Advertising news

• The messy middle may be the most valuable content you create

  18-08-2026 07:45 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Matt Jones 
  The first casualty of the AI revolution is certainty, not jobs.
  A year ago, if someone published a thoughtful article or a beautifully written LinkedIn post, our default assumption was that they’d probably written it themselves. Today, even genuinely original work is met with a shrug and a dismissive ‘ChatGPT probably wrote that’. I wonder how many readers have already thought that about this piece. 
  This is a problem that leaders around the world are g
  
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• When AI can read the audience, who controls the influence?

  14-10-2026 07:56 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Professor Rocky Scopelliti
  For most of advertising history, marketers have tried to understand audiences indirectly. They used demographics, surveys, behavioural segments, purchase histories and, more recently, digital traces. AI is now changing that relationship.
  The next generation of systems will not simply analyse what audiences have done. They will increasingly infer what people are feeling, intending, hesitating over and perhaps even becoming vulnerable to in real time. That creates ext
  
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• An algorithm opt-out option makes relevant content more important than ever before

  05-10-2026 03:00 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Sabri Suby
  Australia’s proposed social media algorithm opt-out has already sparked plenty of speculation about what happens if users start switching off personalised recommendations and returning to feeds dominated by the accounts they actively follow.
  Most of us know that personalisation is far from an incidental social media feature. It is the core product experience, as the platforms have become great at understanding what people are interested in, and then showing more of it.
  If peo
  
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• When the buyer is a machine that thinks like a human, what breaks the tie?

  01-10-2026 02:39 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Raine Gaisford 
  Buyers lean on AI-generated answers more and more these days, but when a business realises it’s not featuring in those results, the instinct is almost always to go and ‘fix’ the website. 
  They rewrite the copy, sharpen the messaging and tidy up positioning. It is a logical reaction, although it’s usually only half the answer, for reasons that have less to do with the website than with the machine user now reading it.
  Buyers use AI to take the
  
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• Content Marketing Mag is the official media partner for CMO Summit 2027

  30-09-2026 02:27 via marketingmag.com.au
  Content Marketing Mag has teamed up with Marcus Evans to become the official media partner for the 20th edition of the CMO Summit 2027. 
  The event will take place on 24-25 February 2027 at the InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto.
  With the marketing function of most businesses now under more pressure than it has faced in years, boards want proof that marketing spend drives growth, not just brand awareness. 
  AI has moved from a talking point in strategy decks to a tool reshaping how cu
  
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• Are your B2B customers relying on incorrect content evidence?

  24-09-2026 02:05 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Joel Thomson 
  AI can’t recommend what it can’t reach. Strictly speaking, it can. That’s the problem.
  If an AI system researching suppliers for a buyer can’t retrieve your current product pages, technical documentation or case studies, it may still answer. It can fall back on old model knowledge, review sites, cached material, competitor claims and somebody else’s version of your business.
  I use AI heavily. That has made me less impressed by fluent answers an
  
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• Mad Mex rebuilds loyalty and accelerates growth

  22-09-2026 01:00 via marketingmag.com.au
  Mad Mex, one of Australia’s leading Mexican quick-service restaurant franchises, with more than 75 locations, partnered with Taguchi and other technology providers to rebuild its loyalty program and digital customer experience. 
  Customer research had identified two major barriers to growth: the brand’s positioning was not resonating strongly enough with customers and its disconnected technology stack was creating a fragmented experience. These issues limited personalisation, red
  
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• Owned versus rented: the platform dependence risk hiding in your marketing stack

  16-09-2026 07:24 via marketingmag.com.au
  For most of the past decade, the smartest place to spend a marketing dollar was on someone else’s platform: Meta, Google and, more recently, TikTok. They offered targeting, reach and measurability older channels could not match, and the returns justified the spend. 
  That arrangement is quietly getting more expensive and less predictable. Cost per acquisition keeps climbing, algorithm updates can reshape organic reach overnight, ad accounts get suspended over opaque policy calls with n
  
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• Why marketers need to switch between creativity and optimisation

