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Advertising a house is ridiculously expensive in Australia – could that be affecting the property market?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-graham-1264059">James Graham</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Australia has long been one of the <a href="https://www.forbes.com.au/news/investing/sydney-melbourne-adelaide-are-top-10-least-affordable-cities-for-housing/#:%7E:text=Demographia's%20annual%20report%20assesses%20housing,second%20place%2C%20and%20Vancouver%20third.">most expensive</a> places in the world to buy a house. Now, it’s apparently also one of the costliest places to sell one.</p> <p>Recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/16/the-symbiotic-relationship-that-makes-selling-a-house-in-australia-so-damn-expensive">reporting</a> in the Guardian has raised concerns about the market dominance of Australia’s two main real estate advertising websites, realestate.com.au and Domain.</p> <p>Facing little competition, the largest – realestate.com.au – appears to have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/16/the-symbiotic-relationship-that-makes-selling-a-house-in-australia-so-damn-expensive">significantly increased its fees</a> in recent years, while thwarting disruptive innovations from smaller competitors.</p> <p>Why does that matter? Because when it comes to selling a house, Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/16/real-estate-website-fees-australia">stands out</a> globally. In most other countries, any advertising costs are tiny or bundled in with agent fees.</p> <p>Here, along with only <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/16/the-symbiotic-relationship-that-makes-selling-a-house-in-australia-so-damn-expensive">Sweden and New Zealand</a>, home sellers pay their own advertising costs in addition to real estate agent fees and commissions.</p> <p>This advertising can be expensive – up to several thousand dollars for a single property listing. But it also seems necessary, with a lack of alternative platforms offering comparable reach.</p> <p>Setting aside the problems of monopolistic pricing behaviour, what are the economics of high and rising real estate advertising fees? Do home sellers get value for the money they spend on advertising? And what might be the impacts of these fees on the Australian housing market?</p> <h2>Is advertising on big platforms worth it?</h2> <p>First, it’s worth asking whether real estate advertising is actually effective and whether bigger platforms are better.</p> <p>To explore these questions, a group of US-based economists <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.99.5.1878">studied</a> the outcomes of advertising on a large platform favoured by real estate agents in the United States called the “multiple listing service”, compared with a smaller for-sale-by-owner platform.</p> <p>The study found no differences in eventual home sales prices between the two platforms. But properties on the multiple listing service were more likely to sell and spent less time on the market.</p> <p>However, the size of the advertising platform didn’t explain these benefits. Rather, the different platforms appealed to buyers and sellers with varying patience levels. This variation in willingness to “wait-and-see” affected the time it took to sell.</p> <p>Translated to the Australian context, that raises questions about the value for money of advertising on a larger platform – which here, unlike the US, attracts significant fees.</p> <h2>Housing markets are ‘search markets’</h2> <p>Next, we need to consider how high costs of advertising property might affect the housing market more broadly.</p> <p>Housing markets fall into a category called “search markets” within economics. Sellers seek buyers, and buyers seek sellers offering up properties that meet their required criteria.</p> <p>The economics of search markets have been extensively studied by the likes of <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2010/summary/">Nobel laureates</a> Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides. Their insights highlight the key factors that determine search market outcomes.</p> <p>Sellers consider the costs of listing an item for sale (such as advertising) and the time it takes to find a buyer. Buyers, on the other hand, consider their alternatives to buying (such as renting) and the time it might take to find a suitable seller.</p> <p>The likelihood of a sale – and how long everything will take – depends on the number of potential buyers relative to sellers. The sales price is then negotiated after meetings between the two.</p> <p>This gives us a framework to speculate about how Australia’s high – and increasing – costs of advertising real estate could be affecting the broader housing market on both sides of this equation.</p> <h2>Costs can affect both supply and demand</h2> <p>On the supply side, high fees reduce the net financial benefit of selling a home, which could discourage homeowners from listing their properties. All else being equal, this could lead to fewer properties on the market, shorter selling times, and higher prices for the properties that are listed.</p> <p>But we can predict some effects on the demand side, too.</p> <p>High fees also reduce the net benefit of buying a home, as current buyers expect to be sellers in the future. These costs are likely to be even more pronounced for property investors, who buy and sell property more frequently than homeowners.</p> <p>Anticipation that selling costs will be high in the future could suppress the demand for housing, reducing prices and increasing the time it takes to sell a property.</p> <p>Interestingly, <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w32855">recent research</a> from the US suggests that these demand-side effects might outweigh the supply-side effects.</p> <p>Economists studied the impact of a series of court decisions that forced the National Association of Realtors to reduce real estate agent fees. They found lower fees increase the lifetime benefits of homeownership, which leads to a significant increase in house prices.</p> <p>Significantly, that suggests lowering the costs of selling property – including advertising – could increase property values.</p> <h2>Just one part of the housing story</h2> <p>High prices in any area of economic life are likely to rankle our sense of a fair deal. High fees for advertising real estate have an obvious immediate impact on a home seller’s wallet.</p> <p>But the nuanced flow-on effects to the broader housing market are harder to tease out. They are also likely to vary across different property markets within Australia. Commentators and policy makers should think carefully before leaping into action in this area.</p> <p>In the meantime, advertising fees are one more thing to keep an eye on as Australian housing costs continue to rise.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/239111/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-graham-1264059">James Graham</a>, Senior Lecturer in Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/advertising-a-house-is-ridiculously-expensive-in-australia-could-that-be-affecting-the-property-market-239111">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

