Monthly Archives: December, 2014

News
Data dump: mmmmm, beer
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When it comes to alcohol, the tastes of the nation are changing, with wine, cider and more expensive, more interesting, high alcohol beer all on the increase. And this has led to a decrease in the consumption of mainstream beer. As president of the Brewer’s Guild Ralph Bungard says: “New Zealanders still love beer, there’s no doubt, but they don’t want to drink those classic big brands by the crate-load anymore.” So, as we head into prime drinking time, here are some trends on New Zealand beer consumption taken from ANZ’s report on the craft beer industry, which have been brought to life by Dot Loves Data.

News
Top ten most-read StopPress stories of 2014
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Over the course of the last year, StopPress attracted 1.6 million unique page views. And while we don’t necessarily cover depressing war stories, political scandals or the latest nude photo leak, it has been encouraging to see that those in the media, marketing and advertising communities deem it worthwhile to click on a few of our stories once in a while. Here’s a rundown of the pieces that attracted the most clicks this year.

Movings & Shakings
The changes keep coming at MediaWorks as two more senior staffers depart—UPDATED
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Last week, MediaWorks continued its restructuring process by announcing it would operate one newsroom across its TV, radio and online assets, with Mark Jennings taking on the top role. It also announced the integration of digital across the business and, as a result of these changes, the roles of TV chief executive Paul Maher and head of interactive Siobhan McKenna were disestablished. Chief executive Mark Weldon said there would be no more job losses in TV and interactive. But it’s thought two more long-serving senior MediaWorks staff members are also set to depart: senior legal counsel/company secretary Clare Bradley, who has been with the company since 2000, and chief financial officer and director of technology Peter Crossan, who has been with the company since 1999.

News
Politicians help Powershop cash in
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Powershop is cashing in on the gaffes of politicians through a refer-a-friend campaign that laughs at our past and present leaders in various states of strife. After poking fun at Judith Collins and pissing off John Banks, the retailer is back with a campaign that has Mana Party MP Hone Harawira the butt of the joke.

News
The top ten ads on YouTube in 2014, according to Kiwis
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Google has released the leaderboard of the ten ads that were the most popular among Kiwi viewers over the course of 2014. And this list, which is determined through an algorithm that factors in paid views, organic views and view rate (how much of a video people chose to watch), provides an interesting glimpse at some of the key viewing trends in the online space over the past year.

News
Just another Thursday
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Christmas is a time of joy, love and a fair bit of excess for most, but it’s a tough time for struggling families—and those without family or friends to share the day with. Many charities try to get people who have enough to donate something and UK charity KidsCo and Droga5 have released a powerful 90 second spot showing that for some kids without the required parental support, Christmas is just another depressing day.

News
Te Papa Museum unleashes a Tweeting, sightseeing, dad-joke-loving T-Rex
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Standing outside Wellington’s Te Papa Museum is a cargo container tagged with warnings of the prehistoric live cargo carried within. And in the event that skeptics doubt the veracity of these cautions, the growl that comes from within serves to quickly convince them that something terrifying is concealed behind the corrugated iron. This quirky outdoor installation forms only part of the multi-faceted campaign that Te Papa Museum has rolled out over the past few months in an effort to encourge families to purchase tickets for ‘Tyrannosaurus: Meet the Family’, an exhibition that showcases the period when reptiles reigned supreme.

News
Readers are liars—and thieves: Auckland researchers show the enduring appeal of magazines with waiting room study
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When it comes to magazine readership, some titles have pass on rates in the teens, meaning that one copy of, for example, Woman’s Day, is read by multiple people. The ‘reading-it-in-the-waiting-room’ factor is often talked about as a major reason for that, and even if they’re reading an older issue, which they often are, it still counts. But why are waiting rooms filled with crappy old magazines? Thankfully, a team of Auckland researchers have discovered the reason: thieving patients.

News
Should Auckland have a creative director?
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Yesterday, at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Committee for Auckland announced some of the key findings that have been compiled in its latest report called ‘Auckland as a Creative City’. The principle theme delivered during the breakfast event was that “Auckland needs an over-arching strategy to unlock the potential of its creative sectors and grow the economy to make the city more globally competitive.”

News
Ziera distills the scent of shoes (in a good way)
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Scent is a powerful force, as evidenced by the intoxicating effect of KFC, the wafting aroma of baking bread that some believe is piped around supermarkets and Subway stores, the popularity of fancy candles, the existence of scratch and sniff, Air Wick’s latest ad and, of course, cartoon characters floating towards an apple pie on a windowsill. Shoes don’t have the best reputation when it comes to smell. But Ziera, fresh from winning Retail NZ’s supreme Top Shop honour, has turned that perception on its head and created its own fragrance called Fleurs De Printemps to waft through its stores.

Opinion
Ad/Vice – Peter Cullinane
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Ex-Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide chief operating officer, STW director, Assignment Group co-founder, NZME board member and dairy don Peter Cullinane offers up some hard-earned pearls of advertising wisdom on sponsorship, insights and claiming credit.

News
Craftsmanship … style … burritos
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In a campaign announcing the release of the Moto 360 smartwatch, Motorola has aimed a satirical barb at the tropes that have so long provided content for cliched advertisements dedicated to high-end timepieces. Extreme closeups, slow-motion cinematography, snooty classical music and the soothing murmurings of an unseen narrator all combine to give each spot the look and feel of a standard watch ad. But just when it looks as though things are going to follow the usual script, things take a rather unexpected and very modern turn.

News
Barnes Catmur lays down the gift gauntlet with special High St whisky
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As Mulberry’s #WinChristmas campaign showed, giving is basically a competitive sport these days. And that’s also true in the corporate realm, where many businesses attempt to one-up each other by giving expensive offerings of thanks to their VIPs. Just as The Downlow Concept took the opportunity to show off its skills and sense of humour with its Christmas message, Barnes Catmur & Friends has honoured its special friends with a bespoke whisky named in honour of the street where its office lies.

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