Job losses at SCA | Trimantium IPO reopens, float delayed | Bauer's new digital platform | Sheffield leaves News | The one word changing adland | When PR goes rogue | What Google's adblocking changes mean for publishers and advertisers | 69 new jobs

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter]( Learn how Mona and Sportsbet are doing PR wrong, the right way Over the last 12 months there has been an increase in the amount of PR campaigns that have been powered by traditionally un-PRable ideas. Risky stunts, daring strategies, controversial cameos – they are all in the mix. From Sportsbet using drug cheat Ben Johnson, to Mona’s many and varied antics which are designed to alienate as well as entertain, the wrong way to do PR has suddenly become the right way, and is getting results to boot. Attend [Mumbrella CommsCon]( for this session and many more – you can [check out the full program online now.]( News [Trimantium GrowthOps float delayed further as IPO reopens]( The troubled float of marketing and consulting group Trimantium GrowthOps has been further delayed with the promoters re-opening the initial public offering following delays in receiving funds from an undisclosed foreign investor. Initial investors also now have the option of withdrawing. Trimantium’s float is part of a complex merger that will see independent agencies AJF Partnership, Khemistry and Voodoo Creative come together along with a group of IT and management consultancies. The deal is dependent upon the float going ahead. [READ MORE »]( News [Job losses as Southern Cross Austereo and Vevo part ways]( Vevo and Southern Cross Austereo have parted ways, with the US content platform cancelling its local licensing agreement in a global rethink of its partnerships. Southern Cross Austereo secured an agreement with Vevo for exclusive rights to its content and inventory in Australia in August 2016 with the broadcaster announcing a programmatic offering for the service in September last year. [READ MORE »]( News [Bauer Media launches 'Women To Love' platform and content marketing division Story54]( Bauer Media has announced a new storytelling division, Story54, and will launch a new women’s platform for those in creative fields, known as Women To Love, as part of its pledge to work towards a ‘Female Future’. The German-owned publisher told advertisers this morning it would launch a series of new initiatives to focus its business on a future for women, including pop-up magazines and events which speak to new female audiences, and a ’10 million words’ initiative – a pledge to write 10m words across its brands to support female futures. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [How one small word will subtly alter Australia's ad industry for the better]( Outdoor Media Association CEO Charmaine Moldrich explains how the AANA’s subtle shift from ‘exploitative and degrading’ to ‘exploitative or degrading’ is a small ripple with the potential for big waves. The world changed profoundly last year. What started with the exposure of unacceptable behaviour perpetrated by one man in Hollywood led to the global #metoo movement, which amplified discussions about gender equality across the spectrum. [READ MORE »]( News [Nicole Sheffield resigns as News Corp chief digital officer]( News Corp’s chief digital officer Nicole Sheffield has resigned to pursue her “entrepreneurial spirit”. In a media statement Sheffield said: “I’ve loved my time with News through a period of extraordinary change with so many opportunities and such wonderful content, it has been an incredible experience.” [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Google's ad blocking changes herald a positive new era for publishers and advertisers]( Despite Google’s new ad blocker spawning endless think pieces spelling doom for the digital publishing industry, Bonzai’s Rupert Pay argues that the changes are actually a good thing. We all know bad ads slow down websites, annoy users and drive them to install ad blockers that remove all ads. And on February 15 2018, Google will introduce a new ad blocker to Chrome to cut down on spammy or intrusive advertisements. But what does it really mean for advertisers and publishers? [READ MORE »]( Opinion [When PR goes rogue, everyone loses]( The Bell Pottinger scandal might be more than a cautionary tale. It has the potential to ruin the reputation of the entire PR industry, argues Wilkinson Group director Peter Wilkinson. The Bell Pottinger catastrophe is a harsh reminder of the value of values. The British firm, co-founded by Lord Tim Bell, to whom the New York Times attributes the phrase: “Morality is for priests… not PR men,” has now collapsed with all 250 staff laid-off, following a crisis of their creation in South Africa. Never was the saying “if you lie with dogs, you get fleas” more apt. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Bad politics shouldn’t sink good ideas for public interest journalism]( The future of public interest journalism in Australia is uncertain, especially if it continues to suffer from unwanted interference, argues Deakin University’s Matthew Ricketson. The Senate inquiry into the future of public interest journalism began as a gleam in the media-trained eye of Labor senator Sam Dastyari. It ended on February 5, 11 days after he left parliament, his political reputation in tatters over his conduct in relation to Chinese donors to the Labor Party. [READ MORE »]( Features [How does... an accelerated mobile page work?]