Valentine’s Day 2022

A report from Roy Morgan and the Australian Retailers Association suggests Australians are expected to spend $415 million on Valentine’s Day this year, with the average individual expected to spend $111.00. 

According to the report, 39% will purchase flowers, 28% chocolate, food and alcohol and 9% will purchase jewellery. 

In Australia, roughly a third of consumers said they would be increasing their Valentine’s Day spend compared to last year, but the majority (65%) said they would be spending the same amount.

Valentine’s Day gifting is more prevalent with younger Australians. 38% of 18-24 year old’s plan to buy a gift, while only 7% of people over 65 plan to celebrate the day.

In the U.S. the Valentine’s Day bounty expects to take a hit this year, with surveys suggesting the usual gifts will be replaced by home-cooked meals and takeout.

As a result U.S. brands started selling Valentine’s Day items much earlier in the year, an advertising strategy employed with Black Friday and Christmas sales in 2021.

Start The New Year With A Great Podcast

It’s a new year so there are plenty of thrilling, exciting and fun new podcasts to listen to. Here are a few to sink your teeth into.

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

If you’re not familiar with Private Eye Magazine, it’s a British satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. Published in London, the magazine has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986 and is widely recognised for its prominent criticism and lampooning of public figures. Today, Ian and Private Eye magazine venture into the world of audio with Page 94, a podcast hosted by Andrew Hunter Murray.

Room 5

What happens when a diagnosis changes everything? One afternoon, Helena Merriman walked into a doctor’s surgery and was given a shock diagnosis. In this series, Helena interviews people who, like her, were changed by a diagnosis. The podcast series shines a light on misunderstood conditions, asking how we cope when our bodies and our minds no longer behave as we want them to.

The Wait

One night at 4 am in 2013, Mozhgan Moarefizadeh and her family slip away from immigration detention in Jakarta. They walk for hours in heavy rain, with no phones and no idea where they are. Mozhgan is 21-years old. In The Wait, Mozhgan and journalist Nicole Curby investigate how Australia has created a new border, inside Indonesia, and ask who’s responsible for its consequences. What does it mean to be caught forever on the run, trapped in a permanent in-between?

Things Fell Apart

Things Fell Apart is a series of strange and unexpected human stories from the history of the culture wars. What are the origins of cancel culture? How did we become such a divisive society? The podcast explores topics like abortion, sex education, gay liberation and school curriculums and discovers the strange and sometimes heartwarming examples of how things came to be. 

Disgraceland

Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. The Thirty-ish minute episodes trace the most insane criminal stories surrounding our most interesting and infamous pop stars. Season 1 of Disgraceland was released on February 13, 2018 and within two days reached number 7 in the Apple Podcasts ‘top podcasts’ chart. It has since been downloaded millions of times in over 150 countries.

Reaching Gen Alpha through advertising

When we examine the various generation audience segments it’s easy to assume some sweeping and often misguided generalisations, such as baby boomers aren’t tech-savvy, and Gen Y are lazy job hoppers.

As people mature and change their views, generations can outgrow their stereotypes. So when you’re looking for ways to reach Gen Alpha (people born from 2010 onward), only smart insights should form connections through your advertising.

Actionable initiatives with transparent empathetic positioning is essential. Don’t pretend to ‘understand’ because every generation is different, and every generation is special in its own way. 

For example, if studies show that Gen Alpha is X times more likely to take a selfie than Generation Y, does that data truly matter when it comes to ad creative? Poking fun via generalisations only serves to prove a point that you don’t understand or empathise at all.

Our top 5 audiobooks to listen to this Christmas – with a rock and roll twist

Christmas is almost here, and while it will certainly be wonderful to spend time with family and friends on the back of another year fighting the pandemic, some quiet downtime might be required to unpack the year that was.

If you haven’t already cut your teeth on audiobooks, here are some of the year’s top picks to listen to this Christmas – with a little rock and roll twist.

Daisy Jones and the Six – By Taylor Jenkins

This fictional rock and roll story by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a gripping story about the whirlwind rise of a fictional iconic 1970’s rock group and their beautiful lead singer. 

