Written by Sophie Babic

AFR’s big TV play 

The Australian Financial Review has just released its first television campaign in over 15 years. The new 60-second commercial focuses on audience quality over quantity, portraying the similarities of its readers and how they perceive success.   

It’s an interesting channel choice. If their core audience is still watching TV, it absolutely makes sense to meet them there. But it does signal a move away from reaching younger generations who are consuming most content via streaming services and social media. The AFR even reported themselves back in October on TV advertising slumping. 

While the move may seem counterintuitive, it demonstrates a clear prioritisation of targeting the right audience rather than the largest possible one. 

Apple Podcasts gets visual 

Apple has just announced a big update to Apple Podcasts which is hitting phones and tablets this spring. The app will soon be modified to support video podcasts, bringing an additional viewing element for listeners, now viewers! 

For those of us IMPACTERs who love a good podcast (me included), this is exciting. I’ve always preferred seeing hosts and guests interacting. Audio is great, but video adds that extra layer. 

The podcast world is already massive, with over 584 million listeners globally. Including a video feature, with many podcasters are already filming episodes to use on social channels, opens new ways to engage audiences, for both creators and marketers. 

Has AI killed writing?  

Marc Randolph, Netflix co-founder, regularly writes on Substack and his recent piece Has AI Killed Writing, Or Just Changed It? got the IMPACT team talking. 

He argues if AI can produce excellent writing instantly, how does a human justify spending hours polishing a paragraph? 

Marc compares this shift to mass production replacing handmade furniture, lacking soul and individuality. 

There is no doubt AI can write, but his question is what becomes of the craftsmen? He believes we become more valuable. Use AI to handle the first draft, structure, and metaphors, before we amend and add that human tone. 

AI reality check 

LinkedIn has released new insights into AI adoption in the workforce, with a particular lens on B2B marketers. 

Their latest benchmark report reveals that only 32 per cent of respondents rate their AI expertise as extremely good, which remains the same to last year. Even at leadership level, confidence is low, with just 38 per cent of Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) saying they feel highly confident in their AI skills. 

It’s interesting, given AI is often positioned as the most transformative tool in modern history. This could suggest people are feeling still cautious or subdued by it. 

While AI tools can improve productivity, they can’t replace real human expertise and skill. 

LinkedIn says that the answer lies in training, which it’s looking to facilitate via LinkedIn Learning. The competitive advantage will come from business that completely understand AI tools, rather than just using them.  

Specsavers cheeky play 

An office favourite this week was Specsavers clever Valentines ad, positioning their latest hearing aid as a romance tool.  

The campaign uses playful, adult humour to tell a serious message about normalising hearing loss. Celebrity relationship expert Paul C Brunson teased the launch on social media, which got people talking and sparked curiosity around the product. 

It showed a fun way to break the stigma around hearing loss and also gave us a comedic break from the lovey-dovey Valentine’s Day clichés.