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everyone in Victoria will watch anyway”.

Economist Tim Harcourtfrom the University of NSW’s Business School says there is truth in the adage that a national game is driving the finances of the league — and the broader economy.

Dr Harcourt points out thatwhen Fremantle entered the competition in 1995, they were forced to look overseas for a sponsor as West Coast already commanded the lion’s share of the local advertising.

Mr Littlefield says the advertising world is an incredible barometer for the economy and how businesses and consumers are feeling. This year, he is seeing some interesting trends.

THIS week’s key number refers to the record amount of new homes approved to be built.

It highlights the ongoingimpact housing will play in the broader economic growth story over the next 12 to 18 months but it also puts into perspective the sizeable supply-side housing response around the corner.

More homes are being built than ever before and there is no sign that the boom is going to end anytime soon.

Interestingly much has been made of the so-called housing bubble. Let’s be clear: there is no housing bubble, rather an imbalance between supply and demand

in key markets such as Sydney and Melbourne.

But the homes are beingbuilt to meet demand, it just takes time.

And while property pricesare still recording solid gains, investors need to pay attention to the softening rental yields, especially for apartments.

Home building is at record levels and the rental market can be expected to ease further as more homes are completed.

In addition, the tighteningin bank lending standards for investor loans is likely to result in a cooling in demand. Investors clearly must tread warily.Savanth Sebastian is a CommSec economist

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America is inching towards an interest rate rise but the big question is when. December’s line-ball; our Reserve Bank may not want to wait that long and spring another cut.

IT’S that time of year again, folks. The tea andbiscuit circuit is about to

officially open, as Australian companies kickstart the 2015 annual general meeting season.

For career shareholdersit’s always a highlight. Not only do you get to eyeball the board members in real life but you also get to ask questions.

If you’re lucky the boardand executives will also shout you a cup of tea.

But these meet and greetevents are getting fewer.

For most shareholders the AGM is now spent sitting in their own home, with their own cup of tea, watching the webcast on their own computer.

Whether we choose to goto the big event or watch it at home, as shareholders we all still have the same rights. The right to have our say. Ask our questions and give our opinion. After all, we, the shareholders, are the owners. So, we’re the boss, right?

The pity, however, aboutthe modern AGM is the lack of diversity. These days the board only ever hears from the big voices.

All too often “mum anddad” individual shareholders are not represented.

Instead we hear from lobby groups — pushing a particular barrow — or big institutional investors, who hold millions of shares on behalf of managed funds including superannuation funds.

The same malaise that has taken us over as shareholders also appears to have taken us over as super fund members.

The money that super funds use to invest in these

companies is our money. So we own them, too. And unlike being just a small individual shareholder at an AGM, if we have our say through our super funds, it would be with a very big, loud voice.

That’s because super funds are being courted all over the country by lobby groups and companies.

Our super funds own huge swags of shares, which gives them (us) huge swags of voting power.

Super funds are the newking-makers when it comes to AGM issues. Especially on sensitive issues such as executive pay deals, for instance.

Super funds have a legalduty of care to invest in the best interest of their members and they are known for putting companies on notice if they are not happy about certain policies, or behaviour, especially executive pay deals.

And because of the two-strike law that aims to keep boards accountable on executive salaries, we (through our super funds) have a very, very big voice.

If more than 25 per centof votes are against the company’s pay deal, that’s strike one. If it happens again the next year that’s strike two and shareholders can then call for the entire board to be unseated.

Regardless of whether the board spill actually happens, the fear of a spill has so far been enough to clean things up.

It’s also the reason manycompanies in the ASX 200 now regularly court your super fund. So have your say.karina.barrymore@news.com.au

NUMBERSGAMEwith Savanth Sebastian

YOUR HIPPOCKETwith Karina Barrymore

BusinessDailyGRAND FINAL SPECIAL

advertising in stadium where they can get the dual benefit of fan engagement in stadium and as the broadcaster’s cameras are on the game and the perimeter advertising, they get value through the broadcast as well.”

He also says to look out forinnovation in the use of LED boards during the game — both for advertising and as a part of the production for festivities.

ADVERTISING industryinsiders often say the“sweet spot” for an AFL

final is a match between West Coast and Sydney, “as you get the biggest team in Western Australia and the biggest team in New South Wales and

Australia Bank’s “fan shake” campaign which he says combines traditional TV advertising with social media and fan pages.

“There is a real sense of ‘what else are we adding to the game?’ How are we building on existing experience?”

Mr McMillan says it is alsoimportant that NAB has stuck to the grassroots of the game and built a brand position around “making it better”.

“It is not just putting all your money in a 60-second advertisement in the Grand Final. It is about a broader expanded engagement with the brand over a period of time and creating a relationship.”

The other huge factor coming into play is the enormous $2.5 billion rights deal signed with News Corp, Seven West Media and Telstra covering online and television content until early next decade. With the huge cost of rights people who own the property want to ensure they get as much hits from viewers engaged in advertising as well.

Luke Littlefield, chief executive of the Australian and New Zealand arm of multinational media and digital marketing group Dentsu Aegis Network, says the “smart brands” really want to hit audiences on many levels.

“People are multi-tasking,using their tablets and phones and advertisers want to reach their target audience through multi-screen engagement,” Mr Littlefield says.

