In keeping with an ongoing tradition, a few industry players gave us their take on the year for our annual opinion harvest. Here’s what Laura Maxwell-Hansen, the group director of digital media at NZME, thought about 2014.
1. Favourite local campaign that isn’t yours
Toyota Hilux with the chimpanzee. Not sure if it’s the mono-brow or the chimpanzee that gets me more.
2. Favourite campaign that is yours
Radio Hauraki’s ’13th Most Popular Breakfast Show’ campaign. A veritable feast of videos that perfectly emulated the dry witty humour of the show. And it got them all the way to 12th!
3. Favourite international campaign
Samsung’s Curved UHD TV.
4. Least favourite campaign
Anything showing women giving a toss about cleaning products and cleaning toilets. Seriously, we care as much as the blokes do about this stuff. Can’t we take a new approach? Yawn.
5. Your own biggest success
The Alternative Commentary Collective on iHeartRadio. Hilarious cricket commentary that is wrong on so many levels but brings joy to myself and 70k+ other Kiwis. Free, great local content.
6. Favourite magazine/website/TV show/radio show/podcast/news service/app/song/other.
Best podcast: Fletch Vaughn & Megan on ZM. Number one in New Zealand. Boom. They make me laugh every day.
Best news service: Twitter
Best live stream: iHeartRadio Ed Sheeran concert. An incredible one-man show. What a talented guy.
Best time-wasting app: Instagram
Best inspirational app: Houzz
Best idea app: AirBnB
Best magazine: Viva. Never fails to delight.
Best happy app: AirNZ Koru Lounge Coffee App. What a friggin’ great idea. Love it!
7. Most ridiculous buzzword
Cray cray. Wtf? Or maybe I am just getting old!
8. Best innovation
iHeartRadio. Streamed entertainment: what, when and how I want. And for free. Love!
9. Most over-hyped ‘innovation’
Native advertising. I think it was once called an advertorial? Creating content in the form of the media channel is not new is it?
10. Best brands
Ecostore, Warriors
11. Best stoush
No comment
12. Heroes
Women’s refuge. Brad Smeele. A champion in more ways than one. He’s been dealt a hard blow in 2014, but giving it 110 percent.
13. Villains
Advertisers ‘buying blind’ and measuring all digital campaigns with the same criteria.
14. Predictions for 2015
Buy local. Use local. Local media, local creative, local audiences, local suppliers. All your advertising dollars running offshore to global media companies doesn’t support local content or creativity. What’s the real cost-per-click for the local economy?
According to Font’s recent survey, 43 percent of marketing professionals in New Zealand are looking to change jobs next year and 65 percent will be re-evaluating career plans over the Christmas period. So check out some of the roles Font has on offer here and have a gander at the infographic based on the survey results here.
