If you believe the headlines, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But if you believe some of the data (or Bill Gates), things have never been better, with fewer wars, more wealth and better health. Auckland University talked to New Zealand secondary school students about a range of things in 2001, 2007 and 2012 and here’s how their behaviour is changing.
The New Zealander who helped give human faces to creatures in movies like Avatar and King Kong has teamed up with an Auckland company making airport software to develop an avatar for self-service check-ins. And there’s plenty of scope for more robot-human interactions in retail, marketing and pretty much everywhere else.
Hamilton-based King St’s chief executive Chris Williams has confirmed that the agency has struck the Wendy’s New Zealand account from its ledger. This news comes at time when Auckland Uni, another of the agency’s big accounts, is accepting pitches from competing agencies.
Raising money for charities and not-for-profits is a much more difficult job than it used to be, given the number of competing organisations and the economic strain of recent years. But there were plenty of impressive efforts showcased at the Fundraising Excellence awards in Wellington earlier this month.
This Saturday is also a holy day for the School of Theology and Bible Society New Zealand. The organisers are holding a seminar to explore the impact of the internet on Christian communication, marketing and spiritual networking.
A panel of local theologians and Heidi Campbell from Texas A&M University …