Monthly Archives: September, 2010

News
Contagion sweeps through Tourism New Zealand offices
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The unofficial word was out a while back that Dean and Bridget Taylor were heading back to New Zealand with some big plans. And now the official word is out: the couple have taken up the reins as directors of a new outfit called Contagion that will, from October, partner with Vivaki to lead the Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) business won by Razorfish in moderately interesting circumstances back in May.

News
At the marcomms altar we bow down and give thanks to…
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…new PR accounts, the success of an ex-Telecom employee, an attempt to inspire some enthusiasm for the local body elections, New Zealand’s biggest free concert, digital braaaaiiinnnnns, the dynamic international retail market, MTV keepin’ on truckin’ (kind of), the country’s most popular tech websites and videos of tiny humans.

News
How do you solve a problem like DB Export? Ask Morton Coutts
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When Colenso picked up DB’s Export account off Saatchi & Saatchi in July last year, the family of beers was losing relevance and needed a fresh approach. So, to try and reverse the decline, the new coupling went back in time and found the solution sitting right in front of them.

News
Tangible Media increases engagement, says ‘I do’ to NZ Weddings
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When Pacific Magazines New Zealand handed over the licences for three of its print babies to APN News and Media a few weeks back, the quarterly NZ Weddings magazine was the one remaining orphan. Apparently, it was offered as part of the package, but, presumably because it was a local publication and was an outright purchase rather than a publishing licence, APN chose not to take it on. Tangible Media had no qualms, however, and has added the magazine to its growing specialist stable.

News
Round and round she goes…
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No sooner has the last staff merry-go-round post gone live than a host of other rotations come to light, including the departure of OMD Auckland’s managing partner Rosanne Robinson, a few big snafflings by the Clemenger gang, TVNZers heading to APN Online, a new NZRU comms gatekeeper and a fresh big cheese for PMP.

News
TVNZ cuts rates, robs Peter, pays Paul
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TVNZ has announced it will be reducing the January rate card by 11.1 percent from its 2010 rates to reflect the controversial drop in agency commission from 20 percent to 10 percent on 2 January 2011. So, according to mathematical sources who apparently know how to use calculators, that appears to be an overall rate increase of 0.1 percent.

Opinion
Behind the scenes and on the hoardings
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If you’ve seen the recent Vodafone ads New, Mobile and Naked Broadband and wondered ‘that’s cool, but how the hell they’d do that?’, you’re probably not alone. And while it was a fairly simple goal for Colenso BBDO and Flying Fish director Wade Shotter to try and position the brand as cutting edge, this behind the scenes video shows that it certainly wasn’t a simple task creating the ads.

Opinion
Tuning in to Twitter
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As someone who works on the strategic side of design, I’ve taken a keen interest in the rise of social media as a marketing tool. I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading up on other people’s experiences and on the various benefits they have had (or not). And for some, it would be useful to know when there will be regular conversations around a topic of interest to tune into. Just as with TV or radio, we should tune in at specific times when we know we will find relevant, interesting content.

News
Harsh new world claims another victim as Brave New World closes doors
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The unfortunately all-too-common combination of a troublesome client and the cool recessionary winds have forced Parnell indie agency Brave New World to shut up shop. But it hopes to go out in a blaze of glory and highlight a serious issue with shelf companies that the agency’s general manager David Brash believes is currently going under the radar of the authorities.

News
Battle of the banks
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Who’s it for: RaboBank by Shine and Assembly.

Why we like it: As the only online specialist savings and investment bank in New Zealand, RaboBank has a relatively unique tale to tell. And that relatively unique tale has been told in a fittingly unique and …

News
Nielsen gets licence to print’s money
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The Nielsen Company has been signed up for another five years as the preferred provider of research services for the print media industry. But all is not as it once was: Derek Lindsay, chairman of the snappily titled Print Media Industry Research Review Group (PMIRRG) and managing director at DraftFCB media calls the new deal a complete relaunch of the consumer insight and print readership research service in New Zealand and he believes the host of new innovations soon to be on offer will prove to be a bit of a fillip for New Zealand’s publishers.

News
Rentokil Initial establishes new, larger Republik
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After a successful five-year relationship with Rentokil Initial New Zealand and its appointment to the Australian pest control business 18 months ago, Freeman’s Bay indie Republik has impressed the powers that be enough to be appointed to take care of marketing strategy, creative development and media placement across the entire Asia Pacific region.

News
Is that a voucher in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?
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Way back in the mists of time, the number of vouchers redeemed by consumers was often seen as an indication of how effective a print ad had been. Since then vouchers have been put inside books, on dockets, in letterboxes and on the internet, each with varying degrees of success. But Auckland company POCKETvouchers claims to be improving the success rate—and efficiency—by sending discount deals to consumers’ mobile phones.

News
Colenso wins yet another thing
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Colenso BBDO was singled out for praise in the role it played helping BBDO win network of the decade in the YoungGuns International awards and also for helping New Zealand reach second place on the list of top performing countries. And these acknowledgments were obviously well-deserved, because it’s also taken out the YoungGuns agency of the decade honours.

News
The future is bright: Jason Paris on TV’s second wind
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Jason Paris’ switcheroo from the head of digital media and marketing at TVNZ to chief executive of MediaWorks in March created, quite understandably, a fair swag of industry chatter. And, while he’s learning quickly about the differences between working for a company owned by a private equity firm and one that’s owned by the government, he’s still grappling with a lot of the same televisual issues and the social changes that are influencing them. And, in his presentation at the Death, Taxes and TVCs event last week, he agreed wholeheartedly with Colenso BBDO’s planning director James Hurman that, despite many assertions to the contrary, mass media is still alive and kicking. In fact, he says “television has never been more popular”.

News
New E-Zealand: a social media snapshot
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What are Kiwis doing online? And, more importantly, how do they feel about it? 2010 has seen some fantastic research into both social media use and its relationship with business. Here’s some of the best.

News
Old becomes new as ecostore cobbles together postmodern eco-billboard
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The last billboard ecostore put up outside its flagship Freeman’s Bay store in Auckland was an image of what looked like a dog covered in spaghetti sitting in front of a curtain. And it has followed up the ‘un-billboard’ with another artistic and environmentally friendly effort, an ‘eco-billboard’ created by Special Group and DDB’s ex head of art Mike Davison to advertise its spring sale. 

News
Back from the dead? James Hurman on the new mass media
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Around 50 industry heavyweights, middleweights and lightweights shunned the Ranfurly Shield match last night and instead gathered together at Studio Lumiere in Parnell to talk television. And, particularly, to talk about what the future held for television advertising. Colenso’s planning director James Hurman, MediaWorks chief executive Jason Paris and Image Centre Group’s Mike Hutcheson enlightened, extrapolated and entertained in equal measure as part of Pure Production’s Death, Taxes and TVCs event and, in the first of three posts about each of the presentations, we delve into James Hurman’s thoughts on what he feels is a misconception about the death of mass marketing and media.

Awards
Social Media Junction: part deux
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After a hugely successful inaugural conference in May that attracted more than 200 Kiwi marketers, Social Media Junction is returning for its second edition with six international speakers on 16-17 November at SkyCity in Auckland. And the theme this time around is ‘Achieving ROI in your Social Media Marketing Strategy.’

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