Management shuffle
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) New Zealand agency PHD Group recently announced a key agency appointment, marking changes to its senior leadership structure. Nikki Grafton, former managing director of offline media agency Spark PHD, has been named managing director of both Spark PHD and its online media sister agency PHDiQ.
As recently reported, Jane Stanley, who had been heading up PHDiQ and was PHD Group’s strategy director since 2012, has been appointed to managing director of Resolution Media and Accuen – two of OMG New Zealand’s specialist digital units.
Chief executive Louise Bond says both appointments further solidify the multi-award-winning agency’s ‘Connected Specialists’ positioning and business structure. This unique model sees account teams connecting with dedicated best-in-class experts across Spark PHD, PHDiQ and Spark PR & Activate – from strategy, trading, biddable media, programmatic and data through to online content, social media, PR and activation – providing clients with plans that ultimately deliver optimum results.
“The majority of Nikki’s 15 years with PHD has seen her in senior management positions, the last four of these as managing director of Spark PHD,” says Bond. “Consequently Nikki has played a major role in the shaping of our businesses over the years, including the original build of our digital division back in 2007, and she is brilliantly placed to lead the broader media business teams. If OMG’s other markets can be used as an indicator of success, centralised leadership will result in our clients benefitting from more streamlined servicing across both online and offline.”
Stanley and Grafton will continue to service PHD Group clients in their respective new roles, which are effective immediately. There are no changes to the leadership structure of Spark PR & Activate.
A leader for New Zealand
Snakk Media has appointed Niko Toluono to take the reins of the company’s New Zealand office as country manager.
Toluono, who joins Snakk from Fairfax, where he was a media consultant for nearly three years, has also held senior roles at Mediacom and Ogilvy NZ.
Snakk Group chief executive Mark Ryan welcomes Toluono to the team, which currently operates out of offices in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Singapore: “Finding experienced talent in this fast-growing market can be quite challenging. We’ve got a real win with Niko – he’s got the right mix of skills and personality to lead the New Zealand team, is well-known in the industry, and he’s a handsome devil. He’s going to continue the great work Snakk has been doing in New Zealand. It’s great to have him on board.”
Ryan says Toluono’s arrival comes as the company experiences record growth in New Zealand, with the team expected to grow further in 2015 as demand for Snakk’s innovative mobile advertising solutions continues to increase.
Toluono replaces former country manager Alan Oliver, who is leaving Snakk to start up a new sales-focused division at Arc Recruitment. Ryan says the entire team at Snakk thanks him for his hard work, and wishes him well in his next adventure.
Onboard
CAANZ chief executive Paul Head has announced that FCB’s Brian van Den Hurk (middle), Special Group’s Michael Redwood (left) and Touchcast’s Andrew Hawley (right) have been elected to the CAANZ executive board.
As a result of Andrew Holt and Derek Lindsay stepping down along with the Board’s desire for additional independent agency representation, three vacancies were up for election recently.
“I’m thrilled that Brian, Michael and Andrew have been elected to the Board by our members. All three have skills and experience that will make invaluable contributions to the industry,” says Head. “The CAANZ team and I are looking forward to working with them on the challenges our members face.”
Van Den Hurk currently serves as the chief executive of FCB New Zealand, and previously spent several years with international agencies in Auckland and Wellington before establishing an FCB office in Indonesia and subsequently joining FCB Auckland. During the 21 years he has been with FCB New Zealand, the agency has grown from just 25 staff to the current 220.
Redwood became a partner and shareholder at newly minted Special Group in 2009. Since then, he has helped drive the agency’s growth, establishing it as a multi-awarded design and advertising business with offices in Auckland and Wellington.
Prior to Special, Michael enjoyed nearly 20 years working at some of New Zealand’s leading advertising agencies with New Zealand’s leading clients. At Colenso BBDO he ran the Air New Zealand account across all Clemenger Group agencies for six years, and led the successful global pitch for Fonterra Brands. Redwood has had campaigns recognised at the Effie awards every year for the past 11 years and was part of the team that was awarded the Cannes Grand Prix in 2010.
As founder and Managing Director of Touchcast, Hawley drives the company’s overall strategic direction and works with clients in both a strategic and creative capacity on key projects. From founding his first digital agency, Breathe, in 1999, to the establishment and rapid growth of Touchcast, he has always been passionate about creating exceptional human experiences.
Hawley’s work has featured at the RSVP and NZDM Awards in New Zealand, the Caples Awards in New York, at Cannes, the Future Marketing Awards for Asia Pacific Region, and the Best Design Awards in New Zealand. He has been on the digital jury of the Clio awards in Miami, and has judged the Axis and Effie Awards in New Zealand several times. Recently, Touchcast was ranked 6th fastest growing company in New Zealand, and 46th fastest growing tech company in Asia Pacific.
A return
Former ZM radio announcer Sarah Gandy is returning to the airwaves after a stint as ZM’s content director.
Gandy’s love for radio hosting won out and NZME Radio has announced she will be joining the Hits and Mix later this year in an on-air role.
