Brands are having to tread a careful path ahead of Brexit (whenever that may be). NBC Universal and LA 2028 forge far-reaching advertising partnership that will transform how advertisers can access the Olympic games. Ogilvy and JWT in Malaysia dissolve ‘one company two brands’ deal. A climate of fear among journalists. Mindshare wins Tourism New Zealand account. DAZN signs content deal with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted. ‘Unnecessarily sexy’ Australian house advert making waves.
The politics of brands and Brexit
It’s something South African brands are familiar with: the impact of politics on business, especially when advertising is perceived to have crossed a political line. Now brands in the United Kingdom, faced with the ongoing drama of Brexit, are having to rethink their positioning.
As WARC reported, brands are set to question whether they are about internationalism, or localism. “British consumers don’t tend to buy British products, in comparison with consumers in other countries. According to research from Ipsos Mori, which looked at local consumption patterns across 30 markets, just 51% of British people prefer to eat locally produced food, significantly below the average across the survey of 63%,” it reported.
So what is in store for brands? They won’t know until the outcome of withdrawal and trade negotiations are over. Not an easy line to tread.
For more on this story, check it out on WARC.
NBC Universal and LA 2028 set up long-term Olympic advertising deal
The 2028 Olympics Summer Games in Los Angeles might be a decade away, but NBC Universal and LA 2028 are already making plans to ensure advertising and sponsorship opportunities are in place well ahead of time.
Chairperson of advertising and client partnerships at NBCUniversal, Linda Yaccarino, Casey Wasserman, chairperson of LA 2028 and CEO of sports and entertainment agency Wasserman, told CNBC’s Squawk Box they had set in place a “far-reaching advertising partnership” that would transform how advertisers can access the Olympic games.
“The deal calls for NBCUniversal to make a significant financial commitment to LA 2028 and its effort to raise $2.5 billion in sponsorship dollars to help pay for the 2028 games in the Golden State,” Variety reported.
Wasserman approached NBCUniversal with the idea for a partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee that would “allow NBCUniversal to offer long-term deals to partners for TV, digital, live event advertising, as well as brand activations and associations with Team USA, among other Olympic touchpoints”. This would included the Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing in 2022 (winter), Paris in 2024 (summer), 2026 (winter, host city to be selected in June) and Los Angeles in 2028.
Variety has the full story.
JWT and Ogilvy in Malaysia ‘one company two brands’ operation dissolves
The plan to combine operations of J Walter Thompson and Ogilvy in Malaysia under a “one company two brands” – which took a year to put in place – has come unstuck.
Mumbrella Asia has reported the agencies will become individual operations once more. The media and advertising trade publication said a letter was sent to clients saying because JWT had undergone a global transformation with the announcement of Wunderman Thompson, “Ogilvy and Wunderman Thompson Asia management have mutually agreed to return to independent operations in Malaysia, with each agency charting its own future course in-line with their respective global and regional plans”.
The full story is here.
A climate of fear among journalists
A new report from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the 2019 World Press Freedom Index has highlighted further declines in media freedom and increased fear and violence in the profession.
The report categorises the media climate in more than three-fourths of the 180 countries and territories studied as “problematic”, “difficult” or “very serious”. Just 8% have a media climate considered “good”.
To find out more information, published by Time, click here.
Mindshare wins Tourism New Zealand account
Mindshare has been named as the global media agency of choice by Tourism New Zealand, the marketing body responsible for promoting the country as a tourism destination internationally.
Media strategy and buying spend is the largest single investment Tourism New Zealand makes each year in its mission to enrich New Zealand by growing the contribution of international visitors.
For more information, published by Branding In Asia, click here.
DAZN signs content deal with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted
Over-the-top (OTT) media group DAZN has partnered with Uninterrupted, the production company founded by National Basketball Association (NBA) star LeBron James.
The partnership will begin by producing and airing a new boxing-focused documentary series, 40 Days, with the first episode centered on Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez, in the run up to his upcoming middleweight title fight with American boxer Daniel Jacobs.
SportsPro Media has the full story, here.
‘Unnecessarily sexy’ Australian house advert making waves
A video advert for an Australian property has been making waves, attracting a flood of ridicule and criticism for being ‘unnecessarily sexy’.
Also labelled as sleazy, horny, and breathtakingly horrific, the advert is for 42 Chamberlain Road in Padstow, New South Wales.
Here is the advert and make up your own mind about how risque it is: