Nine, Mamamia and Are Media Leaders to Discuss Industry’s ‘Post-Platform Pivot’ at Publish
Media publishing conference Publish 2026 will be held in Sydney on September 2, curated by former BuzzFeed Australia GM Simon Crerar. The event’s theme, “Elevating Human Authority,” addresses the shift toward AI‑driven content and the need for publishers to reclaim direct audience relationships. A headline B2C panel featuring executives from Nine Entertainment, Mamamia and Are Media will explore the “post‑platform pivot,” focusing on data‑science integration, newsletters, masthead sites and live events. Additional sessions will tackle AI‑related legal risks and the growth of specialist subscription models.
Ideally Acquires AI Startup Aether
Ideally, the market‑research platform, announced the acquisition of New Zealand AI startup Aether. Aether’s technology automatically converts raw spreadsheets, documents and brand guidelines into polished slide decks and narrative reports within minutes. The integration will let Ideal’s clients move from raw...
CommsCon Catchup: Humans Still Required — Communication in an Age of Misinformation
At CommsCon in Sydney, behavioural strategist Amy Arbery and University of Canberra researcher Rebekah Russell‑Bennett presented tactics for communicators to combat AI‑driven misinformation. Arbery promoted “pre‑bunking,” a proactive four‑step playbook that inoculates audiences by warning them and exposing weakened false...
Buzzfeed Sold to Late Night Host and Media Mogul Byron Allen
Byron Allen, the CBS late‑night host and owner of Allen Media Group, has purchased a 52% majority stake in Buzzfeed for $120 million, becoming its chairman and CEO. The transaction, funded by $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note due...
Ritson: Ad Standards Breaches Pile up as Strategy Goes AWOL
Australian advertising regulator Ad Standards banned three recent ads—Hnry’s cloud‑accounting spot, Spotminders’ hidden‑tracker campaign, and Nord VPN’s motorcyclist safety piece—citing violations of health‑safety, privacy and violence codes. Each brand defended the work as stylised, light‑hearted or metaphorical, but the panel...
Ooh Media Auction Lifts the Unmade Index
Ooh Media announced a second takeover offer from private‑infrastructure investor I Squared Capital, valuing the company at roughly $508 million USD. The bid lifted Ooh Media’s share price 7.14% to $1.35, pushing its market capitalisation to about $470 million USD, the first...
CommsCon Catchup: Running a Booming Business From Bed
MYOB’s Solo app was built by embedding communications directly into product development, creating a culture‑led innovation engine. Two years of research into Australia’s 1.6 million sole operators revealed they juggle work, family and home chores, often administering their business from bed...
James Packer Takes Stake in OnlyFans
Australian media heir James Packer, through his vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings and U.S. firm Architect Capital, acquired a 16% minority stake in OnlyFans' parent Fenix International for A$739 million (about US$535 million). The transaction values the platform at roughly A$4.3 billion, or US$2.9 billion,...
Inside JB Hi-Fi’s Retail Media Rollout at Mumbrella Remade Conference
Mumbrella’s Remade conference returns on September 10 in Sydney, merging its retail media and retail marketing tracks into three focused streams. The agenda spotlights JB Hi‑Fi’s rollout of a store‑centric retail media network, with Scott Browning and Sarah Ladbury joined by...
Kyle and Jackie O’s ‘Intern Pete’ Joins Christian O’Connell
Peter Deppeler, known as “Intern Pete,” is leaving the Kyle and Jackie O Show after more than 12 years to become senior producer and roving reporter on Christian O’Connell’s national breakfast program on ARN’s Gold network. His departure comes as...
The Bidding War Begins as Ooh Media Receives Second Takeover Offer
Australian outdoor advertising firm Ooh Media has received a second, higher takeover bid from infrastructure investor I Squared Capital, offering $1.45 per share and valuing the company at roughly $508 million USD, up from private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners’ $1.40...
News Corp Holds Steady on Results Day, Index Rises
News Corp reported a 9% year‑over‑year revenue increase and an 18% rise in EBITDA, both surpassing market forecasts. The stock barely edged higher, up 0.10%, after a day of mixed performance on the Unmade Index. The company highlighted its transition...