  10-09-2026 06:57 via marketingmag.com.au
   By Dr Ken Hudson
  A few years ago, we were very fortunate to knock down the old, decaying place that we had purchased 30 years ago and build a new home. We employed a young architect and gave her some basic guidelines around our budget, number of rooms, types of materials, etc.
  She then started playing around with a few concepts and constantly fed back to us her initial ideas, to which we gave her specific feedback. 
  As the process moved forward, the conversations became more interesti
  
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• Your lead generation-focused gated content works against you in AI search

  10-09-2026 04:17 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Joe Scott
  It’s 2016. You’ve just finished that 50-page white paper your team has been preparing for weeks and you’re ready to send the gated landing page and EDM live. 
  Now comes the best part, where you get to sit back and watch the downloads roll in with dozens of contacts the sales team can follow up on.
  This approach was once the cornerstone of B2B lead generation in the golden era of the internet. It was a great formula – built for a time when clicking throug
  
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• Your content is getting attention, but is it generating revenue?

  02-09-2026 06:45 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Michael Gerardis
  Marketers have never had more ways to prove their content is ‘working’.
  Views, impressions, clicks, likes, shares and engagement rates can all tell us whether we’ve captured attention. But there’s a more important question businesses need to ask: what happened next?
  After more than two decades working across digital marketing and business growth, I’ve seen a growing disconnection between content performance and commercial performance.
  A piece of
  
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• Lessons from a chief marketing officer turned content creator

  01-09-2026 06:34 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Chantel Brayley
  For 18 years I introduced myself as somebody from somewhere. The work was always credited and I was never sitting in a corner feeling unseen about it. Being the marketing lead at a brand people already love is a genuinely great place to stand: the brand answers the first three questions for you, and everyone in the room knows roughly what you are about before you speak. 
  At Petal & Pup, I was the first full-time team member and grew the marketing team from just me to
  
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• What the Sydney Swans response reveals about crisis comms

  25-08-2026 06:14 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Caroline Voaden
  I have learned over the years that your initial response can define your crisis.
  Last Monday, hours after Victoria Police confirmed it was investigating an alleged sexual assault following an incident at the hotel where the Sydney Swans were staying, the club’s CEO Matthew Pavlich stood in front of reporters and said he was “shocked and disappointed” that they had “found themselves in this situation”.
  By Wednesday, the story wasn’t just abou
  
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• Podcasting isn’t expensive to start – it’s expensive to keep going

  24-08-2026 06:10 via marketingmag.com.au
  By Kyle Traynor
  Podcasting is the easiest form of content to start and the hardest one to succeed at. 
  Truthfully, if you want to start a podcast, you can be recording inside a week. The gear is cheap and the barrier is low. Anyone with a phone and an idea can launch a show by Friday. What’s hard is staying good by episode 40. 
  Starting a podcast has much in common with starting a second business. It needs the same intensity to get off the ground, and then it needs the same thing
  
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• Episode #2: Content Unpacked with Erica Valenti

  20-08-2026 03:53 via marketingmag.com.au
  In our second episode of Content Unpacked – our long-form video podcast interview series presented by Niche Media and Content Marketing Mag – our guest is Erica Valenti, the Integrated Marketing Director at Live Nation for the APAC region.
  Valenti oversees creative and marketing strategy at one of the world’s leading live entertainment companies, helping to connect brands with fans through live music experiences such as festivals and concerts.
  In her role, she champions researc
  
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• TAG, DCPR & DDO Join Expanded Dentsu Partnership For UNE

  18-08-2026 05:27 via bandt.com.au
  
  UNE asked for dentsu. dentsu brought the whole alphabet.
  
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• Summer Treseder Moves From Wavemaker To EssenceMediacom

  18-08-2026 05:26 via bandt.com.au
  
  Treseder hops down the corridor, still within waving distance of Peter Vogel.
  