Chief content officer for NZME Radio Gemma Fordham says: “Sarah has worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to transition the ZM brand to what it is now. Sarah has lead the team with immense enthusiasm and passion. Sarah spoke to us some time ago about her desire to return to an on air role, she is an outstanding announcer and we are excited she will be joining the Hits and Mix.”
Gandy has been at ZM for 13 years, working her way up the ranks from an eager intern to programme’s assistant then announcer, to assistant content director and most recently content director.
“I’m so excited to be joining The Hits and Mix,” says Gandy. “I owe a lot to my time at ZM, and leaving the brand on a high is a real privilege. My first love really is presenting and music, so I can’t wait to get back on air and connect with a new audience.”
Ross Flahive will fill Sarah’s shoes as ZM content director. Flahive comes from Mediaworks where he has been running the Edge TV. Previous to this he held content roles with the Edge radio, More FM, C4 and a stint overseas in Dubai.
“Ross is hugely talented, we are extremely lucky to have him and look forward to him joining us later this year,” Fordham says.
For the love of good food
Kevin Roberts has been appointed chair of My Food Bag, company co-founder and director Theresa Gattung announced recently.
Roberts is executive chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, where he was worldwide chief executive from 1997 to 2014. His extensive international business career includes leadership, marketing and board roles at PepsiCo, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, Lion Nathan and Spark.
My Food Bag launched in Auckland, New Zealand in 2013, and its farm-to-plate approach has rapidly expanded, now attracting approximately 15,000 customers in New Zealand. Sydney and Melbourne markets are now being served as My Food Bag expands into Australia.
Company revenues have grown to over NZ$40 million annually, in less than two years. My Food Bag is the brainchild of 2013 EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year (NZ) Cecilia Robinson (chief executive), dietitian and nutritionist Nadia Lim (head chef) and business leader Theresa Gattung.
“At this threshold moment of expansion we’re excited to welcome Kevin as Chairman,” said Gattung. “Kevin’s acumen in global business, brand-building and the food industry itself bring a formidable leadership gear as we go to the next level in this fast-expanding category.”
Roberts, who has also become an investor in My Food Bag, provides regular counsel to food companies in the UK and USA.
“I love My Food Bag’s customer-first model and am stoked to be on board,” commented Kevin Roberts. “The winners in food will be those companies who deliver delicious taste, health, inspiration, value and convenience all in the same package. The MFB crew is smack bang in the sweet spot. This is an up-and-running high-growth business delivering real profits. I’ll be working with the MFB team to strengthen the offering and help bring more magic and fun to tables throughout New Zealand and Australia.”
Roberts says that while there are various models in the category worldwide, My Food Bag takes to market the insight that people want to be hands-on in preparing quality food without the hassle of shopping for ingredients or knowing recipes themselves. “This is a sophisticated, uplifting experience for customers that takes the stress out of weekday meals, blending free range and fresh local produce with a home delivery service – and all the pleasure of cooking.”
Joining the association
Stacey Swanton has been appointed a campaign manager at the Marketing Association.
She joins the organisation from Jericho, where she also served as a campaign manager for just under two years. Previously, she has also held roles at the Auckland Chamber or Commerce and in the UK at Inspiria Cumbria.
In her new position, she will be responsible for overseeing Marketing Association campaigns, and this will include being responsible for the content planning, relationship management and coordinating sponsor contributions for the NZ Marketing Magazine.
The lawyer moves up
CIevents has announced the appointment of Sandy Botterill to the position of director of sales and account management.
Botterill will lead the sales team for cievents New Zealand and has a focus on developing existing client relationships as well as building new opportunities for the business.
She started her career as a lawyer for the large international law firm, Chapman Tripp, where she specialised in environmental law, before moving to Thomson Reuters where she managed their operational publishing teams across Australia and New Zealand.
Joining cievents three years ago in Australia, her most recent position being director of sales and account management, Botterill says she has enjoyed being a part of the growing success of the company and that she is now excited to be back home in New Zealand where she looks forward to developing the business further.
“I see great growth opportunity within New Zealand for cievents and I am excited to be a part of that, contributing to the ongoing success of the business and taking on new challenges,” Botterill said.
cievents has also announced that general manager Julie McWatt has returned from maternity leave.
McWatt has been with CIevents since 2010 and is responsible for developing strategic direction for CIevents New Zealand and increasing growth and market share for the business.
“I’m thrilled to be back with my team and am looking forward to continuing the great success that cievents has been experiencing over the past few years,” McWatt said.
Champagne and diamonds
PR and experiential agency Darkhorse has announced that it was being awarded the full PR and event activation contracts for both Moët Hennessy New Zealand and Orsini Fine Jewellery.
Orsini Fine Jewellery represents a number of high-end European brands which include the likes of Pomellato, Marco Bicego, Hulchi Belluni and Dodo as well as Orsini’s own line of bespoke engagement rings.