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The ‘yes’ Voice campaign is far outspending ‘no’ in online advertising, but is the message getting through?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrea-carson-924">Andrea Carson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/max-gromping-1466451">Max Grömping</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-strating-129115">Rebecca Strating</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/simon-jackman-310245">Simon Jackman</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>With early voting set to open next week for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, this is a critical time for campaigners to win over voters.</p> <p>If the <a href="https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n11054/pdf/ch01.pdf">2022 federal election</a> is anything to go by, Australians have developed a taste for early voting, with fewer than half of all voters actually going to a polling station on election day.</p> <p>If the same voting patterns apply to the referendum, this means more than half of Australians, particularly <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/government-and-opposition/article/correlates-of-early-voting/49D19E94A1D26F9AFE1B72DCB56AFF3F">older voters</a>, may have cast a vote before voting day on October 14.</p> <h2>What’s happening in the polls?</h2> <p>Public polls indicate support for the “yes” campaign continues to decline, despite, as we’ve shown below, huge spending on advertising and extensive media coverage of its message.</p> <p>According to <a href="https://simonjackman.github.io/poll_averaging_voice_2023/poll_averaging.html">Professor Simon Jackman’s</a> averaging of the polls, “no” currently leads “yes” by 58% to 42% nationally. If this lead holds, the result would be <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/elections/referendums/1999_referendum_reports_statistics/1999.htm">even more lopsided</a> than the 1999 republic referendum defeat, where the <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/elections/referendums/1999_referendum_reports_statistics/summary_republic.htm">nationwide vote </a> was 55% “no” to 45% “yes”.</p> <p>The rate of decline in support for “yes” continues to be about 0.75 of a percentage point a week. If this trend continues, the “yes” vote would sit at 39.6% on October 14, 5.5 percentage points below the “yes” vote in the republic referendum.</p> <p>If “yes” were to prevail on October 14, it would take a colossal reversal in public sentiment, or it would indicate there’s been a stupendously large, collective polling error. Or perhaps both.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe style="width: 100%;" src="https://simonjackman.github.io/poll_averaging_voice_2023/level_plot_standalone.html" width="100%" height="688"> </iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>What’s happening in the news and social media?</h2> <p>Using Meltwater data, we have seen a massive spike in Voice media coverage since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the referendum date at the end of August.</p> <p>In the most recent week we analysed, from September 14-21, we saw a huge jump of mentions of the Voice to Parliament (2.86 million) in print media, radio, TV and social media. This compares to about a quarter million mentions in the first week of the “yes” and “no” campaigns, which we documented in our <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-no-campaign-is-dominating-the-messaging-on-the-voice-referendum-on-tiktok-heres-why-212465">last report</a> of this series monitoring both campaigns.</p> <p>Voice coverage now constitutes 6.7% of all Australian media reporting, up from 4.2% in week one. To put that in perspective, mentions of Hugh Jackman’s marriage split from Deborra-Lee Furness comprised 1.5% of total weekly coverage, while mentions of the AFL and NRL amounted to 4.1% and 1.7%, respectively.</p> <p>Media coverage of the Voice peaked on September 17 with 38,000 mentions, thanks to widespread coverage of the “yes” rallies that day around the country.</p> <p>This was followed closely by 35,000 Voice mentions the next day, led by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/voice-to-parliament/voice-will-see-lawyers-in-sydney-and-melbourne-get-richer-dutton/video/40349a54a9f0c2f48baec7ba7263a000">claim</a> on Sky News that a Voice to parliament would see lawyers in Sydney and Melbourne “get richer” through billions of dollars worth of treaty negotiations.</p> <p>Our analysis of X (formerly Twitter) data provides further insight to these trends, showing the nationwide “yes” rallies on September 17 received the most public engagement about the Voice during the week we analysed.</p> <hr /> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=269&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=269&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=269&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549754/original/file-20230922-21-tp54x2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption><span class="caption">X (Twitter) data accessed via Meltwater.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <hr /> <h2>Who is advertising online?</h2> <p>This week, we specifically turned our attention to the online advertising spending of the campaigns. We also examined the types of disinformation campaigns appearing on social media, some of which are aimed at the Australian Electoral Commission, similar to the anti-democratic disinformation campaigns that have roiled the US.</p> <p>The main online advertising spend is on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms. We have real-time visibility of this spending thanks to the ad libraries of Meta and Google.</p> <p>The Yes23 campaign has far outspent any other Voice campaigner on these platforms. In the last three months, its advertising expenditure exceeds $1.1 million, compared to just under $100,000 for Fair Australia, the leading “no” campaign organisation.</p> <hr /> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=241&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=241&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=241&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=303&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=303&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549942/original/file-20230925-23-7tl134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=303&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Top five Voice campaign spenders on Facebook and Instagram since June 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Meta ad library</span></span></figcaption></figure> <hr /> <p>Yes23 has also released a far greater number of new ads in September (in excess of 3,200) on both platforms, compared to Fair Australia’s 52 new ads. The top five spenders from both sides are listed below.</p> <p>As early voting nears, this graph shows Yes23 ad spending outpaced Fair Australia on both Google and Meta platforms in week three, as well.</p> <hr /> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=484&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=484&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=484&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=608&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=608&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549762/original/file-20230922-23-1bi7ov.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=608&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Campaign ad spending on digital platforms from Sept. 14-21.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors provided.</span></span></figcaption></figure> <hr /> <p>The advertising spending data shows how drastically different the strategies of the two main campaigns are. Yes23’s approach is an ad blitz, blanketing the nation with hundreds of ads and experimenting with scores of different messages.</p> <p>In contrast, the “no” side has released far fewer ads with no experimentation. The central message is about “division”, mostly delivered by the lead “no” campaigner, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. All but eight of the ads released by the “no” side in September feature a personal message by Price arguing that the referendum is “divisive” and “the Voice threatens Aussie unity.”</p> <p>To win, “yes” requires a majority of voters nationwide, as well as a majority of voters in a majority of states. The “no” side is strategically targeting its ads to the two states it believes are most likely in play – South Australia and Tasmania. It only needs to win one of these states to ensure the “yes” side fails.</p> <hr /> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=797&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=797&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=797&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1001&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1001&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549949/original/file-20230925-20-zgr4wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1001&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Campaign ad spend on Meta platforms across the states since mid-August. (Dark blue = greater the ad spend).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <hr /> <h2>Referendum disinformation</h2> <p>The Meltwater data also reveal a surge in misinformation and disinformation targeting of the AEC with American-style attacks on the voting process.</p> <p>Studies show disinformation surrounding the referendum has been <a href="https://osf.io/qu2fb/">prevalent</a> on X since at least March. To mitigate the harms, the AEC has established a <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/media/disinformation-register-ref.htm">disinformation register</a> to inform citizens about the referendum process and call out falsehoods.</p> <p>We’ve identified three types of disinformation campaigns in the campaign so far.</p> <p>The first includes attempts to redefine the issue agenda. Examples range from the false <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-02/fact-check-indigenous-australians-support-for-the-voice/102673042">claims</a> that First Nations people do not overwhelmingly support the Voice to <a href="https://stephenreason.substack.com/p/the-voice-to-parliament-the-united">conspiracy myths</a> about the Voice being a globalist land grab.</p> <p>These falsehoods aim to influence vote choice. This disinformation type is not covered in the AEC’s register, as the organisation has no provisions to enforce truth in political advertising.</p> <p>The register does cover a second type of disinformation. This includes spurious claims about the voting process, such as that the referendum is voluntary. This false claim aims to depress voter turnout in yet another attempt to influence the outcome.</p> <p>Finally, a distinct set of messages targets the AEC directly. The aim is to undermine trust in the integrity of the vote.</p> <p>A most prominent example was Dutton’s <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/voice-voting-rules-confusion-stinks-dutton-20230824-p5dz41">suggestion</a> the voting process was “rigged” due to the established rule of counting a tick on the ballot as a vote for “yes”, while a cross will not be accepted as a formal vote for “no”. Sky News host Andrew Bolt <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1256952825005993">echoed</a> this claim in his podcast, which was repeated on social media, reaching 29,800 viewers in one post.</p> <p>Attention to the tick/cross issue spiked on August 25 when the AEC <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/25/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-aec-poll-unfairness-claims-rejected">refuted</a> the claim (as can be seen in the chart below). Daily Telegraph columnist and climate change denialist Maurice Newman then linked the issue to potential <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/maurice-newman-aec-rules-on-voting-could-create-confusion-uncertainty/news-story/c76bc3e1e031c2f349710dd1e9f3b51e?btr=15aad1c65d873d8f896d09618a96e228">voter fraud</a>, mimicking US-style attacks on the integrity of voting systems.</p> <hr /> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=267&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=267&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=267&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=336&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=336&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549852/original/file-20230924-23-ob3ltn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=336&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Disinformation attacking AEC or referendum over past month.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <hr /> <p>The volume of mentions of obvious disinformation on media and social media may not be high compared to other mentions of the Voice. However, studies show disinformation disproportionately grabs people’s attention due to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-019-0224-y">cognitive attraction</a> of pervasive negativity, the focus on threats or arousal of disgust.</p> <p>All three types of disinformation campaigns attacking this referendum should concern us deeply because they <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00104140231193008">threaten trust</a> in our political institutions, which undermines our vibrant democracy.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213749/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrea-carson-924"><em>Andrea Carson</em></a><em>, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/max-gromping-1466451">Max Grömping</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-strating-129115">Rebecca Strating</a>, Director, La Trobe Asia and Associate Professor, La Trobe University, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/simon-jackman-310245">Simon Jackman</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-yes-voice-campaign-is-far-outspending-no-in-online-advertising-but-is-the-message-getting-through-213749">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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The soundtrack to selling: why advertising with popular music needs to be pitch perfect