Allianz Debuts Fully Generative AI Campaign
Allianz Australia has launched its first fully generative AI‑created advertising campaign for its car insurance line. The short‑form videos, outdoor and social assets were produced by Howatson and Company’s new Unicorn studio, with every frame generated by AI. The agency...
Dentsu Creative Steps Aside as the Iconic Calls Pitch
Australian fashion retailer The Iconic announced a procurement‑led creative pitch, with incumbent agency Dentsu Creative opting not to defend its four‑year account. Dentsu said the decision reflects a natural evolution after launching the “Got You Looking” masterbrand platform that drove...
Agencies Push Video Futures Collective to Simplify Buying and Unify Data
The Video Futures Collective (VFC), a coalition of eight streaming and ad platforms including Amazon Prime, Disney Advertising, Foxtel Media, Netflix, Samsung Ads, SBS, Vevo and YouTube, is under pressure from agencies to simplify the buying process and deliver consistent,...
Capital Gains Whack: Spot on for Real Estate, Crippling for Start Ups
The Albanese government is proposing to scrap Australia’s 50% capital‑gains‑tax (CGT) discount for assets held longer than 12 months, replacing it with a cost‑base indexation aimed at passive property investors. For tech founders, the change would double the effective tax...
Mumbrella Publish Catchup: Slop – a Provocation
At Mumbrella Publish’s October 28 session, AI trainer Shaun Davies coined the term “slop” to describe AI‑generated content that adds little value. He traced a pattern of elite resistance to disruptive media—from Socrates’ critique of writing to early dismissals of...
Mumbrellacast: High-Flyer Hugh Marks, Dentsu Joins the Merging Lane, and Kyle Strikes Back
The latest Mumbrellacast episode spotlights several media‑industry shake‑ups. ABC managing director Hugh Marks accepted a Qantas Chairman’s Lounge membership, raising questions about the broadcaster’s editorial independence. Dentsu Australia announced it will retire the Carat and iProspect brands, consolidating under a...
Nicholas Gray Moves to Head up State and Regional at News Corp as Mark Reinke Retires
News Corp Australia announced a leadership overhaul as long‑time managing director Mark Reinke will retire in July. Nicholas Gray, currently MD and publisher of The Australian and prestige titles, will assume the role of managing director and publisher for the...
Re-Convergence: Why Streamers Are Copying Free-to-Air
Australian and U.S. viewers are increasingly favoring ad‑supported streaming over premium, ad‑free subscriptions, driven by tighter household budgets. PwC research shows six in ten Australians and two‑thirds of Americans now prefer free or ad‑supported platforms. Broadcasters such as 7plus and...
Travel Marketing Summit Returns with Brand Gold Coast CEO Among First Speakers
Mumbrella’s Travel Marketing Summit returns to Sydney on August 27, featuring Brand Gold Coast CEO Todd Babiak as a headline speaker. Babiak’s session, “The Story Behind Your Brand,” will explore how storytelling, culture and economic development can differentiate travel brands in...
Party Paused for Ooh as Nine Rebounds on Unmade Index
Ooh Media’s rally stalled after the market priced in Pacific Equity Partners’ AU$750 million (~US$495 million) takeover offer, adding roughly AU$200 million (~US$132 million) to its market cap over a week. Nine Entertainment rebounded 3.8% following veiled warnings from CEO Matt Stanton, lifting the...
Fintech Player Webull Taps Ooh Media for National Campaign
Webull Australia has launched a nationwide out‑of‑home (OOH) advertising campaign in partnership with oOh!media’s creative hub Poly. The rollout features more than 100 unique creative variations across six outdoor formats, using sport‑training language to position trading as a daily discipline...
Chief Growth Officer and Others Gone at VML Australia Amid Strategic Review
WPP‑owned VML Australia has dismissed chief growth officer Johan Borg and a small group of staff as part of a broader strategic review. The cuts follow WPP’s global “Elevate28” overhaul, which targets roughly $630 million in cost savings over three years....
