This is simply the coolest work we could find.
It’s always a thrill celebrating the outstanding marketing and creative work from this year’s Advertising and Digital Media students at Macleay College. Some exciting new careers are off to a great start!
Congratulations to Digital Media student Michael Loader for his recent publication on Medium. This piece was written for the ‘Analysing Effective Experience’ Assessment as apart of User Experience at Macleay College, Melbourne.
Rubadub Records is a Glasgow-based record store & label that opened its doors in 1992. To music enthusiasts, collectors and DJs, Rubadub is iconic — particularly in the spaces of electronic music.
The store is widely known for its ability to introduce quality & undiscovered techno, house, disco, reggae, hip-hop (and everything in between) to the wider community.
These days, the store’s output is easily reachable beyond Europe with its online store that sells both records & music equipment such as turntables, modular synths & drum machines.
This means people like me (I am a bit of a fan) who live 16,000 km away, can easily access the goods.
Earlier this year, Rubadub increased their digital presence with the help of the team at Green Hill Digital, by creating the Rubadub App.
As Green Hill highlight in their case study, there was no point simply recreating the online store in app-form when the mobile-site was already perfectly functional.
The mobile application had to have its own purpose. It needed to be a space where music-heads can discover fresh releases in a organic and random way.
“We tried to recreate the shop experience where you get fed tunes you wouldn’t normally listen to.”
Rubadub’s co-owner Wilba Sandieson mentions over email.
The apps intention is to deliver an experience that mirrors the way one would flick through vinyl, select a pile and then listen to those records in a physical brick & motor store.
While this is a ecommerce app in which one user-journey ends with a purchase , I personally feel the success of the app comes down to the listening, discovering and the overall ‘digging’ experience, rather than the quantity of sales.
Initially I (the user) am greeted with two clear options, Sign in or Sign up.
The apps ecommerce system was purposely integrated with the existing site meaning account holders of Rubadub.co.uk already have an account.
Additionally, this means all payments through the app go through the same system as the website. Meaning no further stock work on the backend for the Rubadub team!
Anyway, as a new user, I select Sign up.
I fill four form fills, tap the boxes, enter the information. Done.
Already in, no email confirmation needed ✓
Next appears a four slide series that introduces the app and its features.
A nice trustworthy and contrasting blue button then leads me to get started, LET’S GO.
For me, the UI works nicely. The minimalistic layout keeps things simple and obvious. It roles with the model of a typical music player so things straight away feel familiar.
Additionally, the small use of colour provides the cover-art with the spotlight. The music playing is the most important factor here so this makes total sense.
The detailed description (INFO) is a nice touch that sits discretely as a pop-up that you can quickly exit back to the track (The 2 minute music previews are never interrupted).
The nav-bar sits nicely as the footer making it in thumbs-reach no matter what sized device you own 👍
Any call-to-action buttons relating to purchases are green — this makes the action you are taking very obvious throughout. The ‘listen again’ is a great addition as most people may not remember every saved record by name or visual alone.
If a record is out-of-stock, the user will be notified well before they can purchase, avoiding any frustration.
As for the actual discovering of music, it does well.
Shown in the image above, tapping the white arrows pans through the different tracks in a particular EP (in this case Krikor’s Pacific Alley In Dub).
Swiping left takes you to the next (random) record awaiting, while swiping right simply takes you back to the previous piece of music.
This allows you to effortlessly find new music, save it and then continue discovering all in one, uninterrupted flow.
The app has done an amazing job at expanding the Rubadub record searching experience beyond the walls of the Scottish shop.
While it clearly cannot replace the feeling of physically flicking through records, talking-music with staff or whatever moment of serendipity real-life throws at you, it certainly delivers as an awesome digital alternative.
I am personally excited to see where they take the application next with more features planned to be added.
I also look forward to what the future brings as other stores and businesses in the vinyl community embrace new technologies.
By Michael Loader
Diploma of Digital Media
Disruption can take a lot of shapes and forms. For Macleay College students, it recently involved #PozPots – a student-run event where participants were invited to decorate plant pots with positive imagery and messages. After the paint had dried, students planted a seed, then gifted their creations to a stranger – hoping to brighten their day!
The event was a huge success, with many students (and staff) dropping in throughout the day to join in on the fun. The creators of the project are now hoping to spread the word, and using the hashtag #PozPots help raise awareness around mental health worldwide.
