Tower Insurance has a new agency for data-driven marketing in Twenty, which, since the beginning of the month, has been working on the insurer’s data, data insights, customer strategy and direct-to-consumer acquisition marketing.
Southern Cross Health Society has appointed Contagion as its lead agency. The appointment means Contagion will now help develop and implement Southern Cross’ marketing strategy, creative, social and media work. Southern Cross Health society head of product and marketing Chris Watney says that Contagion will now be responsible for the day-to-day agency tasks and that Barnes, Catmur & Friends (the lead creative agency for the last eight years) “would be taking more of a backseat.”
AA Insurance, which has been with Special Group for around three and a half years, has put the creative business up for pitch, with the incumbent, DDB and one other agency thought to be among the contenders.
Drones are often associated with remote-controlled killing and maiming in war zones, but they’re starting to find a more peaceful, playful place in the real world, whether it’s taking a selfie with a difference, delivering a pizza or, potentially, dropping off your online purchases. And to announce its arrival in the Auckland market, Energy Online has put one to good use to get punters chatting about a mysterious UFO.
Direct and digital agency Twenty already has a sizeable insurance client, and it’s added another after winning the Asteron Life account after a competitive pitch.
As the Agency Wank Tumblr shows, agencies trying to elucidate their point of difference can easily veer into cringeworthy business cliches and terrible jargon (Canadian agency John St, on the other hand, has consistently nailed it with brilliant films that mock current advertising trends). But direct and digital specialist Twenty, which has added a number of new clients and a host of new staff in the past few years, has avoided that self-promotional fate with an animated trip back in time to explain the power of the 80/20 rule to the world of business.
The return of Karl Fleet, TRN’s Carolyn Luey joins the IAB board, Sky TV brings in some new blood, Sugar & Partners adds a couple of names, Born Digital gets a new general manager and Twenty stocks up on staff after a few wins.
Paper has had a pretty rough time of it recently, with big printing company closures, publishers haemorrhaging cash and direct mail struggling to get the same amount of attention that other ‘sexier’ channels like online or TV get, despite NZ Post’s recent study into its effectiveness. But advances in printing technology mean there are a number of creative possibilities now available, and a few recent Kiwi examples have caught our eye.
After an industry-wide review, The NZ Direct Marketing Awards had a big refresh this year, with a new name, a new judging process and a number of new categories and individual awards resulting in a 12 percent increase in the number of overall entries. And those entries have been whittled down to the finalist stage, with justONE leading on 16, DraftFCB on 12, Colenso BBDO on eight, Loyalty NZ on six, Affinity ID, Federation Rapp Tribal on five, and Twenty and ANZ/National on four.
Genesis Energy seems to have a penchant for agencies with numbers in their titles. Hot on the heels of .99 and justONE being appointed the power company’s advertising agency comes news direct marketing and digital agency Twenty has been awarded the Energy Online account – the challenger brand energy business of Genesis Energy.
AA Insurance has said adios to Ogilvy and appointed Special Group and direct and digital specialists Twenty following a competitive RFP and a rigorous two month pitch process.
It’s all about the people. Hey, look, here are a few who have just got fancy new jobs.
As The Day Today so famously said: “Facts times importance equals news”. Here’s some now, and this time it’s about various industry comings, goings, movings, shakings, to-ings and fro-ings.