NZ’s The Edge Unveils New Brand Platform to Combat Gen Z/Millenial ‘Decision Fatigue’
New Zealand’s The Edge, Mediaworks’ flagship youth radio station, has launched a brand platform called “Take the edge off” aimed at 18‑34‑year‑olds. The campaign frames radio as the “original algorithm,” a curated antidote to the decision fatigue caused by endless...
SEN Back in Front as Kyle Is Joined by a Pap at His Hamish Pow-Wow
Sports Entertainment Group (SEG) surged 7.1% after raising its full‑year profit guidance to more than AU$15.5 million (about US$10.2 million). The boost pushed SEG’s market capitalisation to AU$84.3 million (≈US$55.6 million), reclaiming the top spot from ARN Media, whose valuation slipped to AU$83 million (≈US$55 million)....
Coles 360 Builds on Momentum with Two Strategic Appointments
Coles 360 announced two senior hires to sharpen its retail‑media offering in Australia. Dave Moline, formerly of Target’s Roundel, becomes Head of Ad Product, while Michael Savio, with experience at Coupang and Etihad Airways, takes charge of Data Intelligence and...
I Spent $250K on Agencies and Couldn’t Link a Single Dollar to Revenue
The author spent roughly $250,000 on marketing agencies for two startups, yet could not trace any dollar of revenue back to that spend. Traditional agency contracts reward activity—retainers, media budgets, and deliverables—rather than commercial outcomes. As a result, metrics like...
SCA Picks up the Slack as Ooh Media’s Charge up the ASX Eases
The Unmade Index closed the week flat at 381.5 points after a turbulent five‑day stretch driven by PEP’s bid for Ooh Media. Ooh Media surged 33% over the week and added another 1.3% on Friday, propelling the index’s 4.9% weekly...
Mumbrella Publish Catchup: Rethinking Revenue and Reclaiming Sovereignty
At a Mumbrella Publish session, executives from Private Media, Mamamia and Little Black Book examined how media revenue models are evolving. Private Media’s acquisition pushed its ad‑to‑subscriber split to 60% advertising, while Mamamia relies on podcasts for roughly half its...
Honda Australia Invites Drivers to ‘Dream Again’
Honda Australia unveiled a new "dream again" brand campaign, centering on the return of the Honda Prelude. The TV spot shows a man navigating a maze of garages that house stalled personal ambitions, before revealing a Prelude that symbolizes reclaimed...
Out with the Tapes, in with the Cloud: Nine’s TV News Transformation
Nine Network is overhauling its TV news operation, moving to cloud‑based, story‑centric production and cutting 120 legacy systems to three bespoke platforms. The restructure reduces role types from 100 to nine, requiring staff to multi‑skill, and includes about 20 voluntary...
Kellanova Moves Media From Bastion Back to Zenith
Kellanova, the former Kellogg’s, has moved its global media buying from Bastion back to Publicis’s Zenith as part of the Mars‑Publicis agency ecosystem. The shift follows Mars’s $1.7 billion migration of its media account from WPP to Publicis last year. Bastion...
The ABC Dominates SPA Awards
The Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Awards saw the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) sweep six of the nine television categories, cementing its dominance in local content. Hard Quiz captured Light Entertainment Production of the Year, while Austin, The Newsreader, Grand Designs...
Prime Video Reveals ‘Obsession Is in Session’ Initiative for Young Adults
Prime Video unveiled "Obsession is in Session," a year‑long initiative to cement its position as the go‑to streaming home for young adult (YA) audiences. The program kicks off with a teaser trailer showcasing 12 new YA titles slated for 2026...
Marketers Beware: LLMs.txt Is Just Plain Dumb
The article argues that llms.txt—a plain‑text markdown file meant to help language models locate site content—is being mis‑sold to marketers as an AI‑visibility shortcut. In reality, AI models already scrape and synthesize web content without such files, rendering llms.txt ineffective...
Tech Giants Earned over $100b in Advertising Revenue in First Three Months of 2026
In the first quarter of 2026, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft together generated more than $100 billion in advertising revenue. Alphabet led with $87.0 billion, driven by Google search ($77.3 b) and YouTube ($9.9 b), both posting double‑digit growth. Meta posted $55.0 billion, up 33%...