It’s easy to do. Just get some friends together, buy some seeds, paint a pot along the theme of the positive word, then plant the seed and give the plant to someone who could benefit from a kind word (and a colourful pot).
Macleay College’s Bachelor of Advertising and Digital Media final year students recently celebrated the presentation of their major projects. The students presented to an industry panel that included Kristy Chilman from the Brand Architect and the marketing consultant Louise Chamberlain.
The student projects included:
SheFit , a new women’s fitness app developed by Madison Pinkus.
Project Pawsible, a campaign by Madeline Khalil to reduce the stray dog population in Bali.
ReconGeneration, a program to introduce indigenous ingredients to community gardens in schools developed by Mitchell Dodds.
L&S, a new skateboard company by Peter Bieri, creating boards for girls – designed by girls.
Major Project is the capstone unit of the Bachelor of Advertising and Media and prepares graduating students as they launch themselves into the industry. Based on their skills and passions, students are asked to plan, manage and execute all the stages of an original piece of work, to a high professional standard. The project can be: creative (print, audio, moving image etc); a digital media project (app, game, web, video, animation, interactive, social media): strategic media project; or a marketing or account management project.
Click here for more information about the Advertising and Media course on offer at Macleay College.
#macleaycollege #advertising
Pictured above:
Graduating students (back row left to right): Peter Bieri, Mitchell Dodds, Madison Pinkus and Madeline Khalil. Industry Panel (front row left to right): Kristy Chilman from the Brand Architect and the marketing consultant Louise Chamberlain.
Congratulations to the graduating Bachelor of Advertising and Media students who successfully presented their Major Projects to a panel of industry judges.
Major Project is the capstone unit of the Bachelor of Advertising and Media and prepares graduating students as they launch themselves into the industry. Based on their skills and passions, students are asked to plan, manage and execute all the stages of an original piece of work, to a high professional standard. The project can be: creative (print, audio, moving image etc); a digital media project (app, game, web, video, animation, interactive, social media): strategic media project; or a marketing or account management project.
The students proudly presented the following works:
Matthew Fiacchi developed Spectrum, a queer wellness app designed to improve quality of life for queer people of all backgrounds. The app provides unique information and resources that help users connect, learn and navigate difficult mental health issues.
Dillemials is a positive psychology, social media platform for millennials developed by Alana Taylor-Benn. The platform encourages users to share their thoughts, feelings and anxieties within a supportive digital community.
Adriana Kind created a careers and study advice app for prospective tertiary students. The app assists young adults in finding relevant study information and career advice after graduating from high school.
Your Vibe is a health and safety campaign targeted at young music festival attendees. The brainchild of Grace Cooper, the campaign addresses the topic of drug and alcohol safety in a fun and engaging manner.
Sophie Robertson developed FoodFace, a full-service food sharing app that helps people make the most out of cooking. The app encourages users to share recipes, advice, reviews and dining experiences.
Reality TV vs. Fantasy TV is a beautifully executed art piece for young women, that represents the contrast of reality and fantasy. The work was installed on campus by Rowan Slade, and encouraged audiences to interact with the work, by taking a seat and a sharing selfie.
The judges were blown away by the level of creativity and innovation showcased by these talented students and are excited to see what’s next for them as they enter the industry.
If you are interested in a career in Advertising and Media, Macleay College is currently enrolling for the trimester 2, starting on May 28th.
This statement by Laura Javier has been front-of-mind as we explored Opportunity-Based Learning (OBL) in the Creative Process unit as part of the Advertising & Media course at Macleay College, culminating in a creative pitch to the Creative Director, Cherie Davies of Sudler & Hennessey.
The creative solutions – borne from a fast-paced OBL workshop – were well-received by Cherie who recognises the value of responding to a ‘problem-based’ question as it requires us to dig deeper to uncover a clear insight.
During the 1-hour workshop, the small cohort of students researched the question posed; determined an insight; and reframed the original question with this insight. The workshop included empathy maps, triangulated research, user-centred design and design thinking techniques.
The students then worked in groups to develop their prototypes and iterate their concepts. They were grateful for the opportunity to present their mixed media campaign solutions at the Sudler & Hennessey advertising agency in Sydney.
“Presenting to a Creative Director of Cherie’s standing was a daunting yet beneficial experience and the feedback we obtained was invaluable – not only to the current assignment, but also how I’ll approach future campaigns”, said Macleay College advertising student Jamie-Lee Carter.
