How a press release dies | 7 perspectives on Amazon's launch | Should PR be tied to sales? | Adshel wins part of Melbourne Trains | Mattress claims ruled misleading | Save B&T pleads former publisher

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter]( Australia’s awards recognising leadership and influencer talent in PR and comms industry From ‘Best New PR Talent’ to ‘Influencer of the Year’, the [CommsCon Awards]( will recognise leading talent in the industry, in addition to campaign work and business achievements. You can enter yourself now to get professionally recognised and place an industry-wide accolade on your resume. Awards span across new talent – PR, social media and in-house professionals – as well as recognising influencers and leadership. Review the entry guidelines and [start your entry now.]( Opinion [The slow, painful death of a press release in 22 days]( An anonymous digital marketer details the bureaucratic hoops a press release has to jump through before it can be released, stale and no longer newsworthy, to the world. I recently had reason to go through the process of preparing a press release for an Australian company which had been recognised with a major award by one of the world’s most successful technology corporations. [READ MORE »]( News [Adshel wins seven year Metro Trains Melbourne contract]( Adshel has won part of the Metro Trains Melbourne outdoor contract, adding 15 rail lines and 218 stations to its existing commuter offering covering the Sydney rail network. The contract – which will run for seven years – will see Adshel launch 150 digital screens across Melbourne’s CBD and inner city railway stations. Stations include Flinders Street, Melbourne Central, Parliament, South Yarra and Richmond. [READ MORE »]( News [Amazon finally launches Australian retail operations]( US e-commerce giant Amazon has at last launched its Australian operation. In a move that has been rumoured for over two years and dreaded by local retailers for more than a decade, the launch of Amazon locally threatens to shake up Australia’s $165bn retail sector. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [It's here: Seven perspectives on Amazon's Australian launch]( From retailers to media buyers, almost every corner of Australia’s marketing industry has something to win or lose from Amazon. In order to help you wrap your head around it all, here are seven of Mumbrella’s best opinion pieces on this morning’s invasion. [READ MORE »]( Features [Head to Head: Should PR be directly tied to brand performance and sales?]( In this series, Mumbrella invites the most senior PR professionals to share their opposing views on the industry’s biggest issues. This week, Red Agency’s Grant Richmond-Coggan goes head to head with WE Buchan’s general manager Gemma Hudson. [READ MORE »]( News ['Save B&T': Former publisher urges title to return to AMAA audit for brand credibility]( Former Misfits Media partner Jeremy Knibbs has called on his former publication B&T to return to the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA), to ensure brand credibility and transparency. Knibbs has a long-term association with B&T, having been part of the publication’s parent group Misfits Media before leaving just over a year ago, and before that being CEO of the magazine’s previous owner Reed Business Information for more than a decade. [READ MORE »]( News [Koala Sleep mattress ads ruled 'misleading and deceptive' after competitor complaints]( The Advertising Claims Board has upheld the complaint by mattress manufacturer AH Beard that competitor Koala Sleep produced “misleading” and “deceptive” ads claiming Koala’s products are “Australia’s best-rated mattress” and “the world’s best mattress”. Koala responded to the complaint made by its competitor agreeing the “claim could be misleading” and discontinued the use of any “world’s best” in its advertising. [READ MORE »]( Features ['There's never been more confusion': Media heads on navigating digital advertising]( During this session from November’s Radio Alive 2017 conference, a panel of CMOs and CEOs from across Australia’s publishing landscape talk trust, transparency and brand safety. According to Peter Horgan, CEO, Omnicom Media Group ANZ, the general sentiment within the digital advertising space is “confusion”. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [8 crisis management mistakes to avoid]( When a crisis strikes, the senior management are the first port of call. But before it gets to this point, a complex series of crisis-proofing steps should have already been put in place, writes issue management expert Tony Jaques. Most organisational crises are predictable and half are caused by management. So it’s logical that senior executives should play a leading role in crisis management and prevention. Yet some CEOs still don’t regard crisis management as a priority – until after a crisis strikes. [READ MORE »]( News [Integer Sydney launches Digitail ecommerce service following Amazon's Australian launch]( Global commerce and advertising agency, Integer, has rolled out its Digitail ecommerce consultancy tool in Australia after Amazon opened its Australian operation this morning. Part of the TBWA Australia Group, Integer Australia’s launch of its ecommerce consultancy tool aims to help local brands capitalise on Amazon’s presence. [READ MORE »]( Sponsored Post Be part of the action at the Sydney Royal Easter Show • Australia’s largest ticketed event with over 800,000 attendees from 23 March – 3 April 2018 • Connect with a highly engaged audience who spend an average of 8 hours at the Show. • Engage with families and empty nesters through sponsorship, exhibition space, advertising, product demonstrations, sampling and brand placement. • Join some of Australia’s best-known and most-loved brands and find out how a partnership with the Sydney Royal Easter Show can benefit your business. • To discuss [partnership opportunities](, contact Paul Bowd, head of commercial on 02 9704 1151 or email pbowd@rasnsw.com.au. News [James Quinlan joins FutureBrand as executive director]( Branding and experience agency