Content marketing overkill? Coles, IAG, Storyation on the COVID-induced surge in brands doing content and standing out through more noise

Bigger budgets are pouring into content marketing this year but IAG’s Director of Content & Customer Engagement, Zara Curtis, says there’s “a lot of bad content” being produced by brands. IAG is producing less but better quality. Curtis says she’s a “content killer” as IAG works out the art of what not to produce. Meanwhile, Coles’ Senior Content Manager Jill Tenner is doing much more in the past six months because of customer demand for inspiration. The key takeout, says Storyation’s Head of Content, Lauren Quaitance, is brands have been scrambling over the past five months to overhaul or develop new content marketing plans.

CommBank's analytics boss on how its AI-powered ‘customer engagement engine’ is changing everything

Commonwealth Bank Chief Analytics Officer Andrew McMullan studied machine learning, taught mathematics and is now leading the bank’s AI-fuelled customer strategy. The ‘math man’ and CMO Monique Macleod have been working hand in glove on what is next for Australia’s biggest bank.

Russel Howcroft, Nine Radio boss Tom Malone on media the “most ruthless” sector in Howcroft’s career, the broadcaster's talent purge, advertiser age bias and leaving PwC

Howcroft says media is the most ruthless industry, consulting the most influential but advertising the smartest. Nine Radio’s new boss Tom Malone, meanwhile, spills the beans on how Russel Howcroft left PwC to join 3AW’s breakfast slot and the complete overhaul he’s implemented at Nine Radio to skew younger and address advertiser bias against older, lucrative audiences in radio. Malone also tells a very different story around Alan Jones and his exit from radio. 

Former Foxtel, News Corp boss Peter Tonagh talks legacy media’s challenged future, why he’s still investing and the merits of “soft socialism” in business

Peter Tonagh knows a bit about the media sector and is part of an investment group piling into new media ventures. Big Media is consolidating while he argues future media is specialising and fragmenting. There is tension everywhere. 

Why entertainment giant Vivendi wants more culture, less tech for its global agency division Havas and new Australian indie acquisition Hyland

French-owned Havas Media last week acquired Australian independent agency HYLAND with plans to plug into its vast parent company Vivendi, controlled by the French billionaire industrialist, Vincent Bollore. Vivendi owns music labels, Hollywood studios, TV networks and gaming and ticketing companies and is moving Havas to a very different position versus its bigger global marketing services rivals like WPP, Omnicom, IPG, Dentsu and Publicis. More culture, not just tech is the idea. Havas Media’s Australian team talk the HYLAND acquisition, Vivendi and a pick-up in media spending now underway for the December quarter.

TV’s old guard or digital’s new blood? Nestle talks an ‘All Screens’ video and TV strategy in a power-packed roundtable on who wins on programmatic video v converged and connected TV planning, buying and measurement

Nestle’s Head of Media, Data and Content, Antonia Farqhuar is joined by UM’s Nicole Prior, Seven’s Kurt Burnette, Hearts & Science’s Issy Dunn and Amobee’s Liam Walsh in a robust discussion on a red hot industry theme...who emerges on top in a converged and connected TV world - digital video professionals or their broadcast TV peers? The playbook has started.