Website secretly censors news about men | Another breakfast radio exit | House Rules final slumps | Hunt for #MeToo agencies | 20 new jobs | Agency takeover looms

[View Newsletter Online]( [Mumbrella Newsletter][Mumbrella Newsletter]( Join hundreds of automotive marketers in Sydney next week [Mumbrella’s Automotive Marketing Summit]( is kicking off next week. This annual pit stop covers all the need-to-know topics to fire up your marketing strategies for the year ahead. Join hundreds of brands who have already registered including Hyundai, Maserati, Porsche, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Volvo and many more. [Book now]( to secure your seat alongside them. News [Website secretly censors all news about men for a month to make point about sexism]( Business website Which-50 says it lost much of its audience and social presence after it removed all mentions of men as part of a month-long experiment. For the entirety of July, Which-50 either “ignored” or “discounted” some of Australia’s most senior executives when they would otherwise have featured in articles. They included Amazon Australia boss Rocco Bräuniger and the new CEO of Domain, Jason Pellegrino. [READ MORE »]( Features [Head to Head: Should brands pay agencies to pitch?]( In Mumbrella’s Head to Head series, we invites the industry’s PR professionals to debate the industry’s biggest issues. This week, the founder of The HumbleBrag, Lucy von Sturmer goes head to head with David Platter, managing director of Dave Platter Pty Ltd public relations on whether brands should pay agencies to pitch for their business. There is a huge debate in the PR industry, which most commonly lies between brands and agencies, around whether or not brands should be paying agencies for the work involved in pitching for their business. [READ MORE »]( News [John Stanley second casualty of Macquarie Sports Radio breakfast]( Macquarie Sports Radio breakfast host John Stanley has left the show, just one week after the exit of co-star Beau Ryan. Stanley, who first joined Macquarie Media in the 1990s, had been running a breakfast show on 2UE with former Fairfax boss Garry Linnell since 2013. When 2UE was replaced with Macquarie’s Talking Lifestyle format, the pair moved across. [READ MORE »]( News [Ad Industry bodies join together for digital code of practice]( Two years after the US IAB proposed its set of technical standards for digital ads and nine months after the UK ad tech market launched its Gold Standard pledge, Australia’s marketing industry bodies have released a set of digital working practices. Released by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Federation of Australia (MFA), the guide aims to layout the areas of responsibility and requirements for all involved in the digital advertising ecosystem and improve consumer experience. [READ MORE »]( News [Mumbrella launches three-city Digital Essentials training course]( Mumbrella, in partnership with training company Digitalbrief, has expanded the Digital Essentials training course to cross Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during September to November. The two-day course will be led by Digitalbrief’s Russell Easther and will run in Sydney on September 24 and 25, Melbourne on October 25 and 26 and Brisbane on November 22 and 23. [READ MORE »]( News [Seven's House Rules finale down 200,000 viewers from last year]( Seven’s House Rules was down more than 200,000 viewers on last year’s winner announcement, pulling just 915,000 viewers in the final moment when Toad Heffernan and Mandy Stone were crowned winners of the season. Last year, Seven’s House Rules grand finale – which competed against Nine’s Australian Ninja Warrior premiere – captured 1.007m and the winner announcement achieved 1.142m across the metro cities. [READ MORE »]( News [#MeToo campaign group Now Australia call for agency help]( New not-for-profit organisation Now Australia is seeking pro-bono help from PR and creative agencies who “care about the #MeToo movement”. Now Australia, an organisation working to end sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, says it is looking for agencies to spare any amount of time they can. [READ MORE »]( Dr Mumbo [Dr Mumbo: Revenge is best served on New Year's Eve]( It would seem that dodgy financial behemoth AMP is always able to find just one more PR disaster if it looks hard enough. Last night the ABC’s Media Watch revealed that the public broadcaster has been told it can no longer use the balcony on the AMP’s Circular Quay headquarters as a spot to broadcast Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks. [READ MORE »]( Features [Have your say on Mumbrella's July Ad of the Month]( After the Victorian Government’s Deadly Questions campaign becoming the first out-of-home ad to win Mumbrella’s Ad of the Month, the contest is back. Mumbrella readers and members of the advertising industry are invited to vote on their favourite ad for July, this month’s contenders include Lynx, Australia Post, Westpac, Royal Far West and Kia. Which ad will take the crown and become Mumbrella’s July Ad of the Month? [READ MORE »]( News [TBWA Sydney hires PwC's Nicky Bryson as head of strategy]( TBWA Sydney has appointed PWC’s Nicky Bryson as head of strategy. Bryson worked in PwC’s CMO Advisory for just over a year and will now report into TBWA Sydney’s chief strategy officer Matt Springate, who joined the agency in April last year. [READ MORE »]( Dr Mumbo [Dr Mumbo: Frothing about footy]( Dr Mumbo’s brow has been furrowed in recent days as he attempts to puzzle out a solution to the new Macquarie Sports Radio’s woes. The lack of listeners, or indeed – with the departures of Beau Ryan and John Stanley – the lack of a Sydney breakfast lineup with more than two days of stability, has him stumped. [READ MORE »]( News [Trimantium GrowthOps closes in on Asia Pacific Digital acquisition]( Consulting and marketing group Trimantium GrowthOps is close to completing its takeover bid for ASX-listed marketing and digital transformation firm Asia Pacific Digital. The company announced to the ASX today that it now controls 80% of APD’s stock, up from 15.85% last Friday