FutureBrand has appointed James Quinlan as its executive director. Quinlan was previously the vice president and head of insights and strategy insights at Converseon in New York. [READ MORE »]( News [Roadshow's Wonder knocks Justice League off top spot at weekend box office]( The story of a young boy with a facial deformity has knocked new DC Comics film Justice League off the weekend box office throne. Wonder is the story of August Pullman – a little boy with facial differences who attends school for the first time. In its first weekend at box office, the film made $2.407m across 344 screens. [READ MORE »]( News [Lovatts Media launches teen-focused print title, Teen Breathe]( Lovatts Media has launched a new mindfulness and wellbeing magazine for Australian teenagers, Teen Breathe Magazine. The title – which has been dubbed the sister of Lovatts Media’s Breathe magazine – will cover topics such as sport, crafts, health and friendship, and will aim to be ‘go-to-guide’ for young Australians. [READ MORE »]( Opinion ['That’s not a PR idea': Why it’s time to leave labels behind]( 303 MullenLowe’s Lee Robson discusses the opportunities that lie in getting PR out of its pigeonhole. “That’s not a PR idea” was a phrase I used to hear a lot earlier in my career. Back in the noughties, breaking out of your agency silo was particularly hard, and it’s gut-wrenching to think how many great ideas never saw the light of day because they were deemed to have stepped outside an agency’s patch of grass. [READ MORE »]( News [Nine dominates Monday TV's demographics as news and Ashes snatch biggest audiences]( Nine News and Nine’s Ashes coverage took control of the key advertising demographics last night, contributing to a strong audience share win for Monday. With 1.278m metro viewers tuning in to the 6pm news, and 1.299m Australians watching the third session of the Ashes test, Nine showed clear dominance both in total people and across each demographic – 16-39s, 18-49s and 25-54s. [READ MORE »]( News [News Corp scales Manly Daily back to two editions per week]( News Corp will scale back the frequency of The Manly Daily from next month, with editions to run just on Wednesday and Saturday. Described as a “bold new direction” for the community title, The Manly Daily will now be broken into two editions, which will be complemented by online and mobile offerings. [READ MORE »]( News [Haystac Sydney lands PR account for Toys 'R' Us, HBO and Oracle NZ]( Public relations agency Haystac Sydney has added three new clients to its portfolio, Toys ‘R’ Us, HBO and Oracle NZ. Haystac will be responsible for Toys ‘R’ Us’ influencer and PR account and rolling out its Christmas campaign. [READ MORE »]( News [Amaysim says 'it's time to say goodbye' in latest campaign]( Telco provider Amaysim has launched a campaign to celebrate its new $10 plan featuring a couple pretending to be sad about their son moving out of home. Created by Special Group, the 30-second advertisement shows the parents subsequently throwing money around their living room in celebration of the son’s departure. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Personalisation in marketing: How ‘brand you’ came to be]( From Share a Coke to Vegemite’s name jars, personalisation is big business. Queensland University of Technology’s Gary Mortimer considers how we got here in this crossposting from The Conversation. “…a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Dale Carnegie’s line from his bestseller book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ rings especially true in the retail sector. [READ MORE »]( Features [Creating relevant, targeted ads without scaring your consumer | Mumbrella360 video]( In this session from June’s Mumbrella360 conference, Pete Kim, CEO MightyHive shares his advice on how to effectively use programmatic to drive marketing success. “Consumers more than ever before have a negative view of advertising,” and in order to break away from this trend, “advertisements have to be just as relevant, just as targeted and just as personalised as the content that you’re interrupting when you do it,” says Pete Kim, CEO at MightyHive. [READ MORE »]( News [Smith & Western launch industry podcast series The Creative Relay]( Sound design company Smith & Western has launched an industry podcast titled The Creative Relay. The new podcast series will feature creatives interviewing other creatives. [READ MORE »]( News [Bupa uses family home videos in 'Little Moments Matter' campaign]( Health insurer Bupa has promoted its health care offering by creating a ‘Little Moments Matter’ campaign which features family home videos. Created by Bupa’s in-house team, the footage used was aggregated from Bupa employees and bloggers’ families. [READ MORE »]( Sponsored Post Hear from global travel tech leader at next year’s Travel Marketing Summit Travelport’s Simon Ferguson is set to headline the 2018 [Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit.]( Using insights from Travelport’s e-commerce platform and partnerships, Ferguson will fly in from London to give a detailed update on how the industry is being disrupted, what part technology plays in it and the opportunities that need to be capitalised on to keep up with a rapidly evolving market. This year you could save $150 on tickets with earlybird tickets, so [book your team in today.]( FYI • [Twitter names Australia Post as the nation’s most tweeted brand]( • [Clemenger BBDO Melbourne’s ‘Hungerithm’ launches globally]( • [Vegemite named as Australia Open’s ballkid partner]( • [Facebook launches face-2-face advertising campaign]( Jobs [80 New Jobs]( MOST DISCUSSED ['Why am I going? They haven't said': ABC Radio's Red Symons to exit after 15 years]( [Uber alleges 13CABS created false documents in social media smear campaign]( [HuffPost and Fairfax joint venture ends]( [Santa struggles with the Kiwi accent in latest Air New Zealand Christmas piece]( mumbrella.com.au Sent By Focal Attractions Pty Ltd 46-48 Balfour Street, Chippendale, NSW, 2008, Australia If you would rather not receive this newsletter, you can [unsubscribe]( or [manage subscriptions here.](