Cherie shared a snapshot of her stellar career journey since completing Award School in 2006, then offered some useful tips, especially in relation to hunting through creative briefs for the kernel of an idea, and the importance of a key insight and big idea that can be extended across multi channels and executions.
Recently nominated to Judge at Cannes Lions* 2018, we’re extremely grateful for the time Cherie invests in our programs at Macleay. Our partnership with agencies like Sudler & Hennessey supports our commitment to preparing our students for purposeful employment in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.
*Cannes Lions is the world’s largest festival and awards for the creative and marketing communications, entertainment, design and tech industries.
Macleay College’s industry and innovation focused advertising and media courses are currently enrolling for the mid-year intake (starts on the 28th May). For more information, click here!
By Julieann Brooker
Creative Process Lecturer, Advertising & Media
I previously studied at Macleay College and have come back after 3 years to finish my degree in Advertising. There are a lot of things that have changed but one of the things that I looked forward to was the subject on Positive Psychology.
It was a pleasant surprise to know that Macleay had introduced this new subject and I wasted no time in signing up for it. I had no clue about what it would entail, but from the title itself I knew that it would be a fundamental class that would shape me to be a better person and innovator.
And I wasn’t wrong.
Positive Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. It is founded on the belief that people want to lead more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
Through our classes, we have been learning unconventional ways of thinking in order to reduce the stresses accumulated from everyday life and to open our minds and be more creative. In my opinion it is a revolutionary movement that tackles the alarming growth of anxiety, depression and lack of self-fulfilment in people.
Louise Tidmand generously volunteered her time to the students of Macleay College, specifically those who were studying Positive Psychology. She shared her insight and research on the idea of teaching life coping skills to students and adults. She described it as the process of learning how to deal with stress which greatly varies from how you react to it.
When Louise presented her findings on the growing rate of depression and anxiety in adults and teens it resonated within myself as I have experienced the severity of these mental illnesses through close encounters. She highlighted that the traditional ways of addressing these illnesses, which often focus on negatives, are not enough to build a resilient foundation in our society. She showcased the tools she had created to get someone into the positives on the scale of happiness. It was very inspiring to see that there are people who are taking action to make a better change in the world.
In her presentation, Louise engaged with the audience with fun clapping routines and asking us simple but thoughtful questions to promote altruism. For e.g. What can you do to make someone happy? And what can you say to make someone happy?
I am so grateful for the chance to gain new wisdoms from Louise. It is so motivating to see that the studies of positive psychology are spreading to affect the lives of the people around us in a life-changing way.
By Patricia Tamayo
Bachelor of Advertising & Media
“There goes my facade of being a rock.”
David Droga choked up several times during a heartfelt and surprisingly emotional speech at Cannes Lions last month—in the end, it was one of the highlights of the festival—as he accepted the Lion of St. Mark award for creative excellence across his storied career.
The Droga5 founder used the moment to look back at his brilliant career so far and to thank the people who’ve helped make it happen—a long list of work colleagues, of course, but also, most prominently, his mother and his wife.
He also had words for the advertising industry, which he initially cast as advice for his four children in attendance—about the single most important thing, in his view, that helps make a person, and a career, successful.
“Wanting something—wanting a career, or wanting to make something—doesn’t really mean much. It’s about finding something you care about. Because caring is the only thing that really matters,” he said.
Caring leads to everything else, Droga suggested.
“I would put down everything in my career to the fact that I cared—about what I do, who I work with, what I make,” he said. “Caring makes you want to work harder. People can’t pay you to care. People can’t teach you to care. But when you find something that you care about, you give it everything you’ve got. You never settle. And you are always pushing to learn and be better and support those around you. All I’ve tried to do in my career is care.”
He added: “That’s all we need to do. More agencies need to give a shit, work hard and try to make beautiful and impactful things.”
See the full speech video on YouTube.
In the tradition of the popular Thinkbox series of shorts that explore some of the greatest TV advertisements in the company of leading Creatives ‘who know a thing or two about making them’, I’ve decided to put forward my own three choices of great advertisements that I had nothing to do with. Now, I’m no Chief Creative Officer of a huge agency, but I feel like I still know a good ad from a bad one. So here goes.
In the age of digital television recorders, advertisement skipping, product placement, overlay ads, Google and pretty much the internet in general, making a TVC stand out above the rest has become tough. Attention spans have shortened, and the point now is to make a TVC that instantly grabs attention and is genuinely engaging. I’ve selected three TVCs that have recently inspired me in my journey through studying advertising; brilliant commercials, old and new, that I admire. (Oh and by the way, if you’ve never heard of it, check out advert.ge on Facebook – absolutely brilliant page constantly posting great TVC’s from around the globe.)
