Will Apple save print media too?

A very familiar scenario could be about to play out.

A decade ago the music industry was reeling from the sudden loss of revenue thanks to the likes of Napster and other peer-to-peer networks. Free downloads were “robbing” music publishers of sales. They got aggressive, sued individuals for downloading and chased Napster into oblivion but the fact remained that the music industry hadn’t kept up wit the changing digital landscape and didn’t have a model for the 21st Century.

Then along came Apple with the iPod and the iTunes store. They made it easy, legal and affordable to download music and quickly struck deals with almost every music publisher. A new model was created. It wasn’t necessarily as lucrative for the publishers but it kept them alive and in the game.

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Former 2HD breakfast announcer has finally spoken publicly about his dismissal in today’s Newcastle Herald. Grant maintains that the main reason for his dismissal was apparently for not playing some commercials, something the station has repeatedly denied. Here is the full story from The Herald:

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Pepsi Hit Refresh

Press Release

In January 2010 Pepsi takes to the streets with one of the heaviest weight outdoor campaigns in Australia’s history: Hit Refresh.

Hit Refresh introduces the evolution of the renowned Pepsi globe logo with a massive outdoor campaign hosted by newly announced MTV VJ Erin McNaught and stable mate Darren McMullen.

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Following on from December’s dismissal of 2HD breakfast announcer Luke Grant, we can now reveal that Brent Bultitude will be his replacement.

Several industry insiders suggested in comments to MediaHunter that Bultitude, the former afternoon announcer on 2HD, would move into the breakfast shift, and it seems they were correct.

Brent Bultitude has just joined Twitter as @2HDBreakfast and his one message so far is, “Doing the final prep for the first show! Join Brent on the airwaves from 6am on Monday!”

We have the technology

Welcome to the future.

Its 2010, a time oft referred to in sci-fi movies and old TV shows as “The Future”. Sure, we haven’t got hover cars yet, but technology and media is now well and truly exceeding expectations. It wasn’t long ago that we were marveling at the push and touch technology in the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report, now becoming a reality on smart phones and the forthcoming iTablets.

In fact, technology and media are evolving so rapidly that its hard to keep up with what will be the break-out hit of the year and what marketers should be focussing on. Here are just some of the prognostications from those in the know:

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From ABC online

Radio personality John Laws is reportedly considering making a comeback, and could be back on the air as early as next month.

Newspaper reports today say Mr Laws has held talks with officials from Super Radio Network which operates Sydney’s 2SM.

“Since John retired from 2UE two years ago, there have been various discussions from time to time with interested radio industry groups,” manager John Fordham told The Sunday Telegraph.

“But they haven’t progressed to the point of whether he’s made a firm decision to return to radio.”

Mr Laws is considered the most successful and influential broadcaster Australia has seen.

For almost 50 years his name alone has been enough to make or break a radio station.

When the 74-year-old retired from radio two years ago, he was reportedly earning $4 million a year.

I have removed a post from this site dated 18 December after receiving a letter from solicitors representing 2HD/NEWFM. The post referred to the response of several advertisers to the dismissal of Luke Grant from radio station 2HD.

I received information from reliable sources regarding the content of this post, however the station strongly disputes the allegations. If further information comes to light about advertiser reaction to Luke Grant’s departure I will reconsider, but for now I believe the best thing is to remove the post.

Stop Interrupting

The last 80 years of advertising has been about interruption. Interruption of the music or conversation you listen to on the radio. Interruption of the program you watch on the television. Interruption of your view when traveling. And with the advent of pop-up ads online, interruption of the material you are viewing or reading online.

Occasionally advertising has engaged us, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Overwhelmingly advertisers try to interrupt us to gain our attention. Notice the screaming voice-overs, eye-popping graphics and loud music that leap out of your TV every ad break? That’s just more advertisers fighting for your attention.

Up until recently interruption has been reasonably effective too. There wasn’t a lot of media choice so we just endured the interruption and purchased enough of the products being advertised to justify the advertising expense. Interruption was the price of mass media.

Not any more.

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Media Release from Prime

PRIME is pleased to announce the launch date for its eagerly anticipated free-to-air digital channel 7TWO on PRIME, a broad entertainment channel set to bolster PRIME’s leadership in the regional television market.

7TWO on PRIME is more of what audiences love about PRIME.  More drama, more lifestyle, more reality, more comedy, more movies, more first class entertainment, free for everyone.

The new channel will launch on Wednesday 23 December at 9.00am on digital Channel 62.

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Over at Marketing Magazine they’ve just published my post Marketers need to turn to ‘inbound’. Its about making sure your marketing is keeping up with today’s media consumption and marketing trends. Let me know what you think.