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Movings|Shakings: 22 May

Fair’s fair

After announcing some major changes to its newsroom recently that got rid of the editors of specific mastheads and aimed to “enhance local and national journalism across digital and print by “focusing on audiences across local regions and in specialist content areas”, Fairfax has settled on the people to run it.  

In the regions, Sarah Jarvis has been appointed South Canterbury editor; Jonathon Howe has taken up the regional editor position in Manawatu; Ryan Evans has been appointed Taranaki regional editor; Victoria Guild takes up the regional editor role in the Nelson region; Nicola Coburn has been appointed Marlborough regional editor; Natasha Holland has been appointed Southland regional editor; and Kamala Hayman has been appointed deputy editor, Canterbury and Otago region. 

They will work under the four current regional editors-in-chief: Cathy O’Sullivan in Auckland, Jonathan MacKenzie in Waikato, Bernadette Courtney in Wellington and Joanna Norris in the southern region.

Across the country, activity and resource will be organised into broad topic streams, including news, business, life and style, agriculture, politics and sport. These national portfolios will provide content across Fairfax publications and digital assets. 

Bridget Hope has been appointed to the newly-established group editor, life role. Currently publishing director at SHP Magazines, she runs a suite of magazines in Singapore and Malaysia, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Weekly. She has more than 15 years’ experience directing and producing editorial content for leading international magazines.

“Bridget is well-known in New Zealand having edited and managed four women’s lifestyle magazine titles here,” says Sinead Boucher, Fairfax Media’s executive editor. “She’s full of great ideas to deliver excellent lifestyle products and content—and to maximise commercial opportunities and partnerships.”

Geoff Collett has been appointed national life and style editor and he will report into Hope. Aaron Lawton has also been appointed national sports editor. They join Ellen Read who is already in place as national business editor, and, as previously announced, Jeremy Rees, who joined from NZME to take up the role of national communities editor.

“We’re reinventing our newsrooms to serve the ever-shifting needs of digital media,” says Boucher. “It’s about redefining the way we work—and adapting our newsrooms to produce quality journalism for different audiences and across platforms. We’ll be able to draw more readily on the great content we produce from across New Zealand, and develop some really world-class innovative storytelling.”

Return trip 

René de Monchy is returning to New Zealand to take on the role of director trade, PR and major events for Tourism New Zealand. He brings 15 years’ global experience in consumer-led businesses.

Currently in Singapore as the marketing director at Asia Pacific Breweries, he has also held marketing leadership positions in Europe and New Zealand and was marketing manager at DB Breweries and brand manager at Fonterra before moving overseas.

“This is a critical role for us and it’s vital we have someone who has experience working in our key markets, particularly Asia,” says Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler. “His global knowledge and marketing experience will be invaluable to us as we target new, emerging markets and visitors who bring high value to New Zealand.” 

de Monchy will return with his family to Auckland and take up his role in August.

He replaces Justin Watson, who held that role before moving south to become chief commercial officer – aeronautical, at Christchurch International Airport. 

Marking territory

​Marketo, a provider of engagement marketing software and solutions, has opened an Auckland office following the appointment of Robert Cooke as the country’s new manager.

The Silicon Valley based company established a foothold in the region when it opened an office in Sydney in 2012. The decision to expand to Auckland reflects strong interest in lead nurturing, personalisation and marketing automation solutions.

Cooke moves to Marketo from his current role as head of marketing at the Bank of New Zealand. He has also headed the digital team at the Yellow Pages Group and was the NZ general manager for digital agency Gruden.

“Rob has a unique mix of understanding how to drive award winning marketing campaigns across paid, earned and owned media, as well as native understanding of digital technologies,” says  Aden Forrest, APAC managing director. “This is a winning combination for New Zealand clients interested in understanding and engaging with marketing automation.”

Cooke says there’s a lot of interest in Marketo from the New Zealand marketing community and the company is on the lookout for new talent to help build presence locally.

Pat’s back 

Film Construction Group has appointed Patrick McAteer as chief executive.

With over 20 years experience in broadcast, design and VFX production—and one of the men who started up the Wanaka Lonestar—McAteer established his reputation at post production company Oktobor. He led its move from a traditional visual effects house into a ground breaking digital institution, producing a flow of award winning creative content across multiple media platforms.

“Leading this team sits with my passion for convergence culture. We have the ability to tell any story via any platform, medium, or channel, and we understand the challenges that brands and companies face. I’ve known Peter Hewitt and Perry Bradley for many years, and have loved watching how Film Construction has been bravely reshaped. They’ve taken two decades worth of expertise in producing television commercials, and applied these skills to digital content and beyond. The rise of transmedia makes it a very interesting time to come back to the content production industry. Television audiences are dropping and the traditional models of creating content are evolving fast. Clients want to invest in digital ideas, and brands are competing for consumer interest at a time when video games and social media dominate the leisure time of a younger generation. Brands need great storytellers to get their message across.”

