Dubbed the “Donald Trump of TripAdvisor” by The Washington Post, Oobah Butler turned a non-existent restaurant, The Shed, into the top rated dining establishment in London on TripAdvisor through social manipulation. Speaking at this week’s Online Retailer conference, Oobah Butler delivered his keynote on ‘Cutting through the bullsh*t of social influence manipulation’ where he detailed his scheme while working as a journalist for Vice.

Marketers are yet to see the impact of the third connected era on consumer behaviour, but the changes will be profound when they finally arrive.

While consumer adoption of voice technology in Australia is booming, brands are lagging behind incorporating voice into their marketing strategies, seeing it as more of a novelty than as a viable branding tool. However, it is the brands that get on the front foot of voice which will have an advantage as the technology matures, experts say.

Marketing can’t just be about classical marketing principles today, it has to have a higher-level purpose and be the glue adhering an organisation together, HCL’s Arthur Filip believes.

Digital transformation - it’s on the lips of every c-suite executive and a requirement of every organisation. Yet Ogilvy’s new executive creative director, Gavin McLeod, is worried about what it’s doing to the role of the CMO.

There are some products and services consumers can’t help but shout about from the rooftops. Then there are plenty of others which many people wouldn’t be caught dead discussing in public.

Gaining brand synonymity with anti-ageism is the big ambition for co-founder and CMO of Lumen, a new dating app for the over 50s market.

Westpac’s latest ‘Help’ campaign is a part of an ongoing business strategy to demonstrate how the financial provider helps in the moments that matter, borne out of putting the customer at the beginning of marketing and business processes, its CMO says.

The local owner of children's toy and product brands, Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us, which recently re-launched in Australia and debuted in New Zealand, has announced eBay as a retail partner under a newly inked deal.

Mindfulness. Say the word and you tend to get one of two reactions: People love it, or they roll their eyes. But what does that actually means to and for marketers in a world of deadlines and diminishing consumer attention?

If there’s one thing modern marketers need to let go of, it’s perfectionism, says Adobe VP of global brand marketing, John Travis.

Coffee chain, Jamaica Blue, has overhauled its branding to re-connect with the inspiration of Jamaica and won itself an award for its efforts.

“Focus on your customers”, Warren Buffet reportedly said. Savvy marketers take note: The renowned investor’s advice is borne out by the latest CX research from Forrester. According to the analyst firm’s 2018 Australian Customer Experience Index, emotion has a bigger impact on brand loyalty than ease or effectiveness and is the critical piece in becoming a standout CX leader.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has updated its branding with a new logo and website to better reflect its dispute resolution service for consumers and small business in 2019.

​The new CMO of Nearmap, Harvey Sanchez, has got a big job to do. But then, Nearmap itself could be said to have the biggest job of all, given to date it has performed analysis on over one million square kilometres of imagery across Australia and the US, which constitutes about 80 million properties, and is performing more every day.

For almost a 100 years, millions of Australians have relied on the NRMA for roadside assistance, advice on buying a car and road safety. But the motoring organisation has felt the force of digital disruption. In an era when cars are more reliable and mobile phones do the job of maps, travel guide and emergency help, its relevance has been challenged.

Consumers are demanding better, more personalised experiences, and make no distinction between profits, non-profits and educational institutions when it comes to these expectations.

It was the unsexy digital and back-end challenges of rebranding UBET to TAB, rather than the tranche of customer-facing programs, which proved the bigger deal for the wagering company’s marketing team.

Young Australians are putting brands on notice that they expect brands to support causes they value, according to fresh research undertaken by Pollinate Research on behalf of Junkee Media and oOh!media.

​Keeping the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney brand front of mind with the international convention community by highlighting experiences and the people behind its offering is the cornerstone of the venue’s new multi-pronged marketing campaign.

The Heart Foundation found itself in the eye of a storm recently after its campaign to raise awareness about heart disease, the single biggest killer of Australians, attracted a swift, vocal barrage of criticism. The not-for-profit has since apologised and pulled the ads, although it defends the need for strong messaging on what's a life and death issue.