Yes, it's true.

Today we announced the merger of The Palace Sydney into JWT. It is in a lot of ways sad, but in others very positive. The additional resources are a welcome change and can only mean better things for our clients and us. This isn't an ideal scenario as these things go, but we can only reassure our partners that the same group of people that have worked so hard on their behalf will continue to do so – only now augmented by a few other very smart, nice people at JWT. (These changes do not however effect the operations of TCP throughout Asia).

- Reed Collins

Countdown to Cannes

Only 5 days to go until the biggest celebration of commercial creativity takes place in the south of France. Here's a link to some pretty awesome work to watch out for as the week long festival unfolds... (click below). 

Berocca hits the slopes

To mark the beginning of ski season at Thredbo, Berocca has decided to hit the slopes too with it's advertising. The campaign will be all up and down the mountain starting on the Queens birthday long weekend.

- Bruce Davidson

Great Stuff

Another sneaky little bronze for our '28 day persecution of Rommy Gulla' at the ADC. Sa-weet!

- Reed Collins

New York, New York.

The Palace took home a shiny Bronze 'world medal' at last nights New York Advertising Festival for best interactive online advertsing campaign. Continuing a successful run for Panasonics '28 day persecution of Rommy Gulla'...

- Reed Collins

Deep Heat & Ice Packs

So its official, the Palace/Wunderman teams who raced in the 2012 Nissan Corporate Triathlon came in FIRST and SECOND place!!!  It was an outstanding effort by all six team members, with a lot of people commenting on the day that they'd been impressed that we came in ahead of every other Advertising Agency between 140 and 160 William Street….words couldn’t express just how impressed they were. Congratulations to Kevin 'The Flash' Co, Jess 'Tenacious' D, Julz 'Purple Patch' Bacmaga, 'G-spot' Myburgh, Kez 'Thorpie' Fagan & T 'Boner' McKinnon for representing.

- T 'Boner' McKinnon

Lest We Forget

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Creativity is a way of life

When people ask me why I love doing what I do, the answer is simple. It’s because I create and make something new everyday. Being creative isn’t something that switches on at the office, it’s something that we constantly live. It has the ability to make people smile, laugh, and admire. Through the Easter weekend, I once again witnessed my partner (a creative) who lives a typical creative life – tirelessly coming up with weird ideas, even on a do-nothing day at the beach. As stupid as he looked, it actually brought a smile to my face - click on the link below.

Without it, the world will be so boring! An equation only has one outcome. Creativity has infinite possibilities- that’s why I love what I do.

-Helen Sham

Boom

A successful evening was had last night at Award which took place at The Carriage Works, Sydney. A total of 5 bronzes were awarded to Panasonics '28 day persecution of Rommy Gulla' - a great showing indeed. Congratulations to all involved. 

- Reed Collins

The Gin Palace

Mix masters Sarah-Leith, Julz & Meri were pouring them strong at our most recent Happy Hour at 150 William Street. The Red Eyed Fairy, Kings Cross Dresser & Stripperdelic were flowing and getting stronger as the evening went on. Look out for the next one - we plan to have them the last thursday of every month.

- Clare Yardley

Web pick of the day. Yay!

The site you are on just got named Communication Arts webpick of the day. And we're thrilled. Communication Arts is an internationally recognised publication that recognises creativity in advertising, photography, typography, design and digital.

- John Koay

Award finalists announced

The 28 Day Persecution of Rommy Gulla for Panasonic has shown very well in todays AWARD award finalist announcement. Appearing a total of 5 times infact - across a multitude of categories, most notably in digital and content. Thanks go to all involved - everyone should be very chuffed.

- Reed Collins

The show is on the road.

We're absolutely thrilled to play a small part in getting Jamie Olivers Ministry of Food Mobile Trucks on the road in Australia. The trucks are purpose built kitchen classrooms that will travel throughout the nation bringing practical cooking skills to children, schools, communities and workplaces. Launched in Queensland, they are sure to be in your state soon.

- Mark Mackay

Jury Duty

We are pretty chuffed that The Palace's very own Reed Collins & Karl Fleet have been selected to pass judgement in the DM and Print Craft categories for the 2012 Festival Of Commercial Creativity organised by the communications council. The Circus runs 27th-29th March. Click below for more info.

- Kathryn Cooper

A triathlon update

So with about 12 weeks to go, it's time for an update on the team in training.  We’re a healthy bunch here at The Palace, and have two teams entered into the 2012 Nissan Corporate Triathlon,  all in the early stages of getting ready for the big event.

They say 12 weeks is enough to train for an Ironman distance race, so I’m thinking we’ll be ok.

Its getting a little competitive, with Kez already knocking out swim training sessions at Boy Charlton pool with a new pair of goggles and race suit....

G is ‘on holiday’ in South Africa, but I’m led to believe that he’s seeking coaching advice of a former pro in his mother land.

Jac and Julz are apparently teaching man-town how its REALLY done. I’m not sure if that means they’re in training, or something else.

And last but not least, I can personally confirm that the one and only Reed ‘Hold me Back’ Collins was spotted down at Bondi Beach over the weekend hitting the water...true story. (pic included I snapped, but its tough to make him out).

I’m pretty confident we’ll put in a good showing....so stay tuned as your team of triathletes become even more finely tuned.

-Toby McKinnon 

People just want to be entertained

Imagine this – You’ve just arrived home from a butt-kicking hard day at the office.  You crack open a can of something cold and you retire to your happy place – on the sofa with your family/wife/girlfriend/partner. Slowly the tension leaves your body and you relax.

Suddenly, the front door bursts open. A guy storms into your home. He does not say hello. He does not introduce himself.  He starts shouting about a sale at his electronics shop. His shop is apparently better than a number of other shops because there’s a sale for 52 weeks of the year. And then he leaves without as much as a good-bye. You don’t even need electronics!

This is essentially what happens every time an ad appears on TV. Ads interrupt the stuff people want to watch with stuff they don’t care about, delivered in such a way that nobody would ever want to care about it.

So, wouldn’t it make sense to make ads that are as entertaining as the shows people are already watching? People actually love ads that make them laugh or cry. They talk about them around the bbq. They watch entire shows that are about the world’s funniest commercials and they send them around to friends via the Internet. They get value from an entertaining commercial. They remember the product and most importantly they remember the brand. Fondly. Yet, advertisers insist on making ads that are delivered in the style of a home invasion.

People just want to be entertained.

- Gerhard Myburgh

The Palace FWA site of the day?

Well that's up to the judges. Just over a month ago we launched the new Palace site you're on right now. And it is being considered for the highly coveted FWA site of the day. Please send along to your friends and coworkers for their vote on the public finalists. Just click on the link below to check out the submission and all the previous winners.

- Reed Collins

MINI win a major coup for Jakarta team

Just a few months after opening their doors, The Campaign Palace Jakarta have added iconic car brand MINI to their creative roster following a four-way pitch.

This is the first time MINI has appointed a creative agency in Indonesia, and it follows the launch of the brand by BMW Group in July 2011 at the Indonesia International Motor Show. Commenting on the win, Adam Lau, General Manager, The Campaign Palace Jakarta said, “MINI is fun, cheeky and creative; and is the epitome of a brand that challenges convention. The Campaign Palace Jakarta prides itself as a fun and creative boutique challenger agency for challenger brands like MINI. This is the perfect partnership!”

The agency will create campaigns for all MINI models available in Indonesia, as well as any future new model launches. The Palace will also be supporting MINI Indonesia’s distributor Maxindo as part of its creative duties.

According to Ramesh Divyanathan, President Director of BMW Group Indonesia, The Palace “showed great understanding of the MINI brand and of the Indonesian market. These are crucial elements as we are still in the initial stages of establishing MINI in Indonesia.

This is the second major new business win for the agency since its launch.

- Andrew Dowling

Palace makes TED 'Ads worth Spreading' list

TED's second 'Ads Worth Spreading' nominees are out. And we're extremely happy to announce we are among them for our launch of Panasonic's BTW800 late last year. And yes, we'd appreciate your vote:)

Ads Worth Spreading is TED's initiative to recognise and reward innovation, ingenuity, and intelligence in advertising - the ads that people want to see, and share with their friends.

-Reed Collins

The Palace peeps get fighting fit

So its 2012, a new year, and as happened last year, loads of people have set resolutions...get fit, save money, quit smoking and the like.  But statistics show most of us will break these resolutions in January...and judging from last year, I’m likely to be one of them. In an effort to help us extend this “4 -Week Get Improved" period,  a group of us from The Palace have been convinced to sign up for a corporate triathlon in April.  It's a few months away, which means we’ve all got time to learn to swim, ride a bike and run (or perhaps walk) a few laps of Lady Macquarie's Chair. Hopefully its not too long for people to back out, but lets see if we can all come out the other side having finished, and perhaps even be a little healthier!

ENTREPRENEURAL CREATIVITY

The Palace has always been about one thing – creative solutions for business problems. It stirs the entrepreneur in each and every one of us and drives us to search harder for the right opportunity or solution. We've created ads, brands, products, short films, viral films, books, websites and apps, and rallied the nation behind causes. This spirit sits at the heart of what we do. We call it entrepreneurial creativity. 

Brand Asset Valuator - Smart Metrics for Entrepreneurial Decisions

How do you manage what you can't measure?

What value are investments that are not linked to returns?

These are two of the most critical challenges currently facing brand management. A brand is too valuable an asset to manage without the help of smart metrics to help make the smartest decisions. By adopting a clear definition of a brand and precisely measuring it in a way that is linked to financial performance, marketers can gain an edge in making more intelligent brand decisions.

BrandAsset Valuator® is a unique global database of brands. Just as important as the measures it contains on 48 image attributes, or the brand health, pricing power, consideration, and loyalty data, are the models that explain their meaning. Models designed or improved over the last 18 years by academic and marketing luminaries.

Now housed within our Consulting Group, the first Australian BAV study was conducted in 1993. Findings for our 2011 study of 1359 brands will be available shortly.

For further information: brandassetconsulting.com

Want to join The Palace?

Send us your CV and a one minute video on one product you'd like to kill off, or one product you'd like to launch, and why. Please send videos in .mov or .mpg format and under 3MB to sayhi@thecampaignpalace.com