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Movings/Shakings: 27 June

The Research Agency welcomes an international research heavyweight,
ElevenPR snatches a couple from PPR, Ambient Group ramps up its
experiential and talent offering, Firebrand does some of its own
recruiting, Rob Fyfe wraps up warm with Icebreaker, Komli NZ wins
About.com, In Motion Post gets a slice of Bunnings, JOOB announces one
of its regional big dogs and a couple of Auckland dining hotspots get
some international attention.

From The Remarkables to research

Not long after winning a slice of the ASB and Beam Global businesses,
The Research Agency has won again, this time by adding a
true international research heavyweight to its team in the form of
Colleen Ryan, who will fill the newly created role of Qualitative Guru.

Ryan,
along with her business partner Wendy Gordon, are considered the global
forefathers of modern qualitative research. Together they founded and
grew their company The Research Business International (TRBI) into the
6th largest research company and largest independent research company in
the UK, before selling to Maritz.

TRBI was the company that
spawned the entire boutique research category in the UK and was
single-handedly responsible for producing generations of thinkers
and business people who have gone on to spread their passion for clever
research.

Before leaving the UK, Ryan was chairman of the
Association of Market Research Organisations and a finalist in Veuve
Cliquot UK Business Woman awards. And since leaving her role as chair of
TRBI, she has sailed around the world, written a series of Diving
Guides for the Caribbean, run the five-star Remarkables Lodge in
Queenstown and been chair of the Lodges of New Zealand Association.

Speaking
of The Research Agency, it has also been named as one of four finalists
in the AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards in the businesses
under $5m turnover sales and marketing category, alongside Plato Design
Agency, Verve – The Event Agency, and Terabyte Interactive.

Check out all 49 finalists here.

Eleven plus two

Amber
McEwen has been appointed to the senior role of group account director
at ElevenPR and she will lead a number of key accounts for the
business.

“Amber has a heap of corporate and marketing
communications experience and we’re delighted to welcome her to the
team,” says Kelly Bennett, managing partner. “Her expertise and
professionalism is already proving to be extremely valuable to our
current clients.”

McEwan joins from Professional Public Relations
New Zealand, where she headed up the business communications
division. In addition, Julie Rogan, who is back in the country after a
stint with PPR Sydney, joins the team as account manager, bringing a
wide-ranging suite of communications skills from across the Tasman.

The
announcement builds on recent news of Bennett’s appointment by TBWA –
International, to lead the expansion of the group’s PR offer in the Asia
Pacific region.

“It’s a really exciting time for the agency, with
some talented new blood and growth opportunities both in New Zealand
and internationally,” he says.

Group think

Ambient Advertising
has changed its name to Ambient Group and now offers three core
departments under that banner: Ambient Advertising, Ambient Experiential
and Ambient Talent.

Mark Fishwick, Ambient Group’s managing
director says this move clearly defines who it is as a trans-Tasman
media business and lays the foundation of where we are headed in the
future.

“We have been at the forefront of non-traditional media
channels for well over a decade, so this re-brand is a natural
progression for the business in a changing media landscape.”

Ambient
Group claims to have pioneered the ambient category in New Zealand and
Australia and chief operating officer Chris Monaghan says the ambient
category has grown considerably in that time.

“We have been
playing in the experiential space under the Ambient Advertising brand
for 12 months now so it was time we formally introduced experiential and
talent into the agency offering,” says Monaghan. “We are about to
announce some fantastic new ambient channels and are pumping out some
brilliant experiential with dedicated creative heads just thinking and
doing in the experiential category. Ambient Group is an exciting place
to be at the moment.”

High Fyfe 

Departing
Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe has been coy about his future, but one
thing is for sure: he’ll be one of the directors of Icebreaker,
effective July 1.

Fyfe will step down in December, handing over to Christopher Luxon, whose current title is group general manager international airline.

Icebreaker founder and chief executive Jeremy Moon says he was stoked to have Fyfe on the company board.

“To
have attracted Rob to the Icebreaker board will greatly strengthen the
path we are on, and on a personal note I feel really lucky to have such a
strong mentor. Rob is a world class business leader who is energised by
innovation, focused on customer engagement and is driven to see New
Zealand business succeed on the global stage. As a CEO it’s critical
that I’m always learning and being inspired and I feel privileged that a
New Zealander of Rob’s calibre has agreed help me take Icebreaker to
the next level,” Moon says.

Fyfe was equally complimentary of Icebreaker.