Liquid Content Was Never Going to Be a Publisher Product
Liquid content promises stories that reshape in real time to match each reader’s context, but publishers have yet to deliver at scale. The Washington Post’s AI‑generated personal podcast highlighted the technical gap, with 68‑84% of scripts failing accuracy checks. Industry...
2026 Mumbrella Publish Awards Are Open, with Updated Criteria and New Categories
Australia’s Mumbrella Publish Awards have opened for 2026, marking the program’s 30th anniversary. The awards now feature refined categories such as AI integration, digital innovation, and revenue diversification to reflect the shift from print to AI‑driven digital media. A senior...
The Unmakers: James Donald’s Journey From Oil Rigs to Consumer Research
Ideally, the New Zealand‑based consumer research platform co‑founded by James Donald, secured over $13 million in new capital to accelerate its U.S. expansion and launch a flagship product, Ideally Canvas. Donald, who once worked on an oil rig in Norway, now...
Mumbrella Publish 2025: Publishing Under Pressure
In a Mumbrella Publish 2025 fireside chat, Nicholas Gray, managing director of The Australian, traced the outlet’s shift from early‑2000s display‑ad reliance to a subscription‑driven model. Since launching a paywall in 2011, digital subscriptions have become the masthead’s largest revenue...
ARN Makes Kyle & Jackie O Show Director Bruno Bouchet Redundant
Australian Radio Network (ARN) has made show director Bruno Bouchet redundant following the abrupt removal of the Kyle & Jackie O Show from its Kiis FM lineup. Bouchet, who rejoined ARN for a third stint in 2024, had previously served...
Ex-IPG Mediabrands CEO Mark Coad Joins Hatched
Mark Coad, former CEO of IPG Mediabrands and veteran of Omnicom’s OMD and PHD, has joined independent agency Hatched as a strategic advisor. His exit follows a high‑profile departure from the Omnicom‑IPG takeover, marking one of the most senior exits...
Anthropic Appoints GM for ANZ and Opens Sydney Office
Anthropic announced the opening of its Sydney office and the appointment of Theo Hourmouzis, former Snowflake senior vice‑president, as General Manager for Australia and New Zealand. The new hub joins Anthropic’s locations in Tokyo, Bengaluru and soon Seoul, positioning the company...
Monique Perry Lands Choice CEO Role Six Months After Nielsen Departure
Monique Perry, a former Nielsen managing director, has been appointed chief executive officer of consumer advocacy group Choice, becoming its first female CEO since 2003. Her hiring follows a contentious departure from Nielsen after 30 years, during which she considered...
Vinyl Eats Into Cash Reserves and Pushes Back Profitability Date
Vinyl Group reported a $1.8 million USD cash burn this quarter, pushing its EBITDA‑positive target to the first half of FY27. The delay is tied to the pending Val Morgan Digital acquisition, which was originally slated to help meet a year‑end profitability...
Rohan Lund Announced as New CEO of Southern Cross Austereo
Rohan Lund, former CEO of Yahoo7 and COO of Seven West Media and Foxtel, has been appointed Managing Director and CEO of Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), effective May 1, 2026. The appointment follows a turbulent post‑merger period where Seven West Media’s...
Rose Herceg Promoted as WPP Revives ANZ CEO Role
WPP has reinstated the Australia‑New Zealand chief executive officer role after a five‑year gap, promoting Rose Herceg from president to CEO. The title change was reflected on her LinkedIn profile, though the firm says it is “a title change only.” The...
Canva Hires Andy Ford After Short Analytic Partners Stint
Canva has appointed data veteran Andy Ford as head of marketing data, ending his three‑month stint at Analytic Partners. Ford, previously leading data intelligence at Coles 360, joins Canva as it expands its marketing production suite and readies for a...
How Bunnings Built Australia’s Most Trusted Brand
Bunnings has topped Roy Morgan’s most‑trusted‑brand list for nine straight quarters, proving that sustained consumer confidence is more than a marketing splash. The retailer’s core promise of empowerment—being a reliable partner for DIY and professional projects—underpins every customer interaction, from...