fbpx

Nothing endures but change…

…as the Craft Shop gets more animated, Promapp welcomes a new marketing manager, PR peeps get more cred, Y&R gets even more creative, Dialogue Partners is less Bland, and down south changes are a brewin’ at DB, and Southland Times’ new GM thanks Codd.

Two new creative hires for Y&R NZ

Y&R executive creative director Josh Moore announces two key appointments to the creative ranks:

After graduating from AUT in the late 90’s and spending 5 years working in Australia and London, Musonda Katongo (Mus) came back to Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland as a founding member of the ‘Craft’ senior design team. At the start of 2008 he was approached by James McGrath to become Head of design at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, and spent 2 years leading the design offering at Clem’s across advertising, branding, packaging, and integrated projects. The quality of people and work at Clems is amazing, but new parenthood was the catalyst to return home to NZ.

“I’ve been lucky to work with some exceptional CDs, so when I got the call from Josh, I didn’t hesitate in continuing that trend. It’s a talented group of people, and there’s real hunger to keep the momentum building, so it’s an exciting time to get on board.”

Says Josh Moore: “Mus is a truly gifted designer and team leader and a really nice bloke. His role is to add a level of polish to our client’s brands that create real cut through. His influence on the work will be apparent very quickly he is a very exciting addition to our arsenal.”

Mus joins Y&R as Head of Art & Design on 31 October.

Maria Ward has recently returned from TAXI, Canada’s most famous ad agency. She spent three cold years in TAXI’s Toronto office working as a Senior Art Director and Creative Lead on McCain Foods. Her work on other clients includes work for Viagra, Telus, Canadian Tire and D&AD.

Prior to TAXI, Maria spent a successful six years at Colenso BBDO during which time she made the transition from Head of Design to Art Director. Since then she’s never looked back. Maria won six Cannes Lions in her first six years as an Art Director. Her work has been recognized at all other major shows including D&AD, The One Show, Clio, ADC and Young Guns.

“People always say the same things when asked about starting a new gig…I’m really excited about starting at (insert agency here)…. But I can hand on heart say this is a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to being part of the Y&R team.”
“I couldn’t be more happy to have Maria on board,” says Moore. “She is ridiculously talented and a damn nice person. Her depth of experience locally plus her international experience from Taxi is already making it’s mark with our current clients and those we have won but are yet to announce. Together we have big plans for Y&R NZ and her ideas and influence will play a major part in the shape of the business to come.”

Maria joined Y&R as Creative Director on 7 November.

Que sera Sarah

Promapp has also appointed Sarah Taverna as marketing manager for developing and maintaining marketing strategies across New Zealand and Australia to meet Promapp’s marketing objectives, and help raise the profile of Promapp as a brand and bolster its market position.

Sarah has previously worked with Genesis Energy as brand manager for four years and as marketing manager with Bond & Bond and Noel Leeming. In her marketing roles, she has successfully developed and managed brand and marketing campaigns.

PRINZ peeps get more cred

Eighteen public relations practitioners have gained accreditation (APR) after successful completion of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand’s (PRINZ) 2011 accreditation programme.

Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) is an internationally-recognised qualification for PRINZ members with at least five years practical experience in the industry.

PRINZ national president Jane Dodd says APR is a mark of distinction and demonstrates commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice. “APR is a key component of PRINZ’s Continuing Professional Development programme, and these eighteen graduates now join a select group of accredited practitioners.”

APR involves six months of intensive study whereby candidates must complete a number of written assignments and manage a major project. They also write case study solutions in an exam setting and are interviewed by a panel of senior practitioners.

The 2011 APR graduates are:

Auckland
Claire Rennie – creative director, Quick Brown Fox
Keelin Flynn – account director, Core Communications Ltd.
Lucy Jackson – senior communications advisor, Mighty River Power
Mike Shaw – senior communications advisor, The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd.
Rachel Blundell – senior account manager, Core Communications Ltd.
Sharleen Pihema – public affairs advisor, communications and public affairs, Auckland Transport

Hamilton
Jacqueline Humm – communication services manager, Wise Management Services Ltd.
Natalie Palmer – senior communication advisor, Wise Management Services Ltd.
Peta Goldsworthy – group manager, public relations, University of Waikato