Told through interview transcripts, the story reveals the mystery behind their infamous break up, with each narrator bringing each character and event to life in a way that many listeners have believed is in fact a true story.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music – by Dave Grohl

Rock legend Dave Grohl talks us through his life so far, from the crazy days of Nirvana to keeping toddlers entertained in hotels – as he cements his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Twice.

Grohl describes it as a collection of memories of a life lived loud, from his early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18.

Life – By Keith Richards

Who can go past The Stone’s Keith Richards and Hollywood star Johnny Depp? If that’s not a recipe for an entertaining audiobook then nothing is. 

Richards is recognised as one of the best guitarists in history and his memoir is as powerful as his on-stage performances.

The audiobook explores memories, musical influences, his relationship with Mick Jagger and his struggles with drugs.

My Life in Lyrics – by Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend.

Narrated by the legend herself, Dolly reflects on memorable moments from her life through the lens of her music. 

The audiobook features iconic songs from her music catalogue, peppered with warm anecdotes and the inspiring wisdom that only Dolly can dispense.

Revolution In The Head: The Beatles Records and The Sixties – by Ian MacDonald

This audiobook is the perfect companion to those who may be wanting to, or may have already, watched the recent release of Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back on Disney.

More a collection of spoken essays than a straight music audiobook, the stories drop you smack-bang into the 60s.

If you think you know everything about every Beatles song, this audiobook might just have a surprise or two in store for you.

Ad market growth predicted to surpass pre-pandemic levels

The ad industry is in the middle of a strong December quarter, and market analysts suggest the advertising market will continue to grow beyond pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

Metro TV was down 8% in October however, the TV networks are upbeat, with Nine expecting metropolitan television advertising revenue to grow 15% in the December quarter, which highlights the resilience of traditional media platforms and the potential for further growth in digital.

Goldman Sachs analysts see the TV market remaining strong in the short term, with financial year growth forecasts expected to see +4%, from +3%. Results expected to be driven from travel, international and government segments.

Analysts also suggest the Out Of Home (OOH) market is expected to recover strongly as Melbourne and Sydney audiences return post lockdown.

Broadcast Video On Demand (BVOD) will also see further improvement over the next 24 months, benefiting from the subscriber base following the Summer Olympics and the scheduling of the Winter olympics next February.

Christmas ads hit the small screen

We’re officially on the countdown to Christmas, and once again hear the sounds of Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé burst forth from shopping centres across the country.

In the U.K, Christmas ads have become somewhat of a national institution, with every brand across the land trying to come up with the best offering.

The John Lewis Christmas ad is often named the best of the best, but the retailer always faces stiff competition from its high street counterparts.

Two of the big brands to have already hit the small screen this year are Disney and of course John Lewis.

We can always count on Disney to make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

This year, Disney expanded upon their festive campaign ‘From Our Family To Yours’, in support of Make-A-Wish.

This year, John Lewis have employed a tried-and-tested Christmas ad formula, with an unusual twist. 

The ‘Unexpected Guest’ Christmas ad is set to a soundtrack of the 1985 hit Together in Electric Dreams.

In a world smashed by a pandemic and billionaires shooting off into space, perhaps the bizzare ad has hit the mark again?

Advertising in the lead up to Christmas

After a Christmas like no other in 2020, there are still a few things to consider when advertising this year, because consumer behaviour will continue to be influenced by pandemic related issues like supply shortages and demand on postal services.

Start early

This year, some brands started to roll out Christmas advertising as early as August, due to predictions of supply chain issues over the festive season. Last year consumers even started Christmas grocery shopping much earlier than usual to beat the rush.

Phase campaigns

From October through to Black Friday (26 November) we will see online sales start to increase. After the Black Friday peak, consumer demand then builds again from early December until after Christmas. 

Understanding your customer’s spending habits will enable you to attract your core audience while also targeting other shoppers looking for Christmas gifts.

Focus on festive content

As people look ahead to Christmas, online festive-related content will be essential when consumers switch into ‘Christmas mode’. Some brands see a rapid scaling of consumer interest in Christmas content as early as October. 

