Beat the housing scrum

CLIENT: FOLLOWIT
OUTLET: THE AUSTRALIAN

A new Australian app promising to change the way Australians ­interact with real estate listings is set to launch nationally under the guidance of a former Facebook and Amazon executive.

followit, an app and desktop platform that gives users a push notification whenever a property they’re interested in is on the market, is backed by Macquarie Bank. Most major Australian real estate firms, including, LJ Hooker, Century 21, and Belle Property have already signed on.

Real estate coach and followit executive director Michael Sheargold describes it as a live communication platform for the real estate industry and consumers.

Education revenue soars to become Australia's $20 billion export

CLIENT: BIGGEST ENGLISH LESSON
OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Export revenue from international students, driven by the lower dollar, has soared 13 per cent in 2015 to make education a $20 billion export industry.

In trade figures released on Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said total spending by international students in Australia – including course fees, accommodation, living expenses and recreation – was $19.2 billion in 2015, up from $17 billion the previous year.

Phil Honeywood, executive director of International Education Association of Australia, said the data showed international students were making a significant contribution to the economy at a time when resource exports were flagging.

Next week the international education industry will promote itself by holding what it bills as the world's biggest English lesson on Sydney's Bondi Beach. Organisers say the event, on February 12, is expected to attract 3000 international students.

Aussie fans help Rooster Teeth YouTube stars create movie history

CLIENT: TUGG
OUTLET: CHANNEL 7 NEWS

A film made by a group of YouTube stars known as Rooster Teeth will screen in Australia this week, and it is set to change how movies are made.

'Lazer Team' is being billed as the first successful crossover movie from YouTube thanks to donations from fanatical Aussie investors.

Move over Star Wars - This is the hottest film you've probably never heard of.

"[It’s] sort of a buddy sort of SciFi comedy with four idiots," Rooster Teeth’s Gavin Free said.

These ‘idiots’ usually do shows on video games and their 'Rooster Teeth' YouTube channels have 25 million subscribers.

It all started as fun online but it's turned into big business and it's a wake up call for mainstream cinema.

Conde Nast Traveler Instagram Takeover

CLIENT: NORTH BONDI SURF LIFESAVING CLUB
OUTLET: CONDE NAST TRAVELER (USA)

North Bondi SLSC worked with Condé Nast Traveler and did a takeover of its Instagram account to commemorate Australia being awarded top destination for 2016.  The media deal was managed by DL COMMS and gave exposure to 722,000 people! The world's most read travel magazine worked with 30 iconic Australian organisations and influencers over the month of January. 

Engagement: 30,000 likes 660 comments
Below are the images used to showcase surf lifesaving to the world!

Rooster Teeth's Burnie Burns On The Record-Smashing Feature Film 'Lazer Team'

CLIENT: TUGG
OUTLET: GIZMODO

With more than 25 million YouTube subscribers, Rooster Teeth have been making online content since it was possible to — and keeping generations of online audiences engaged over a 13 year period is no easy feat. Now the studio is on the cusp of something very new and very big: premiering a crowdfunded, original content feature film in cinemas globally, including 70 in Australia.

Gizmodo Australia spoke with Rooster Teeth creator Burnie Burns about Lazer Team, crowd-supported projects and bridging the gap between online and offline audiences.

Lazer Team is not just Rooster Teeth‘s latest pet project. It is record breaking, being able to claim fame as the highest demanded and most sold movie in the history of cinema on demand in Australia.

followit - the new real estate platform that lists properties in real time

CLIENT: FOLLOWIT
OUTLET: SKY NEWS BUSINESS

Chris Adams from followit discusses the country's first live real estate platform that gives renters and buyers up-to-the-second property information the moment it is listed.  

Entrepreneurs welcome innovation package

CLIENT: UNSTOPPABLES
OUTLET: SKY NEWS BUSINESS

Unstoppables Founder Julio De Laffite says the $1.1 billion initiative is a win for small business

Airscope Industries puts drones in inspection frontline

CLIENT: UNSTOPPABLES
OUTLET: THE AUSTRALIAN

When a tiny hobbyist drone revealed the damage inside Christchurch Cathedral just after the 2011 earthquake, little was known about how drones could emerge as a major commercial infrastructure inspection tool.

That potential is being tapped into by a fledgling Western Australian firm. Its founder, Chris Leslie began flying at age 15. He was too young to drive so his family drove him to the local airfield. At 24 he was one of the youngest commercial airline captains around, flying for Qantas subsidiary Network Aviation across WA.

By 25, he had enough and wanted out. “I got there (piloting) at such a young age through hard work and a bit of luck, but I realised I need to be challenged, I can’t be doing this for the next 40 years of my life. So I was looking around for opportunities, and I stumbled across the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) industry.”

RedBalloon founder Naomi Simson won't 'mentor' you

CLIENT: UNSTOPPABLES
OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Naomi Simson says you probably don't need mentorship, just conversations with a variety of entrepreneurial peers.

by Naomi Simson

I find myself in a fortunate position. I founded a business with a clear sense of purpose and as a result people are curious about how I did it. Mostly they want to know what "worked" and how they could "do the same thing". This means that I am approached a lot by people who want me to "mentor" or advise them.

I am so not the right person to mentor people, so when I am approached I respond with the simple question: "What is the one question that you want answered?" This can take considerable time for the person to formulate and work out what "is the question?"

The power of mentoring is not in what a mentor knows, but in the power of the questions they can ask – even if it is just "what is your real question?" Often the ability of the mentor or adviser to search for and refine what that question is comes from years of experience.

Calisthenics athletes compete in Australia to become the most "Graceful Girl"

CLIENT: TUGG
OUTLET: NEW YORK TIMES

In Australia, competitive calisthenics are a national treasure that tie together generations of women to a sport described as “a cross between ballet, gymnastics, and theater,” according to Olivia Peniston-Bird. The director spoke with Buzzfeed about her new documentary Graceful Girls, which follows the stories of women who perform calisthenics and is the winner of the People’s Choice for Best Documentary at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.