He points to the way realitytelevision shows such as The Bachelor drive online conversations.

Mr Littlefield also said to expect a smarter use of advertising placement in all mediums.

“Smart advertisers will buy

ADVERTISERS onfootball’s biggeststage won’t simplybe satisfied withone killer

commercial during today’s heavyweight clash.

They want to dominate your smartphone, your tablet and your social media chats.

Paul McMillan, managingdirector of Clemenger — the agency behind some of our most memorable Grand Final series advertisements such as Carlton and United Breweries’ “It’s a big ad” — says the AFL decider has consistently been viewed as the marquee advertising event of the year.

“Psychologically it is the start of summer,” he says. “It is a really big marketing moment.”

Mr McMillan says it leadsinto a series of big spending periods including the Spring Racing Carnival, Christmas, the summer holidays and the Australian Open tennis.

“People come out of hibernation and have the first barbecue for the summer.

“They realise the shorts they were wearing last summer won’t cut it, so it drives summer fashion. People will buy barbecues, big-screen televisions.

“There are groups of all sizes — from two to 100,000 — getting together for the game and they are spending.”

Generally advertisers canexpect to pay up to $100,000 for a 30-second slot during the game and broadcaster Seven has been estimated to earn about $10 million in ad revenue during the coverage.

But increasingly, advertisers are finding that just isn’t enough exposure.

Mr McMillan says this is due to the online revolution driving opportunities to engage with consumers — in increasingly interesting ways.

He points to the National

The digital deciderAs the Hawks and Eagles fight it out for the premiership, the battle raging for advertising on football’s biggest day has never been more intense. Jeff Whalley reports on how the game is changing.

HERALDSUN.COM.AU SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015 BUSINESS 61

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Toyota advertisements with comedians Stephen Curry and Dave Lawson as a prime example.

ADVERTISERS are alsousing online smarter,releasing longer-form

ads online — Mr McMillan points to Mick Molloy hosting Carlton Draught’s “front bar folklore” segments in which he interviews football legends.

At the same time because ofthe vast audience and the place the event has in the national psyche, Mr McMillan says brands can transform their image or fashion a new message through a campaign during the finals.

Today, for example, Australia Post will launch a

Mr McMillan recommendstaking note of how many aim to make you emotional and weepy. He says a huge amount of research is coming out of the US about how the brain reacts to emotional messaging rather than rational messaging.

Mr McMillan points to Virgin Australia’s advertisements featuring AFL coaches travelling to the game as a way of subtly engaging emotion. “(These ads are) about the allegiance to the sport and the planes getting the coaches to the final.”

Mr McMillan also says wecan expect advertisements will increasingly be more like small films with characters we follow. He points to the

He is predicting advertisingspending in 2015 will grow for the first time in four years as confidence rebounds, largely on the back of surging house prices. This leads to increased consumer confidence, businessconfidence and thus ad spend.

“I think we’ve come out of acycle where businesses were trying to achieve fiscal results through cutting expenditure, including advertising expenditure.”

Clemenger’s Mr McMillansays this is not to say the traditional marquee event of a Grand Final ad is dying but, much like the perennial Superbowl ad, it is evolving.

And many of the tricks wesee this year will be borrowed from US innovations.

BusinessDailyGRAND FINAL SPECIAL

BOUNTY BORNE ONWINGS OF EAGLESIT’S not only football fans who are salivating at the prospect of a weekend of top-shelf sporting entertainment.

Melbourne’s tourism industry chiefs have had a big circle around the first weekend in October on their calendars all year. Getting an interstate club onto football’s biggest stage is the icing on the cake.

“Melbourne is expecting atourism windfall at the weekend,” University of NSW Business School economist Tim Harcourt said. “Thousands of West Coast Eagles supporters will be flooding into Victoria and spending money. It’ll be a major boost to the state’s economy.”

Dr Harcourt said if Hawthorn hadn’t burst Fremantle’s bubble last week, the prospect of an all-West Australian decider would have “made travel agents and hoteliers salivate”. “Even last weekend’s finals generated a huge amount of cash, with Fremantle versus Hawthorn generating about $24 million for WA thanks to interstate visitors (and) a welcome fillip to Virgin and Qantas.”

But Victorian tourism chiefs will be hoping yesterday’s controversial public holiday hasn’t left some travelling fans with a sour experience of what Melbourne has to offer.

Scenes of bars and restaurants closed, or operating at a reduced capacity, could damage the state’s reputation as a leading tourism destination, acting Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief Erin Joyce said. “We will continue to tell the Government that the decision to introduce the grand final eve holiday is the wrong one,” she said.

series of advertisements focused on how the postal service is reinventing itself as a parcel delivery service helping to drive Australia’s digital economy.

Entitled “We Love Delivering” it focuses on Australian online businesses.

Greg Sutherland, consumerand small business general manager at Australia Post, said the decision to run the ads during the final was “purely because it offers such great reach”.

“More significantly, the campaign is underpinned by social media activities and a strong focus on sharing our customer’s stories through our own websites,” he says.jeff.whalley@news.com.au

Leigh Matthews andDave Lawson (below)

on set for a Toyotacommercial and (far

left) the finals serieshas demonstrated

the benefits of atruly national game.