Leadership shakeup at Webling
Co-founder of WPP digital agency Webling, which sits within J Walter Thompson, Deniz Nalbantoglu has departed the agency after 14 years. Nalbantoglu, who was managing director, will be replaced by Claire Van Heyningen, who will now take on leadership of the agency. Most recently, Van Heyningen was people and culture consultant at content agency We are Social and prior to that, group head of digital at M&C Saatchi. Nalbantoglu will now pursue other interests outside of agency life, adding a new job description to his LinkedIn profile: “proud dad, terrible golfer, budding pitmaster, prospective entrepreneur at Life in General”. WPP bought Webling in 2015.
Jack Dorsey addresses dissemination of fake news in wake of YouTube shooting
Founder Jack Dorsey says Twitter is "working diligently" on product solutions to stop fake news disseminating across the platform following the hacking of a verified account. In the midst of the attack on YouTube headquarters, an unknown hoaxer hijacked a Twitter account belonging to YouTube product manager Vadim Lavrusik and used the high-profile account to implicate a YouTube broadcaster in the shooting. The hack was flagged by multiple reporters and Twitter removed the hoax tweets shortly afterwards, with Dorsey personally responding that the platform would handle the situation. Twitter has struggled with misinformation around breaking news events in the past. A number of other YouTube celebrities have already been incorrectly reported as involved in today’s shooting.
We’re also aware of the misinformation being spread on Twitter. We’re tracking, learning, and taking action. We‘re working diligently on product solutions to help. https://t.co/V8vmxgFkmR
— jack (@jack) April 3, 2018
Ad Standards copy advice service launches
Ad Standards has launched a new advertising copy advice service. The new advisory service has been developed to provide advice in advance of broadcast or publication. The new service will complement existing services provided by other industry bodies such as the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) and the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA). In particular, the new service aims to provide advice to businesses which are not already connected with industry associations. Creative concepts, imagery, copy or campaigns can be submitted for advice through the Ad Standards website. The fee will depend on the complexity of the advice requested.
Publicis forms new strategy-driven team
Publicis has "re-engineered" its Brisbane agency, appointing David Smerdon to the role of strategy director. Smerdon has over 15 years industry experience in both media and creative agencies and before joining Publicis he was strategy director at Clemenger Brisbane. The agency has grown in the past 12 months by over 25%, making it the fastest growing creative agency in Queensland, now with 65 staff. Other strategy-focused hires include Helene Thorsen, who joins from Vizeum and Isobar in Denmark as strategist and Scott Isaac, who also joins as a strategist.
Russ Mitchinson joins Essence Australia
GroupM has appointed Russ Mitchinson to the role of head of strategy ANZ for Essence Australia. Mitchinson moves across from OMD, where he held a similar role, to head up strategy for the data and measurement-driven agency. Prior to his time at OMD, Mitchinson was at Leo Burnett and DDB. The appointment follows James Luty who joined the team last month in the role of client partner for Google.
Nine and Southern Cross Austereo build on affiliate agreement
Nine and SCA today announced that SCA will take on representation of Nine’s local television sales in the Northern New South Wales licence area. The agreement is an extension of its ongoing affiliate agreement, which has seen a SCA report a 22.5% surge in TV ad bookings. This agreement will mean all TV sales for Nine’s NBN operations in Northern NSW will be undertaken by SCA. Nine's roll-out of regional news bulletins has helped reinvigorate advertiser interest in regional media.
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