TVNZ launched its new youth-centric digital channel U on Sunday. And while there’s plenty of talk about breaking ground, filling gaps and New Zealand firsts, there’s no talk about ratings data just yet. And there may not be any in the future, either.
Tourism was the country’s biggest earner in 2010, just nudging ahead of dairy and putting $9.5 billion into the nation’s coffers. And while New Zealand has rarely had to deal with image crises in the past, the recent quake in Christchurch and the ensuing media coverage will have a detrimental effect on visitor numbers. But, for all those patriotic souls out there, there are ways you can help to get the visitors coming back.
'One laptop, one scotch and one phone'
The building that once housed Strategy design and advertising in Christchurch has been obliterated. But, as managing director Geoff Cranko writes, the staff are all well, they’ve found a new studio, they’ve got plenty of whisky on hand and, with the help of modern technology, they’re muddling through and are still able to do great work.
The first episode of the new season of Country Calendar screened on ONE on Saturday night and it was interesting for a few reasons: 1) it’s the 45th year of the show. 2) Hyundai is the show’s new sponsor, bringing to an end a long relationship with the National Bank. And 3) it seems to add some weight to swirling speculation that the National Bank could be gearing up for a much-discussed merger with the big, blue ANZ mothership.
Regular advertising transmission was interrupted following the Christchurch quake as both major networks wisely opted for commercial-free broadcasts during their coverage of the disaster. With its public broadcasting commitments, TVNZ pretty much had to and has promised to make good on the lost air time, but as a privately-owned company saddled with debt, the decision to go ad-free (at an estimated cost of $1 million a day) was presumably a slightly more bitter pill to swallow for MediaWorks. Of note after the ad breaks came back on during the 6pm broadcasts, Countdown Summer Series now has a new cohort in the form of last year’s Masterchef; 2degrees introduces us to Brian and Bruce; ANZ gets the piano out and dials up the patriotism for its RWC spot; AA dresses up for the occasion; Skyline garages gets the tick of approval with its new animated gem; Bonds embraces buttocks for its new lo-rider undies; Moccona launches its new promotion; and Carina Coffee dishes up a spicy, rather cheesy home shopping meatball.
Y&R has appointed Jason Wells as its national creative/ideas director, a newly created role that covers both the Auckland and Wellington Y&R offices.
Toot Group’s beer drinking and fundraising initiative for Christchurch may be over, but for one super quick and beer-savvy StopPress reader, the beer drinking is only just beginning. The folks at Toot Group have put up a $100 bar tab to use at the The Golden Dawn—Tavern of Power bar in Auckland for the first reader who can name the mystery beer that flowed from the Christchurch beer taps. Quickly now.
When Rico met That Guy.
When statues break free.
An, um, moving Oscar speech from Colin Firth.
What wouldn’t you call your race horse?
Chinese cleavage clamp.
And Christchurch residents takes a comical stance on a stink problem.
With 53 leading independent PR partner companies and 3,000 experienced practitioners worldwide, Public Relations Organisation International (PROI) is one of the largest public relations partnerships in the world. But not content with 53 partners, the company is adding more to its stable by welcoming Kiwi communications group Senate Communications on board, along with Australian communication firm SHJ, who together form the trans-Tasman communications group, SenateSHJ. The move will make Senate Communications PROI’s sole New Zealand partner.
NZ Marketing magazine, the mother of StopPress, has come out and it’s shockingly spiffy-licious. “The best business magazine in New Zealand,” reckons one of our readers. This month the mag has received a fresh lick of design love, giving the gritty content a smart spit and polish.
When Toot Group launched its High Street Lucky Christmas Shop initiative in Auckland last year, the success took them a little by surprise after the shop sold out of gifts three times over. The shop, which housed wrapped boxes containing mystery gifts from Auckland’s swanky High Street shops, ended …
Three weeks into its run, 3 News: Firstline may be the network’s first morning show to find the yellow brick road. StopPress understands that earlier this week 3 News: Firstline ratings rested around the 18,000 mark compared to the approximate 140,000 boasted by TNVZ’s breakfast. While …
Its DB Export TVC may have been pulled off air after a complaint was upheld by the ASA in connection to the misuse of historical footage, but Colenso BBDO must be feeling pretty good right about now after news the TVC has picked up an honourable mention as part of the inaugural Ads Worth Spreading challenge, established by non-profit organisation TED.
Down to the Wire, a website developed and helmed by online digital creative’s heyday!, has won Most Outstanding Website at the ONYAs.
The ONYAs, not so much an acronym as it is techy-wordplay, picked Down to the Wire out of four finalists, the other three being the NZ On …
It’s no secret that Lion Nathan has been perusing the agency field for someone to give its Steinlager brand a bit of fresh lovin’. And now the winning agency has been revealed as DDB. But Scott Wallace, group business director at DDB, wants to make it clear the agency will only be working on one project for Steinlager this year.