Bay of Plenty
Jacky James – district communications manager, BOP District HQ, New Zealand Police

Wellington
Amy Watson – communications advisor, IHC
Debra Harrington – senior communications advisor, New Zealand Transport Agency
Kate Lancaster – senior strategic communications advisor, Ministry of Education
Misty Knowles – communications and marketing manager, Careerforce
Philippa Ross-James – senior advisor engagement and communications, New Zealand Transport Agency

Christchurch
Adrienne Schwartfeger – internal communications advisor, Environment Canterbury
Brent Melville – head of corporate communications, PGG Wrightson Ltd.
Jan McCarthy – senior communications advisor, Christchurch City Council

The Craft Shop opens The Dept of Motion Graphics

Auckland based studio The Craft Shop has added yet another string to its bow with the acquisition of The Department of Motion Graphics.

The Craft Shop co-founders Jacko van Deventer and Ben Lockwood say the move follows a string of successful collaborations between the two companies in recent times.

‘For the past seven years our focus has always been on craft – whatever form that takes – be it type, art direction, retouching, illustration, you name it. More and more we’ve found our clients are requesting we apply animation and motion graphics to the mix and offer a more integrated solution,’ Lockwood said. ‘We’ve always admired DMG, we love working with them, and most importantly, their work is always top shelf, so getting them on board was a no brainer.’

DMG animator Dan Short says he’s excited about the opportunities the new enterprise will create. ‘The really exciting bit is to see what can be done with all these skill sets now under the one roof, and being able to pull them all together seamlessly. And I can’t think of two better guys to do it with than Jacko and Ben.’

New ownership, same service at Dialogue Partners

Dialogue Partners, the qualitative market research recruitment service, is under new ownership.  Founder Faye Bland has sold her interest in the business to new owner, Rose Austen.   Dialogue Partners targets, screens and recruits respondents for focus groups and market research projects for advertising agencies and small market research companies.

Rose based in Epsom, said on the announcement, “I am delighted to be taking over this highly successful niche service for ad agencies and small market research companies.  The secret to why Dialogue Partners is so useful to researchers is the recruitment system that has been proven over the years. I am very much a systems person so I shall be ensuring we follow the same process that has worked up to now.”

Founder, Faye Bland said on the sale, “It was Rose’s background in managing business systems and her way of quickly putting people at ease, which convinced me that Rose is the right person to pass the business onto.  I’ve invested a lot of time and energy into Dialogue Partners so I want to make sure it will endure long past me and I believe Rose is the right person to make that happen.”

Meanwhile, south of the border – changes are a brewin’ at DB

DB Breweries (DB) has appointed Chris Wotton as regional sales manager DB – South Island, based in Christchurch.

Raised in Oamaru, Chris began his sales career in his hometown with Fraser’s Bacon before progressing through several senior regional and national roles in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland with Mainland Cheese.

His more recent roles were as a national business manager and then project programme manager in Christchurch with Goodman Fielder – Baking, whom he spent seven years working for.

DB’s general manager retail, Dan Meiklejohn, says Chris brings a wealth of experience across multiple sales channels to his new role.

“Chris is very well placed to lead not only the South Island sales team, but also the ongoing Christchurch rebuilding strategies DB has in place. We’re excited to have him on board.”

Southland Times appoints new GM, thanks Codd

Sue Gregory has been appointed general manager of The Southland Times.

She is currently the deputy general manager and business manager for the Times and has been with Fairfax for nearly eight years.

Andrew Boyle, GM The Press and Fairfax Southern Region said “I am delighted that we have been able to appoint Sue to this important position. She is a very impressive leader with strong technical and business acumen. She has articulated a very clear and coherent plan for how she sees our business operating and I am very confident that she will play an important role in growing our operation and representing us well in this important market. Sue will also join the South Island management team and I look forward to her broader contribution to Fairfax.”

Gregory previously held finance roles with the Southland District Council and Invercargill City Council.

“I am excited about being appointed general manager for The Southland Times . It is a privilege to lead the division during a time of rapid technological change that will allow us to continue to provide our audience with trusted news and content across multimedia platforms. I would like to thank outgoing general manager Gareth Codd, for his role in cementing the foundations to make this possible. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead,” she says.

About Author

Comments are closed.