New venture
OMD Wellington has announced the resignation of managing partner Matt McNeil after six years with the agency.
OMD CEO Kath Watson commended McNeil’s contribution to the business, saying: “During Matt’s tenure, the team at OMD Wellington has continued to be very successful, growing and developing into the preeminent media agency in Wellington. We’ve taken on a large number of new clients over that time and a lot of that success can be attributed to Matt’s drive and vision… Matt has built a great culture at OMD Wellington that fosters creativity and innovation. We wish him every success in his new venture.”
He will now be turning his attention to a start-up venture that he has been working on in the background. Asked what this new venture entails, McNeil said that he will announce full details at later stage.
He also said that he would miss working with the team at OMD>
“I’ve been fortunate to be able to continue the OMD Wellington success story due to some great loyal clients and the OMD team”, McNeil said. “It seems to be the current vogue for the agency world to be talking integration and full service again. Just quietly, we’ve never left that approach in Wellington. I’ll miss working so closely with the great talent of our creative partners.”
OMD’s current head of digital / business director Meghan Signalness has been appointed acting general manager.
She has held senior digital roles within large media networks in China, Japan and France, as well as in her native US.
“It’s great to have someone of Meghan’s calibre in our business”, says Watson. “Her background combines traditional media planning with digital, and her experience across clients as head of digital means that our agency is in capable and trusted hands.”
A trio arrives
MediaWorks has announced three new appointments across its business.
The first is David Hine, who will from 7 September be stepping into the role of general manager of 3NOW.
In this newly created role, Hine will be responsible for the management of MediaWorks’ 3NOW video on-demand service, including its future strategy and development.
“David brings a wealth of experience in the video on-demand and technology markets to MediaWorks, and we couldn’t be happier to have him join the team in this new role,” says Glen Kyne, MediaWorks acting chief commercial officer.
“3NOW has gone from strength to strength in the last year, and this appointment is another part of our on-going development to have New Zealand’s best VOD platform and be New Zealand’s largest provider of premium video content. We know David, with his expertise in strategic development and digital products, is the perfect person to get us there.”
Hine has more than 20 years in sales and marketing management, most recently as head of sales and marketing at Lightbox. Prior to this he was sales and marketing director and country manager for Sony Computer Entertainment NZ, and has held a number of other marketing roles for major New Zealand businesses. Hine also volunteers as a mentor for businesses, including tech incubator Lightning Lab and as a consultant to charities.
Additionally, MediaWorks has also promoted two existing team members to new positions.
MediaWorks TV has announced the appointment of Ben Quinn (pictured right) as head of acquisitions for TV and digital and Matt Barthow as channel manager for TV3.
As head of acquisitions, Quinn will have direct responsibility for international content acquisition across MediaWorks’ television and digital services, while Barthow will take charge of the day-to-day management of TV3’s schedule and oversight of the scheduling staff.
Mark Caulton, Mediaworks TV’s director of programming, says: “I’m delighted to make these key appointments from within MediaWorks. Both highly respected members of the MediaWorks content team, Ben and Matt are passionate about our business and bring talent and experience to their respective roles.”
Quinn has been with MediaWorks for 15 years in a variety of programming roles, including most recently associate director of programming and network programming manager for TV3 and Four. Barthow is also a MediaWorks programming veteran, holding previous programming and scheduling roles for nine years, including network programming manager for TV3 and Four and programme scheduler for TV3 and Four.
The bespectacled strategist
Augusto recently confirmed the appointment of Jono Allen as its head of strategy and planning.
Allen has been working in and around the advertising and marketing industry for over 10 years now, across multiple branding and media disciplines.
Prior to entering the Augusto garage, Allen spent his formative years working at a number of New Zealand advertising and media agencies, including Mediacom, Dentsu Aegis and OMD.
On a side note, Augusto alumnus John Foley has taken up a new role at Us & Co.
Foley departed from Augusto in April this year (he was contracting to the agency during the last few months of his stint).
A homecoming
APN Outdoo has confirmed that former Aussie-based group sales manager Gary Rosewarne will step into the role of sales director for the New Zealand business at the end of the month. This announcement comes on the back of several changes in the New Zealand business, including the recent appointment of Mike Watkins in the role of general manager.
Rosewarne cut his teeth in the outdoor business working in both the Melbourne and Sydney offices at APN Outdoor, where he was recognised as a future leader of the business from his early days. Most recently, Rosewarne undertook a short stint at the SCentre Group in Melbourne but will return to his homeland of New Zealand to lead the sales team at APN Outdoor.
Mike Watkins, General Manager, APN Outdoor New Zealand commented on the appointment: “It’s great to have Gary’s industry experience and company knowledge migrate from the Australian arm of the business to New Zealand. It is clear that his depth of understanding of the Trans-Tasman industry and his reputation in the business precedes him, and I look forward Gary joining us as sales director and together we will lead a new era for APN Outdoor in market.”
Rosewarne went onto say: “Coming back to APN Outdoor in New Zealand and in a leadership capacity is a truly exciting move for me. My family and I are thrilled to be moving home and I look forward to sharing my passion for Outdoor with the team in New Zealand and re-joining a company I truly am passionate about.”
Rosewarne will commence his new role on 29 August 29th.
A new Robber in the mix
Robber’s Dog has signed Robin Walters to its team.
Walters has a reputation as one of the most original and perceptive directors working in the entire Asia Pacific region. Known for both comedy and drama, his work has been commended throughout the industry as some of the honest and funniest to come out of Australasia in recent years.
Having worked with brands including Ebay, NZTA, Hyundai, Nibble, McDonald’s and Spark, to name but a few, he has been providing his unique approach to short-form commercials for over a decade.
Commenting on signing with Robber’s Dog, he says: “I’ve always thought that the directors they have on their roster, and the overall company ethos, is one which I could buy into.”
Throughout his career, Walter has worked in every corner of the world, picking up stacks of awards along the way, including the Best Director award at AdFest. He has gained global recognition for his short film, ‘The Platform’, winning awards at film festivals in Japan, Germany, Australia and Spain, where it won the prestigious Silver Spike Award at the Valladolid International Film Festival.
