Changes afoot for ZenithOptimedia, Vivaki takes flight, local McDonald’s man receives top burger honour, Firebrand skims The Pond, The Press announces its new editor, George Mackenzie gets an international call-up, Waitemata smells the roses, the downlowconcept gets it Phil, The Sweet Shop nabs a New Yorker, Spikes Asia entries on the upward trajectory, We Can Create announces its line-up, and the end of an era for TVNZ.
The latest newspaper readership and circ figures might not be much to boast about, but there’s plenty of life left in The Press according to advertising creative agency Simpatico. And to prove that point, it recently launched its direct marketing campaign ‘smell the numbers’, whereby the offices of 100 North Island media agencies were exposed to a pungent smell in a bid to encourage them to smell the positive readership numbers the newspaper has been generating.
The Australian division of Fairfax has announced some massive changes to its business recently, including a plan to cut 1,900 jobs, erect paywalls, outsource subbing for some of its titles to New Zealand and take some of its broadsheets tabloid. Fairfax NZ boss Allen Williams has said it’s a case of two markets and two time frames and the shifts won’t affect the New Zealand business, but they have affected the local industry in one way because Andrew Holden, the editor of The Press in Christchurch, has been named as editor in chief of The Age in Melbourne, replacing Paul Ramadge, who resigned yesterday.
A rapidly changing media landscape means it’s not the happiest of financial times for many in the newspaper and magazine publishing sector at the moment, but those issues were briefly forgotten on Friday night as the industry gathered in Auckland to reward the best in the business at the Canon Media Awards. And it was APN, which has recently enlisted the help of Deutsche Bank to conduct an asset review, that again popped the most corks on the night and followed on from its ‘grand slam’ last year by taking out the vast majority of the big awards.
…as David MacGregor goes solo, Dave Shoemack gets a plum posting in Holland, Telecom’s punching bag departs, Fujikistan goes international, Andrew Mehrtens gets Gallic for TV3, The Press wins plaudits at PANPA, Mango activates an expert, CAANZ adds to its stable, Orangebox cuts cake, Kordia shacks up with PPR, and The Economist names a new sponsorship and marketing guru.
A few weeks back agencies around the country were asked to put their thinking caps on by The Press and come up with a campaign to support the fundraising efforts required to rebuild the new Court Theatre in Christchurch. And the indie pairing of Shirtcliffe and Co. and Lassoo have come away with the win—as well as a long lunch and a chopper ride—for a campaign that used well known Shakespeare quotations.
There are a few old devastated cultural icons the Christchurch community wants to see rebuilt and the Court Theatre is one of those places. And The Press, whose own building was brought down recently, is getting behind the rebuild by tapping into the New Zealand agencies’ creative power to help with the launch of The Press Long Lunch Competition, a challenge that aims to showcase creativity in newspaper advertising while highlighting The Court Theatre’s upcoming fundraising appeal.