The Couch | Clemenger Tasmania

trainspotting

by James Madden

A couple of weeks holidaying in Victoria, and I’ve come up with a new idea for advertising space, using a method first created in the early 1800s. This old invention, [...]

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22/2/12

M&M’s win YouTube’s Super Bowl Ad Blitz Contest

by Tony Hart

I did not realise all the hype that goes on in the US as a result of the advertising during the Super Bowl. It has dominated the marketing and advertising news for at least a month. With 111 million viewers, marketers take the opportunity to out-perform one another and get an edge – not just from the TV spot placement but the PR that is [...]

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21/2/12

Engaging customers after the sale

by Tony Hart

Do we really need to provide support to our customers after they make a purchase? This was the question a group of business people were discussing recently. Their answers ranged from an emphatic ‘no’ to an equally emphatic ‘yes’. The qualification seemed to relate to the product or service that was being sold. In the end there was at least a level of agreement that [...]

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21/2/12

We’re into it and wondering what the fuss was about

by Stephanie Teague

Here’s a snapshot of the new rating season against all people from 5 to 15 February. Top rating program in prime time is, you guessed it, Southern Cross Sunday News, followed very closely by SX Saturday News. My Kitchen Rules has made an entry at numbers 3, 5, 6 and 7 but it appears we get into the first half and then fade from sheer [...]

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17/2/12

CONVERGE!!!!!!

by Matt Fishburn

The brave new world of convergence is here, where advancements in devices, networks and applications create simply amazing experiences for consumers. All things relating to convergance were discussed and showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show recently held in Las Vegas. Our network was there. The latest issue of Decoder previews the bleeding-edge devices, innovations and trends of this movement yet to come. Get a snapshot of CES [...]

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17/2/12

Can an elevator pitch do justice to a brand?

by Tony Hart

‘Brand stories’ is a phrase that came into marketing vocabulary about 10 years ago as a way to illustrate through a story what a brand stood for. I was reading some old stuff (about 40 years old) a few weeks ago that referred to how, by limiting the words used to describe a brand, we limit the capacity of people to fully understand the brand. [...]

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16/2/12

Customers are not fools – they will go away!

by Tony Hart

We have all read about the so called PR disasters that some of Australia’s largest consumer brands have suffered from running promotions attached to Twitter. A summary of those encountered by Qantas and more recently Westpac can be seen in a recent article on The Conversation. This article concludes that it is ‘time for a little honesty and maturity in engaging with your customers’. In [...]

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16/2/12

Delivering great service – online or face to face!

by Tony Hart

We had some pizzas with the family over the weekend. My daughter, who was to order and pick them up, ordered them online. Although the online facility indicated the order would be confirmed with a phone call, no phone call was received. She went to the pizza place and they were ready for her. She didn’t appear to be phased. This provoked a discussion about [...]

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14/2/12

Give me some feedback.

by Matt Fishburn

Trying to get people to change behaviour is a damn hard task. Social marketing strategies employ a number of techniques to change negative behaviour for the greater social good. Whether [...]

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14/2/12

A great piece of integration

by Tony Hart

We have all read about the hype created by the TV adverts that appeared during the superbowl coverage to 111 million viewers. A great example of how this traditional piece of advertising can be integrated into social media was by M&M’s, whose ‘Just my shell’ advert featuring Ms Brown who went onto Facebook immediately after with fantastic results. Have a look at what happened here.

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10/2/12

Art inspiration – Like

by Ella Wong

An interesting article and thought provoking paintings by artist Robin Eley whose latest art work and exhibition was inspired by Facebook updates. Titled Singularity, Eley uses cellophane as a metaphor to express separation and [...]

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9/2/12

Madman or messiah?

by Chris Bellears

My admiration for the “original madman” is undisguised and well-known amongst my colleagues. Indeed, they like to poke a bit of fun at my hero worship, often pointing out [...]

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8/2/12

Warm-fuzzy Wednesday

by Bridget van Tienen

Have you been catching up on all the 2012 Super Bowl ad action? As always, it’s been pretty hit-and-miss. Of all the stuff I’ve seen this year, this piece by [...]

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8/2/12

The impact of a smile or two!

by Tony Hart

We finished up at a tea room in a small country town over the weekend. Found it as a result of a sign on the side of the road. As it was almost lunch time we decided to give it a go! The menu was simple, the food was good and the range of different types of tea was fantastic. In fact we agreed that [...]

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7/2/12