Initiative’s Michael Chong: What Do Mountaineering, Media & Marketing Have In Common?

Michael Chong, Initiative’s chief analytics officer, has done something quite remarkable — climbing Ama Dablam, one of the most challenging peaks in the Himalayas on a trek that takes the best part of a month. Here, he tells B&T about his marvellous mountaineering, and what we can learn from it. Ama Dablam, rising proudly at an elevation of 6,812

Initiative’s Geoff Clarke: ‘Youth Hits Targets With Enthusiasm, Experience Hits The Targets You Can’t See’

There are few in adland with such vast experience as IPG Mediabrands and Initiative’s chief operating officer Geoff Clarke. Starting in the industry more than 30 years ago, Clarke has held positions such as investment director, chief investment officer, client partner and managing director. Speaking on behalf of the Experience Advocacy Taskforce, Clarke explained why agencies

MasterChef Australia and Crown Resorts set to deliver unique ‘pop-up restaurant’ ALUMNI

Crown Resorts and MasterChef Australia are setting the table to welcome fans and foodies to a new pop-up restaurant and unique, dining experience called ALUMNI at Crown Melbourne, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. ALUMNI will see a rotating cast of MasterChef Australia alumni at a pop-up restaurant for a limited time,

Cancer Chicks launches empowering ‘Fucc It’ campaign for young women

Cancer Chicks, a charity organisation, has unveiled a new brand platform and campaign, ‘FUCC It’, designed to support young women living with cancer. The campaign was developed in collaboration with Initiative IMPACT and MBCS, with the tagline ‘FUCC It’. It’s intended to inspire young women not to let cancer or severe chronic and terminal illness

Privacy-centric advertising practices

Since the beginning of this year, Google has limited third-party cookies for its Chrome web browser users, marking a first step towards eventually abandoning the files that have raised privacy concerns for some time. The testing period of the deprecation of third-party cookies will continue till the third quarter of this year, by which time

Zefr and IPG Mediabrands Launch Partnership to Combat Misinformation

IPG Mediabrands and Zefr announce an agency partnership designed to tackle misinformation and enhance brand safety and suitability for online campaigns. Backed by extensive research data from IPG Mediabrands’ media intelligence and investment unit, MAGNA, and powered by tech-driven performance unit, KINESSO, the new collaboration will deliver campaign solutions that enable brands with the capability

Kate O’Loughlin: Jojo Siwa’s rebrand proves marketers should commit to the bit

Siwa’s rebrand has been littered by PR blunders. Initiative’s Kate O’Loughlin explains what marketers can learn from it. ‘Obsessed’ is a monthly deep dive into social and cultural trends that can help marketers inform the way they think. Led by Kate O’Loughlin, Initiative strategist and self-confessed obsessive, ‘Obsessed’ will be a magic school bus to expand marketing mindsets

Linda Fagerlund Joins Mediahub as Chief Strategy Officer ANZ

Mediahub has tapped strategist Linda Fagerlund for the newly-created role of Chief Strategy Officer for Australia and New Zealand. Fagerlund is tasked with delivering Mediahub’s trans-Tasman strategic support for key clients, she also joins Mediahub’s senior leadership team. Fagerlund brings 15+ years of strategy experience to the new role working previously across media, creative agencies,

MBCS CREATES ‘MAK-STER CHEF’ SPOT FOR PREGO’S RAYA FESTIVE SEASON CELEBRATION MBCS

MBCS, the media-fuelled creative content practice within the IPG Mediabrands network, has announced the latest Prego film in conjunction with the upcoming Raya festive season. The ‘Rasa Raya Epik’ campaign, meaning an epic taste of Raya, features a film titled ‘Mak-ster Chef’, with a play on the famous Masterchef series. The film shows how easy

Keeping the Universal McCann name flying high

It’sma been 100 days since Sue-Anne Lim was appointed as CEO to steer media agency Universal McCann (UM) Malaysia to a higher level. StarBiz recently caught up with her and got her take on what her plans are for the agency, its key priorities, expansion initiatives and the importance of incorporating sustainability values in the