As the rest of the world runs for their lives and civilization crumbles around them, the bar-goers enjoy their last moments together and make the most of theirs. The bartender pours shots of Cuervo, a man plays Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never” on the jukebox and couples tango while destruction around them ensues, because as for these brave souls; ‘tomorrow is overrated’.
The coolness factor is stratospheric here. CP+B’s campaign, directed by Ringan Ledwidge, features stunning visuals and uses an end-of-days scenario in charming fashion as a metaphor for living in the moment. The Elvis ballad, which was the second best-selling single of his career, is conceptually perfect and cuts right through the mayhem. The end tagline, “Tomorrow Is Overrated,” is a fun way to highlight tequila’s reputation as a liquor that can lead to unparalleled nights of abandon – and a way to emphasize the primacy of now in times of uncertainty.
Who would have thought that more than 85 million people would watch the Muscles from Brussels doing his signature split with two Volvo trucks moving in reverse on a highway, backed by Enya’s “Only Time”? Volvo knew.
Directed by Andreas Nilsson, Volvo filmed the short on a runway in Spain in one take after three days of rehearsals. The short was, at the time, the latest in a series of videos Volvo used to promote how easy it was, and is, to steer its new high-tech big rigs – others have featured a woman walking a tightrope between to moving trucks heading toward a tunnel and a hamster steering one up the edge of a cliff.
The series, and the Jean-Claude Van Damme video in particular, are an insanely clever way to get attention to a type of vehicle most consumers usually don’t care or even think about while proving to other brands that they can use short clips to generate a Super Bowl-sized audience for little money when upping the creativity level of their campaigns.
While they sleep, a man’s tongue crawls completely out of his mouth and embarks on a journey to a house party down the road, bringing back home a cold Tooheys Extra Dry.
Yes, another alcohol ad. But prove to me that this isn’t one of the greatest Australian ads ever. I distinctively remember always rushing to the TV whenever I could hear Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” playing. “The tongue beer ad is on!”, I would say. I was 12.
This Tooheys TVC, created by BMF in Sydney, drew dozens of complaints but ranks as one of the best television commercials in the world. The Advertising Standards Board rejected a deluge of complaints about the ad, while Tooheys claims it reinvigorated Australian beer advertising. The advertisement is deliberately distinctive to reflect the diverse and growing consumer appetite for the brand, with a particular focus on younger consumers. At the core of the ad, the tongue is a simple yet strategic device to highlight the importance of taste.
The overall theme of my three advertisements, it seems, is that they all effectively make use of one huge feature amongst the impact of the visuals; that of music. Each advertisement conveys a strong message, but through the added characteristic of music, and specifically popularised music, the ad becomes something else. It becomes engaging.
Rowan James Slade
You could have the greatest production team, the best global agency, and an amazing client. But just remember this does not mean anything with a bad idea.
Let me give you an example of a simple idea that was a pure genius. Do you remember the power cut during the third quarter of Super Bowl 2013, which caused the lights to go out for 34 minutes? The sandwich cookies brand, Oreo was quick to think in this situation and posted on social media ‘‘Power out? No problem. You can always dunk in the dark’.
According to SJ Insights the number of ads that adults are now exposed to across all five media (TV, radio, Internet, newspapers and magazines) is about 360 per day; of these, only 150-155 are even noted, and far fewer make a strong enough impact to be recalled, make an impression, and ultimately, make a sale. It is vital that there is a strong idea behind any campaign; if your ad is noticed out of those 360 per day then you are on your way to success. One campaign that has stood our for me this week as my bus goes past it everyday is a campaign that was advertising Mardi Gras. It was the simplicity that made me love the outdoor advertisement. Instead of using a billboard outside Westfield in Bondi Junction they have simply made a mural to advertise Mardi Gras using a colourful set of wings, which, people can stand next to and take photos. This always grabs my attention, as the advertisement looks different every time I look at it with different people laughing and smiling, whilst taking photos with the wings. It is memorable as it made me feel happy. You could spend fortunes on a TV commercial or a print ad but if the idea is not relatable or doesn’t make your audience feel an emotion then it gets lost in the world of advertising.
Just remember the greatest ideas are the simplest.
Chloe Alexandra Geggus
AdBare 