produce great results for our clients, which is what we are about.”

[News] Sputnik hires Kevin Ferry as Creative Director

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Sputnik Agency has hired former Zuni and Bullseye creative Kevin Ferry as the Creative Director of its Sydney office.

Ferry, who joined Zuni from Bullseye in September 2010, is known for his work for Blackmores. At Sputnik he will work on brands including Google, Schweppes, Sanitarium and GE.

Dan Robathan, GM of Sputnik Sydney said: “We have made a concerted effort to find the best talent in Australia, talent that aligns with our vision for how an agency built around insights should be structured. Though well known in Melbourne, we are still relatively new in the Sydney market and the recent growth of our Sydney office has allowed us to further expand our team here. We couldn’t be happier to have Kevin join the team.”

Ferry’s career to date has also included stints at Grey in London, where he was Creative Director, and Head of Digital Advertising for Ai London.

Ferry commented: “I knew Sputnik Agency by reputation, and I was attracted to the way they approach building campaigns across various channels. Also seeing Sputnik’s client list, the people they have on board and their plans for the future, I couldn’t say no. In reality, it was a very easy decision.”