Mumbrella

Mumbrella is an Australian marketing and media industry news website. It was started in December 2008 by Tim Burrowes, and has since gone on to become a popular source for news, analysis and commentary on the advertising, PR, and media industries. As of 2021 its parent company is Focal Attractions.

Mumbrella
Mumbrella front page on 27 May 2017
Type of site
Media and marketing news
OwnerDiversified Communications
Created byTim Burrowes
EditorOlivia Kruimel
URLmumbrella.com.au
CommercialYes
RegistrationFree
Launched9 December 2008

History

Background

After beginning his career as a newspaper journalist, Tim Burrowes gained experience writing on the media and marketing industries after he was appointed editor at UK advertising industry magazine MediaWeek.[1] He later became editor of B&T Magazine in Australia, before deciding to create Mumbrella.[1][2]

Founding of Mumbrella

Founded in 2008 by Burrowes, Mumbrella sought to fill a gap in the niche market for up-to-date advertising and media industry news, an area then dominated by weekly industry trade magazines.[3] The name Mumbrella was suggested by a friend after Burrowes described his idea for the site as being about things under the 'media and marketing umbrella', a phrase that the name ultimately became derived from.[1]

Mumbrella was initially designed to primarily be a free weekly email newsletter, with the website simply acting antecedent to it. However, the site quickly became the prime focus after it rapidly gained an audience through its fast reporting on industry news and critical commentary.[3][1] By 2012, the website was reaching over 200,000 unique readers per month, and turning over A$1.5m per year through its various revenue streams.[1]

The business was sold to US-based events company Diversified Communications for a reported AU$8 million at the end of 2017,[4] with a view to expanding the events side of the Mumbrella brand.[5]

Mumbrella Asia

Mumbrella expanded into the Asian market in 2013 with the launch of Mumbrella Asia,[3] which hosted Asian versions of its successful Mumbrella Awards and Mumbrella360 industry conference.[6]

However in December 2019, Mumbrella announced that it would shut down its Asian website as it failed to achieve all three major sources of revenue around advertising, ticket sales and sponsorship, comparatively to its Australian website. In addition, the publication had failed to attract advertising because of its aggressive reporting, which displeased the marketing industry and the Singapore government.[7]

Encore magazine

Background

Encore magazine was a continuation of the Australian Film Review (Feb. 1983–June 1984[8]). Also titled Encore Australia, Encore!, Encore the Production Magazine, and Broadcast (which was the name of a separate magazine from 1986 to 1989[9]), Encore was produced biweekly between 1984 and 1999 and monthly from 2000.[10] Its later issues were online only,[10] and by the 2000s was owned by Reed Business Information.[11]

In 2006, Encore published its last list of Top 20 Directors and Producers.[12]

Takeover

The parent company of Mumbrella, Focal Attractions, bought Encore in late 2009. In November 2011, the magazine was relaunched with a widened focus on all types of media and entertainment, although it would also continue to cover the Australian screen industry. The first issue of the relaunch included articles on breakfast television, car advertising and Austereo boss Guy Dobson.[11]

In 2010 and 2011, Encore published its "Power 50", comprising "screen professionals who have achieved new heights... whose decisions influence and shape Australia's audiovisual industry".[12][13][14]

Encore ceased publication at the end of 2013, with Reed maintaining ownership of the Encore Directory, an online database of operators in the film industry.[15]

Events

Mumbrella runs a number of industry events to in addition to its website.

Mumbrella360, the leading advertising and media conference in Australia, was launched in 2011.[3] As of 2019 it attracted over 2000 attendees across three days,[16] and through its high ticket price and significant sponsorship deals, became a major income stream for the publication.[3][17]

Mumbrella runs media and marketing industry awards show the Mumbrella Awards, launched in 2013,[1] an event which drew over 1000 attendees in 2019.[18]

The site also hosts a number of more specific industry events and professional training classes across Australia.[3]

References
  1. Waters, Cara (6 June 2012). "Influencers & Profiles: Tim Burrowes". SmartCompany. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  2. Jamieson, Amber (2 November 2011). "The quality journalism project: under the media Mumbrella". Crikey. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  3. Shepherd, Ben (8 March 2013). "Mumbrella's lucrative lesson for media". The Australian. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  4. McCauley, Dana (23 December 2017). "Mumbrella now US owned after $8m sale". The Australian. Abix/Roy Morgan Research. p. 23. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. Burrowes, Tim (22 December 2017). "We've sold Mumbrella". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  6. "Mumbrella Asia appoints Kris Chan as head of sales". Mumbrella Asia. 17 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  7. "Mumbrella Asia shutters operation in Singapore after six and a half years". The Drum. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  8. [Catalogue entry], "The Australian film review fortnightly news magazine for film, television and video", The Australian Film Review, 1983, ISSN 0811-384X, Journal dates=Vol. 1, issue 1 (Feb. 17/Mar. 2 1983)-v.2, issue 8 (June 7/June 20 1984); Merged with: Encore Australia; to form: Encore (Manly, N.S.W.){{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Broadcast: The business magazine for the radio and television industries, [Catalogue entry], Thomson Publications Australia, 1986, ISSN 0817-8909, Vol. 1, no. 1 (Apr. 1986)-v. 4, no. 9 (Oct. 1989){{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Encore: incorporating the Australian film review. 1984. ISSN 0815-2063. OCLC 37168232. Life dates: Vol. 2, issue 9 (June 21, 1984)-(Nov. 2012) {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. Burrowes, Tim (16 November 2011). "Revealed: The new Encore magazine". Mumbrella. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  12. Gonzalez, Miguel (22 June 2010). "Australia's Power 50". Mumbrella. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. "Encore's Power 50, 2011". Encore Magazine. 11 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  14. "Encore's Power 50". Pedestrian TV. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  15. "About Encore". Mumbrella. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. "Mumbrella360 - Mumbrella". mumbrella.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  17. Davidson, Darren (31 August 2015). "Investor to aid of digital publisher". The Australian. p. 23.
  18. "Mumbrella Awards". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
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