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/morteza-abolhasani-1346513">Morteza Abolhasani</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-open-university-748">The Open University</a></em></p> <p>At some point today, it’s likely that you’ll listen to music. It may be during a commute or school run, while you do some exercise or take some time to relax. Music is all around us – an accessible and popular art form which <a href="https://online.ucpress.edu/mp/article-abstract/22/1/41/62190/Uses-of-Music-in-Everyday-Life?redirectedFrom=fulltext">accompanies our daily lives</a>.</p> <p>Advertisers have long understood the popularity and emotional power of music and used it to sell us things. Much time – and money – is spent on securing the right soundtrack to adverts in a bid to boost sales, such as when Microsoft <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1999-05-23/sing-a-song-of-selling?leadSource=uverify%20wall">spent a reported US$3 million</a> (£2.4 million) to use The Rolling Stones’ song Start Me Up as part of their advertising campaign for Windows 95.</p> <p>So how do companies choose the right music for their product? And why is it such a valuable ingredient in the mission to make us consume?</p> <p>Research suggests that the specific qualities of music as an art form enhances the science of selling. As one researcher <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mar.4220010303">puts it</a>: “Music […] is the catalyst of advertising. It augments pictures and colours words, and often adds a form of energy available through no other source.”</p> <p>Other <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-531-18916-1_19">studies have shown</a> how music transports, underlines or amplifies the persuasive message of adverts. Used well, it creates memorable commercials which influence our attitudes to a product or service.</p> <p>Take the visually simple but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6bGnSEwdKY">compelling advert</a> for Air France, with the soundtrack of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23. It projects grandeur and elegance, in the hope that viewers will associate those qualities with the airline.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J6bGnSEwdKY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1470593117692021">My research</a>, which looked at hundreds of viewer comments about the music used in advertising, suggests it was successful. Air France’s use of a sophisticated piece of classical music created a direct perception of a sophisticated and premium airline.</p> <p>This is supported by other <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/38632/chapter-abstract/335307151?redirectedFrom=fulltext">research</a> which suggests that music which matches the main message of an advert has a positive effect on consumer engagement. This alignment, known as “musical congruity”, can result in enhanced attention, a positive emotional response, and improved brand recall, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of an advert.</p> <h2>Down memory lane</h2> <p>Music is also effective at triggering <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1470593114521451?journalCode=mtqa">feelings of nostalgia</a>. The extent to which music arouses emotional memories – “musical indexicality” – in adverts creates associations with consumers’ past experiences.</p> <p>The music for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NwBcCUh24I">an advert</a> for Old Navy inspired <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1470593117692021">positive comments</a> based on viewers’ memories. A good choice of music allows businesses to tap into this nostalgia for commercial benefit, and my <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1470593117692021">research suggests</a> that music with autobiographical resonance can be particularly effective.</p> <p>Another example of this is when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pink+moon+vw">Volkswagen used</a> Nick Drake’s <em>Pink Moon</em>.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_-kqUkZnDcM?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>As one viewer commented: “Rarely do I get sentimental with commercials, but this one takes me back to the time when I was dating my wife and when we were first married. We used to take drives like this in the mountains and I remember looking at her beautiful face in the moonlight. The music is perfect. The sentiment is perfect.”</p> <p>(In this case, the 1999 advert also had a big impact on Nick Drake’s popularity, with album sales <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nick-drake-pink-moon-song-volkwagen-commercial-182739/">dramatically increasing</a> after the advert’s release. Drake, who died at the age of 26, never saw commercial success in his lifetime.)</p> <h2>Commercial clash</h2> <p>But using music to advertise products doesn’t always work. For one thing, music can infiltrate the mind, repeat itself continuously and become extremely difficult to dislodge.</p> <p>This is why we can’t get some jingles out of our heads for ages. Involuntary and repetitive exposure to a piece of music can quickly reach the point of annoyance.</p> <p>The use of popular music in advertising can also provoke arguments around <a href="https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/currentmusicology/article/view/5206">the tensions</a> between artistic endeavour and commercialism. Some people believe a work of art should not be used for the pursuit of profit.</p> <p>In fact, the findings of my study on viewer comments showed that consumers sometimes passionately oppose the use of music by revered musicians being used in adverts, as they believe that doing this undermines its aesthetic integrity.</p> <p>For example, Nike’s use of the The Beatles’ song <em>Revolution</em> was seen by some as exploiting John Lennon’s lyrics to sell shoes. It made some Nike wearers so angry that they boycotted the brand.</p> <p>One wrote: “This is disgusting. Shame on Nike for exploiting priceless art. I will never buy another Nike shoe again.” Another said: “John didn’t mean change the brand of your trainers!”</p> <p>So advertisers need to be careful. For while the right choice of music can attract customers, boost sales, and inspire brand loyalty, the wrong choice can create something of a backlash. For many people, music is precious, and using it as a marketing tool does not always have harmonious results.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203856/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/morteza-abolhasani-1346513">Morteza Abolhasani</a>, Lecturer in Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-open-university-748">The Open University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-soundtrack-to-selling-why-advertising-with-popular-music-needs-to-be-pitch-perfect-203856">original article</a>.</em></p>

Music

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Gym slammed as “fatphobic” over detail in advertisement