and just short of the 90% required for Trimantium to compulsorily acquire the Singapore based company’s outstanding shares. [READ MORE »]( Features [Month in a Minute: July's biggest agency stories]( Mumbrella wraps up the biggest news of the month across media, creative and PR. In July, Clemenger BBDO Sydney appointed a new chief of strategy, Coles Liquor had a roster shake up, James Wright prepared to leave Red Agency, Mastercard chose a new PR agency and Spark Foundry landed $10m account win. [READ MORE »]( News [Ava Lawler departs Weber Shandwick after five years]( The managing director of PR agency Weber Shandwick, Ava Lawler, has departed the agency after five years in the role. Lawler has departed the firm for personal reasons and is currently on sabbatical for the remainder of the year. [READ MORE »]( News [Former Australian editor Clive Mathieson becomes Prime Minister's chief of staff]( Clive Mathieson, former editor of The Australian, has been appointed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s chief of staff. Mathieson left The Australian in 2015 to join the NSW Premier’s office under then NSW Premier, Mike Baird, before moving onto the Prime Minister’s office in October last year as deputy chief as Staff. [READ MORE »]( News [New Zealand film The Breaker Upperers premieres with $717,564]( New Zealand comedy The Breaker Upperers earned just over $700,000 at its first weekend box office, but was eclipsed by bigger US films. The film stars co-writers and directors Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek – otherwise known as Mel and Jen – who are co-dependent best friends and business partners, attempting to break up relationships on behalf of clients. [READ MORE »]( News [Instagram influencer Celeste Barber recreates cruise activities on land for Royal Caribbean]( Instagram star Celeste Barber has launched the #cruisechallengeaccepted campaign for Royal Caribbean by completing activities on land instead of on a cruise ship. Created by WhiteGrey, the two minute content video features Barber making her own version of a ‘Flowrider’ and ‘Ripcord’ with a trampoline and leaf blower. [READ MORE »]( News [HT&E head of comms Marina Saggers to leave the company]( Marina Saggers, HT&E’s head of communications is to leave the company. Saggers’ move comes as HT&E completes a deal selling its Adshel out of home division to Ooh Media for $570m, a sale that will effectively halve the company’s size. [READ MORE »]( News [TRSN Sydney general manager Leanne Wotherspoon departs]( Leanne Wotherspoon, The Radio Sales Network’s general manager in Sydney, has departed the company after almost six years. Wotherspoon, who has led the Sydney sales team since 2013 will focus on her passion for interior design. She will be replaced by senior account manager, Dee McTaggart. [READ MORE »]( News [PPR appoints Snezna Kerekovic as business director]( WPP-owned public relations agency PPR has appointed former Edelman director Snezna Kerekovic as its business director. Prior to joining PPR, Kerekovic led Edelman Australia’s health, wellness and beauty division for more than two years and departed the agency in January. [READ MORE »]( News [Airbnb appoints Daniel Gervais to lead ANZ marketing]( Daniel Gervais, Airbnb’s ANZ brand marketing manager, has been promoted to head of marketing for Australia and New Zealand to replace global and local lead Ben Hallam. Hallam, who has taken a customer engagement role at Shangri-la hotels, joined Airbnb as local head of marketing in August 2016 before adding the global position to his remit at the beginning of this year. [READ MORE »]( News [Red Agency launches 'Redefining Influence' influencer marketing offering]( PR firm Red Agency has launched an influencer marketing program ‘Redefining Influence’ which will be led by Red Agency’s head of influencer marketing Martin Harkin. The new offering aims to bolster the agency’s influencer offering and follows recent influencer campaigns for its clients Toyota, Heineken, Menulog, Booking.com and Bio-Oil. [READ MORE »]( News [Big W shows the evolution of children in Kids Happen campaign]( Big W has extended its ‘Kids Happen – Kids on the Move’ campaign by showing children using different toys as modes of transport. Created by M&C Saatchi, the campaign aims to highlight how children don’t stop moving once they start and features kids on toy cars, scooters and skate boards. [READ MORE »]( News [Magnum & Co wins Australian Blueberries' PR account]( Australian Blueberries has appointed Magnum & Co as its PR agency of record, following a competitive pitch process. The appointment will see Magnum & Co bring its consumer brand campaign to fruition which includes video marketing, social media, digital, public relations and influencer marketing. [READ MORE »]( News [Y&R Brisbane picks up Amart Furniture's creative account]( WPP-owned agency Y&R Brisbane has won the creative account for furniture retailer Amart Furniture. As part of the appointment Y&R Brisbane will be responsible for repositioning Amart Furniture as well as handling all of its creative, brand, retail, digital and in-store advertising. [READ MORE »]( Sponsored Post Hear how leading health insurance providers engage with consumers At next month’s [Mumbrella’s Health Marketing Summit]( you’ll hear from industry leading brands like Medibank, Bupa, HCF and Compare the Market, as they discuss their efforts to engage and build trust with their customers. From better in-store experiences to targeted content marketing, increased focus on UX and more, hear what these market leaders are doing.  [Grab your tickets]( to this session and more on August 23. FYI FYI • [Cabcharge rebrands with focus on better travel experience]( • [Screenrights CEO Simon Lake resigns]( • [DIY market research service Lasso Online launches]( Jobs [35 new jobs]( MOST DISCUSSED [Nine and Fairfax Media to merge businesses]( [Joe Pollard departs Telstra, with CMO role to be split across business units]( [Westpac supports those grieving in heartfelt campaign]( [John Stanley second casualty of Macquarie Sports Radio breakfast]( 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.](