Film Construction founding partner Perry Bradley says adding McAteer’s expertise comes at the perfect time for the company. 

“After so many years devoted to TVC production, its been incredibly exciting to see the growth of Deconstruction, our content division, and Patrick’s drive and energy will help us continue to be at the forefront of production in Australasia.”

Recently, Bruce Pilbrow left his role as managing director of Film Construction Group to take the role of chief executive officer of CanTeen, the organisation supporting young people living with cancer.

Life as we know it

Sunday’s Miriama Kamo and renowned chef Michael Van de Elzen will host TV One’s brand new series Kiwi Living, coming soon to Fridays.

Kiwi Living is “a fun and informative mix of lifestyle and entertainment television, bringing viewers the best of New Zealand’s food, travel, living spaces, health and well-being, fashion and the outdoors”. Each episode, the pair will share segments and practical tips inspiring New Zealanders to kick-start their weekends and try something new, and the magazine style show has proven popular in other markets. 

Kiwi Living will also feature a team of well-known personalities to present lifestyle segments. The main hosts will be joined by Matt Gibb (There And Back) to cover New Zealand travel and inspirational homes, while Erin Simpson (The Erin Simpson Show and new presenter of the Rugby Channel’s First XV coverage) will showcase her creative eye looking at living spaces and interior design.

Health and fitness expert Lee-Anne Wann also joins the team, on a mission to improve New Zealand’s well-being from the inside out; stylist Luke Bettesworth will celebrate fashion and help Kiwis feel confident; and Tony Murrell (Mucking In) will present gardening projects that inspire viewers to transform their backyards into little patches of paradise.

In addition to his role as host, Van de Elzen will also present food-related feature stories along with his top culinary tips and techniques.

The series’ primary sponsor is Southern Cross, which has a particular interest in the health segments of the show and helping Kiwis to improve their general well-being and its segment partners are Guthrie Bowron (interior decorating), Tui Products (gardening) and Registered Master Builders (inspirational homes).

The series is being produced by Imagination Television. 

TVNZ has also signed up a sponsor with Kiwibank’s New Zealander of the Year awards. 

Boutique offering

After 15 years in TV and advertising, Marco Siraky has decided to start his own full service content creation company called The Content Boutique, which aims to bridge the gap between agency and production house and making high-end visual content more accessible.

Prior to heading up Colenso BBDO’s in-house film department, Siraky was the content director/DoP at FCB Auckland. His work on Driving Dogs has amassed 13 million views on YouTube, and more recent work for Mountain Dew and Breast Cream has helped to pick up metal at award shows around the world.

“My whole career has been leading up to this,” he says. “I’ve always loved capturing beautiful images and telling great stories. Right now there is such a huge need within creative departments for cost effective, great quality content for TV and online. So the timing just felt right. I’m excited to get stuck in.”

Siraky says the Content Boutique will be offering a large range of services, such as filming, editing, motion design, camera tracking, chroma keying, Vfx, compositing, online editing/finishing and colour grading.

Pinching Pritchard 

Digital services firm APD has appointed Paul Pritchard as its New Zealand chief executive.

Pritchard brings a decade of experience in digital leadership, including most recently as managing director of Reactive (now owned by Accenture) and prior to that, as digital business director at DDB NZ.  

Earlier this month APD’s parent, Asia Pacific Digital, united its five subsidiaries under the APD brand in order to launch a full 360-degree digital offer across the region. APD’s largest New Zealand business unit, formerly known as Jericho, has a strong heritage in CRM and email marketing based around its proprietary email marketing tool, SmartMail Pro.

APD’s toolkit incorporates digital strategy integrated with technology, performance marketing, CRM, eCommerce and analytics. Pritchard and the Auckland-based team will progressively introduce the full suite of services to APD’s 170 New Zealand clients, including Fonterra, AMP, Foodstuffs, Flight Centre, Mitre 10, OfficeMax, Resene and Positively Wellington.

Pritchard said: “Our clients will benefit as we transition from a software-focused business to a comprehensive digital services business. We are talking to our clients to gain a deeper understanding of the business problems they face, and we are now able to layer on more sophisticated strategy, in order to address some of their fundamental challenges across the digital landscape. We have grown from a team of 20 in New Zealand to a team of nearly 400 across the region. Over time we will bring the full breadth of our digital skills, talent and knowledge from across the region to our New Zealand clients.”

Pritchard says APD supports promising eCommerce businesses far beyond offering a fee-for-service approach and last year it entered a five-year joint venture with online wine merchant Advintage, where it provides the full suite of APD services under a shared risk and reward model. 

“We have partnered with AdVintage for more than a decade and together we aim to take this business to Number One as partners.”