( Each week, we ask some of the industry’s most knowledgable boffins to break down industry jargon to help you through those confusing meetings and indecipherable conferences. This week, GMG Digital’s John Vlasakakis explains how Google’s accelerated mobile pages work. [READ MORE »]( News [Fifty Shades Freed earns $4.6m on opening weekend]( Universal’s Fifty Shades Freed debuted on Thursday, with its opening weekend run earning $4.6m across 551 screens. The third movie of the trilogy managed to bump The Greatest Showman from its top spot as it brought in $1.1m, taking its total earnings to $27.9m. [READ MORE »]( News [AFR political editor Laura Tingle to join ABC's 7.30]( Walkley award-winning AFR political editor Laura Tingle is to join the ABC as chief political reporter for the network’s TV current affairs show, 7.30. Tingle spent her 35-year career in print working for both Fairfax and News at The Australian, Business Review Weekly, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She was appointed the AFR’s political editor in 2008. [READ MORE »]( News [Married at First Sight tops total people and key demos]( Married at First Sight’s dramatic follow-up to Sunday night’s commitment ceremony topped the charts for the second night of the official ratings period, attracting 1.158m metro viewers. The 10th episode of the season also topped the key advertising demographics 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54, according to OzTAM’s overnight preliminary metro ratings. [READ MORE »]( News [Elders Insurance appoints The Core Agency to creative account]( QBE Group’s regional and rural insurance company Elders Insurance, has appointed The Core Agency to handle its creative account. The independent agency has looked after QBE’s international creative since 2013 and won the pitch for its direct insurance account in 2014. [READ MORE »]( News [Jetstar launches Facebook Messenger chatbot 'Jess']( Budget airline Jetstar has launched its virtual assistant service ‘Jess’ on Facebook Messenger. Initially rolled out on the airline’s website in 2013, Jess answers the questions customers have regarding their travel bookings including baggage and seating arrangements. [READ MORE »]( News [Ten's corporate communications manager Rob Sharpe to depart for fintech role]( Ten’s corporate communications manager Rob Sharpe is departing the network after almost five years. Sharpe is joining online business lender Spotcap as its PR and communications manager across Australia and New Zealand. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [The rise and fall of Ben Ean Moselle and what it says about Australian society]( In this crossposting from The Conversation, The University of Newcastle’s Julie McIntyre and John Germov consider why the strategy behind the first wine to be advertised on TV would fail in today’s world. Do you remember Lindeman’s Ben Ean Moselle? This slim-bottled, white table wine was quaffed in great quantities in the 1970s. It played a leading role in democratising wine drinking in Australia as tastes began to diversify from an almost exclusively beer-drinking nation. [READ MORE »]( News [Neon Black wins PR account for Church & Dwight]( Neon Black has won the PR account for cosmetics company Church & Dwight. Church & Dwight’s brands include Nair, Batiste, Dencorub, Ultrafresh, First Response and Pearl Drops. [READ MORE »]( News [History Will Be Kind makes four new hires]( Public relations agency History Will Be Kind has made four new hires including a new social media manager, Jonathan Ulyatt. Ulyatt joins the agency from Circul8 where he was a freelance social media and community manager. [READ MORE »]( News [Payments platform PayID uses a goldfish-headed man to explain the service]( PayID, a payment service being developed by Australian banks, has launched a campaign staffing a forgetful man with the head, and attention span, of a goldfish to publicise the platform. The 30 second TV commercial, part of the campaign which will also run out-of-home, digital and social channels, features the man explaining how PayID will work. [READ MORE »]( News ['Qrunchy, quirky' Qukes target parents and school kids in new campaign]( The convenience and size of pre-packaged Qukes baby cucumbers are the focus of its latest ad campaign. The television and online campaign, which spruiks the vegetables’ q-based qualities (including qrunchy, quirky and qrisp), is the first by Elevencom since it won the account in December last year. [READ MORE »]( Sponsored Post Grab a full access earlybird pass for the complete Mumbrella360 experience You can get full access to [Mumbrella360,]( June 12-14 in Sydney, for as little as $1329 when you bring your team. Earlybird rates are available until April 11, and will get you into the full event experience: from the social events and after party, to five conference streams, dedicated masterclasses, breakfasts, lunches and cutting edge content. We’ve already got keynote speakers from as far as Sweden coming to the Sydney stage for the first time, alongside a host of recently announced speakers. [Grab your earlybird pass today.]( F.Y.I. • [Marcel’s associate CD Gavin Chimes joins Clemenger as senior copywriter]( • [TorchMedia acquires advertising rights for Harbour City Ferries]( • [Almond Breeze to give free Valentine’s Day doughnuts in Sydney]( • [Republic of Everyone hires Max Guena as creative director]( • [Brickx hires Asok Boopathy and Jennifer Snell]( Jobs [69 New Jobs]( MOST DISCUSSED [Former Domain boss Antony Catalano accused of misconduct by Fairfax press]( [Foxtel shuts FX channel, moves key content to Showcase]( [As big as television in the 1950s – the ABC lays out plans for the next 20 years]( [Influencers don Valentine's Day jumpers for Doritos campaign]( 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.](