<p dir="ltr">A small detail in a gym’s advertising calling for models to promote their new apparel range has sparked outrage online for being “fatphobic” and lacking size inclusivity.</p> <p dir="ltr">The gym chain shared a notice online looking for female models between a size extra small and a small.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hundreds of people called out the gym for the “sickening” size requirement, saying it is unfair to gym-goers bigger than a size eight.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, some pointed out models of larger sizes could already be included or casters are trying to find people who fit in sample sizes. </p> <p dir="ltr">The gym has explained the post was a “miscommunication” and that they were looking for models of a specific size based on the clothing their suppliers provided.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How's this for size inclusivity?” one of the gym members wrote online alongside a screenshot of the advertisement.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are looking for male and female eCommerce models to shoot our new apparel - Melbourne based,” the message from the gym read. </p> <p dir="ltr">It said they were after medium-sized male models and female models who fit an XS or S.</p> <p dir="ltr">The woman’s post reached hundreds of people, many sharing their outrage over the ad.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Yuck they actually put this on the internet," one woman wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I hate it here. How hard is it to just support inclusivity??” another added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Because people still don't like us fat people, especially gyms,” a third replied. </p> <p dir="ltr">Many came to the gym’s defence and didn’t see any issue with the detail asking for smaller models.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I'm a chunky girl and honestly this isn't that serious or offensive. More important things to worry about!” one woman wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“It's really not that deep, they are probably modelling sample sizes,” a second added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It's also a gym so they're gonna wanna be promoting 'fitter' people more than likely,” a third responded. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sample sizes refer to clothing sent out by brands and designers for press, modelling and PR purposes. </p> <p dir="ltr">They are typically made in small sizes supposedly to save money on fabric but have been slammed for not representing average body types.</p> <p dir="ltr">Those angered by the ad were not convinced by the defenders’ reasons, with one saying, “The fact there are so many 'what ifs!' Instead of just supporting body inclusivity is mind boggling to me.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I'm gonna need a follow up when they post photos from their model call because the amount of people in here assuming they've already shot larger sizes are sweet, but most likely wrong,” a second added.</p> <p dir="ltr">After explaining it was a “miscommunication”, a spokesperson for the gym added that it did not intend to exclude anyone or insinuate negative stereotypes.</p> <p dir="ltr">They said they had only received clothing in extra small and small from suppliers despite requesting a range of sizes. </p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-973765ca-7fff-a9e2-91dd-ca3c86a8aa80"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credit: Instagram/Shutterstock</em></p>

Body

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Desperate measures: Shed advertised as three-bedroom rental

<p dir="ltr">As Australia’s housing crisis continues, prospective tenants have been left desperately searching for accommodation.</p> <p dir="ltr">Some homeowners have taken the chance to exploit the anguish of renters by listing their own version of “budget” accommodation to make a few bucks on the side.</p> <p dir="ltr">The latest makeshift housing solution comes from a landlord in Melbourne who has listed their garden shed a three-bedroom rental.</p> <p dir="ltr">The homeowner claims the shed boasts enough room for three bedrooms and a bathroom, while photos of the “property” show a singular room, adorned with astroturf.</p> <p dir="ltr">The listing, which is believed to have been shared on Facebook, was priced at $350 per month, with pictures showing one open-plan "room" with a large mattress shoved in one corner of the shed along with what appears to be a desk.</p> <p dir="ltr">The walls have no form of insulation and pieces of wood can be seen balancing in the rafters overhead.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Facebook listing was seen by an outraged man, who reposted the ad to a group which warns prospective renters about subpar rental properties.</p> <p dir="ltr">He said he was left "speechless" by the advertisement, which he described as "sweatshop style accommodation".</p> <p dir="ltr">"These sheds will be a sauna in summer, freezing in winter and attract all sorts of vermin. People will get severely sick. This should never, ever be an acceptable substitute for housing," he wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I feel like this has to be someone actually genuinely joking?" one person said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Disgusting, the nerve this person has," another raged.</p> <p dir="ltr">The listing comes amid unprecedented pressure on the Australian rental market, with record-low vacancy rates pushing prices sky-high.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tenants have little choice but to pay up, with the national vacancy rate at just 0.9 per cent.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Facebook</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Viewers slam Kath and Kim for “false advertising”

<p dir="ltr">Viewers have been left disappointed with the reboot of <em>Kath and Kim</em> after months of promoting the return of the Aussie show. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Kath &amp; Kim: Our Effluent Life</em> aired on Channel 7 on November 20 with fans gearing up for the show’s exciting 20th anniversary. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, within minutes of the show airing, social media was flooded with messages of “disappointment” because only 10 minutes of new footage was aired. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Well this is disappointing. I thought it was a new episode #KathandKim,” someone wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This episode is like watching the bonus content you get when you buy a special edition DVD from Sanity #kathandkim #oureffluentlife,” another commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Anyone else feeling cheated that we're not getting a whole new episode,” another wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 20th anniversary reboot, which showed never-before-seen bloopers and moments from the previous seasons, went on for 74 minutes.</p> <p dir="ltr">There were special appearances from Kylie Minogue, Michael Bublé, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Eric Bana, Mick Molloy, Tony Martin, Richard E Grant, Barry Humphries, and Julia Gillard.</p> <p dir="ltr">Channel 7 did make it clear however that the show will only include around 10 minutes of new footage.</p> <p dir="ltr">Avid fans defended the screening, pointing out that it was evident from the beginning that the 20th anniversary episode would not be something new. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The only people complaining about #kathandkim are the ones who chose not to read anything about it prior to tonight. It was never advertised as a new episode. It was always going to be a celebration of the show’s history,” someone pointed out. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I feel like I'm the only person in Australia who picked up this was going to be a greatest hits/behind the scenes special, not a brand new episode #kathandkim,” another wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“If you are one of the morons complaining about the #kathandkim retrospective, if you had half a brain you'd be dangerous. It was always promoted and advertised as a retrospective, it's not their problem you're dumb,” someone else commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite all the anger, 786,000 Aussies tuned in to watch the show. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Channel 7</em></p>

TV

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Ads are coming to Netflix soon – here’s what we can expect and what that means for the streaming industry

