Brews and Loos

Heaps Normal, the Aussie legends behind non-alcoholic beer, has teamed up with Who Gives A Crap, the kings and queens of eco-friendly toilet paper, to bring you something truly epic: Cheeky IPA.

Yep – a beer collab that’s all about giving a crap, quite literally. They’re not just here to quench your thirst; they’re on a mission to tackle the world’s sanitation crisis one sip at a time, and will give 50 percent of the profits from Cheeky IPA sales to not-for-profits charities to deliver clean water and build toilets across the world, with Heaps Normal also kicking it up a notch by chucking in an extra $1.50 per can and giving it to WaterAid (one of Who Gives a Crap’s long-term partners). It’s literally brews for loos. Or cans for cans (does toilet humour ever get old?).

So, what does it taste like? Cheeky IPA is a West Coast-style IPA. It’s piney and with a well-balanced bitterness and all the ingredients of an alcoholic beer – minus the alcohol.

The names of the bundles had us cracking up too. How about snagging the “Grog and Bog” pack – 48 rolls of eco-friendly TP along with your Cheeky IPA? Or maybe you’re more of a “Tinnies and Towels” kind of person. Either way, they’ve got you covered, quite literally.

We reckon this collab between Heaps Normal and Who Gives A Crap is a stroke of genius. It’s like the ultimate icebreaker in a can. It allows the drinker an opportunity to talk about something other than why they’re drinking an alcohol-free beer; it’s unexpected, clever, and all for a fantastic cause. Plus, let’s not forget the killer branding. Here’s to raising a glass of Cheeky IPA to making a difference, all while having a cheeky chat. Cheers to that!

You can read more here  and check out Cheeky IPA here.

Terror Tech Tackle

Australia is cracking down on tech giants like Google, Meta (formerly Facebook), X and others, giving them notice to explain how they are taking stronger action against “violent extremist material” circulating on their platforms. This move comes after disturbing content, including footage from the 2019 mosque shootings in New Zealand, continued to spread on social media.

The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, issued legal notices to six major companies, including Google, Meta, X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, Telegram, and Reddit.

Why these companies? According to Inman Grant, there’s evidence that their services are being used by terrorists and violent extremists to spread harmful content. Australia’s Online Safety Act, passed in 2021, empowers regulators to hold tech giants accountable for content shared on their platforms. They’re threatening fines of 10s on millions of dollars if they fail to act on harmful content.

This isn’t Australia’s first attempt to regulate social media. Earlier, they demanded action against child sexual abuse content. However, some companies have been reluctant to comply. For instance, X was fined over $600,000 for failing to demonstrate its efforts to combat child sexual abuse content. X (Twitter) contested this fine through legal action.

For business owners, especially those who utilise online platforms for marketing or engagement, it’s essential to stay updated on these developments. They might need to adapt their strategies or ensure compliance with emerging regulations. Keeping an eye on how tech giants respond to these demands can also provide insights into future trends in online content moderation.

Rev Up Your Engines

Did you catch the Australian Grand Prix last weekend? You may have noticed the crowds looked a little different this year, and it’s mostly thanks to Netflix’s hit series Drive to Survive (which is in its 6th season and does not look to be slowing down any time soon).

The success of the show has caused F1 to undergo a major makeover, driving down the average age of the sport’s viewers – from 44 to 32. With a younger and much more diverse audience tuning in, so the sport has been trying to shed its old image and embrace this new era of fans.

And you can see that shift in action with Heineken’s campaign, which is great. Teaming up with Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, they rolled out out a fresh campaign called ‘Sounds Like Good Times With F1’, celebrating the iconic sounds of Formula 1.

This is a pretty cool campaign – it includes videos, out-of-home ads, and even a wicked 360 audio experience on Spotify that plunges you right into the heart of those thrilling F1 noises. The aim of the campaign is to celebrate the sounds of good times at the F1. And it is sound that makes the F1 races such a sensory experience. Think crowd, cars and the buzz at the event.

There are no more boys’ club vibes either – the video features a mix of fans, both male and female, in their prime years, enjoying the races in style. It’s all about tapping into this fresh wave of fans and giving them a taste of the F1 experience, Heineken style.

You can read the article here.

Optimus PMax

Are you using Google PMax ads? Pmax campaigns are more and more important in the Google ad ecosystem. From our experience, they are increasingly valuable but can be hard to optimise. This article below from Search Engine Land is super helpful with lots of info on optimising your Google Performance Max Ad Campaigns.

Check it out here.

Keen To Dive In?

If you love what we’ve shared above and want to be kept in the loop with our weekly email, The Brief, you can sign up here. We’ll only send you things we love and think you’ll find useful, and you can unsubscribe at any time. And if you need some help exploring any of the above within your own marketing strategy, or you need a rebrand, a custom website built from scratch, Google or social ads, print materials, blog posts – or the whole lot – we’d love to chat. Drop us a line here.