Pritchard says APD can now bring trends and insights from across the Asia Pacific region to its New Zealand clients to help increase customer value and grow their businesses.  

“The vision for APD comes from our management team’s passionate belief that there’s a better way to do things, and we have the experience to back it up. Our chairman Roger Sharp is a New Zealander who is winning on the world stage, and he wants to bring that back to New Zealand and win here too.” 

Storytelling

Exposure International has announced the signing of longform producer Daniel Story.

Story’s arrival will see an increased focus on longform content, adding to an already impressive portfolio of humanitarian and commercial TVC, doco and photography work.

He joins Exposure with over 14 years of experience in film and television. He’s worked on international blockbusters such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Charlotte’s Web before a seven-year stint in script development and distribution at the New Zealand Film Commission.

He was executive producer of last year’s award-winning local comedy/horror flick Housebound and more recently produced the immersive hip-hop drama Born to Dance, set for release in September.

“While telling a 30-second story is an art form, we’ve been collecting plenty of longer tales to tell,” says director Kevin Denholm. “It’ll be great having Dan on board to get some of our dream projects off the shelf and into production.”

Loud and proud

Jon Toogood, lead singer of New Zealand rock band Shihad, is turning his intense passion for music into a weekly one-hour radio show on Radio Hauraki, with the first episode airing this Saturday, May 23.

Every Saturday from 5pm-6pm, Toogood will take to the airwaves on various Hauraki markets and iHeartRadio for his new show ‘Planet of Sound’ showcasing his vast musical knowledge while playing music that means something to him personally.

“Radio has always really interested me,” he says. “Ever since I was a kid listening to music on the radio and hearing presenters talk about music, it’s always struck me as a really direct and personal way to reach a lot of people at once and share the language that is music.” 

Toogood lives and breathes music through his various projects, including Shihad and The Adults. More recently the muso has been working on different styles of music in a solo capacity, as well as mentoring high school student groups. 

“I love music from all kinds of genres and eras,” Toogood says. “Obviously, I’m known as a rock musician, but my appreciation for music goes beyond just that genre. So when I realised Hauraki had moved beyond being just a rock station in the last couple of years, I decided this could be the right fit for my first ever radio show.”

The show’s playlist will be selected by Toogood, and the new radio host intends to bring a mixed bag to the airwaves.

“I’ve developed a whole lot of feature ideas,” he says. “I’ll be playing some new stuff that I’ve heard and liked, but mostly slightly older music from the last 30 or so years that has had some kind of impact on me as a musician, and me as a person. And I’m going to talk to a fellow New Zealand musician every week and uncover some local heroes as well.”

Search and employ

Koshy Mathew has been appointed to the position of general manager at Pure SEO, New Zealand’s largest specialist search engine optimisation firm, which has more than 200 clients across multiple sectors in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

Mathew previously spent ten years with Yellow NZ. As national sales manager – key accounts for the organization, he expanded the Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch teams and led the channel’s transformation from print to digital.

Before migrating to New Zealand Mr Mathew worked in sales and marketing in Indonesia, Bahrain and India, and was involved with leading apparel brands such as Nike, Ann Taylor and Polo Ralph Lauren.

Hani Girgis has also been appointed as senior digital consultant. 

Girgis, who migrated to New Zealand from Egypt several years ago, has managed SEO, SEM and websites for companies of all sizes in New Zealand, Dubai, Turkey and Egypt. Immediately before joining Pure SEO he worked as SEO specialist for OMD New Zealand, where he delivered successful SEO projects for a variety of clients. He is the founder and general manager of Tagweb, a company that specialises in web design and online marketing.

He is a member of the New Zealand Marketing Association and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (England).

Richard Conway established Pure SEO in 2009 after he moved to New Zealand from the UK. Now a team of 28, Pure SEO won the Google Engage All Stars Agency 2013, the 2014 Westpac Auckland Central Business Awards (Best Emerging Business category), and the Supreme Award in the 2013 David Awards. Pure SEO also recently placed 13th in the Deloitte Fast 50 and has been in the top 100 in the Deloitte Asia Pacific Fast 500 for the past two years.

Row, row, row your boat

Countdown, a sponsor of the New Zealand 2016 Olympic team, has announced New Zealand Olympic rowing champions, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, as its new ambassadors. 

Bond and Murray, who are also supported by ANZ, say sponsorship like this enables the pair to train full time so they can perform at their best.

“The Olympic Games are our time to shine whilst rewarding all those people that have supported us on our quest for gold. Rowing is a highly competitive sport that requires hours of hard graft and fierce resilience. Significant sponsorships like Countdown’s assist us to train at the intense international standard required to compete against the world’s best,” says Bond. “Medals will be won in Rio by what we do now; how we train and how we maximise our nutrition, so we’re thrilled to be Ambassadors for a business that enables us to do this.”

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