The more things change...

Dire times tend to focus the mind, which makes you wonder what we do in good times. The Slattery Media Group has, I hope, always been a place with a focused mind; after all, a business devoted to publishing depends solely on the quality of its ideas. And ideas only come from disciplined thought. When you put all those thoughts together, and add the headlines of the last fortnight ringing loudly: “firestorm on markets”, “recession imminent if not already here”, “banks in crisis”, etc, it seemed like a good opportunity for a business like ours to reinforce its essential IP – that IDEAS MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

It’s a line written in large type on the walls above our design department, but this week, in response to the headlines, we put it to the staff to do what good companies do: to focus our mind. So we instituted a closed forum for ideas. Each staff member has to contribute one idea, each week. The forum is open to all staff, the ideas can be from anywhere on the planet, and comments (respectful) are encouraged. We even listed categories for ideas – not all of them are about new business options for the company. The categories include: new business/products; process improvements; workplace improvements; inspirational ideas; cost savings; social responsibility; social club; product enhancements; untapped markets; what our competitors are doing; and the dragnet clause: ‘other’.

Contributing a weekly idea is compulsory, but it was clear, within an hour of the forum being ‘live’ that staff had embraced the idea, and the idea of the idea. We allow votes for the most popular contribution, and in the first day, the leader was a case of ‘back to the future’: to install a water cooler, “a healthy option and a good place for people to meet". It goes to show: there’s nothing new, just a modern interpretation of something tried and true. Perhaps the contributor doesn’t like coffee.

A Gift to Our Club

On July 17, 2008, iconic Melbourne Football Club coach Norm Smith was celebrated with the launch of a revealing biography: The Red Fox – The Biography of Norm Smith, at the MCG's exclusive Long Room.

The book was officially launched by Melbourne Football Club president Jim Stynes, along with past greats from Melbourne's dominant era; Hassa Mann, John Beckwith, Frank 'Bluey' Adams, Norm's son Peter Smith and Tony Charlton, a close friend of Smith's, who acted as Master of Ceremonies. In keeping with his rough and tumble beginnings, students from the school where Norm attended, Westgarth Primary, were there to join in the celebrations.

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The Use of Digital

The use of digital as a medium in the delivery of communication strategies is often debated. How much of the advertising spend should it equate to? Where does it fit into the campaign? How is it impacting magazines and other traditional avenues?

Communicating appropriately in a digitised world is about outcomes - for your message and for your brand. All forms of media are based on a need to communicate to a market - and what the content of the message is, should be considered as closely as the form in which it is delivered. And digital is a medium that needs to be in the mix.

Last week in Cannes at the International Advertising Festival, Procter and Gamble (P&G), the cosmetics and household giant won advertiser of the year. In discussing the role of digital, Jim Steigel, P&G global marketing officer told media, “this is not an emerging medium, this is media. It’s a digital world.”

“The digitisation of media," Steigel said, "has enabled advertisers to engage in deeper communications with consumers, "in a way that wasn't possible before". "It's a very high priority for us, if you look at our spendings, our programs and our priorities."

This is a position that we consider daily for the communication solutions sought by our clients and the needs of our own publications. Last week, The Slattery Media Group launched The Thoroughbred, a new website that aims to become the ultimate horse racing and breeding industry resource, providing information into the horses, the people, the issues and the major events. The website supplements a magazine and a printed directory, and responds to a need from the end consumer- those in the Australian racing industry - for information. A digital component of The Thoroughbred offering made sense; both to the way people search for information and in the ability for content to be updated constantly. The use of digital in this case is relevant and the most appropriate way of communicating to the audience.