Three mangoes in the mix
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Communications agency Mango has appointed a new experiential director, Noeline van den Berg (left), who joins from Publicis Groupe in South Africa and will head Mango’s events team, delivering experiential campaigns for a range of clients, including McDonald’s, Specsavers and Mini.
With 25 years’ experience in advertising, van den Berg has specialised in experiential for the past 17 years. Her previous work includes campaigns for such brands as Unilever, Siemens Germany, Samsung and Stella Artois.
“The mix of highly experienced public relations, social and experiential talent makes Mango a force to be reckoned with and I’m incredibly excited to lead experiential campaigns for the agency’s enviable client list,” she says.
Mango general manager Sean Brown welcomed the addition of van den Berg to the team.
“At Mango we are known for our ability to deliver award-winning experiential campaigns and events for our clients. We are proud that our reputation has attracted someone with Noeline’s level of talent and we look forward to seeing her take the events team to new levels of success, particularly at a time when clients are really starting to understand the value of experiential activity.”
Also, new to Mango are two PR consultants, Patricia Greig (right), who joins after a seven-year stint at the New Zealand Herald, and Chloe Tonkin from UK PR agencies.
Experienced in both print and digital lifestyle and news media, Greig worked on feature magazines including Travel and Viva, as well as writing breaking news and trends stories for the digital newsroom. She brings her journalistic expertise to Mango for clients including McDonald’s, Bay of Islands and Kiwi Property.
“To be able to share my media experience with the team at Mango so we can create the best possible stories for our clients is a fantastic opportunity and something I am personally passionate about,” says Greig.
Account manager Tonkin has over five years’ experience working for PR agencies across England and New Zealand. Mango is her first permanent role in the country, and she will be working for clients including Booking.com, Auckland Racing Club and Buddle Findlay.
“We are proud to welcome three new Mangoes to our growing team, and excited to see what they can bring to the mix,” says Brown. “We believe there is a lot we can learn from their range of experience across different markets and different industries.”
A duo lassoed
Auckland-based independent agency, Lassoo Media & PR, has strengthened its digital team as online marketing spend in New Zealand continues to grow.
Digital ad spend in New Zealand is currently about 35 percent of the total but is expected to reach 50 percent within two years. It is already more than half in many other countries and is predicted to reach two-thirds of all ad spend in the coming years.
“With that in mind we have brought in more digital expertise, with the appointment of Anna Gervai as head of digital and social strategy and the promotion of Hamish Scott-Knight to head of media technology,” says Lassoo founder Bridgette Smith.
“Anna has previously worked with Lassoo in a variety of digital roles and is well-known to many of our existing clients for her exceptional expertise in the online world. Her broad experience covers the retail, FMCG, finance, health, fashion and construction sectors and we look forward to harnessing her outstanding skills throughout the business for the benefit of our clients.
“Hamish has been at Lassoo for six years, most recently as digital manager, and he too is very highly-regarded by our clients who know they can always rely on his digital knowledge and recommendations for successful online campaigns. In his new role as Head of Media Technology, Hamish will continue to work with existing clients while also expanding Lassoo’s offering across new platforms and identifying ways to use and enhance existing tech to further drive enquiries and sales for clients.”
The appointments continue the expansion of the Lassoo team. Earlier this year, additional staff were employed in both the media and public relations divisions and, in June, John Baker, formerly of Tangible Media, joined as managing director.
“We have also been fortunate to win a number of new projects and clients in the past few months. We are certainly well-positioned to kick off 2018 with an even stronger offering and are confident we have the right team in place to excel in the rapidly-changing media environment,” says Smith.
A new mind to share
Mindshare, the global media agency network, has appointed Campbell Smith to the role of Client Leader at Mindshare New Zealand.
Smith has over 12 years of media experience and has worked at a number of agencies in New Zealand and abroad. Most recently, he worked as business director on AirNZ and ASB at Carat (Carat is yet to officially announce a replacement for him).
“I’m really excited to be joining Terri, Sam and the Mindshare team,” Smith said in an official statement. “I look forward to continuing and building on the great work the team are producing on behalf of our agency partners and the Mindshare brand.”
Terri Collier, chief client officer at Mindshare New Zealand, says that he has been chasing Smith for quite some time.
“No word of a lie, I have been cold calling Campbell for years trying to work with him and thankfully he has finally relented. Campbell has the thought leadership, energy and knowledge that we are looking for to help lead our agency, team, and clients through change. He is an absolute asset and we cannot wait for him join our Mindshare family.”
Smith has been in his role since early November.
