Warburton's aggressive plans for APN | Mamamia's ecommerce play | Media boss steps down | BBC launches Aussie production arm | 69 new jobs | Ruining Valentine's Day | Mumbrella audience climbs

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter]( Mumbrella’s Digital School kicks off next week - space still available for Monday night On Monday, [Mumbrella’s Digital School]( will kick off with a night dedicated to demystifying digital display banners. Go back to basics, understand why programmatic still holds its own in many marketing budgets and how you can extract value from this channel. The full six-week course is already sold out, but you can still book a seat for Monday night. Check the program online for the latest course availability and [secure your seat now.]( News [Hungry James Warburton details plans to awaken the APN 'sleeping giant']( New APN Outdoor CEO James Warburton will transform his business into a “market leader”, by aggressively pitching for new contracts and acquisitions, refreshing the brand, all whilst ensuring client retention remains a priority. Warburton, who last night told agencies and clients of his plans, admitted APN had not been acting as a leader, but said he was “hungry” and that he would focus on making the company stand out. [READ MORE »]( News [Mamamia launches e-commerce platform, mamamiashopping.com.au]( Women’s platform Mamamia is venturing into e-commerce for the first time with the launch of its Mamamia Shopping platform. The new platform, created in partnership with Australian e-commerce provider catch.com.au, will offer discounts on products including fashion, technology and groceries to Mamamia’s audience. [READ MORE »]( News [Macquarie Media executive chairman Russell Tate scales back duties, Adam Lang becomes CEO]( Macquarie Media’s executive chairman, Russell Tate, is scaling back his role as both chairman and CEO of the business, with chief operating officer Adam Lang to take his place, the company announced yesterday afternoon. The industry veteran – who was the co-founder of STW Communications with John Singleton – has led both Macquarie Radio and Macquarie Media since 2008. [READ MORE »]( News [BBC Studios to launch local production arm following Stargazing Live win]( BBC Studios has launched an Australian production arm, with the ABC’s astronomy show Stargazing Live 2 as its first commission. The first Australian series of Stargazing Live, originally conceived by the BBC Studios’ science unit for the UK market, was produced for the ABC by Fremantle Media last year. [READ MORE »]( News [Mumbrella climbs by 14% to dominate amongst trade titles]( Mumbrella’s page impressions climbed to 638,396 in January, up 14% from the month prior, data from the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA) shows. In December last year, the title – which was bought by Diversified Communications – finished with 550,890 daily impressions. [READ MORE »]( News [Bauer ditches 'Xcel' as Sarah-Belle Murphy returns to take helm of publisher's digital arm]( Sarah-Belle Murphy, former executive manager of media product at REA, will return to Bauer Media as general manager of digital. Murphy is a replacement for Christian Fricke, Bauer Xcel’s managing director, who left the business late last year. The Bauer Xcel brand – which was initially established as a separate business, with different costs and objectives – will no longer exist.With the brand disappearing, this could mean a more integrated approach for the publisher. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [How a Grow Super email ruined Valentine's Day]( Content manager Annie Wylie tells a Valentine’s Day-themed tale of eDMs, polyamory, and how clumsy language can have big implications for customer loyalty. Holidays and big events are always an excuse for brands to come out with wacky ways to get you to spend money or engage with their service or product. [READ MORE »]( News [Macquarie Media's profits fall by 39%, despite revenue climb]( Macquarie Media’s net profit after tax and earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) both fell by more than 30%, according to the 2018 half year figures released yesterday. While revenue increased from $67.265m in the 2017 half year to $68.476m (2%), EBITDA fell by 32% to $9.236m as radio broadcasting licence values were marked down by $34m. [READ MORE »]( News [Magazines suffer 42.5% decline in ad bookings, with newspapers not far behind]( Print media kicked off 2018 with a dramatic decline in ad spend from media agencies, new Standard Media Index (SMI) figures reveal. Print magazines were the worst hit, with bookings falling 42.5%. Magazines’ digital properties also suffered a 40.5% decline, compared to January 2017. Newspapers didn’t fare much better, falling 36.4% in print and 27.6% in digital. [READ MORE »]( News [The West Australian becomes highest circulating audited newspaper following News Corp withdrawal]( Seven West Media’s The West Australian has become the highest circulating audited newspaper in Australia for the first time, with its Saturday paper posting a circulation of 237,049 and