New Zealand Story targets overseas businesses to prop up and take notice of New Zealand’s sweet pockets of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Browsing: Hunch
Persuading half a million Kiwis to go online and opt-in sounds like Mission Impossible, especially when the track record’s not that good and the benefits are marginal. But that’s what Spark managed to do.
Industry happenings at MKTG, Mango Communications, Saatchi & Saatchi, Tower Insurance, Hunch, Pead PR, Eleven, Purple Sherbet PR, Mighty River Power and Gladeye.
As the nation readies itself for a long weekend of hot cross buns and relaxation, Michael Goldthorpe takes inspiration from Easter and points out that facts are largely irrelevant when someone tells a good story.
Michael Goldthorpe was inspired by Steve Bayliss last week when he said if it ain’t good, it won’t work, if it isn’t achieving a sales metric, it doesn’t belong in marketing, and if people don’t talk about it, it’s dead. And if you want to know how to do it, there’s an acronym for that.
Every year, multiple sclerosis awareness week sees hundreds of bucket-shakers hitting the streets to raise funds for those who suffer from this debilitating disease. But this year, MS Auckland wanted to raise more money and more awareness than ever before. So indie agency Hunch came up with a way of illustrating the disease’s effects—and raising some cash—by shacking up with Hell Pizza and sending out a few deliveries to unsuspecting recipients.
Moves and shakes at the Herald on Sunday, Hunch, Union Digital, DDB, Contrafed Publishing, Lily & Louis and EstarOnline.
Michael Goldthorpe runs his own consultancy called Hunch and, inbetween doing actual work, he has written some wonderful things for StopPress over the past couple of years, the most wonderful being his extremely well-received piece on how “mad people are attracted to advertising, just as advertising is attracted to us”. So here he is writing some more about the year that was.
Michael Goldthorpe went along to TVNZ’s new season launch at the Viaduct Events Centre. And he got inspired about the potential for New Zealand to become a branded content powerhouse.
It seemed like such a good idea: Peanuts vs Cashews. Grab a handful, pelt your mates and discover once and for all who’s the real ‘King of the Nuts’. Then things went wrong. A rogue peanut bounced off a lamp-post, caught a cycle courier and tossed him in front of a bus. Luckily the bus swerved, no one was hurt and they only took out a small building. Rogue accident, you wouldn’t read about it (mostly because it didn’t happen). But it could. And the question on the table after a recent Australian Standards Board decision that has put the onus on brands to manage their Facebook pages is where does the buck stop when social goes awry?
My four-year old had a birthday party a while back. Nothing fancy, just a few mates, an obstacle course, a cake, a piñata, goody bags – the usual stuff. But the build up to that birthday was something else. He was so excited that anyone and everyone got an invitation. And it got me thinking: what’s the difference between a four-year old birthday party and a customer loyalty programme? If the boy is the brand, the product is fun and the party gives you double points on Tuesdays; here’s why I think there’s stuff we can learn from four year olds.
“But I had that idea.” Spend any time in an agency creative department and you’ll hear that a lot. It’s usually true. In fact, if I think back a decade to adschool (and communications theory before that) there’s a well-founded, pointy-headed theory that there are only seven creative territories. And, just like the seven musical notes, true creativity is about the song you choose to write. So what better place to explore that theory than through the winners of this year’s Film Lions? I spotted six of the seven core thoughts—same old ideas, incredible craft. Or, to mis-quote Edison, one percent inspiration, 99 percent execution.
Once you get past the Dr Seuss headline, there’s a serious question here. It’s also a hot topic right now. When big business is scouring every budget line to trim a little fat, many of them ask, “Can I save money with an in-house studio?” I reckon the answer is “maybe.” Having worked in big agencies, smaller ones, digital shops and in-house, here’s why I think the answer is “horses for courses.”