“We are excited to include Orsini into the Darkhorse family of brands,” says Mike Hewitt, the co-founder of the agency. “Sarah (Founder of Orsini) has an amazing business bringing quality jewellery to New Zealand as well as offering her customers a truly unique personal experience when creating bespoke rings. We are looking forward to working with Sarah and the team at Orsini in 2015.”
In regard to Moët Hennessy, Darkhorse will be managing the full PR and event contracts for the company’s entire portfolio, which includes Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon, Hennessy, Glenmorangie, Belvedere, Grand Marnier, Krug, Ardbeg, Ruinart, Chandon, Cape Mentelle, Cloudy Bay and 10 Cane.
The win comes off the back of two successful years of event activations for Moët Hennessy. Over the past two years Darkhorse has run a number of successful activations for their key brands such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Belvedere with the likes of Clicquot in the Snow, The BMW Polo Open, and the ASB Classic and Heineken Tennis tournaments among others.
To assist with the strong growth over the past 12 months Darkhorse has recently added three new staff members to its team: production manager Brendon Wheatley, activation specialist Nicola Jones and PR and activation support Millie Sylvester.
Lily and Louis
Lily & Louis has welcomed several new clients to its portfolio. Last week, the PR agency formally kicked off its relationship with 1Above, a New Zealand company that produces flight drinks. Lily and Louis has been tasked with increasing brand awareness for the company.
Earlier this year, the agency was also appointed with PR duties by L’affare coffee, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. Furthermore, in January, Kryolan, a professional make-up brand from German, also engaged Lily and Louis for its services.
These wins follow on from a strong 2014 for the agency and managing partner Jacqui Ansin believes there’s more to come.
“2014 was our best year yet at Lily & Louis, and if the last couple of months are anything to go by, 2015 will be even better,” said Ansin. “These new client relationships are a reflection of our fantastic team and culture.”
Lily & Louis’ roster also includes Skinny Mobile, E! (NBC Universal), Fujifilm, Heletranz, Montblanc, San Pellegrino, Moroccanoil, OOB and Quickflix.
TedX lineup
TEDxAuckland is back for another year of inspiring stories and ideas worth talking about.
The first round of confirmed speakers are: Riley & Steve Hathaway of Young Ocean Explorers, Billie Jordan, founder of dance sensations Hip Op-eration, Dr Siouxsie Willis, a Bioluminescence expert, Shaun Hendy of Te Pūnaha Matatini, Lisa Matissoo-Smith, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Sir Bob Harvey, respected leader in both creative arts and politics, and Janette Searle, founder of ‘Take My Hands’.
The event, which will be held on Saturday, 2 May at the Victory Convention Centre, is designed to open Aucklanders’ minds to new ideas through storytelling, sustainable-thinking and innovation. It comes off the back of exciting and hugely successful sold-out past TEDxAuckland events.
Organiser Elliott Blade is continuing to build on the momentum, further solidifying the platform that sees New Zealanders’ innovative ideas and stories told on the global TEDx stage.
“TEDxAuckland has become the leading platform and pipeline for the propagation of New Zealand ideas, creativity, innovation and culture to the rest of the world,” says Blade.
“Our mission at TEDxAuckland is to make it the Pacific’s leading platform of great ideas, storytelling, creativity and actionable innovation to the rest of the world; to create and foster a sense of community amongst the people and organisations who have gathered (and continue to gather) around this event and to provide a cultural focus and impetus for conversation and debate”.
Previous TEDxAuckland talks featured on YouTube have garnered over 1 million hits, with stories such as Paul Wood’s ‘What’s Your Prison?’ receiving over 120,000 views alone.
Dr. Michelle Dickinson, another 2012 speaker, was recently awarded the Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize, and recently started a new initiative with 2014 speaker Vaughan Rowsell, (CEO & Founder of Vend), called OMGTech!, a program that seeks to provide technology training to kids, opening up a world of future tech to Kiwis.
It is these initiatives and community that highlights the TEDxAuckland legacy. While only a few years old, it continues to be a launch pad for world-changing kiwi ideas worth spreading.
With an already stellar line up and further speakers to be announced, TEDxAuckland 2015 will be a not-to-miss event. Tickets go on sale, Wednesday March 11th on EventFinder – click here for details.
Partners confirmed for TEDxAuckland 2015 are AUT University, Eventfinda, MYOB and Invivo Wines.
Speakers already confirmed are:
- Dr. Siouxsie Wiles – Microbiologist and Bioluminescence expert.
- Shaun Hendy – Founding Director of Te Pūnaha Matatini, a Centre of Research Excellence hosted by the University of Auckland.
- Riley & Steve Hathaway – Ambassadors and presenters of ‘Young Ocean Explorers’.
- Lisa Matisoo-Smith – Professor of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago.
- Janette Searle – founder of ‘Take My Hands’, a charitable organisation that redistributes prosthetic, orthotic and medical equipment to those in need.
- Sir Bob Harvey – veteran leader in the New Zealand creative arts and politics.
- Billie Jordan – founder of Hip Op-eration.
