TRAVELLERS TRICKED

CLIENT: EXCEPTIONAL ALIEN

OUTLET: 7 NEWS

When you work hard to go on holiday, the last thing you want is to be caught off guard by a sham-online review. AI bots are now making the problem worse, able to bypass technology designed to weave out the genuine from the fake.

Justin Drape and Michale Canning (the co-founders of Exceptional Alien) and Maurice Terzini (from Bondi Icebergs) are interviewed by 7 News on how they’re partnering to combat such shams. Watch the report from Amy Clements via the link below.

LIVEN GOES HEAD TO HEAD WITH SQUARE AFTER ITS $152M ACQUISITION SPREE

CLIENT: LIVEN

OUTLET: THE AUSTRALIAN

Fintech and loyalty marketing platform Liven is going after Jack Dorsey’s Square with the launch of its own free payment terminal following a $152m acquisition spree over the past few months.

The Bill Tai-backed start-up on Thursday announced the launch of a terminal which has been embedded with the company’s loyalty marketing and “brand dollar” tools. It can automatically track customer credit card numbers and spending and give rewards to users.

Liven co-founder Grace Wong told The Australian she believed it was time an Australian homegrown alternative to Square – a popular US fintech supplying payment terminals nationwide – with lower fees landed in the market.

POPULAR SPORTSWEAR COMPANY BUTTER BUTTER REBRANDS TO LOCIONNE AFTER LEGAL THREATS

CLIENT: LOCIONNE

OUTLET: NEWS.COM.AU

The founders of a popular Australian activewear brand have been forced to change their company’s name after receiving legal threats from a similarly-named business.

Butter Butter had risen to popularity since its 2020 launch due to its incredibly soft sports leggings made using collagen. Some customers had compared the fabric’s texture to body butter, earning the brand its namesake.

‘PAY TO PLAY’: SMALL BREWERES TAKE AIM AT MULTINATIONAL ‘DUOPOLY’ LOCKING UP PUB TAPS

CLIENT: PHILTER BREWERS

OUTLET: NEWS.COM.AU

Australia’s foreign-owned beer “duopoly” behind the likes of VB and Toohey’s has been accused of freezing out small local brewers from pub taps with “anti-competitive” contracts.

“In the last five years a lot more independent brewers have come in wanting to have a go at those taps, but the real estate is taken up by these brewers,” said Mick Neil, co-founder of Philter Brewing in Sydney’s Marrickville.

BITTER RIVALRY

CLIENT: PHILTER BREWERS

OUTLET: 7 NEWS

The competition watchdog will investigate Sydney’s beer market with claims independent brewers are being squeezed out. One local beer maker is now turning to drinker investors to help stay afloat.

When you strike liquid gold in the craft game its hard not to sell out. Philter Brewers, Stef and Mick, are fending off multi-billion dollar brewers to stay independent. Yesterday, they launched a crowdfunding investment plan for loyal locals.

ACTIVEWEAR SCALES NEW HEIGHTS

CLIENT: LOCIONNE

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Melbourne-based activewear designers Michelle Huan and Elle Castellani have set their sights on the global fitness stage following the release of their new range that allows wearers to use sweaty activewear for three days in a row without smelling.

The duo behind the brand Locionne are the first to create activewear infused with collagen, with an innovative design that uses “upcycled” marine life and the same collagen extraction technology used to treat burn victims.

NEW ‘5000 STAR HOTEL CHAIN’ TO EXPAND ACROSS AUSTRALIA

CLIENT: WANDER

OUTLET: NEWS.COM.AU

A unique Australian luxury accommodation chain is planning on expanding across the country, and Tourism Australia says it couldn’t come at a better time.

Wander, which currently has its “WanderPods” in Queensland’s Scenic Rim and South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, has dubbed itself the “5000 star hotel chain”.

MELBOURNE BESTIES SWEAR YOU CAN WEAR THSE GYM FOR DAYS WITHOUT WASHING

CLIENT: LOCIONNE

OUTLET: 9HONEY MONEY

Michelle Huang and Elle Castellani have developed gym tights they claim you can wear for days on end without washing because of the special ingredient: collagen.

"We never actually thought we should make leggings with collagen extracted from marine life," Castellani tells 9Honey of the new fabric used in their brand Locionne's Genesis collection.

She and Huang were intrigued when they came across bionic nylon, a groundbreaking textile technology that is marine-collagen-infused textile.