Brand Newsroom

Whether it’s a PR firm, an advertising company, a content marketing agency or any other sort of communications provider, what questions should you ask before you sign on the bottom line? You can find the show notes at lushdigital.com/bnr137-questions-to-ask-before-you-engage-an-agency/

It first came to prominence in the gaming world in the 1990s, but virtual reality is a product whose time finally seems to have come. Marketers the world over are embracing the technology in the hope of redefining customer experience. So, how can we use it? You can find the show notes at lushdigital.com/bnr136-how-virtual-reality-will-revolutionise-our-marketing-reality/

BNR's producer Dan Hatch joins Nic Hayes and Sarah Mitchell to take a deep dive into what's going wrong with the media these days — from credibility, accountability, shrinking newsrooms, falling advertising revenues to fake news and churnalism. You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr135-whats-wrong-with-the-media-today/

The team discusses innovative and cost-effective marketing tips for startups. How can startups approach marketing to ensure they get a return on investment? And is there anything big companies can learn from these newer enterprises promote themselves? You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr134-low-cost-options-to-market-your-start-up/

How does Donald Trump manage to so completely control the news agenda, with just a tweet? And could we, as brand communicators, use similar tactics? Or would that be a recipe for disaster? You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr133-how-to-tweet-like-donald-trump/

For the past two weeks Australians have watched a PR disaster unfold. A video called “Keeping it Light", featuring two conservative politicians drinking Cooper's Beer and discussing same-sex marriage (made for the Bible Society) sparked outrage in the community. Jamie Wilkinson from Cannings Purple joins Nic and Sarah to break down what happened. You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr132-coopers-brewery-keeping-it-light/

Lush Digital's senior producer Ian Bignell joins James and Nic to dissect the Department of Finance’s “Game Changers” video — which has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. Where did they go wrong? And how do you ensure your corporate video delivers for you, and doesn't turn you into a laughing stock? You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr131-the-dos-and-donts-of-corporate-video/

What’s best practice when it comes to sharing bad or difficult news? What are the strategies to employ? Is honesty always the best policy? What do you do if you’re caught unawares by circumstance? The Brand Newsroom team takes a close look at what to do and what not to do. You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr130-hard-or-bad-news/

John Kapos is a Sydney chocolatier known to thousands of Snapchat users around the world as Chocolate Johnny. He was an early adopter of Snapchat and he joins James and Sarah today to talk about how the platform has transformed his business. You can find the show notes here: lushdigital.com/bnr129-chocolate-johnny-snapchat/

Is it ever OK to publish your content on someone else’s platform, like Medium or LinkedIn Pulse, or is it always better to publish on media you actually own, like a blog? The BNR team is joined by PR Warrior Trevor Young for today’s discussion. Show notes are available at lushdigital.com/bnr128-building-on-rented-land/

The Super Bowl is America’s biggest sporting event and it has the world’s most expensive advertising slots, so we normally see some wonderfully creative ads. But this year we also saw something else: We saw far more brands using the platform to make a political statement — especially about President Trump’s immigration policies. So, today on Brand Newsroom, when is it OK to get political in your advertising? Show notes can be found at lushdigital.com/bnr127-getting-political/

With the invention of “influencer marketing”, product placement has jumped from the silver screen to the smartphone screen. In Australia new Advertising Standards mean from next month brands will have to disclose their influencer marketing deals. James, Nic and Sarah take a closer look at what that means. The show notes can be found at http://lushdigital.com/bnr126-influencer-marketing/

Is attack marketing ever a good idea? Does launching into your competitor — or perhaps a politician or someone you disagree with — ever work for a brand? James, Nic and Sarah take a close look at where attack marketing wins and where it fails. This episode's Show Notes are available at lushdigital.com/bnr125-attack-the-best-form-of-marketing/

So far this month, here in Australia, we’ve seen a TV ad from Meat and Livestock Australia that celebrates Australia’s multiculturalism, a billboard depicting two girls in hijabs celebrating Australia Day has caused an uproar and Target has included a Muslim family and a young girl with a disability in their latest catalogue. Marketing Mag reporter Ben Ice joins Nic and Sarah to discuss diversity in marketing. You can find the show notes at lushdigital.com/bnr124-diversity-in-marketing/

A lawyer recently took Instagram's Terms and Conditions and rewrote them so teenagers could understand which of their rights they were giving away when they clicked "agree". That got the Brand Newsroom team thinking about the power of using plain language instead of politi-speak, jargon, academic terminology and mangled English. Nic Hayes is our host this week. He's joined by Sarah Mitchell and Jonathan Crossfield. Stay listening to the end to hear our new segment, On My Desk, where the team makes recommendations you might well enjoy. Here are the show notes: lushdigital.com/bnr123-jonathan-crossfield-on-the-power-of-plain-language/

Should salespeople be more like marketers? According to an article in the Harvard Business Review recently, the best salespeople are those who really believe in their brand, work hard to create an emotional connection with their consumers, and attract customers rather than chase them. So, is the hard sell dead? And are the best salespeople actually brand evangelists, as HBR would have us believe? Here are the Show Notes: http://lushdigital.com/bnr122-brand-evangelist-greater-than-a-salesperson/

Pundits say we’re living in “a post-truth era”, where facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotion and public belief. Fake news is all over the internet and is believed to have influenced the United States presidential election. James, Nic and Sarah have a passionate discussion about why lies have become such a commodity, whether we still value authenticity, and what the opportunity is for brands in all this. Here are the Show Notes: http://lushdigital.com/bnr121-the-rise-of-post-truth-everything/

It’s the time of year when we start looking forward — making resolutions and plans for the new year. Today the Brand Newsroom team gazes into the crystal ball to see what 2017 might hold in the marketing and communications industry. Here are the Show Notes: lushdigital.com/bnr120-marketing-predictions-for-2017/

What does your website look like? Are you happy with it? Is it working for you and, more importantly, is it working for your customers? Zion Ong, director of West Australian digital marketing company Alyka, joins the BNR team to talk about what’s best practice when it comes to websites. Here are the Show Notes: lushdigital.com/bnr119-how-to-get-your-website-right/

Nenad Senic is group editor at Slovenian content marketing agency Poslovni Mediji and the European editor of Chief Content Officer magazine. He’s one of Europe’s top content marketing minds. He joins Sarah and James for a conversation about how to use print effectively. Here are the show notes: lushdigital.com/bnr118-nenad-senic-on-why-print-still-works/