There are 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every single minute. If you’re making a video and chucking it up on the site hoping people will find it and watch it, you’re kidding yourself. (That said, inexplicably, 325 people have watched a video of 12-year-old me playing with … | Continue reading
Are we all so focused on our online influence that we’ve forgotten actual human interaction is not just important but an incredibly effective way to market? PR Warrior Trevor Young joins Nic and Sarah for a conversation about taking your online influence offline in order to marke … | Continue reading
Hyphens can be tricky little things. We see them in sentences all the time, but many of us aren’t sure when to use them. There’s a reason for that: they’re not always straightforward. When I’m writing or editing I might not always hyphenate, but when I’m considering it, I at leas … | Continue reading
Since it’s the new year, James, Nic and Sarah are in a reflective mood. Today they discuss some of their favourite things from 2017 – including the best things they read, watched or heard. Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are communi … | Continue reading
Marketing magazine editor Ben Ice once again joins Nic and Sarah for a look back at the year in marketing. In particular, did we manage to represent more diverse groups of people in our marketing? Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are … | Continue reading
Something terrible has happened and you’re in the press for all the wrong reasons. How do you survive a tough interview with the media? Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are communicating — covering marketing, content marketing, publi … | Continue reading
Recently James, Nic and Sarah talked about the best marketing, media and business lessons they’d each learned over the course of their careers. It was a really popular episode, so this week they look at the three things they each wish they’d known about marketing, media, or busin … | Continue reading
In my spare time, while I’m not filming or editing, I dabble in music production. It is a great way to record any emotions I might be feeling and turn them into something that lasts forever (unless the result is terrible, then I delete the project files straightaway). And music i … | Continue reading
There’s something really important you should know about working with a producer on a corporate video. Producers, and people who create video content, are like fishermen: there are two kinds. The first is the “throw the line in anywhere” type. The second group are the “strategic … | Continue reading
We probably all need a bit of social media training for our businesses. That’s according to Megan Del Borrello, director of Gloss Marketing Communications, who says all too often brands are getting their social media wrong. She joins Nic and James for a discussion about how compa … | Continue reading
It is amazing what is possible in the post-production process to fix mistakes that sometimes get missed when filming. Recently we produced a dramatized video for a client which had one unfortunate oversight — thanks to a tight close-up and the low angle of the camera, it was poss … | Continue reading
Content marketing is getting a lot more interesting – especially if you’re a consumer. The latest B2C research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs shows brands are focused on their audience, are concerned about delivering great experiences and are depending on … | Continue reading
Brand Newsroom’s producer, Dan Hatch, joins the team for a chat about how the media is working these days and, more importantly, how we should consume it so that we actually know what’s going on. Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are … | Continue reading
Are you entering awards? Are you winning your categories? If you’re not having the success you deserve, the culprit is probably the award application. More to the point, the problem is the way you’re filling out the application. Read on if you’d like an unfair advantage in the ne … | Continue reading
Brands are using computer games to drive business outcomes via customer engagement and profit and brand awareness. To tell us how they’re doing it, we’re joined by the CEO of Stirfire Studios, Vee Pendergrast. Her company makes games for businesses, non-government organisations a … | Continue reading
It’s a common assumption that it is Millennials who are glued to their phones and hooked on social media. This may have been true 10 years ago when Facebook and its ilk first appeared, but the reach of social media has grown exponentially since then. People of all ages are using … | Continue reading
Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college. — Kurt Vonnegut Unfortunately, semicolons have a bad rap. Many writers are confused about their usage, but they are often the best choice. A se … | Continue reading
When faced with a crisis, how do you handle tough questions? Do you deny, evade, divert or hide? Unfortunately, these are tactics used by executives and people in leadership roles far too often. Regardless of the industry or issue at hand, how you approach your audience can make … | Continue reading
The gang has gathered for a special BONUS edition of Brand Newsroom to discuss the Content Marketing Institute’s Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends Report for Australia for 2018. Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are communicating — cover … | Continue reading
Two-fifths of all content marketing done in Australia is done by a small team — often by an individual — within an organisation. According to the Content Marketing Institute’s 2018 Budgets, Benchmarks and Trends Report for Australia, 42 per cent of content marketing is conducted … | Continue reading
Podcasting is becoming more popular. Anyone can create one, but how do you ensure you’re successful? What is podcasting best practice? James, Nic and Sarah are joined by business development manager at Melbourne-based BE Media Productions — and host of the BE Podcasting podcast — … | Continue reading
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to your paleo pear and banana bread, the WA Police released their ‘Goodbye Graffiti’ video and once again turned the spotlight on bad video production. It’s like they watched the Game Changers video and wondered how they could make … | Continue reading
If I’m not at Lush HQ working with the creative geniuses we have on the team, I’ll be working with companies on all things strategy and leadership. I have had the privilege and horror of working with all kinds of leaders and I’ve witnessed some breathtaking, awe-inspiring and bea … | Continue reading
James, Nic and Sarah each share the three best lessons they’ve learned during their long careers in the media and marketing space. They share their tips on management, writing skills, audience, marketing, media, public relations and more. Brand Newsroom is a marketing podcast for … | Continue reading
