Within days of DDB Australia and New Zealand chairman and CEO Marty O’Halloran landing the global CEO role last week, he made a radical move to appoint a black, data-led CEO, Justin Thomas-Copeland, to the North American advertising institution. In this conversation, O’Halloran admits it’s a signal for the DDB world that he will shake things up. John Wren, the boss of DDB’s giant NY-listed parent company Omnicom, says if O’Halloran can replicate the performance of the Australian and New Zealand group internationally, they’re going to “have a great time together”. Here’s what the low-profile O'Halloran says he’s going to do.    

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It won’t be music to some ears but Danny Bass has been conducting executive leadership offsites for media and agency top brass in recent weeks and he’s convinced those that can get their people back in the office, or at least physically interacting as groups beyond Zoom, will have “first mover advantage”. It’s about the industry’s culture breeding creativity, ideas and magic. 

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Mark Ritson calls him one of our "truly great marketing iconoclasts". Professor Byron Sharp says “I wish I was brave enough to be this rude” and NY-based ID Comms CEO Tom Denford predicts Bob Hoffman will possibly be "the most influential person of the decade in media". Here’s Hoffman in full flight. Enjoy.

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Cash for comment used to be - and still is - quicksand for advertisers and media companies but not so for influencer marketing, worth $87bn globally and upwards of $240m in Australia. But a new code of practice from the recently formed Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AIMCO) aims to tackle the big challenges that could thwart the credibility of mega, macro, micro and nano influencers. Big fines is but one of the incentives motivating AIMCO and the big five global communications holding companies which are backing the initiative.    

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Deloitte partner John O’Mahony says advertising and marketing “definitely has a perception issue” amongst executive leadership while arguing marketing drives growth and shouldn’t be a cost centre. Volvo and IBM marketers respond on their strategic shifts and hurdles in moving to brand over short-term tactics. Rob Brittain, co-author with Peter Field on the Communications Council's landmark Australian advertising study, cuts through with answers. 

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Paul Evans was one of the driving forces of Vodafone’s global in-housing of search, social and digital media but he’s still not sure the ad industry at large has solved John Wanamaker’s famed conundrum that half his advertising was wasted but he didn’t know which half. Evans was also involved in the early scoping of PwC's recent forensic dive in the UK into the programmatic supply chain - which couldn't find where a third of cost is ending up. Given the billions advertisers are spending programmatically, he thinks regulation beckons. And while in-housing programmatic is “hard work”, Evans believes Vodafone and others that have committed for the long term will only gain... and won't be U-turning any time soon.

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Nine’s Chief Digital and Publishing Officer Chris Janz says the once contentious ad deal Fairfax struck with Google before Nine’s takeover will now "likely mean we’ll have a different relationship with Google" as the newly formed Premium Content Alliance (PCA) of major local publishers plans another counter strike on Google and Facebook with “effectiveness research”. It will also upend the market’s current and outdated preoccupation with Nielsen audience rankings, say PCA heavies Kim Portrate, Chris Janz (Nine) and Gereurd Roberts (Seven West Media).        

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Mastercard and Intel are among the highest profile brands who have invested heavily in “sonic branding” but Procter & Gamble and a host of big names are now treating audio branding as important as visual and video identity. New York-based Veritonic and SCA tested a 400,000-panel of Australians to produce the first annual Audio Logo Index in which Bunnings, VB and Toyota were leaders. Here’s why.

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Australian marketers could be showing "signs of panic” if sobering new analysis from Peter Field and The Communications Council is right. What’s more, B2B marketers here could be powering ahead of their consumer marketing peers in reassessing short-term tactical marketing to longer term brand building to drive growth. LinkedIn’s Prue Cox joins Comms Council CEO Tony Hale and Peter Field for a conversation that captures the Australian conundrum. And a way out.   

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After a $600m loan, standing down 85% of its staff and the competition set to restart on June 11, off-season audiences are up 50% for AFL Media as COVID forced new digital products for fans and fast-tracked a surge in women and younger audiences with more entertainment and lifestyle content. “We’re all working seven days a week but frankly we’re in great shape,” says ex-Network Ten exec and Mammamia MD, Kylie Rogers, now General Manager, Commercial, for the AFL. 

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