MediaWorks' back to basics approach working
MediaRoom column: After a dismal few years MediaWorks looks like it is getting some of its mojo back.
The company's audience share in the 25 to 54 age group, known in the industry as the money zone, is at its highest since 2020 and, at 58 percent, is well ahead of its rival NZME on 31percent. Strong performances from brands like Mai FM, The Breeze, More FM and The Rock have driven increased revenues as well as ratings.
In its just-announced result for the year ending December 31, 2024, radio and digital revenue improved by $4m or nearly 3 percent to $150m. It was a good effort in a tight advertising market, but the rising star of the business is the 'out-of-home' (billboard) arm. Revenue was up nearly $6m (12 percent) to $51m.
An increasing amount of that revenue came from programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) sales which jumped 83 percent compared with the market average of 23 percent.
pDOOH is an automated system where buyers can set the conditions (ie. time of day, location, weather conditions etc.) under which they would buy slots and when providers agree the ads are automatically sent to digital billboards.
Given that the radio market is mature and close to being maxed-out in revenue terms the out-of-home business is increasingly important to MediaWorks.
Unlike other forms of media, out-of-home can't be blocked, muted or skipped. If you are in the vicinity of a billboard you are going to see it.
MediaWorks' chairman, Barclay Nettlefold, who represents the owners, Australian private equity firm Quadrant, will be patting himself on the back for appointing Wendy Palmer to the CEO role in August 2023.
Nettlefold took himself off the board after Cam Wallace, a former Air New Zealand executive, was appointed CEO in 2021. Wallace's two-year reign was marked by the expensive failure of Today FM. The talkback station was MediaWorks' challenge to Newstalk ZB but failed to fire despite millions being poured into it.
After Wallace resigned to take up a role at Qantas, Nettlefold rejoined the board and hired Palmer.
Palmer, who had previously been head of radio at MediaWorks when it also owned TV3, is known for her focus on revenue and deep knowledge of commercial radio. So far, Palmer has resisted the temptation to tackle Newstalk ZB head-on like Wallace did. It means a tantalisingly large pot of money is out of reach, but Palmer has stayed focused on the music brands and cut costs. The wages bill is down $2 million year-on-year.
The company is still losing money, $16m in the latest financial year, but this is due to the high debt level if carries, a legacy of the company's past.
The interest bill for the latest financial year was $20 million.
Changing of the PR guard
If further proof was needed that the world of public relations consultancies has evolved significantly in New Zealand it came at last week's PRINZ awards.
Pead PR won the supreme award for its role in the promoting the world's biggest haka at Eden Park last year and other categories were dominated by newer firms like One Plus One Communications and Special PR.
One Plus One won Large Consultancy of the Year.
Last year it shared the accolade with Special PR which was runner-up this time.
Some of the big-name firms of the past either didn't enter or didn't feature.
In the past year, former heavyweight Senate has closed. And major players like Sweeney Vesty, Baldwin Boyle and Network PR don't operate at the scale they once did.
Industry leaders Deborah Pead and Claudia Macdonald (Mango Communications) have recently eased back or retired. One Plus One's Kelly Bennett, Max Burt and Special's Kelly Grindle are at the forefront of the generational change flowing through the local PR industry.
Anna Cottrell honoured
Wellington journalist and documentary maker Anna Cottrell is made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King's Birthday honours list. Cottrell started her career as a TV reporter on 'The South Tonight' a regional news programme in Christchurch in 1978. Her passion for current affairs saw her quickly move to directing longer items on TV One's Close Up. In 1988 Cottrell became a freelance documentary maker and her work focused on the experience of immigrants in New Zealand. Her interest in military history led to a television series on The Great War and the impact it had on people's lives. The five-part series (33 episodes) screened on TV3. Most recently, Cottrell produced Shine On Katherine Mansfield a series about the legacy of New Zealand's famous short story writer.
Cottrell, who is known for her dedication to the craft and humility told Newsroom 'I only accepted it [the honour] on the last possible day on behalf of the film crews, editors, graphic designers, and musicians – my colleagues over many years.'
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