The CEO looked worried. The share price is down another few cents. Where will it finish up? The revenue figures didn’t look too flash either. A report she received from Sales told her that they had lost 142 customers in the previous month and they gained only 98 new …
After a fair bit of digging and probing, we can reveal the creative buffs behind the Labour Party’s new design are advertising agency Barnes, Catmur & Friends, with head of design Crispin Schuberth responsible for the final logo design. But unlike politicians, getting a straight answer from the agency about the design was easy.
It is with great sadness we let you know that PRINZ chief executive Paul Dryden has died as a result of complications while being treated for cancer.
It worked last year when TBWA\ creatives Iain Neallie and Tara McKenty somehow managed to scavenge their way to Cannes by selling fictional stocks in themselves. And the disease is obviously catching at the Auckland agency, because another fledgling creative pair are hoping to get themselves a free trip to Adfest in Thailand by buttering up the nation’s muscliest silver fox through the power of song.
A number of contenders this week, but in PC gone mad Kiwi fashion, why choose one winner when you could have three winners instead?
Who’s it for: Tui by Saatchi & Saatchi and Flying Start
Why we like it: Kiwis pride themselves on their storytelling. And a wee …
…as Total Media names its managing director (and Omnicom Media Group announces its new big cheese for Australia/NZ); 2degrees finds a multi-lingual comms manager; a marketing guru joins the academic ranks at Massey University; The Sweet Shop and CAANZ choose New Zealand’s reps for the Young Lotus competition at Adfest; Naked outgrows its villa and heads for K’Rd; Tribal Fusion launches in New Zealand with Brendan Muller at the helm; Crossmark restructures its management and is on the hunt for a managing director in New Zealand; and Cutting Edge promotes a veteran to top dog.
Applications for the inaugural James & Wells: Fashion Communication Design Award, a joint effort from Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ) and James & Wells Intellectual Property to celebrate creativity and excellence in fashion-specific communication design, are set to close on 11 March.
The award is open to all New Zealand clothing designers …
We New Zealanders like to think of ourselves as fairly tech-savvy bunch of early adopters, and while there is no doubt the digital realm is rapidly expanding here—both in terms of overall internet use and as an advertising medium—a study of 50 of the country’s most popular websites to see how they took advantage of interactive tools such as blogs, social media and online communities has found many of them are still stuck in the Web 1.0 era and are not doing enough to engage and interact with their customers online.
CAANZ has extended its generous hand unto you and given tardy entrants an extra week to get their material in for the Media Awards. Entries are now due on 21 March.
Colmar Brunton’s latest study into the mysterious yoof realm has put 20 somethings under the microscope and some of the results show why marketers shouldn’t be treating those aged between 15 –30 as one group.
Colenso BBDO is an agency that prides itself on creating work that’s interesting enough to create conversations. It probably doesn’t pride itself on having work pulled for breaking the rules, but that’s happened twice in the past few weeks, first with the DB Export TVC that was removed from television, cinema and online after a complaint was upheld by the ASA and then with the massive viral video Rear View Girls for Levi’s that, after more than seven million views, was pulled from YouTube for violating its terms and conditions.
There’s already plenty of fundraising going on to support those affected by the earthquake but hopefully there’s room for a little bit more, so the organisers of the Promise to Pip campaign, an initiative launched by industry luminaries in support of cancer stricken RAPP/Tribal senior account manager Pip Mills, are asking those in the biz to get their tickets for the fundraising event being held at La Zeppa on Thursday 10 March.
It’s all action for Tui at the moment: it’s just released a new Facebook app, it’s put its gnomes on TV for the first time as part of a big promotion, it’s treading a fairly fine line with some of the comments from the lovely ladies competing in the Miss Tui competition and now it’s just released the follow up to the impressive ‘Brewing Legends’ brand ad that was set free before Christmas.
There’s been a fair bit of discussion about the current relationship status of Speight’s and Publicis Mojo after the Aussie branch appeared to take charge on a couple of recent TVCs and Shine nabbed some project work that will see it continuing the Southern Finishing School series. But apparently it’s still business as usual and in some slightly better Speight’s-related news, a four-page ad promoting the Speight’s Coast to Coast has won the February NAB Newspaper Ad of the Month award.
As those who use business quips occasionally say, the topline’s for vanity and the bottom line’s for sanity. And if that’s the case then big Aussie publisher APN is relatively sane at the moment, with the New Zealand business reporting growth in earnings before interest and tax of 10 percent in the year to December 31. And, in what has been classified as a “reasonable investment” for APN Outdoor, it has added OGGI’s billboard assets to its already sizable stable.