<p>Ads are coming to Netflix, perhaps even sooner than anticipated.</p> <p>The Wall Street Journal has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflix-seeking-top-dollar-for-brands-to-advertise-on-its-service-11661980078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Netflix has moved up the launch of their ad-supported subscription tier to November. The Sydney Morning Herald, meanwhile, is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/netflix-with-ads-is-coming-this-year-here-s-what-we-know-20220902-p5bezy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> that Australia is amongst the first countries likely to experience ads on Netflix later this year.</p> <p>Netflix first announced they would introduce a new, lower-priced, subscription tier to be supported by advertising in April. This was an about-face from a company that had built an advertising free, on-demand television empire. Indeed, it was only in 2020 <a href="https://bgr.com/entertainment/netflix-ads-why-no-commercials-cheap-tier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings ruled out advertising</a> on the platform, saying “you know, advertising looks easy until you get in it.”</p> <p>The change of heart followed Netflix’s 2022 first quarter earnings report which saw a <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-market-swamped-with-streaming-services-netflixs-massive-loss-of-subscribers-is-a-big-deal-181780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subscriber loss</a> for the first time in over a decade. The addition of ads to the platform is a clear sign of the emerging period of experimentation across the streaming landscape.</p> <h2>How will it work?</h2> <p>It’s important to note that not every Netflix subscription tier will carry advertising. The current plan is there will be one newly introduced and cheaper subscription tier supported by advertising, targeting in the US market around USD $7-9 a month as the price point. This will represent a discount from the current cheapest plan of US $9.99 (AUD $10.99) a month. These prices will be adapted to the different currency markets Netflix operate across and the existing price points in those markets.</p> <p>By bringing a hybrid advertising/subscription tier, Netflix is adopting a business model already present on other streamers like Hulu. Netflix is keeping this a hybrid tier, meaning while the new tier will be cheaper, it will not be free, like ad-supported streaming available on Peacock.</p> <p>Advertising presents complex new technological and business challenges for Netflix, which has not worked in this market before. To enter this new market, Netflix announced advertising would be <a href="https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-partners-with-microsoft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered through a partnership with Microsoft</a>.</p> <p>Partnering with Microsoft allayed some fears around Netflix entering a new media market and gives Netflix access to Microsoft’s extensive advertising delivery infrastructure.</p> <p>Netflix has announced that original movie programming may stay free of ads for a limited period upon release, and that both original and some licensed childrens’ content will remain free of ads.</p> <p>As well as staying away from children’s advertising, which in Australia is highly regulated by government and industry codes, Netflix is also avoiding any advertising buyers in cryptocurrency, political advertising, and gambling.</p> <p>Advertising will run around 4 minutes per hour of content - for context Australian commercial free-to-air TV networks are limited on their primary channels to 13 minutes per hour and 15 minutes per hour on multi-channels between 6am and midnight.</p> <p>Netflix will also have limits on the number of times a single ad can appear for a user and there is expectation that ads for movie content will be delivered in a pre-roll format, not interrupting the feature.</p> <h2>Advertising in the streaming sector</h2> <p>Netflix is not the only subscription service to announce advertising as part of new pricing strategies. Earlier this year <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/disney-raises-streaming-prices-services-post-big-operating-loss-rcna42600" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disney announced a highly successful quarter</a> from a subscriber uptake perspective, growing by 15 million subscribers, however streaming-induced losses were $300 million greater than estimated.</p> <p>Disney also announced that an ad-supported Disney+ subscription option will become available in December. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-price-increase-shows-limits-of-subscriber-growth-push-11660256118" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal reported that</a> the December timeline given by Disney is what drove Netflix to bring forward their ad plans.</p> <p>TV consumers are historically well accustomed to advertising in television - in Australia, commercial free-to-air networks Seven, Nine, and Ten carry advertising, public broadcaster SBS carries a limited amount of advertising, and even pay-TV provider Foxtel is supported by both subscription fees and advertising. Advertising itself is not new to audiences, but it has not been present on a number of premium streaming platforms like Netflix before.</p> <p>Streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ are seeking ways to both reach new audiences and to maximise their revenues from each user. There is a belief amongst top executives that providing a cheaper ad-supported tier will tap into the market of audiences who both do not mind advertising and see current subscription prices as too high.</p> <p>There is also evidence from other streaming platforms, such as Hulu and Discovery+, that have offered ad-supported subscription tiers, that these tiers can generate greater average revenue per user <a href="https://baremetrics.com/academy/average-revenue-per-user-arpu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(ARPU)</a> than higher priced subscription-only tiers.</p> <p>The ARPU is a metric used in the streaming industry that looks at how much money a company makes from each subscriber after deducting business costs. Having higher revenues from a subscriber can be driven by increasing subscription prices, driving subscribers to more expensive subscription tiers, reducing business costs, or by adding additional revenue streams like advertising.</p> <p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.nexttv.com/news/david-zaslav-says-discovery-gets-more-revenue-per-sub-dtc-than-with-cable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Discovery CEO David Zaslav noted</a> that Discovery+ was generating more revenue per subscriber from their cheaper ad-supported tier than their more expensive subscription-only tier thanks to the advertising revenue. Zaslav commented that advertisers were keen to reach an audience that was largely not accessible through other television means.</p> <p>With this in mind, Netflix and Disney are betting that their ad-supported tiers can perform similarly and increase the revenue they can generate per subscriber.</p> <h2>Experimentation across the streaming sector</h2> <p>Experimentation around established business strategies is ruling the current streaming landscape.</p> <p>HBO Max, under newly merged corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery, is now switching to licensing content in select markets rather than streaming on its own platform. With the airing of The Lord of the Rings prequel <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-lord-of-the-rings-prequel-the-rings-of-power-is-set-in-the-second-age-of-middle-earth-heres-what-that-means-175333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Rings of Power</a>, Amazon Prime Video is discovering whether its experiment with the most expensive television production ever at US $715 million (AUD $1.05 billion) will pay off with audiences.</p> <p>There is experimentation across the streaming industry in licensing strategies, spectacle television, pricing models and beyond. The results of this experimentation will take time. But what the arrival of advertising on Netflix signals is that established strategy no longer rules the streaming landscape.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/ads-are-coming-to-netflix-soon-heres-what-we-can-expect-and-what-that-means-for-the-streaming-industry-190236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

TV

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FatBlaster slammed and banned for misleading advertising

<p>A popular weight loss pill will be banned from being sold after Australian regulators deemed there was no medical evidence the pill leads to weight-loss, as advertised.</p> <p>The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) removed FatBlaster Max – Australia’s leading weight loss supplement – from shelves across the country on Monday including at Coles, Woolworths, and Priceline after its creators registered the medicine without any weight loss properties.</p> <p>“The TGA considers that the name ‘FatBlaster’, as used on the label for FatBlaster Max and on a website where Cat Media Pty Ltd advertised that medicine, would be understood by consumers to represent that the medicine causes loss of body fat and therefore weight loss,” they said.</p> <p>“When the medicine was listed on [the register], however, Cat Media Pty Ltd had not included weight loss or body fat loss in the list of indications for the medicine. Thus, the TGA is unable to ensure that the medicine is effective for this advertised purpose.”</p> <p>Consumers were recommended by the FatBlaster Max creators to take one tablet every three hours, with each pill containing the same amount of caffeine as a cup of instant coffee.</p> <p>University of Queensland researcher and Accredited Practising Dietician, Dr Veronique Chachay, told NCA NewsWire “it’s about time” the “misleading” product was banned from sale.</p> <p>“Having this being taken off the shelf is only a little drop in a big ocean of issues, but still, it’s a step.”</p> <p>“People need to understand that weight loss doesn‘t happen this way. There’s no magic pill.”</p> <p>A FatBlaster representative told NCA NewsWire they are “disappointed” by the TGA’s decision to cancel the product.</p> <p><em>Image: FatBlaster</em></p>

Body

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Savage Garden refuses to sell out their famous song

