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Movings/Shakings: 24 April

Billy McQueen goes back to the brush, ZenithOptimedia launches its new global positioning, Duncan Garner heads to RadioLive, Crossmark gets its teeth into Cadbury, two new toys for Toybox, Phantom welcomes ‘Queen of the Flyers’, Pluk closes in on 50,000 users and Ideas Shop makes it a double. 

McQueen heads for the hills

Ex-DDBer Regan Grafton recently came onboard the good ship DraftFCB as joint executive creative director alongside Tony Clewett. And creative director Billy McQueen, who used to lecture on art before moving into advertising and worked closely with DDB’s Chris Schofield, has decided to go back to the central North Island homeland to focus on his painting.

Luckily, the generous souls at DraftFCB are thought to have given McQueen a denim vest with a fake gang patch as a going away present so he’ll blend in and, as one dastardly insider said, “won’t get stabbed at the Four Square”.

Assume the position

ZenithOptimedia Group has launched a new global strategic positioning, ‘Live ROI’ and is unveiling a comprehensive global rebrand across all ZenithOptimedia Group companies including Zenith, Optimedia, Moxie, Newcast, Performics, Ninah, Sponsorship Intelligence and Scoop to reflect the new positioning.

“As part of the repositioning we have taken this opportunity to reinvigorate our corporate brand both internally and externally,” says Ryf Quail, general manager for ZenithOptimedia New Zealand. “As the fastest growing media agency network, this new identity heralds our next stage of growth and demonstrates our commitment to our clients and staff that we will continue to be at the forefront of communications planning and buying.”

The new positioning has been translated into a corporate identity rebrand that recently rolled out across all 250 offices worldwide, encompassing all ZenithOptimedia Group companies.

For continuity, the new branding for ZenithOptimedia retains the subtext ‘The ROI Agency’, the signature colour blue and a refreshed peak symbol, all of which were established in 2004 following the merger between Zenith Media and Optimedia, but includes a refresh of the agency’s wordmark and visual identity.

Zenith and Optimedia will also use the same typeface as ZenithOptimedia, the refreshed peak symbol and the same corporate colour palette, as well as ‘The ROI Agency’ subtext. Zenith Media is renamed Zenith.

The logos of all other ZenithOptimedia Group companies, Newcast, Performics, Moxie, Ninah, Sponsorship Intelligence and Scoop, have been redesigned to create a clear brand relationship. All companies use the same typeface as ZenithOptimedia, distinguishing themselves through the use of additional colour and symbols. These additional colours combine with the ZenithOptimedia colours to make the corporate colour palette.

“We were the first media agency to put accountability at the core of everything we do, and our pioneering expertise in this area has driven our success and underpinned our growth, says Steve King, global chief executive officer for ZenithOptimedia Group. “Consumers increasingly live their lives in a digital world in which traditional ROI techniques no longer deliver everything our clients need. Live ROI does. It takes ROI to the next level and ensures a real time approach that identifies how and where budgets can be invested to deliver the best returns. Over the past two years we have put Live ROI through the most demanding tests and it is the most comprehensive and future facing approach available to clients.”

The new positioning will be supported with a number of cutting edge, world-class tools, processes and development programmes including Touchpoints ROI Tracker, Socialtools, Adforecast.com, Open and Live Academy.

Guts for Garner

In what the Herald calls the worst kept secret in television, Radio LIVE has appointed current 3 News political editor Duncan Garner as permanent host of the 3pm-6pm Drive show. But he won’t be on air for a while: he starts his new role on 1 December.

Jana Rangooni, general manager of talk brands at MediaWorks Radio, says he brings a rare combination of news acumen and great personality and flair to his new role.

“Duncan is one of the most entertaining people in the news media but most people outside the business have yet to see this side of him,” she says. “He has a wide and varied range of interests, a wicked sense of humour and is a great journalist who is not afraid to ask anyone the tough questions. These qualities make him the perfect person to take the reins of the Radio LIVE Drivetime show.”

Patrick Gower will replace Garner as political editor for TV3, effective 1 December, facing up against TVNZ’s newly announced political editor, Corin Dann.

Radio LIVE business editor Andrew Patterson will be the interim host of the Drive show, and he will hold that position until Garner joins the station.

Sweet tooth

Australasia’s largest retail marketing agency Crossmark has been appointed by Cadbury to manage its national merchandising business following a competitive pitch.

It will manage Cadbury’s weekend display builds and merchandising activities, as well as some of Cadbury’s in-week merchandising for a range of grocery retail outlets across New Zealand.