OK, straight up, let me get this out there — this is not how you tackle the tough interview: In all my 25 years in the media, I’ve seen some unusual responses to tough or direct questions, but this response from Australian politician Tony Abbott was the most bizarre by a long sho … | Continue reading
I bet you’ve heard that purple is a regal colour, red is a warning and blue is calming. These statements are repeated often but are they even true? While there may be some truth to these colour associations, it’s much too simplified. How we react and feel about colour is a mix of … | Continue reading
James and Nic are joined by a good friend of the podcast, storyteller, writer and marketer Jonathan Crossfield, to talk about authenticity. Specifically, they’re talking about how brands achieve authenticity and the paradox that involves. Brand Newsroom is a podcast for anyone wh … | Continue reading
Content marketing is dead, or at least that’s what the popular advertising press in Australia would have you think. Last week Isentia announced they were exiting the content marketing business, just two years after negotiating a colossal $48 million purchase price for King Conten … | Continue reading
Putting the weight of your brand behind a social cause is a potentially treacherous decision. You’re linking your brand’s reputation to a potentially divisive idea and that can have repercussions — people are really fond of a boycott. These past couple of months Australia has bee … | Continue reading
It’s our first ever Brand Newsroom Facebook Live Stream event and, unfortunately, we had some sound quality issues. So we apologise for the awkward audio. But please bear with us, because the content is fantastic. James, Nic and Sarah were joined in the studio by Edith Cowan Univ … | Continue reading
We can no longer be passive consumers of the news. The media in the major civilised western democracies — notably, countries with a free press — is becoming more fractured, polarised and unreliable. So much so that the term “fake news” was invented — and then quickly coopted to m … | Continue reading
One of the things I loved most about journalism was talking to people about their greatest passion in life — whether it was cars or nuclear physics or the lifecycle of lacewing butterflies. Even when the topic seems boring, a person’s passion rubs off on you. I once spent 40 minu … | Continue reading
There is a common query we hear: Should I keep blogging? I don’t think it’s working. The short answer is, yes, you should keep going. It’s important to understand that content marketing (which includes blogging) is a ‘slow-drip’ process. But just because it’s a slow process doesn … | Continue reading
Do you want to know what really bugs me? Quotation marks and apostrophes. As a professional copywriter and editor, I see these punctuation marks abused all the time. Quotation marks are sometimes used to indicate that a word is being used in a non-typical, ironic, or other spec … | Continue reading
Things get a little heated in the studio as Nic and Sarah face off over the approach brands should take to supporting social causes. With a public vote on same-sex marriage happening in Australia at the moment, many big companies and business leaders are becoming quite vocal abou … | Continue reading
Do you know the essential element required for brand storytelling? Here’s a hint – it’s something novelists don’t have to worry about. Too often marketers miss a trick when preparing case studies, articles, media releases and blog posts about their company. If you’re producing c … | Continue reading
Have you ever had the opportunity to geek out with your heroes? I have. Last month I was in Cleveland, Ohio, hanging out with content marketing “legends” (as we say in Australia), including Andy Crestodina, Ann Handley and Carla Johnson. I adore them all and hang off their every … | Continue reading
Customer service is one of the best marketing tools around. James, Nic, and Sarah are joined by an expert in the area, the founder of Dime Customer Service, Chris Smoje. Brand Newsroom is a podcast for anyone who has a say in how companies are communicating — covering marketing, … | Continue reading
Recently my wife and I have spent a bit of time renovating some parts of our house. It’s only 15 years old but some of the things that were originally installed, which looked great at the time, now look a little dated. It got me thinking about trends in design. In 2000 what we lo … | Continue reading
The rules of grammar can sometimes be complicated and confusing. Whether you’re someone who writes for a living, like a journalist or copywriter, or just someone who writes occasionally, there seems to be an endless list of rules and traps for young players. Often, writers aren’t … | Continue reading
Following Sarah’s assertion on a recent episode that “if everyone says they’re a thought leader, then no one is”, James, Nic and Sarah discuss “thought leadership”. Is it a hollow marketing term? Or are the people who claim to be thought leaders actually changing their industry — … | Continue reading
Every video project we work on at Lush Digital has some element of problem-solving to it. One project we worked on recently was a classic example. It was for a property developer in Perth and it presented us with a particularly big hurdle to overcome — the kind of corporate video … | Continue reading
Content Marketing World 2017 marked the sixth time I attended the event, so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t count on was getting a big kick in the backside and a reminder from my childhood about how to behave. From the main stage and in many breakout sessions, a common messa … | Continue reading
Google’s pay-per-click advertising service, Google AdWords, accounts for 98 per cent of the internet giant’s revenue — so it’s a popular place to advertise. But does that mean it’s right for your business? And how do you use it well? The Brand Newsroom team is joined by Lush Digi … | Continue reading
As a corporate video editor, there are few things more exasperating than completing a video, being very proud of it, sending it off to the client, only to be told it is completely the wrong thing. And it’s not just annoying for the editor — it’s a huge frustration for the client, … | Continue reading
It’s Mark Zuckerberg’s world and we’re just living in it! With 1.75 billion active monthly users, Facebook has led the biggest communication shift of our lifetimes. And it just continues to grow. It is due to that size and influence that Facebook can single-handedly pick and cho … | Continue reading
Brand Newsroom’s Sarah Mitchell and regular producer, Dan Hatch, attended Content Marketing World in Cleveland, Ohio, and interviewed many of the superstars of the industry. In this series of podcasts they spoke to the Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose, B2 … | Continue reading
If you’re organising a corporate video to be filmed at your place of work, here are a few tips to make the whole process a little less scary — and to prepare you and your team for when the film crew from the video production company arrives. Talent The people who will actually be … | Continue reading