<p>Hayes said he’s been approached recently by an advertising company wanting to use the band’s 1997 major hit – <em>Truly Madly Deeply</em> – which Hayes wrote.</p> <p>The singer made his fans laugh on Twitter by sharing the lyrics the advertising company wanted to use and Hayes posted: “If you knew how much money I turn down and how hard I fight to protect your high school memories.”</p> <p>The lyrics the company had pitched to him were:</p> <p><strong>VERSE 1</strong></p> <p><em>I’ll bring you Greek, I’ll bring you French, I’ll bring you Japanese. </em></p> <p><em>I’ll bring you Thai, Steak from the Pub, bring all the food that you need. </em></p> <p><em>Close to your door with every step, I’m outside holding your food. </em></p> <p><em>It will be warm, It will be tasty ‘cause I’m counting on a real good rating.</em></p> <p><em>That’s the reason I’m bringing, you Deep Fried Chicken </em></p> <p><strong>CHORUS 1</strong></p> <p><em>I want to stand with you on food mountain </em></p> <p><em>I want to float with you in some cheese. </em></p> <p><em>[insert brand name] Like this forever </em></p> <p><em>Until more fries rain down on me. </em></p> <p>Twitter users thanked the singer for not selling out and they described the advertising company’s lyrics as “truly madly cringy”, “awful” and “a travesty.”</p> <p>“These lyrics make me want to throw myself off food mountain,” tweeted <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/savage-garden-star-darren-hayes-rejects-companys-awful-pitch/news-story/@daggerandpe" target="_blank">@daggerandpen</a>.</p> <p>“‘I want to float with you in some cheese’ is my new pick-up line,” wrote <a rel="noopener" href="https://twitter.com/clairenelson/status/1422342652658425858?s=20" target="_blank">@clairenelson</a>.</p> <p>And <a rel="noopener" href="https://twitter.com/timbyrneses/status/1422343095534854154?s=20" target="_blank">@timbyrneses</a> tweeted: “Could you still record it? The people need to hear this cringe.”</p> <p><em>Truly Madly Deeply</em> was a huge hit for Hayes and his Savage Garden bandmate, Daniel Jones, when it was released in 1997.</p> <p>The song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US and it became the first song in the chart’s history to spend a full 52 weeks inside the top 30.</p> <p>In Australia it won the ARIA award for Single of the Year and was nominated for Song of the Year but lost out to another Savage Garden song, <em>To the Moon and Back</em>.</p> <p>Savage Garden won 10 ARIAs that year from 13 nominations.</p> <p><em>Image: Wikimedia Commons</em></p>

Music

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Clive Palmer's COVID-19 vaccine death claims gain momentum

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post-body-container"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A radio commercial that was authorised by Clive Palmer and played on Queensland radio stations claiming that there have been 210 Australian deaths due to the COVID-19 vaccine has been debunked by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.</p> <p>The commercial begins by saying that Australia has recorded one COVID-19 associated death in 2021.</p> <p>“Australia has had one Covid-19 associated death in 2021,” the ad said. “But the TGA [Therapeutic Goods Administration] reports that there’s been 210 deaths and over 24,000 adverse reactions after Covid vaccinations. Authorised by Clive Palmer, Brisbane," the full ad reads.</p> <p>The TGA slammed the radio advertisement, saying that the “misinformation, in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, poses an unacceptable threat to the health of Australians”.</p> <p>“The Therapeutic Goods Administration is seriously concerned about misleading information, authorised by Mr Clive Palmer that has recently been broadcast on radio stations in the Grant Broadcasters radio network and which provides an incorrect picture of the safety of Covid-19 vaccines,”<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/misleading-radio-messages-about-covid-19-vaccine-safety" target="_blank">the medicines regulator said.</a></p> <p>The inaccurate claim that COVID-19 vaccines have caused more than 200 deaths refers to the number of people who have died after being vaccinated but apart from one case, none have been linked by the TGA to the vaccine.</p> <p>The same claim has gained momentum on social media by anti-vaccine campaigners, but the social media posts have since been removed.</p> <p>A day after the TGA raised concerns, the radio broadcaster that ran them had announced that they've stopped.</p> <p>“Our radio stations strongly support their local communities and that includes fully supporting initiatives that keep our community safe, like the federal and state government Covid-19 vaccination programs,”<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.grantbroadcasters.com.au/broadcasting/qld" target="_blank">the regional broadcaster said</a><span> </span>on Wednesday.</p> <p>“The advertisements are no longer running across our network.”</p> <p>The broadcaster said that the Palmer ads were subject to the laws of political advertising, which didn't include the ability to "restrict the contents of a political advertisement".</p> <p>“We also have a responsibility to allow lawful public debate about matters of public importance,” the regional broadcaster said.</p> <p>“The Therapeutic Goods Administration has acknowledged the concerns we raised regarding this messaging and we are grateful to the TGA for stepping up to provide a clear statement of the federal government’s position on this type of political advertising.”</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

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"Absolute embarrassment": Police ad slammed

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A Queensland Police advertisement campaign has been pulled just one hour it went live after it was slammed.</p> <p>The advertisement was launched on Thursday to try to get people to stop calling Triple-0 unless it's an emergency and use other alternatives such as online reporting for less urgent issues.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a>: The new police ad campaign that was ready for launch, until it was pulled at the last minute when senior officers stepped in.<a href="https://twitter.com/TimArvier9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TimArvier9</a> explains why. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9News?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9News</a> <a href="https://t.co/LK1b4gOsAz">pic.twitter.com/LK1b4gOsAz</a></p> — 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) <a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/status/1395292330157125643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>The advertisement shows a man called "Dan" who is the "world's worst decision-maker" and has examples such as eating expired sushi and having "three failed marriages".</p> <p>Shadow Police Minister Dale Last told NCA NewsWire the advertisement is “an absolute embarrassment”.</p> <p>“What a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.</p> <p>The advertisement was also slammed as Dan's "three failed marriages" could be a link to domestic violence and the advertisement wasn't taking this issue seriously.</p> <p>Queensland Police said in a statement that the advertisement will be re-edited after costing $40,000 to make.</p> <p>“The decision to re-edit the video was taken as the QPS did not want a reference to failed marriages being misconstrued to suggest a link to domestic and family violence,” police said.</p> <p>“There was no reference to domestic and family violence or a suggestion within the video that any of the failed marriages occurred due to domestic and family violence.”</p> <p>The advertising campaign will be run at a later date.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

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“Old Mate” from controversial SA tourism advertisement is back

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Last month, an advertisement by the South Australian Tourism Committee made quite a few people upset.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ad, which showed an old man called “Dave” shedding tears of regret at not travelling to Adelaide with his loved ones sooner.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The advertisement was called “appalling”, “depressing” and “shocking”.</span></p> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5jyndIVod4k"></iframe></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the campaign is getting results for the South Australian Tourism committee, as it has reached 10.59 million Australians.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rodney Harrex, SATC chief executive, is thrilled with the results.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When interstate people experience Adelaide, they become ambassadors for the state. Like a new band or TV show, they feel like they’re the first to discover it and so take a sense of pride in promoting it to their friends,” Mr Harrex told </span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/south-australia/old-mate-from-sa-tourism-ad-to-make-a-comeback-on-the-big-screen-at-afl-nrl-grand-finals/news-story/731fce7d4afbfc3bab9af589dc1cf352"><span style="font-weight: 400;">news.com.au</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This is where Old Mate’s Mates leaps off. He has gone back to Sydney, told his mates about his overwhelming experience, and guess what? They’ve never been to Adelaide either.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This sequel also provides us with the opportunity to show more of what Adelaide and South Australia has to offer, with experiences such as the d’Arenberg Cube, Sellicks Beach, Adelaide’s city laneways, urban beaches and, of course, South Australians themselves being featured.</span></p> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/84Zj2TbWQwU"></iframe></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Old Mate really enjoys showing off Adelaide to his mates. But the lesson lives on. Now it is his mates who have the regret of not having come to Adelaide sooner, but they are consoled by seeing Old Mate revelling in his new favourite city.”</span></p>

