News backs reform case with digital show

Feb 16, 2016 at 07:06 pm by Staff


Diakrit, the Thai-developed 3D and VR tool for property ads acquired last week, is among technologies being shown off by News Corp Australia this week.

Director of corporate affairs and content innovation - and former editor of The Australian - Campbell Reid says the aim is show advertisers and commercial partners the group's digital capacity.

Presentations will come from Sky News, online real estate group REA, Fox Sports, online home improvement website hipages, video ad tech company Unruly, social media news agency Storyful, The Australian and state-based newspapers, news.com.au, online food destination Taste and Foxtel.

Also on show is a new app for news delivery on Apple watches.

Reid says he wanted to change the perception that the company was an "old-fashioned newspaper company with a couple of websites".

The Innovation Week promotion at News' Sydney headquarters this week will include a view into News' newsroom, driven by EidosMedia's Méthode multiplatform technology.

Head of innovation Mark Drasutis says the newsroom will provide an illustration of "how much we shape the lives of Australians through our great storytelling and our curatorial brilliance".

The Australian newspaper display will include State of Play, which uses Newspoll data to show the result of a federal election if it were held today, Newsflash, a new app for the Apple watch, Storyline, which charts the past 51 years of news through the front pages of The Australian, and Wish China, a glossy magazine and digital experience in Mandarin.

More than 300 people including advertisers, commercial partners, government representatives and staff are expected to take part the week-long showcase.

"We hear this current government talk about innovation, and it struck us that there is an assumption that innovation only happens in garages. But the powerhouse of innovation is just as likely to be small teams within big businesses.

"Fox Sports has dramatically revolutionised how you cover live sport. REA is revolutionising how you engage with property." Fox Sports will show its super screens, real line eye cams and corner-post cams, as well as the future of sports digital including e-sports, personalisation and interactivity. "True magic happens when the best new technology and the passion for storytelling come together," says Reid.

There's also a political agenda, as the Australian government prepares to debate media reform: "We want government and regulators to understand that in this country there is not legacy media and new media.

"In media reform we are not seeking protection in the traditional sense of the word. We are seeking empowerment to compete in a vibrant new world."

News Corp Australia's acquisition of a majority stake in Diakrit for an undisclosed amount, is the biggest deal of Michael Miller's executive chairmanship.

The Bangkok-based company has become a leader in the production of digital visualisation solutions for real estate agents, and delivered revenue of $22 million last year.

Miller says the real estate market in Australia, the US and around the world has only just begun leveraging this type of digital content, "so the potential is enormous.

"We intend using our reach, digital assets and advertising expertise to further drive Diakrit's growth in new markets, and in turn, our property businesses and real estate agent partners will benefit enormously from utilising its expertise and products."

Diakrit's three co-founders Fredrik Bergman, Dick Karlsson and Martin Fritze will continue to run the company's operations with existing management.

It has offices in the US, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and currently employs more than 450.

Pictured: Diakrit shows its VR technology and (above) Diakrit co-founder, president chief executive Fredrik Bergman

Sections: Digital business