Whilst it’s still early days, the word around Port Phillip suggest that the resulting The Streets are Hot, Keep it Cool campaign has been highly effective in reducing the number of unsavoury behaviour incidents in Fitzroy, Acland, Carlisle, Bay and Clarendon Streets.

BCA engaged comedian Corinne Grant to head the campaign which included a mix of bus/tram shelter and radio advertising plus in-premise posters and a retailer communications program. The campaign kicked off with a media launch involving City of Port Phillip mayor Cr Janet Cribbes and headlined by Grant. Incidentally, the launch resulted media coverage by both Nine and Ten News plus local press.

All strategic work, media planning and buying, and production was coordinated by BCA. For more on the campaign materials, visit our website.

Take a look at Seven’s Out of the Question with Glenn Robbins. Whoever gave that the green light should be thrown to the wolves. This quiz show failed to make a blip on the ratings radar because it follows the same old Panel format featuring the same tired old comedians and radio DJs from our small pool of talent.

Even The Good News Week’s welcome return on Ten was overshadowed by the fact that it features the same old faces, but this time with shameless commercial network cross promotion.

Nine’s Monster House is another instance of a rehashed format that should have died with Just Kidding back in the 90s. (Although I must admit Jackass and Trigger Happy TV did the hidden camera thing very successfully.) Monster House sets up each scenario well and has a tiny bit of potential but the over-the-top audience laughter (a la Funniest Home Video) is way too much.

The Chopping Block was to be one of Nine’s flagships for the year to help drag the network out of the ratings doldrums. Unfortunately it needs to be scraped off the kitchen bench and tossed into the bin. It’s a direct copy of the Kitchen Nightmares format but Matt Moran is no Gordon Ramsay and Catriona Rowntree’s hosting is extremely dull.

As we know, the majority of local content is modelled on, if not directly copied from, overseas concepts. Sure this creates jobs on the production side of things but where does it allow us to inject our own cultural input and create concepts that resonate with our national identity rather than that of the US.

It’s about time the commercial television industry realised we can produce local content on par with the rest of the world. All it takes is dedication, enthusiasm, confidence and some willing investors and you end up with brilliance such as Underbelly.

The Brits do it extremely well. Shows like Little Britain, Life on Mars, Extras, Dr Who, Robin Hood and The Office all are influenced by the British culture, history and conscience and they’ve been hugely successful around the world.

The ABC and SBS too have produced some incredible programs. East West 101 was an excellent, cutting edge and topical drama. And who can forget the ABC’s immediately classic comedies like Summer Heights High, We Could Be Heroes and Kath and Kim. Even Foxtel has had more success with the internationally acclaimed Love My Way.

I am adamant that we can produce the next Office or Life on Mars. We have the writers, the talent and crew to pull it off. But what we’re lacking is the support, courage and financial backing of the networks.

So what would make me happy? I want to see the commercial networks inject some money into producing top quality Australian programs rather than buying overseas formats and localising them or rehashing old formats. I want to see Hamish and Andy given their own comedy series. I’d like Spicks and Specks to be the only panel show on TV. I’d like Australia to produce its own Sci Fi program or an ASIO-based drama (as I once proposed to Nine). These shows don’t have to be off-beat like the successful Australian movies of the 90s, just a bit more creative than the majority of what we’re being served now. It shouldn’t be left up to the Americans to fill our screens, but right now it’s the better alternative and I am glad the writers are back at work.

MB

The objective: Drive enquiry to JG King Homes across regional and metropolitan Victoria at key promotional periods.

The strategy: Publish The King Times, an eight-page tabloid newspaper, and distribute to over a million targeted homes in Victoria four times a year.

The King Times provides a unique opportunity to not only communicate the latest promotion but also to impart more in depth company information to new home buyers whose experience with the builder might otherwise be limited. Articles about JG King’s latest promotion, new homes, community initiatives and corporate activities coupled with relevant and interesting editorial encourage a relationship between the builder and customer.

Additionally, the Kind Times also acts as an important conduit between JG King Homes and their key suppliers who can also use the medium to promote their businesses and products.

What we do
Creative: Write, design, coordinate and produce The Times. Develop supporting press advertising and a broad range of themed POS materials for JG King displays.

Production: Coordinates all print production for The Times and associated POS materials.

Media: Manage state-wide distribution, negotiate and buy all metro and local press.

The results
• 54% increase in calls to the 1300 number compared to the week prior
• 32% increase in web hits compared to the week prior

The way we communicate has changed. Over the past few years, the internet has rapidly evolved from being an information source to a communication tool that connects the masses. For a brief and clever snapshot, have a look at this video posted on You Tube: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

So the experiences people have with your brand, the good and the bad, can now be easily exposed, shared and documented on blogs, interactive forums, social networking sites and more. The old adage of a person telling ten others about a bad experience and those people each telling ten more etc should now be more feared than ever.

Think about it. If a customer buys a dodgy product, experiences bad customer service, or uncovers a negative corporate history, he can write about it in an online medium. His experience can be read and discussed by connected people all around the globe. And this can have far-reaching consequences for your brand, no matter how effective your advertising and marketing activities are.

So while a strong brand is vital, you must back it up with quality and integrity in every aspect of your business. Otherwise you risk backlash on a massive scale.

AB