Domestic Travel

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Does anyone have a pad? TV is finally dismantling the period taboo

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recently, a menstrual pad brand Libra launched their Blood Normal commercial in Australia, running it during prime time television shows including The Bachelor, The Project, and Gogglebox. Australia is a little late to the party: Blood Normal first ran in the UK and Europe in October 2017 and won the </span><a href="https://adage.com/article/special-report-cannes-lions/libresse-s-blood-normal-takes-glass-lions-grand-prix-cannes/313993"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grand Prix at Cannes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2018 for its de-stigmatised depiction of menstruation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Breaking new ground in menstrual product advertising terms, the ad has received most attention for </span><a href="https://www.vcg.emitto.net/index.php/vcg/article/view/114"><span style="font-weight: 400;">showing menstrual blood as red</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and on the inside of a woman’s thigh, rather than as the bizarre blue liquid we’ve seen for decades being squirted onto a pad by someone in a lab coat.</span></p> <p><strong>Busting period stigmas</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ad bombards us with a rapid fire array of stigma-busting micro-dramas featuring fashionable young people (some of whom are well-known European cultural influencers). A hip boyfriend (Swedish fashion blogger Julian Hernandez) buys pads in the local supermarket; a young woman (French activist Victoire Dauxerre) stands up and asks “Does anyone have a pad?” across a dinner table of hipsters; a university student walks into a public toilet carrying a wrapped pad openly in her hand; a woman’s fingers type: “I am having a very heavy period and will be working from home today”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unpacking the ad reveals a combination of the old and the new in menstruation ad-land. There is the tired old trope of the menstruating woman engaging in boisterous and fun physical activity, echoing the freedom message of women dressed in (improbable) white, riding horses and motorbikes in ads from the 1960s on.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Blood Normal though, the notion that a menstruating woman can do anything is taken into more intimate territory, with a scene of a couple having (gentle) period sex. A woman shown at the swimming pool looks serene and thoughtful, more as if she is taking time out for self-care than trying to prove menstruation doesn’t make any difference in her life and that she is as non-cyclical as a man.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The modern-day stance that menstruation should be suppressed emerged from the second wave feminist need to assert women’s equal rights within a still-masculinised world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Where Blood Normal really breaks ground is by presenting all the moods and moments of the menstrual experience, including the pain and the turning inward. It also does a brilliant job of showing the sweetness of getting and giving support within a sisterhood and brotherhood, in an idealised setting in which everyone is menstrually-aware.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This vision may be nearer than we might think: the characters in Blood Normal are in their teens and 20s and recent reports indicate this generation is rapidly shifting in terms of menstrual norms. Young women are reporting much higher interest in </span><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-periods-became-big-business-txldjd9gq"><span style="font-weight: 400;">menstrual cycle awareness</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">and it is now one of the “</span><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mindful-menstruation-sound-bathing-and-meditation-raves-these-are-the-biggest-wellness-trends-for-autumn-9wc2pqs5t"><span style="font-weight: 400;">biggest wellness trends</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Australia, talkback radio reflected this shift, picking up on suggestions of </span><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/should-we-have-paid-period-leave/10090848"><span style="font-weight: 400;">menstrual leave</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Celebrity Yumi Styne’s book for first-time menstruators </span><a href="https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/welcome-to-your-period-by-yumi-stynes/9781760503512"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to Your Period</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> was published this month.</span></p> <p><strong>Menstruation is big business</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite this ad being touted by its makers as a public service, we cannot forget the corporate </span><a href="https://www.rienner.com/title/Capitalizing_on_the_Curse_The_Business_of_Menstruation"><span style="font-weight: 400;">profit-driven self-interest</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">involved in menstrual product ad construction. Recent </span><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/05/20/1828964/0/en/Global-Feminine-Hygiene-Products-Market-2018-2019-Forecast-to-2023.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">valuations</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the “global feminine hygiene product” market (of which around 50% is menstrual pads), vary from US$20.6 billion (A$30.5 billion) to US$37.5 billion (A$55.5 billion), with projections of US$52 billion (A$77 billion) by 2023.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">High profit margins along with environmental devastation are contained within those figures. Disposable products use up resources, clog landfill sites, and pollute oceans. In the past, manufacturers have been less than honest about product safety, such as in the infamous Rely tampon </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Shock-Social-History-Biopolitics-ebook/dp/B07C5G1YD3/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=toxic+shock+sharra+vostral&amp;qid=1566531841&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Toxic Shock Syndrome scandal</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Menstrual product advertising has been shown to increase </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23293691.2018.1556428"><span style="font-weight: 400;">self-objectification</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and has cynically exploited and added to anxiety surrounding leaks and smells.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s a massive gulf between the sweet and loving world of the Libra ad and the uncomfortable reality of the disposable menstrual product industry.</span></p> <p><strong>More work to do</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, why now? Why has it taken the disposable menstrual product industry almost a hundred years to talk about menstruation as normal and in terms that actually match lived experience, rather than as an unspeakable problem that their products will absorb and conceal, allowing the menstruator to “pass” as a </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Under-Wraps-History-Menstrual-Technology/dp/0739113852"><span style="font-weight: 400;">non-menstruator</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The answer partly lies in the process of cultural change: things take time, and menstrual stigma was a big chunk of patriarchal power relations for feminism to tackle. It also lies in the influence of the new “femtech”: new cycle tracking apps, and reusable pads, period underwear, and menstrual cups made using new technologies. These innovations are reshaping menstrual experience in ways that disrupt self-objectification based on stigma, while replacing it with new forms of control through data collection.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Blood Normal is a great ad campaign, and yes, menstrual stigma is being dismantled. But we’re not there yet. When all women have access to reusable, sustainable menstrual products; when menstrual self-care becomes a cultural norm in homes, schools and workplaces; when women feel free not only to jump around when bleeding, but to live with the cycle rather than against or in spite of it … then we’ll be there.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Written by Lara Owen. Republished with permission of </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/does-anyone-have-a-pad-tv-is-finally-dismantling-the-period-taboo-122258"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Conversation.</span></a></p>

Caring

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The Queen advertisers for a new cleaner for Windsor castle

