Sleepy geeks across New Zealand woke up at 5 AM this morning to take a look at Microsoft’s latest addition to the console wars, the Xbox One. General consensus seems to be Microsoft has another hit console on its hands – but many here in New Zealand are apprehensive about how many of the features announced this morning will make the flight across the Pacific Ocean.
As part of our push to remind you marcomms folk to get your entries in for the 2013 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards (entries close 5pm this Friday, but extensions are available by clicking here), we’re asking some past winners to tell us about their glorious victory, what it meant to the business and why these awards are different. Christie McCarthy, one half of Dollop Puddings alongside Julia Crownshaw, looks at it from the small business perspective.
Westpac did it last year at 79 Queen St, and BNZ has followed suit with its own ‘concept store’ across the road at 80 Queen St.
TVNZ has produced the first instalment of its Future Now series, which features a selection of talented humans from inside the building talking about some of the trends in media here and overseas—and, importantly, what they mean for local advertisers and viewers. To kick things off, film critic and entertainment writer Dominic Corry quizzes Tom Cotter, TVNZ’s general manager of digital media, on the way technology is affecting how, when and where we view our content.
From the Chrome speed tests to ‘Here’s to the Moms’ to the Cannes grand prix-winning Project Rebrief, Google’s advertising is usually of a very high standard. And it’s done it again with this nerd fest of a 90 second commercial for Chrome that charts the evolution of the internet and shows that ‘we’re building the web together’.
A trifecta for Flying Fish, and a quinella for the X Factor sponsors with Ford, McDonald’s and h2go catching our attention this week.
The number of tablets in New Zealanders’ hands has almost tripled, with 19 percent of Kiwis owning one according to the latest TNS Mobile Life report.
After a six month review of the Magazine Awards, The Magazine Publishers Association has pushed go on its call for entries. And it will probably be getting a whole heap more this year because Bauer Media, which publishes 20 magazines, has ended its five year embargo and will get back onboard this year.
When it rains it pours, and Ogilvy & Mather’s doors have been swinging in recent months. But executive director Paul Manning says exit interviews with those departing showed there is “really no particular cause or pattern”.
OMD’s strategy director Jacquie Pierson has signed up as partner and shareholder in new media start-up Open alongside founder and ex-Naked Communications partner Matt O’Sullivan. And she’s certainly not mincing her words about the state of the local industry and the big media agencies that inhabit it.
Technology is not king in advertising and design. Craft is. And Ignacio Oreamuno, the executive director of the Art Directors Club, think it’s time for the industry to go back to its roots and make communications beautiful again.
In the first instalment of an ongoing series where we showcase some of Getty Images’ best material, check out this selection of aerial, slow-mo, time-lapse and in-motion videos courtesy of the Red Bull Media House.
Lazy robots and steampunk curios win Media Design School seven awards at the Los Angeles Movie Awards over the weekend.
A new management structure at Yahoo New Zealand, Contact and Triathlon NZ part ways, PRINZ announces a life member and a few fellows, MYOB names new public affairs manager, ANZ acknowledged again for the National Bank merger, Beyond Wen wins Images and Sound film prize and Purple Sherbert adds some more fizz.
Some interesting stats coming from Spotify about the music streaming service’s first year in the country, including most streamed artists, songs and popular local acts. Updated with Nielsen numbers.
Editing guru Swede Mason is responsible for what is undoubtedly the best song ever: a homage to buttery biscuit bases and MasterChef. And he’s returned with a fresh clip that celebrates the wonders of baking. Need a new theme tune New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker?
As part of our push to remind you marcomms folk to get your entries in for the 2013 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards (entries close 5pm Friday 24 May), we’re asking some past winners to tell us about their glorious victory, what it meant to the business and why these awards are different. Here’s Malcolm Phillipps, chief marketing officer of 2degrees.
Tui is breaking years of tradition by adding some colour to its usually stoic black and orange billboards, in honour of duck shooting blokes everywhere.
Semi-Permanent is back in Auckland for its ninth year, bringing together designers, artists, film makers and mould breakers of all sorts – for a menagerie of creative thinking. And we’ve got two tickets to give away to this delightful thinkfest.
Georgie Pie is back. And the decision by McDonald’s shows how brands need to think about the past, writes Rachel Dawson.
They say the customer is always right. But ‘they’ have probably never flown on a budget airline. Air New Zealand is lauded for its customer service and, as a result, has legions of loyal fans. But other airlines focus on price at the expense of almost everything else and have legions of loyal haters. And in the world of aviation, it’s a strategy that seems to work.
TVNZ’s Breakfast has a long history of getting stars to read the weather, with Delta Goodrem, Adam Lambert, Rachel Hunter and a few others spreading the meteorological news (Tamati Coffey even presented the weather in Elvish in the midst of Hobbit mania). And now Jack Black and Kyle Glass, who are here as part of a Tenacious D tour, have helped out.
It’s not unusual for commercial directors to pursue other interests to keep the creative fires burning. But doing a TV series is fairly rare, says Robber’s Dog’s Chris Dudman, who helped write, direct and edit TV3’s new critically-acclaimed drama Harry.
MediaWorks has signed a two year strategic partnership with the organisers of one of New Zealand’s iconic summer music festivals, Rhythm and Vines.
Wired magazine celebrated its 20th anniversary recently with a special issue dedicated to “the people, their companies, and their ideas that have shaped the future we live in today”. Anyone interested in where we are now and how we got there would be well-advised to give it a squizz. And anyone hoping to get a glimpse at what the golden age of magazines looked like would be well-advised to check out the story of how Wired came to exist.
Carat recently had to say goodbye to 2degrees after Ikon won the business in a pitch. But it’s made up for that loss with the recent addition of Dick Smith to the client roster.
The unseen but often heard stars of New Zealand’s radio industry took some time to pat themselves on the back last night, celebrating another year of achievements at the New Zealand Radio Awards.
When it comes to Pacific destinations, Tonga is a long way down the consideration list and has smaller visitor numbers than Fiji, Samoa, Rarotonga and Vanuatu, primarily because, unlike those countries, it has never really invested in promoting itself. But for the first time in its history, the Kingdom has taken to TV with a trans-Tasman campaign that aims to build on the 2012 launch of ‘the True South Pacific’ brand and show what its 176 islands can offer visitors.
DraftFCB’s had an impressive run on the awards circuit this year, winning plenty of metal at D&AD, Clio, New York Festivals, Axis and a few others. And it’s added to the cabinet after Kelly Lovelock and Hywel James were awarded the Grande ORCA for their cunning Prime TV ‘Call Girl’ promotion.