“What
Jeremy and his team have achieved over the past 17 years has been truly
inspirational and their’s is a business story all New Zealanders should
be proud of.  They have proven that you can take a great idea and Kiwi
innovation and create a global success even when you are a long way from
key markets.”

Through the Motions

In Motion Post,
an Auckland boutique post-production agency, has won a significant
contract with home improvement and outdoor living retailer Bunnings
Warehouse.

Working alongside Bunnings’ advertising company TBA
Communications, the company, which already does work for the likes
of Warner Music, Audi, Porsche and Lion Nathan, will manage the
post-production of the retail advertising campaigns from 1 July.

In
Motion Post, which has been up and running for four and a half
years, undertook two small campaigns for Bunnings in late 2011,
which director Rob Steele says was a trial run for what was to come.

“The
Bunnings ‘Catalogue Comes Alive’ campaign we produced is airing at the
moment, and the in store promotion with Bunnings’ staff members will be
rolling out over the next two months,” he says.

Vimeo Video

Andrea Harris, account director at TBA Communications in Auckland,
says the two agencies have worked together sporadically in the past, but
In Motion Post will be undertaking all of its ongoing television
production.

“We have a really good relationship with Rob and the
team. They are really like-minded and have a keen understanding of what
is required for retail advertising,” Harris says. “We’re both into
crafting retail advertising cost effectively in a very short space of
time, managing the team members in store at Bunnings, and getting the
best out of them. It’s all personality driven.”

Playing with Fire   

Firebrand Talent Search has added experienced recruiter Jane Carolan to its team.

She
comes with 17 years of experience both in New Zealand and overseas and
will be specialising in the marketing and communications area in both
permanent and contract roles and across all channels, including digital.

This
appointment has freed Jo Bayley up to concentrate on account
management, media and executive appointment, and Cath Fournier to focus
on the creative sector, both freelance and permanent.

Out and about

Following
on from recent news that saw PostClick New Zealand come under the
global Komli banner, the newly rebranded digital media shop has been
selected as the exclusive seller of advertising on About.com in New
Zealand.

About.com is a valuable resource that helps people do
more in their everyday lives, with more than 900 topic sites covering a
wide variety of subjects, from parenting, health care and technology to
cooking, travel and autos. Topic sites are written by guides with
passion and experience in that topic.

“Representing About.com
advertising exclusively in New Zealand is a great honour for Komli,”
says Ben Osborne, Komli NZ’s national sales manager. “It offers
incredible opportunities for advertisers given its vast, yet easily
segmented, audience. And we are looking forward to working with New
Zealand advertisers to create highly successful advertising campaigns.”

Joob job

JOOB, a Jade Software Corporation business, has announced the appointment of Ben Hanna to the role of vice president.

Moving
from Auckland to Melbourne, Hanna assumes responsibility for JOOB’s
direct sales efforts in the region, delivering innovation primarily to
Australian financial services. He joined JOOB over 12 months ago to
drive sales of JOOB Mobile, which was a finalist in the mobile/wireless
category of the prestigious Best of Microsoft Tech-Ed North America
awards 2011.

Hanna brings ten years of solution, design and
technical sales experience to the job, including a six year stint at
Gen-i, one of New Zealand’s largest systems integrators, where he was a
top performing member of the company’s enterprise sales team as well as a
participant in the company’s management development programme.

“JOOB
has already been working closely with some of Australia’s leading
financial services companies to mobilise their customer experiences,” he
says. “It has a proven track record and we’re making a real difference
to companies wanting to deliver better results and brilliant customer
experiences, fast.”

Spaced Out

Pack
& Company’s new fine dining restaurant the Roxy (part of the
Imperial development in Auckland’s Fort St) and Cheshire Architects’
Café Hanoi are the only New Zealand entries to make it through to the
finals of this year’s Restaurant and Bar Design Awards.

The
most prestigious and widely recognised hospitality design awards in the
world, the annual UK-based awards are judged by a panel of top design,
lifestyle and hospitality personalities, including Alberto Alessi from
Alessi, Joe Ferry from Intercontinental Hotels Group, and editors from
Taschen, Casa Vogue Brazil, Elle Décor India, Frame China and the UK’s Sunday Times Style.

With
this year’s awards attracting 620 entries from 60 countries, a total of
nine finalists have been shortlisted for Asia Pacific (from more than
100 entries), and the two Auckland establishments will be up against the
likes of Melbourne’s Nobu and Sydney’s Concrete Blonde.

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