Monthly Archives: January, 2015

News
Data dump: ad spend high rollers of 2014
By

Nielsen has released its list of the ten brands that spent the most on advertising in 2014, according to rate card data. And, as has been the case over the last few years, Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs once again slogged at out for the top two spots. Here’s a rundown of which other brands spent big over the course of last year.

News
Restaurant dining, gourmet burgers and touchscreen ordering: McDonald’s aims to give consumers what they want
By

McDonald’s Balmoral franchise along Auckland’s Dominion Road is currently piloting a new initiative that brings a slightly more gourmet twist to its menu in an attempt to tap into the lucrative market currently occupied by the likes of Burger Fuel and Burger Wisconsin. The introduction of ‘Create your taste’ allows customers to customise their burgers via an digital touchscreen kiosk that offers a list of 20 ingredients.

News
Changing the pace of parties
By

As the popularity of the these guys on YouTube attests, humans are partial to slow motion. And, with the help of Camistry, Burger Fuel decided to slow things down for its Christmas party.

News
Better, stronger, faster and more ridiculous: a look at brands and their penchant for oft-strange world record attempts
By

When traditional advertising isn’t quite enough to get the attention brands so desperately crave, they sometimes take extreme measures and attempt to get themselves a Guinness World Record. So, as GSK’s oral health brand Sensodyne gets set to embark on the worthy mission to create the world’s largest model tooth, here are a few other strange record attempts from brands.

News
Colenso and Michael Hill to wave the Kiwi flag at Super Bowl
By

From relatively small-scale beginnings in Whangarei in 1979, Michael Hill has over the last 36 years grown into an international enterprise that today has 280 stores globally employing about 2400 staff in a variety of roles. And as a culmination of this ongoing growth, the company is set to feature alongside the world’s major brands in what is arguably advertising’s biggest showcase, the Super Bowl.

News
SMI data shows agencies spending far more on digital than print, TV maintains its place at the top
By

In many developed markets, digital ad spend has overtaken print. But, despite consistent drops over the past few years, the local publishing sector has held firm in second place behind television, according to ASA figures. The IAB has predicted the change will happen in New Zealand next year, but, according to year-on-year SMI data, which collects ad spend from the 15 top media agencies in the country, that’s already happened.

News
Out with the old and in with the new
By

Two weeks ago, Google announced it would stop selling its Google Glass Explorer, which went off the market on January 19. And this news coincided with an announcement from Microsoft on the release of a prototype of Hololens, a PC headset that runs on Windows 10.

News
How to build a video game in two days
By

Media Design School’s Global Game Jam attracted a record 102 registered participants, all taking part in this year’s gathering. Each “jammer” was tasked with creating a functioning video game in the space of two days.

News
Watching the clock: Nielsen’s guide to binge watching
By

With the relatively recent advent of streaming services, watching TV shows is becoming less about being home at 7.30pm on a Wednesday and more about watching episode after episode until your eyes start to bleed. But what to choose given the time constraints? As Lightbox gets set to screen Better Call Saul exclusively in February, as Sky gets set to launch its long-awaited SVOD service Neon after a series of delays, and as TVNZ gets set to launch its rejigged OnDemand platform, there are more options than ever for Kiwi viewers. So here’s a handy guide from Nielsen that shows you how long it will take you to watch some of the world’s most popular shows, end-to-end.

Features
Getting to know you
By

I remember the first time I got creeped out by personalised advertising. It was also the moment I realised I wasn’t anonymous on the net.  I’d moved…

News
Horse’s Mouth: Tom Uglow, Google Creative Lab
By

Tom Uglow works on the periphery of the advertising industry, bringing ideas that exist only in the imagination into the real world. Based at the Google offices in Sydney, he has already lent his creative touch to innovative projects such as The Cube, and he says there’s much more to come.

News
Vodafone set to offer six months’ free Neon subscription when service launches
By

This week it has been reported on the NBR and Stuff that Vodafone would be offering its broadband subscribers six months’ of free Neon as part of an extension of its deal with Sky, which sees the internet service provider offering reduced Sky subscription rates to its broadband customers. And while Sky’s director of corporate comms Kirsty Way has confirmed to StopPress that these initial reports are true, she would not provide information on new launch date of Neon.

News
Prime’s losses are MediaWorks’ gains as Sky changes its free-to-air focus
By

From March, Prime News, which airs on Sky-owned Prime, will be produced by the MediaWorks news division at their Auckland Flower Street Studios as part of a new deal between the two networks. And the deal comes with additional revenue potential for MediaWorks, because the network will also be selling advertising and sponsorship associated with the show. PLUS: Top Gear heads to TV3.

News
All New World’s Christmases come at once with Ad Impact Award
By

New World has been in fine marketing fettle in recent months, with two delightfully insane adverts involving bread-based real estate and vegetable-based romance and one mad ad for its netball sponsorship. And while its Christmas campaign wasn’t quite so surreal, the ads featuring Santa Claus hiding in plain sight as a supermarket employee named Noel also caught viewers’ attention and managed to take out Colmar Brunton’s Ad Impact award for November.

News
Anchor and Colenso play the cute kid card to fight against declining milk consumption
By

Milk consumption is declining in a number of developed markets, with the Washington Post stating that the average American drinks 37 percent less milk today than they did in 1970. Similar trends are evident in New Zealand, with the Herald estimating that it has decreased from 139 litres a head a year in 1974 to about 81 litres a head last year. There are a number of reasons for that, including rising prices, a proliferation of other beverage options and one recent study that appeared to turn the received wisdom of milk’s health benefits on its head. But, following on from Fonterra’s Milk in Schools Initiative, Anchor and Colenso BBDO are continuing their mission to get cow juice into the gullets of more New Zealanders by convincing parents that milk helps grow healthy kids.

1 2 3 4