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• Tag Pushes Gate Into Japan & APAC, Nigel Kenneally To Lead Regional Operations

  18-08-2026 04:44 via bandt.com.au
  
  Tag, a global production agency owned by Dentsu, is expanding its specialist craft production offering, Gate, into Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, with veteran production leader Nigel Kenneally appointed to lead its regional operations. Kenneally has been named production lead, Gate – JAPAC, and will be based in Bangkok as Tag looks to meet growing […]
  
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• ‘Testing A New Way’: Reddit ‘Experiments’ With Turning Posts Into Audio & Video

  18-08-2026 04:35 via bandt.com.au
  
  Reddit is testing a new way for users to consume content on the platform, transforming text posts into audio and video formats using AI-generated voices. As part of the limited experiment, some Reddit posts are being adapted into videos featuring AI voices reading the original post and selected comments, giving users an alternative to scrolling […]
  
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• TBWA\Australia Brings Ben Nilsen Back From New York

  18-08-2026 04:34 via bandt.com.au
  
  After ten years overseas, Nilsen’s LinkedIn location has finally changed.
  
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• Tapt Media Promotes Tim Martin To Direct Sales Manager As Two Ex-Staff Rejoin

  18-08-2026 04:26 via bandt.com.au
  
  Commercial talk-radio network Tapt Media has expanded its sales operation with one promotion and two new appointments across both Melbourne and Sydney. Tim Martin has been promoted to direct sales manager, Melbourne, while Andrea Hall has been appointed business manager, Melbourne and Daniel Hughes has joined as business manager, Sydney. The appointments come just days […]
  
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• TV Ratings (17/8/2026): The Block’s Baby Bombshell Draws A Crowd

  18-08-2026 04:15 via bandt.com.au
  
  At least the blockheads will be primed with whingers after filming the show.
  
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• Vaseline Gluta-Hya Says ‘Hya’ To Sydney’s Morning Rave Culture Via REBORN

  18-08-2026 04:11 via bandt.com.au
  
  Remember when rave stimulants used to come in small plastic bags? Oh those halcyon days.
  
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• Hoppr To Bring Audience, Contextual & Behavioural Intelligence To Fetch TV

  18-08-2026 04:09 via bandt.com.au
  
  Fetch partners with Hoppr on this very exciting endeavour.
  
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• Spark Foundry Takes The Wheel For Cancer Council For The Second Year Running

  18-08-2026 04:04 via bandt.com.au
  
  B&T are rallying behind Lauryn Pollard and Maelle Floch as they attempt to conquer the Shitbox Rally.
  
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• What Brands Can Learn From Community Conversation

  18-08-2026 03:46 via bandt.com.au
  
  You can learn all sorts of things on Reddit. And some of them even appear to be about marketing.
  
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• Vagisal’s Cheeky ‘What’s In Your Vag?’ Campaign Turns Heads

  18-08-2026 03:37 via bandt.com.au
  
  Intimate health brand Vagisal has launched ‘What’s In Your Vag?’, a cheeky new campaign that swaps the social media trend ‘What’s In My Bag?’ for something considerably more personal. Created by Publicis España, the campaign centres on wash bags designed to evoke the shape of a vagina, alongside a Vagisil product tackling a common source […]
  
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• Vagisal’s Cheeky ‘What’s In My Vag?’ Campaign Turns Heads

  18-08-2026 03:37 via bandt.com.au
  
  Not since the World Cup final has there been such a stir on the streets of Spain.
  
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• ‘More Of A Smoke Screen Than A Bill’: Labor & Coalition Strike Gambling Ad Deal

  18-08-2026 03:07 via bandt.com.au
  
  Labor and the Coalition have landed on a package of changes that will allow Australians to opt-out of gambling advertising online, clearing the way for the federal government’s wagering reform bill to pass through parliament this week. At the heart of this agreement is a new wagering advertising opt-out register, which will be run by […]
  
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• ‘Enormously Grateful To Everyone’: Guardian Australia’s MD Rebecca Costello Departs

  18-08-2026 02:53 via bandt.com.au
  
  Rebecca Costello is set to step down from her role as managing director of Guardian Australia in September.  In her role, Costello has directed Guardian Australia through a period of substantial change with a focus on business strategy, developing new capabilities, and strengthening relationships with audiences and commercial partners. Her leadership has been acknowledged by […]
  
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