“We are delighted to be appointed to manage part of national in-store merchandising business for Cadbury and to continue supporting the brand to further increase its productivity and presence in major retail outlets across New Zealand,” says Crossmark’s managing director New Zealand, Grant Leach.

“Crossmark is a key strategic partner with Cadbury NZ and I am delighted to have their increased involvement in our commercial business,” says Cadbury national operations manager Cam Hooper. “Managing our variable merchandising requirements will enable Cadbury NZ to best resource and deliver on the requirements and growth in New Zealand supermarkets.”

New toys for the Toybox

Bruce Carter, creative director and former head of film and TVC visual effects at Animal Logic, has joined Auckland based animation, VFX and post company Toybox.

Carter has worked alongside a number of international award-winning directors, producers, film studios, production companies and advertising agencies throughout the world and led diverse, multi-disciplined teams producing work across a range of award-winning projects. Film and television credits include 300 by Zack Snyder, Oliver Stone’s World Trade Centre, Verizon ‘Mercy’ and Comcast ‘Rabbit’ by Noam Murro.

Most recently he has been focused on the development of feature film, television and new media projects as part of Animal Logic’s development group. In his new role he will lead the Toybox team to build creative opportunities and strategic relationships across the television, film and entertainment industries.

“The media world is shape-changing almost daily, with the lines between design, art, fashion, advertising, games and film being blurred and distorted in all kinds of exciting ways. New Zealand is known for innovative talent and Toybox is no exception. With an amazing core group of artists and advanced technical infrastructure, Toybox offers end to end creative solutions across all media. The opportunity to return to New Zealand and work with the Toybox team was too good to pass up”

Joining Carter is leading VFX artist Leoni Willis. After 15 years as senior VFX supervisor and lead compositor in TVC at Animal Logic in Sydney, Australia, she has returned home to Auckland.

Willis has supervised and composited many high profile, award winning projects. With a background in design, she brings a wealth of ideas, creativity and knowledge, which are ever present in her speedy compositing skills. Her credits include work with directors Baz Lurhman, Alex Proyas, Noam Murro, Steve Rogers, Bruce Hunt, Graeme Burfoot and Steve Ayson.

“I’m looking forward to working with Bruce and the team at Toybox,” she says. “Colourist Pete Ritchie and animation director Andrew Newland are leaders in their fields and I’m confident that through sharing ideas and expertise we’ll be able to create some great work together.”

Queen of the flyers

Miriama McDonald has been appointed to the position of ‘Flying Squad Manager’ in Christchurch for Phantom Billstickers, although in her honour the position now has the new title ‘Queen of the Flyers’. She replaces Josh Burges who is leaving Phantom Billstickers to take up an internship in New York.

For the past eight years she has worked with young people as manager of an arts project (Project Legit) focusing on street art, but she was made redundant from this position due to the Christchurch earthquake.

She has 15 years experience working as a radio Host and DJ for RDU98.5FM and eight years freelance reviewing music for the Christchurch Press.

Fifty large

Just months after its MediaWorks launch and the signing its first commercial client, second screen content platform Pluk is closing in on 50,000 New Zealand users.

“It’s only now when I’m talking to international app developers and investors that I realise just how quickly we’ve gotten this to market,” says Boyd Wason, managing director of Pluk creators Foxtrot Media. “From an idea mid last year, to on air and in the app stores January and now 50,000 users. We’re very plukking happy.”

State Insurance recently used Pluk on its big brand ad, following on from Pluk-enabled ads for Holden, InsureMe, Subway and Roadshow. And Wason says there have also been very positive signs from across the Tasman.

Fotxtrot plans to mark the 50,000th user with a modest bash at its K-Road HQ on 3 May. Champagne’s a given, but the nibbles menu is still up in the air, depending on whether the target’s hit in time for the party.

“All going well we’ll be chowing down on sausage rolls,” says creative director Vaughn Davis. “But if the chickens don’t deliver we’re open to switching to KFC [Pluk is apparently “powered by chickens”, as this video shows].

Idea generation

Brian Finn and Juliet Montague have joined Wellington-based communications consultancy Ideas Shop.

As an associate partner at Ideas Shop, Finn brings international expertise in public affairs, strategy, issues and crisis communications and marketing communications with experience spanning 15 years across Australia, Asia and Europe. Most recently, he was head of communications for the New Zealand Rugby Union and was involved over a number of years in communications management for Rugby World Cup 2011.

Consultant Juliet Montague is a senior advisor with extensive strategic and tactical experience in internal communications, employee engagement and change management. She has acted as a trusted advisor to senior leaders in organisations including NZ Post, ANZ, Telecom and Victoria University.

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