From TV to corporate affairs
Coca-Cola Amatil has brought aboard former television front man Neil Waka to lead its communications team as corporate affairs manager.
He will advise on media relations, strategic policies and initiatives, government and stakeholder relations and help drive positive engagement with CCA, according to a release.
Waka will also develop communications strategies to support CCA’s community partnerships including Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park and Pride Parade.
Waka will also be working closely with CCA’s Pacific Leadership Team, as well as key personnel from CCA Australia and the global arm of The Coca-Cola Company to ensure communications are integrated and effective across the Coke New Zealand business.
He comes to CCA with extensive experience in all forms of media having spent more than 25 years in high profile roles with various news outlets including TV3 (MediaWorks) and TVNZ’s One News. He also spent more than five years as corporate affairs manager of General Motors Holden.
Moving on up
Bloggers Club has appointed Spencer Willis to a newly created CEO role, from his previous position as consumer insight specialist.
A Bloggers Club release says with continued growth founder and director Jenene Crossan seized the opportunity to further strengthen their market position by adding weight to the team’s insight capabilities.
“Adding someone with credentials like Spencer’s to our team clearly communicates to our client base and the broader marketing community, that we see insights to be the essential element at the heart of influence and will be critical to the success of our work for clients.”
More cuts
Fairfax Media NZ is cutting 12 jobs in its latest restructure, this time focused on its community newspaper division, according to the NBR.
Fairfax communications manager Emma Carter says: “this proposal involves streamlining the way we produce community newspapers and introducing new ways of working across our community titles. It follows the successful introduction of modern newsroom practices at our metropolitan and regional mastheads.”
It wasn’t clear which staff members would be affected.
Brand refresh
Auckland creative digital agency, formerly known as Method Studios, has moved offices, rebranded and launched a new website.
Now just called ‘Method’, they’re still based in Ponsonby, now at QB Studios, 208 Ponsonby Road.
“It was no mean feat but we managed to pull it off pretty nicely if we do say ourselves,” says managing director Sam Ramlu in a release.
“So, check out the new site, mull over the new brand and drop us a line to come and check out the new digs over a beer or wine and a spectacular view of the Waitaks.”
Heading down under
Cheapflights has announced its first hire in the ANZ region in the form of Nathan Graham who will take on the role of regional sales manager ANZ.
A release says Graham will be responsible for capitalizing on existing momentum and further building the local market. He will lead strategic marketing initiatives across the region, develop and manage partner relationships, educate stakeholders on new product developments and pave the way for future ANZ hires.
Cheapflights global managing director Andrew Shelton, said the company is excited to have a dedicated local presence and is doubling down to foster awareness and engagement in what is already Cheapflights’ fourth largest global market.
“To date we have seen phenomenal progress across ANZ with minimal investment. We will now look to harness the power of our global brand to take our rightful market share, backed by Nathan’s expertise and passion for the business. He is a proven talent, with significant pedigree in deals publishing, and has an important role to play in cementing relationships with partners and users, as well as driving competition,” he says.
“We’re confident our core offer, leading technology and commitment to the market will establish us as a force to be reckoned with in 2016 and beyond.”
Double whammy
MediaMath has announced the appointment of David Benjafield to the role of director of platform solutions ANZ, as well as appointing Sohail Khan as director of platform integrations ANZ.
David Benjafield
A release says the move consolidates MediaMath’s performance in the region, with the company developing a solid local base of business and technical expertise.
In his new role Benjafield will be leading client engagement across the ANZ markets, along with Ilda Jamison who joined MediaMath as commercial director last year.
Benjafield joins MediaMath after a long Jeremy Rees Fcareer at Yahoo7, where he was most recently the head of advertising technology and platform operations.
Khan will be part of the Professional Services team that MediaMath has been building across the region. Khan will be helping MediaMath’s clients leverage the TerminalOne platform better, by building custom tools, workflows and other technical services like data onboarding and API consulting.
Khan, with a masters degree from UNSW, was overseeing the professional services team at Marin Software prior to this, where he led multiple global initiatives, including publisher connection tools and global agency dashboards.
New board member
Jade Software has announced the appointment of Julia Raue to its board, as the company continues to drive Kiwi innovation into global markets, according to NBR.
Raue became a professional director in 2014, following a long and distinguished career. She has held technology focused executive roles for some of New Zealand’s leading businesses, most recently with Air New Zealand.
During her tenure at Air New Zealand, Raue led a large team responsible for digital transformation and innovation at the airline. She was a 2015 finalist in the Global Talent Unleashed Most Disruptive CIO/CTO Award, a two-time finalist in the Westpac Women of Influence Awards, and is a former CIO NZ New Zealand CIO of the Year. She is currently an independent director of Z Energy, Southern Cross Health Society, and Television New Zealand.
A new role
Eyeota has appointed its co-founder Trent Lloyd to a newly created APAC managing director role, as the company continues “to cement its position as the region’s premier provider of audience data.”
Effective immediately, Lloyd will now take responsibility for account management, sales, publisher acquisition and data supplier relations across the APAC region – including NZ.
Ideas worth spreading
TEDx Auckland is fast approaching, set for its first multi-day events on 5 May and 6 May at Shed 10, Queens Warf.
TedxAuckland licensee Elliott Blade promises the event will be quite different to the previous seven Auckland events.
“Shed 10 provides an amazing venue for our partners and local producers to host a world class, fully catered event. Not only will 1,000 attendees get an amazing theatre experience with local and international speakers and performances but they’ll join together for a two-hour long lunch on the Friday afternoon. That’s going to be something special,” Blade said in a release.
This year’s theme Flipside speaks to the perspective you get from seeing an old problem in a new way, sidestepping power structures, gender, race and geography and turning hierarchies on their head, putting ideas ahead of ideology, the release says.
The first round of speakers are:
Cori Gonzalez-Macuer – comedian/actor/writer/man
Georgina Lala – entrepreneur/student/environmentalist
Joseph Driessen – education consultant/father/horse rider
Lizzie Marvelly – musician/writer/organiser
Matt Shirtcliffe – mental wellness advocate/farmer/creative director
Pani Farvid – social psychologist/gender researcher/social commentator
Rory Steyn – husband/father/former security expert for Nelson Mandela
Sharad Paul – author/doctor/social entrepreneur
Samuel Gibson – adventurer/entrepreneur/wheelchair designer
Keith Ng – data nerd/journalist
The event runs from 3pm to 9pm on Thursday 5 May and 9am to 3pm on Friday 6 May followed by the long lunch and an after party.
To register attendance visit the Ted Facebook page or visit here.
Changing with the times
This week mobile commerce company Mobile Embrace Limited announced its advertising arm 4th Screen Advertising has rebranded to 1st Screen as a result of the evolution of mobile, according to a release.
1st Screen managing director Peter Birch says: ““Our rebrand more clearly represents the dominance of mobile today. Mobile is no longer the fourth screen; we are spending more time on our smartphones than any other device. It also represents how we wish advertisers to view mobile by seeing it as central to any marketing strategy given its ability to reach consumers in the right place, at the right time.”
Recent figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) revealed that mobile advertising in New Zealand has increased by 122 per cent year-on-year.
“Mobile advertising is growing, and brands need to constantly innovate and adapt to the changing landscape. We have been at the forefront of the mobile advertising industry driving innovation and developing highly advanced targeting solutions and products for the past six years. Focused on achieving high engagement rates, we are specialists at leading the industry and ensuring a higher level of service, creative and transparency.”