<p>The Queen has announced that she’s on a hunt for a new cleaner for Windsor castle.</p> <p>While no salary has been mentioned as yet, the job is for 20-hours a week and involves to “clean and care for everything from carpets and furniture to historic vases and irreplaceable paintings.”</p> <p>The advertisement on the royal website states that the job of “daily cleaner” reports to the “master of the household’s office”.</p> <p>See the full ad below. It sounds like quite a job.</p> <p><img width="651" height="434" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/23675/ad3_651x434.jpg" alt="Ad3 (1)"/></p> <p>Do you think you could “admire a spotless room before doing thousands of the same”? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><strong> Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/06/duchess-of-cambridge-spectacular-outfit/"><em>The Duchess of Cambridge steps out in her most spectacular outfit yet</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/06/queen-sends-her-second-tweet/"><em>Queen sends her second tweet</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2016/06/queens-scolds-prince-william/"><em>The Queen scolds Prince William on live television</em></a></strong></span></p>

News

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15 vintage beauty ads you have to see to believe

<p>We've become so accustomed to the marketing ploys of the current time that we are almost desensitised to the more weird and wonderful among them. From perfume for nuns to puppy wigs, here’s a collection of wacky advertisements that somehow made it to print.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/10/how-to-fix-make-up-problems/">Clever hacks to fix common make-up problems</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/09/reasons-we-love-helen-mirren/">5 reasons we love Helen Mirren’s style</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/09/senior-fashion-icons/">5 fashion icons that prove style is timeless</a></em></strong></span></p>

News

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How to use the internet to advertise your business

<p>If you want to expand your business’ reach, or if you’re starting a new business and want to get the word out there, there are a variety of low-cost advertising and promotional tools that you should take advantage of. Customers enjoy being able to research companies and read about them online, so building your presence in this space should go to the top of your priority list. Here are some top tips that will help you to get the word out there.</p><p><strong>Set up a website</strong><br>Whether you set up your own website or pay someone to set it up for you, having a company site offers customers another touch point to your brand, gives your company credibility and allows people to search and stumble across your offering. There are now many sites where you can quite easily set up your own website using a template, or the other option is to pay someone to build a custom website for you. Depending on your budget, the costs range from relatively low to extremely high contingent on your needs and how bespoke you require the site to be.</p><p><strong>Pay-per-click advertising</strong><br>Advertising online has a large reach and is the way many sites prosper or survive online. The good news is you only have to pay when someone clicks on your ad. These ad formats allow you to set up a daily advertising budget giving you the freedom to cancel and restart your ads any time.</p><p><strong>Get on Facebook</strong><br>If your company is not on Facebook, then this should be the first thing you do! And if your business does have a Facebook account, make sure it is optimised to get the most out of it. Facebook ads, updates and fan pages are a great way to keep customers informed on your business activities while promoting engagement with your company.</p><p><strong>Guest blogging</strong><br>Writing for other popular blogs in your area of specialty is very beneficial in generating traffic, especially if the places you guest write for have a big following. By including a link to your website somewhere in the guest post, you can draw in new visitors.</p><p><strong>Look at companies that advertise well</strong><br>Understanding the evolution of online advertising from the beginning, and how it has developed into a multi-million dollar advertising industry, is crucial in ensuring you advertise your company in the right way. Open2Study offer a free online course, Online Advertising, which covers the key players in this field, as well as exploring the major digital platforms, including search, social, and mobile, in terms of each marketplace. To read more about what you’ll learn from the course, <strong><a href="https://www.open2study.com/courses/online-advertising" target="_blank">head to Open2Study website</a></strong>.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.open2study.com" target="_blank">Click here</a> </strong>to read about the wide range of FREE courses offered by <strong><a href="https://www.open2study.com" target="_blank">Open2Study</a></strong>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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This is the most offensive ad on Australian television this year

<p>The Advertising Standards Bureau has recently revealed the top ten most complained about ads of 2015, so far receiving 2700 complaints from viewers.</p> <p>Topping the list is Holden, featuring an ad with a father and son driving a Holden car. The father ironically says “Bloody caravaners,” which is then repeated by his young son.</p> <p>One viewer complained, “Why is it acceptable or humorous to hear kids swearing? It’s not.”</p> <p>The ad has received the highest number of complaints, coming in at 161 total, but as the offensive word in question, “bloody,” is said lightheartedly and is not seen as a swear word by most, the ad’s complaints were dismissed.</p> <p>Other ads to top the list were Ashley Madison, which features men happily singing a jingle about finding someone “other than [their] wife,”Stan, featuring Rebel Wilson and her “big pussy” (cat) and Lynx hair products, which depicts a kiss between two men.</p> <p>We would have thought Australians might sooner be offended by the celebrated adultery of Ashley Madison than the word “bloody,” but there you have it. The viewers have spoken.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Related links:</strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/06/stationmaster-cat-mourned-by-thousands/">Japanese stationmaster cat mourned by thousands</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/06/shibani-the-handsome-gorilla/">This gorilla is so handsome, hordes of women are flocking to see him in the zoo</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/06/music-causes-car-accidents/">Listening to music while driving linked to car accidents</a></strong></em></span></p>

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How to use the internet to advertise your business

<p>If you want to expand your business’ reach, or if you’re starting a new business and want to get the word out there, there are a variety of low-cost advertising and promotional tools that you should take advantage of. Customers enjoy being able to research companies and read about them online, so building your presence in this space should go to the top of your priority list. Here are some top tips that will help you to get the word out there.</p><p><strong>Set up a website</strong><br>Whether you set up your own website or pay someone to set it up for you, having a company site offers customers another touch point to your brand, gives your company credibility and allows people to search and stumble across your offering. There are now many sites where you can quite easily set up your own website using a template, or the other option is to pay someone to build a custom website for you. Depending on your budget, the costs range from relatively low to extremely high contingent on your needs and how bespoke you require the site to be.</p><p><strong>Pay-per-click advertising</strong><br>Advertising online has a large reach and is the way many sites prosper or survive online. The good news is you only have to pay when someone clicks on your ad. These ad formats allow you to set up a daily advertising budget giving you the freedom to cancel and restart your ads any time.</p><p><strong>Get on Facebook</strong><br>If your company is not on Facebook, then this should be the first thing you do! And if your business does have a Facebook account, make sure it is optimised to get the most out of it. Facebook ads, updates and fan pages are a great way to keep customers informed on your business activities while promoting engagement with your company.</p><p><strong>Guest blogging</strong><br>Writing for other popular blogs in your area of specialty is very beneficial in generating traffic, especially if the places you guest write for have a big following. By including a link to your website somewhere in the guest post, you can draw in new visitors.</p><p><strong>Look at companies that advertise well</strong><br>Understanding the evolution of online advertising from the beginning, and how it has developed into a multi-million dollar advertising industry, is crucial in ensuring you advertise your company in the right way. Open2Study offer a free online course, Online Advertising, which covers the key players in this field, as well as exploring the major digital platforms, including search, social, and mobile, in terms of each marketplace. To read more about what you’ll learn from the course, <strong><a href="https://www.open2study.com/courses/online-advertising" target="_blank">head to Open2Study website</a></strong>.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.open2study.com" target="_blank">Click here</a> </strong>to read about the wide range of FREE courses offered by <strong><a href="https://www.open2study.com" target="_blank">Open2Study</a></strong>.</em></p>

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