its Monday to Friday editions posting a higher circulation figure than than The Sydney Morning Herald. The result comes two months after News Corp decided to withdraw from the newspaper circulation audit, raising new questions about the future of the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA). [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Using Tinder addiction to explain the millennial skills gap]( After discovering how fearful her millennial colleagues were of real life rejection, denstu X head of planning Sam Cousins began to think about how their obsession with swiping right could hold the answer to the media industry’s skills gap. I was out one night with a group of single women from my workplace all in their mid to late 20s and I was struck by their lack of confidence when it came to communicating with guys they were interested in. [READ MORE »]( News [Enero reports revenue falls but profit improvement after a year of cuts]( Marketing and communications network Enero – formerly the Photon Group – has reported a decline in revenue but an improvement in profits after cost cutting through most of 2017, the company reported in its half yearly results this afternoon. The group’s net revenue fell 6.6% to $47.8 million, however earnings were up 17% to $5.7 million as a result of cutting costs, restructuring the US operation and closing Naked Communication’s London offices. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [It's time to take the digital out of digital marketing]( The Content Brewery’s Malcolm Auld argues that the ‘secret sauce for digital marketing magic’ is just… marketing. I have teenage children, aged 14 and 15, so an emerging topic of conversation is what career they would like to pursue. I find this interesting, particularly given I still haven’t a clue what I want to do in my career, even after working four decades in marketing and advertising. [READ MORE »]( News [Controversial barrister Charles Waterstreet pulls out of Q&A #metoo debate]( Controversial barrister Charles Waterstreet pulled out of last night’s Q&A #metoo panel after being advised by the NSW Bar Association that his appearance would not be appropriate. In a tweet yesterday, Waterstreet stated: “It is with deep regret that I announce that I am pulling out of the Q&A special on the #metoo movement. I would like to thank the ABC for inviting me to be on the panel.” [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Size doesn't matter when it comes to agency clients]( In an age where integrity is king, how can the modern agency be everything to everyone – no matter the size? David Sawicki explains. A successful marcomms agency requires a multitude of retained client contracts in order to be sustainable. This requires all the relationship mantras of love; integrity, respect, trust and commitment and communication. [READ MORE »]( News [Seven dominates Thursday night TV in Married at First Sight's absence]( Thursday night’s OzTam ratings saw Seven easily dominate the night with the news, My Kitchen Rules and the Winter Olympics topping the charts as the three most-watched shows for the evening. Married at First Sight’s absence gave Ten an opportunity to shine, with Ten’s Gogglebox the ninth most-watched show with 649,000 metro viewers. Ten’s I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! finished eleventh behind Seven’s Home and Away, with an audience of 581,000. [READ MORE »]( Opinion [Myer once stood for the aspirational middle class, but now it’s lost sight of who its customers are]( In this crossposting from The Conversation, Swinburne University of Technology’s Sean Sanda looks at how Myer’s brand identity has slowly chipped away over time. A big part of retail group Myer’s problem is that it has tried to be all things, to all customers. Myer has tried to hang on to its high-end customers of old, while trying appeal to value-conscious, bargain oriented customers who only shop on sale. [READ MORE »]( Sponsored Post Attack your retail marketing challenges head on at the Retail Marketing Summit Retail brands across Australia are bracing for a massive year of change across technology, consumer behaviour and the competitive landscape, which is putting some serious pressure on the marketing teams of retail and FMCG brands. But new channels and technologies to embrace, new target markets to explore and new products to launch also present big opportunities this year. [Mumbrella’s Retail Marketing Summit]( on February 28 guarantees to deliver a program stacked with marketing experts to help you stay ahead. Some of Australia’s biggest brands already have their ticket so don’t get left behind, [book now.]( F.Y.I. • [iHeartRadio and Mood Media launch outdoor trade event]( Jobs [44 New Jobs]( MOST DISCUSSED [As big as television in the 1950s – the ABC lays out plans for the next 20 years]( [MediaCom promotes COO Willie Pang to CEO position]( [ABC Yours rebrand aims to build on Aunty's reputation of 'trust' at every stage of Australian life]( [PwC CMO Advisory appoints Sunita Gloster as director]( 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.](