Take note of trends

Even though we are now seeing lock-downs ease across Australia, things aren’t quite back to normal, so keep an eye on trends that may influence consumers behavior over the short term.

Lost in Translation

Released last month on Netflix, Squid Game has become the most popular show in more than 90 countries and may be the streaming service’s most watched program ever.

The South Korean survival drama centers on a contest where players, who have found themselves in enormous debt, play a set of childrens games (with deadly consequences), for a chance to win a ₩45.6 billion prize.

However, Netflix’s closed caption translation of the hit series, from Korean into English has sparked controversy, with some Korean speakers arguing important meaning has been lost in closed captioned and subtitled versions of the show.

Some suggest audiences are missing out on the richness of the original dialogue as well as key aspects of character development.

However, translation is not always that straightforward, as subtitling is often limited to space constraints on the screen. 

In general, subtitles can’t be longer than two lines and the most perfect of translations may still need to be paraphrased, or adapted if it doesn’t fit within spatial limitations.

Apart from the dialogue, closed captions can also include other aspects of the soundtrack, such as descriptions of the background music, sound effects, or other audio cues. 

Dialogue and soundtrack descriptions in closed captions are therefore necessarily in the viewing experience for deaf, or people hard of hearing.

Viewers of foreign language titles were up over 50 percent in 2020 on Netflix, which underscores the importance today of translation and dubbing casting.

Our Top 5 Audiobooks in September

With A-list actors narrating a host of old favourites, and some fantastic new ones, there’s never been a better time to get into audiobooks. Here are our top 5 picks for September. 

Dune, by Frank Herbert

Dune is set roughly 20,000 years in the future, when human beings have spread out and colonised planets throughout the universe.

Voted the best science-fiction novel of all time in 2012, Dune is again being released as a movie in 2021, this time directed by Denis Villeneuve.

The audiobook version adds a fantastic sense of suspense and is well worth a listen before the new movie adaptation. 

The Body, by Bill Bryson

Travelogue master Bill Bryson’s soft Midwestern tone seems to be a perfect fit for The Body audiobook.

#1 Sunday Times bestseller in both hardback and paperback, The Body is billed as a ‘guide for occupants’. 

Bill’s extraordinarily fun attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up, explores everything from genetics to our immune system.

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas is David Mitchell’s best-selling Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel.

The novel features six characters in interlocking stories that span a number of centuries, all told from the perspective of six different interconnected characters. 

The tonal shift from 19th century prose to the incomprehensibly simplistic, by the final chapter, comes across beautifully in audio form. 

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, by Stephen Fry

In Mythos, Stephen Fry recounts some of the most compelling Greek stories, from the classic favourites to some lesser known myths.

With his wonderful narrative style, Fry transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories, without losing any of their original wonder.

Each adventure is infused with Fry’s distinctive wit, voice and writing style.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.

Stephen Fry again delivers a brilliant narration of this best-selling novel, written by Douglas Adams. 

If you’d rather experience the books in full, all six are also available with narrations from Stephen Fry and Martin Freeman, who played Arthur Dent in the movie adaption. 

The rise and rise of audiobooks

Over the last decade, audiobook listening has often been referred to as the silent revolution.

In Australia, the audiobook market continues to grow. 

Some suggest the surge in popularity comes off the back of the rise in podcasts. 

However, other figures suggest that throughout the pandemic, a huge market demand for audiobooks can be attributed to the families trying to balance education and entertainment for children while working from home. 

Today, Audible’s children’s content has become more popular than ever, and there’s no shortage of stories, with over 50,000 children’s titles on Audible alone, including Harry Potter, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Enchanted Wood.

Audible continues to dominate the audiobook market and is now moving into the original audiobook market, which means they will produce an audio book first, without the need for a traditional print version.

The global audiobook market size was valued at USD 2.67 billion in 2019 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 24.4% from 2020 to 2027.

But audiobooks aren’t exactly new. The term refers to any authored print book vocalised through a variety of technologies, from records to cassettes and CDs, which you may remember from your childhood. 

But, there is no questioning the fact that digitally downloaded, or streamed audiobooks have added a new dimension to this heritage technology.