Monthly Archives: December, 2014

News
Stuff gets hip, joins WhatsApp
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News websites are finding new ways to engage with their audiences, with Stuff.co.nz announcing Auckland users can now receive its news alerts through messaging app WhatsApp. Four days in and the new service is going great guns.

News
From Microsoft to LinkedIn to Pandora: Kiwi tech star Sara Clemens on working for the juggernauts
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For the last 20 years, Sara Clemens has made an international name for herself in the tech industry, working for the likes of Microsoft, LinkedIn and now Pandora, where she was appointed chief strategy officer earlier this year. And while this title alone would be enough to intimidate some employees, Clemens thrives in these high-pressure positions and actually enjoys the challenge. StopPress recently had a chat with her about her previous successes and what she hopes to acheive in her new role.

News
Any excuse for a list: the world’s best content marketing
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‘Tis the season for lists (actually, as the popularity of Buzzfeed shows, it’s always the season for lists). And Contently, a company “where brands and advertisers can go to connect with freelancers and journalists to commission work on their behalf”, has released its round-up of the best content marketing of the year.

News
Fairfax gets Neighbourly
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Fairfax media has bought in to a company where neighbours can chat about where to get the best flat white in their area, offer up spare bags of sheep dung to people nearby (true story), or find out what happens to the old clothes they’ve been putting in the bins by the church all these years. Neighbourly, an online social network for neighbourhoods, has partnered with Fairfax for a 22.5 percent share in its company, with the potential for more investment if the relationship pays off for both parties.

News
‘We don’t produce, we create’
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In the creative industries, the Christmas message is a time for experimentation and show-offery. And the Downlow Concept’s ‘annual non-denominational holiday video’ is a gem. Running the gamut of corporate video cliches, the production company responsible for 7 Days, Coverband, Hounds and fair few ads has created a glorious visual treat that includes generic words, shirtless men, fingers on fences, cutting-edge animation and, perhaps most importantly, gas heating. It also features Josh Thomson doing a fine impression of Little Richard.

News
App not required
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Retinoblastoma is a deadly eye cancer that develops in children, and because the disease is so difficult to detect it often ends up stealing the sense of sight from its young victims. However, one of the easiest ways to determine whether or not someone is suffering from the disease is through the use of a smartphone—and you don’t even need an app.

News
Chromecast launches in New Zealand, Quickflix and Pandora jump aboard
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Google Chromecast, the thumb-sized media streaming device that plugs into the HDMI port on a TV, has now been launched in New Zealand and is available for purchase at various electronic retailers. Selling for a standard retail price of $61, the device enables users to connect mobile devices, tablets and smartphones to the TV and then access apps on the bigger screen. And given the success of the product abroad, both Quickflix and Pandora have already announced that their services can be accessed through the device.

News
Paul Henry reluctantly hunts for a social media expert
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MediaWorks has taken a novel approach to finding a ‘social media expert’ for Paul Henry in lead up to his new show by creating a bespoke miscrosite that features a monochromatic mugshot of the controversial TV host above a short blurb—written in his dismissive voice—that explains why he is on the hunt for someone talented in the esoteric art of social media.

News
Givealittle builds it, waits for more funders to come
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Social crowdfunding platform Givealittle has seen a stunning rise in money raised recently, with average funds raised per month having grown by about 20 times from levels seen two years ago. And now the platform is all spruced up for greater growth, with a revamped web engine ready to take on higher traffic with the rising popularity of social crowdfunding.

News
Facebook and YouTube give a rundown of everything that went viral in 2014
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Facebook and YouTube have released respective top ten lists of topics and content that proved most popular over the course of 2014. And to accompany the publication of these summaries of virality, the new media juggernauts have also launched a pair of retrospective videos that give viewers a glimpse at what got the masses clicking over the course of the last year.

Features
Aim for the head
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The human brain really is an amazing piece of engineering. A small organ the size of two fists that reasons, analyses, manages emotions, regulates blood…

News
NZ Retail magazine gets a refit, gives birth to online baby TheRegister.co.nz
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NZ Retail magazine has been serving the local retail sector for almost 70 years and it’s set to be relaunched as a fatter, much savvier bi-monthly magazine in February next year. Plus, it will also deliver a long-awaited online extension, TheRegister.co.nz, a daily news service for the Kiwi retail sector, with news, features, jobs and case studies delivered in a mobile-friendly website.

News
Fairfax fights against negative numbers, tries to shift focus to targeting abilities
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After a host of senior management changes and a fair bit of hunkering down on the marketing front, Fairfax seems to have got its ducks in a row and regained some confidence and is once again promoting its products and capabilities. And its latest effort is a new trade campaign that aims to switch the focus from volume metrics to its ability to target different groups across its print and online assets.

News
Speight’s gets its pound of flesh out of Ginger Bear
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Lion and DDB’s Steinlager Deep Dive campaign seemed to get the tick of approval from the marketing community (and a few questions in an interesting piece on MediaWatch). And many also seem fairly taken with the pair’s very literal pun-based ‘That’s Dry’ campaign for Speight’s new alcoholic Ginger Beer, which has charted the journey of Karl Burnett squaring off against a forlorn ginger bear for mascot duties. Now it’s released a few more entertaining clips.

News
Education New Zealand hands promotional duties to foreign students
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Following on from last year’s campaign featuring a pair of Brazilian bloggers sharing their experiences of studying in New Zealand, Education New Zealand has now launched a new campaign called ‘A new adventure every day’, which has a collection of five average foreign students starring in a series of videos that showcase what New Zealand is like.